(Written 2023 but not published until now)
Hi all.
A long time since my last post and boy have things changed in that time.
Firstly, I turned 70 and decided to retire. It's now been a year and as much as I enjoy not going to work, I am a little bored.
So, how to get around that? I know, take up yet another hobby.
This time it's flying. Real aeroplanes not models...
I looked at ultralights because a normal pilot license was well beyond my financial reach and, to my surprise, found that the rules have changed. There is now the Light sports aircraft category which changed the whole perspective.
We even build a lot of these planes in Australia:
So cool.
You can even buy your own LSA for the price of a car.....
LSA aeroplanes are around the size of a small Cessna but are much cheaper to buy and you can do your own maintenance which removes a huge cost factor.
Once you get the restricted Recreational Pilots Certificate you can then do navigation and fly anywhere in Australia outside of controlled air space. Something I am looking forward to, as touring this great country is something I have always wanted to do.
All at a fraction of the cost and hassle of going through the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA, the Aussie equivalent of the US FAA).
Now that I found that I can afford to learn to fly, I did.
15.3 air hours later and I am landing and taking of regularly and looking at my first solo flight.
Update... January 2026.
Things did not go as planned. Then, when do they ever.
Man plans, God laughs, so they say.
Well he had a belly laugh at my expense. The rules changed so the training plane I was using could no longer be used so there was a considerable delay in getting a new one. Eventually (six months) training recommenced.
Problems with the aircraft and it was decided to install a new engine, another delay of several months. The owner gave me a call while waiting and invited me to go for a joyflight in his private plane, A legend 600.
Obviously I jumped at the chance and off we went for a nice scenic flight along Perth Western Australia southern coastline. Beautiful day, smooth air, one of those days that it's great to be alive.
Queue the heavenly background laughter.
We were flying along nicely at 2000 feet in smooth air when the plane began to shudder and the rudder pedal started jumping for a few seconds, Somewhat surprised we put it down to turbulence and climbed to 2600 feet to clear it. Suddenly it happened again but more severe and the whole plane shook. It stopped after a few seconds before we could react it started again followed by a loud bang and the rudder pedals sank to the floor, immediately the plane went into a tight spin.
Normally at this point the tale would end as the only way to recover from a spin id by applying rudder but we no longer had one. This usually end with a big hole in the ground and scattered bits and pieces including the crew but the owners' forward planning paid off. He had installed a ballistic parachute on the plane. He quickly hit that and a rocket blew out the back window dragging a parachute behind it. A sudden shock and we were suspended nose down in a somewhat slower descent. After we shut of the engine and all electrics it was actually a very pleasant trip down but the we saw the trees below us and had a discussion about whether we would land softly or hit a tree. Queue heavenly laughter again.
We hit a tree about 30 feet above the ground. The chute collapsed and the sudden weight increase was too great for the tree and we fell the rest of the way to the ground.
What should have happened was this .
But what happened was this.
A $200,000 plus aircraft reduced to rubble. Fortunately both of those on board were OK. The owner had nothing but bruises and I had bruises plus a cut on my finger that needed nine stitches from a cosmetic surgeon.
A small price to pay when you consider the alternatives.
Several hours later I rolled up to hospital to get the finger stitched. That was something else. I went to the Triage window and when asked what was the problem I said I had a cut on my finger. She asked me how it happened and I told her I had been in a plane crash. Well.. It hit the fan then. A quick call on the PA and I was rushed to the resuscitation unit, basically the only person there that was conscious. Word got around and I had doctors and nurse from all over the hospital coming in to see the photos. I ended up spending the night there and had Cat scans and all sorts of tests before being released. I finally got the finger stitched at a private clinic.
Not the best day of my life but certainly one of the most memorable, one I won't forget in a hurry.
You know the worst part of the whole thing, The West Australian newspaper published the story about two elderly men. Now that hurt more than the cras...
See next chapter for follow up.
