There is no such thing as cheap flying, but it can be affordable. Growing numbers of regular Private Pilot's Licence hol
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RECREATIONAL AIRCRAFT
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The popular Aeroprakt Foxbat, an example of a commercially built and type certified Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). Built in the Ukraine, more than 130 are in Australia. Rod Brown
Recreational Aircraft
Affordable Alternative
The
There is no such thing as cheap flying, but it can be affordable. Growing numbers of regular Private Pilot’s Licence holders and those learning to fly from scratch are turning to Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus) to satisfy their need to take to the sky.
THEY ARE DOING THIS because RA-Aus offers the opportunity to fly with less expense and significantly less hassle than holding a regular licence. If there is a slight downside, it is that RA-Aus licence holders are limited in the type of aircraft they can fly and where they can fly them. But this is no impediment to further advancement – there is always the option of upgrading to a full PPL or beyond. For many, an RA-Aus licence is more than sufficient to meet their needs. Many PPL holders have gained RA-Aus licences for reasons of cost and removal of much of the ‘hassle factor’ associated with a ‘normal’ licence. For others – especially older pilots – the change has been made for reasons of health when their medical status has been declined. This does not mean they are unhealthy, just that they haven’t met the tough PPL medical standards. If you have a driver’s licence, that is sufficient for an RA-Aus licence in terms of a medical, although applicants are legally obliged to declare certain existing or previous health issues. >>>
Italy’s Fly Synthesis Storch, this one amateur built from a kit. Rod Brown
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The regulations allow for the development of some weird and wonderful experimental home built designs such as the UFO.
For people of any age who wish to start flying, taking the RA-Aus route is a good starting point, and as noted above, there is always the option of taking it further. THE ORGANISATION Recreational Aviation Australia grew out of the old Australian Ultralight Federation (AUF) and now has nearly 10,000 members. It is a self-administering organisation which operates under the rules set by the regulator (the Civil Aviation Safety Authority – CASA), these rules established by close co-operation between RAAus, CASA and the Department of Transport. RA-Aus’s responsibilities go beyond those of other self-administration organisations in Australian aviation. It issues its own pilot’s licences and ratings, has its own system of aircraft registration and takes care of all the other activities which come under its legislated mandate. These include training, safety, opera-
Above: Australia’s Jabiru is the most numerous aircraft on the RA-Aus register with nearly 900 listed. ‘Jabbies’ can be registered in several different categories depending on the model and whether they are amateur/kit or factory built. Rod Brown/Lance Higgerson
tions, compliance and maintenance. It is the largest self-administered aviation organisation in then world. Three types of aircraft come under RA-Aus’s control: Three Axis: A wide variety of aircraft with conventional three-axis controls including home/kit and factory built, experimental and Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). Aircraft are limited to a single engine, a maximum of two seats and certain maximum takeoff weights. There are several different sub-categories, these reflected in the various registration prefixes, as explained below. Weight Shift Trike: Often referred to as ‘powered hang gliders’, up to two persons can be carried and they usually feature a wheeled undercarriage.
RA-Aus also covers weight shift aircraft such as the AirBorne XT-915 trike. Lance Higgerson
Weight Shift Powered Parachute: A large parachute wing with a base for the engine, pilot and passenger. GETTING STARTED There are more than 200 flying schools and clubs around Australia accredited to perform RA-Aus flying training. This and the other information needed to get things rolling is available from the organisation’s website: www.raa.asn.au To get started, simply get in touch with RA-Aus or one of the accredited schools, fill in the necessary forms either electronically or in person, pay the annual membership fee and your student licence and its associated paperwork will follow. You’re then on your way to gaining an RA-Aus Pilot Certificate.
The basic requirements are: • To be aged at least 15 years (written parent/guardian permission required if under 18) • To reach a medical standard at least equivalent to that required to drive a car • Complete a minimum 20 hours dual and solo flying training • Pass a general flying test • Pass some written exams: flight radio, air legislation, aeronautical knowledge and human factors • Once the basic certificate has been awarded, various ratings and endorsements can be added to your licence after suitable training: • Complete a minimum of 10 hours in command dual and solo cross-country flying training to enable flying from A to B, further than 25 nautical miles from base • Pass written exams in navigation and meteorology • Pass a navigation flying test • Pass a passenger carrying flying test • Advanced steps include extra endorsements for: – tailwheel aircraft (or nosewheel, depends on what you trained on) – high performance aircraft (capable of over 80 knots in level flight) – low performance aircraft (not capable of 80 knots in level flight) – variable-pitch propellers – retractable landing gear – float plane flying – formation flying – low level flying – instructor’s rating A Recreational Pilot Certificate allows you to: • Fly a two-seat recreational registered aircraft in uncontrolled airspace during daylight hours within 25 nautical mile of your departure aerodrome • Take a passenger when endorsed to do so • Fly further cross-country in uncontrolled airspace with an additional navigation endorsement • Fly in clear, daylight weather conditions (VMC) Limitations include flying no higher than 10,000 feet above sea level, turns are limited
Several manufacturers are producing modern versions of the Piper Cub which can operate in the LSA category. The Cub Crafters Sport Cub is an example. Lance Higgerson
to a 60 degrees angle of bank, the climb or descent pitch angle is limited to 30 degrees, aerobatics are not permitted and pilots may not fly for reward or gain, unless as a qualified instructor giving lessons. Although the minimum requirement for gaining a Recreational Pilot Certificate is 20 flying hours, most people starting from scratch take a little longer than that, typically 30-33 hours. A lot depends on how often you fly – the more regularly the better as lessons close together are more strongly reinforced and better remembered. This applies to learning anything, not just flying aeroplanes.
