A fly-in got me started

It was a fine morning and I'd been eager, for some reason to see this fly-in event. In fact I'd never been to something called a "fly-in" before. I'd only been to "airshows". Wow! I was seeing aircraft I'd never seen before...aircraft powered by auto-conversions. Engines designed for cars and modified for aircraft use. I heard that these aircraft could be maintained by their owners because they were in a category called "experimental". Then I heard someone say that these some of these visiting pilots owned their aircraft, in-fact, that some of the pilots built their own aircraft...infact this fly-in was held at Richmond RAAF base and the aircraft visiting were from the SAAA. Thats the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia, of which I am now a member.

Now all this had me wondering, so I came to talk to someone by the name of "Rick Harper" and I was fascinated. This character, a cheerful and keen aviator explained some things about his aircraft, some facts, and other great information for which I can't remember the detail...but whatever I heard it was good. In fact it lead me to two things:

1) I could build an aircraft, classed as "experimental", which I could fly, without any formal qualifications.
2) To be able to fly a single engine fixed wing aircraft with an enclosed cockpit does not require you to gain a pilot licence. Please note that it does require you to gain a pilot certificate, gained through Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus).

I had been a member of the RAAF Richmond Flying Club (RRFC) for some time. Even though the club had very good hire rates they still seemed very expensive to me for what I would receive. I am one to look at value for money and couldn't see the that flying a light aircraft or learning how to fly in one, could possibly be worth this much. Obviously, keeping somewhat old GA aircraft is an expensive game. There had to be a cheaper alternative. I had always thought this from the first flying lesson I had to pay for myself. Previously my parents had paid for some flights when I was still in school with Air Training Corps (now known as AAFC).

Having been a member of the RRFC for a few years, I never really did any serious flying. I even went to try gliding again, as I had gone solo in gliding with AAFC in Bathurst, NSW. I really did get alot of encouragement from my primary flight instructor "Henry Levy". He was a displinarian. Very tough on his students and a precise, dedicated and experienced glider instructor pilot who I recently visited at Warkworth airfield, NSW.

I even went flying in a gyrocopter and a trike - both not my kind of flying but still very enjoyable.