SPOTTED:
GROUP G AIRCRAFT
Recently I went to pick up our plane from Horsham Aviation Services. We’d just had the new ADS-B In and Out fitted. When the job was complete, the plane was then moved to a separate storage hangar, waiting for me to collect it.
When I arrived, I found the RV-6 tucked away in the back. We began to shuffle other aircraft out of the way to get to it. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something lurking in the corner of the hangar. It turned out to be a very fresh-looking Cessna 150. That in itself would be enough to warrant further inspection, but that’s not what caught my eye.
It was the registration on the tail. I took a closer look, and to my surprise, it was a new Group G number. As it turned out, I was (almost certainly) looking at one of the first Group G aircraft to be registered in Australia, and what a pretty aircraft it was. A fresh coat of paint and a revamped interior had made it look almost as good as the day it rolled off the factory floor.
There’s still a lot of work to be done figuring out how to register a Group G aircraft and then how to train instructors to train pilots for their Group G endorsement, but it looks like this one will be officially on the list soon. Probably… If it goes well.
We spoke to Jared Smith from the technical team at RAAus. He confirmed that this will be amongst the first Group G aircraft if there are no stumbling blocks. Not that any issues are expected. From my view the aircraft looks to be spectacularly maintained, and itching to fly.
So, we may have to wait a little longer. Still, it’s exciting to see Group G beginning to materialize, and puts paid to the naysayers.
No doubt there are other eligible aircraft across the country which will soon be joining this Cessna on our register.