Those who start their RA-Aus training while already holding a current PPL or higher should be able to tick all the required boxes in 5-6 flying hours. It’s interesting that there are many stories of professional pilots – both commercial and military – who have had some initial difficulties flying an ultralight or LSA. Several have written stories about and all said they went into it with the same attitude – that it would be dead easy after flying a 737 or F-16, or even a conventional light aircraft. What they had trouble dealing with at first was their new aircraft’s lack of weight and >>>
Due to their weight, seating capacity and speed, a number of classic and vintage light aircraft can operate in the LSA category and placed on the RA-Aus register if the owner wishes. This Luscombe Silvaire is an example and others include the Piper J3 Cub and PA-11 Cub Special, Ercoupe and Aeronca Champ. Wendy Wilson
The editor’s favourite, the locally designed and built Brumby 600 LSA. Like some other factory built aircraft, this can also be operated on the VH register. Wendy Wilson
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therefore lack of inertia. Compared to what they were used to, these aircraft felt like they just ‘stopped’ when power was reduced. This meant that the pilots sometimes found themselves well short of where they wanted to be in the circuit when landing and had to drag the aircraft in under power to get to the runway. Of course they quickly adapted, but it’s something for existing pilots converting to RA-Aus aircraft to keep in mind! AIRCRAFT CATEGORIES Aircraft registered with RA-Aus wear numeric registration numbers with prefixes that identify their category, for example 24-xxxx or 19-xxxx. Some of these are now redundant and although aircraft originally registered in superseded categories can still wear those numbers, no new registrations in them are issued. It can be confusing, especially as some of these categories have been changed or have disappeared. Some aircraft can be on either the RA-Aus or normal VH registers, just to add to the confusion!
10-xxxx: Amateur built low speed and single-seat aircraft built either from an approved kit, from scratch from plans, or amateur built new designs, the latter restricted to single-seaters with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 300kg. Maximum altitude (all aircraft) 7,500 feet. 17-xxxx: Experimental amateur built from factory Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) kit; MTOW 600kg (landplane) or 650kg (floatplane). 18-xxxx: Amateur built weight shift (eg trike) or powered parachute. Factory built are registered 32-xxxx (see below). 19-xxxx: Amateur built, own design from scratch or from plans or kit; MTOW 600/650kg landplane/floatplane. The major portion (at least 51%) of the total construction work must be by the owner. Need not be designed to an approved standard or constructed from certified type materials, can be of any origin but must be built in accordance with the RA-Aus Technical Manual. 23-xxxx: Factory built LSA; MTOW 600/650kg land/water. It can be either factory
Canada’s BushCaddy, available in several kit built versions of which the smallest and lightest – the R80 – can be RA-Aus registered .Rod Brown
Italy’s Tecnam has a popular range of light aircraft including the P92 Eaglet which can be either factory or kit built. Rod Brown
(‘ready to fly’) or kit built of the same make and model. The LSA category also exists for trikes, powered ‘chutes and gyroplanes. The 23-xxxx prefix was introduced for new LSA registrations in 2014. 24-xxxx: Commercially built and type certified in country of manufacture. Aircraft in this category generally meet the RA-Aus registration requirement that only certified and properly approved factory-built aircraft should be used for flight training. The MTOW is 600/650kg landplane/floatplane. E24-xxxx: Non-compliant experimental LSA. 25-xxxx: Superseded category covering commercially built two-seat ultralights manufactured in a CASA approved factory to a CASA certified design. Introduced in 1985 as both an operational, and ‘quasi design standard’ due to the high accident rate of 10xxxx aircraft and the need for two-seat training aircraft. Basically an emergency move, its legal basis – CAO 95.25 – was cancelled in 1990 and new registrations are no longer accepted. MTOW for two-seaters was 450kg and 340kg for single-seaters. 26-xxxx: Type certified general aviation aircraft. 28-xxxx: Another superseded category for earlier amateur built aircraft whether of own design, from scratch from plans or from kits. MTOW 450kg for some aircraft or 600/650kg (landplane/floatplane) for others. 32-xxxx: Factory built weight shift-controlled trikes or microlights plus powered parachutes. Amateur built registered 18-xxxx (see above). 55-xxxx: Now superseded and covering commercially built non-LSA two-seaters. MTOW 480kg and can be used for training; maximum level speed limited to 100 knots.
