Innehållsförteckning för May-June 2018 från Australian Flying

General aviation exhibition Aviatex will relocate from Illawarra Regional Airport to Bankstown Airport this November after a partnership deal was arranged between organisers Bright Events and Sydney Metro Airports. Aviatex has in the past been held in conjunction with Wings over Illawarra at Albion Park. According to Bright Events, the move is a strategic one to place Aviatex in the heart of Australia’s largest city, which it believes will give greater scope to take in the education and training sectors covering all areas of the aviation industry. CEO of Sydney Metro Airports, Lee de Winton, welcomed the move as one that would help showcase Bankstown not only to the aviation community, but also the general public. “This is an exciting time for our airports, general aviation in the Sydney Basin…

It’s no secret that businesses based on Australian airports are under pressure, as mounting costs force them to revisit their business models and projected revenue in a post-privatisation world. While the nature of some businesses includes the flexibility to move off-airport, those that depend on bringing aircraft through the front door or bringing people to the tarmac are faced with the option of continuing to absorb rising costs or of moving to smaller airports. In 2017 the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) released its General Aviation Study statistical report. Two case studies gave clarity to the issues. According to the BITRE report, the Cairns-based North Queensland Aero Club faced a 500% increase in the lease cost for its Cairns Airport headquarters building when the original lease expired…

Not to put too fine a point on it, we were about to become a splat of strawberry jam on a rock face. “Davis, get your useless butt in that Cherokee, take it to Rand Airport and bring back a Tri-Pacer for me.” “Sure thing, Skipper.” I am half-way out the door when he calls me back to give me details. “And don’t drag your heels – I want it now!” “Okay – got it Skip – I’m on my way.” “And Davis…” “Yes Skip?” Zingi, adjusts his bow-tie, shakes his head very slightly and gives me an almost despairing look. “Don’t bugger it up." Really… some people! I bolt out to out across the dirt to the Cherokee. It’s the middle of 1964. I have a bit over 100,…

Wilkins Aerodrome gives us the ability to fly expeditioners and equipment between Australia and Antarctica in just over four hours. Dassault Aviation is nothing if not pragmatic. In December the French business jet manufacturer announced cancelation of its 5X widebody twin, largely through continued delays to the Snecma (now SAFRAN) Silvercrest turbo-fan engine chosen to power it. Now Dassault has taken much of the aerodynamics and systems design validated through the preliminary 5X flight test program and launched a longer (in both range and cabin length) 6X. With a maximum take-off weight of around 35 tonnes, the 6X will be powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D engines in the 13,000 to 14,000 pound thrust class, the core of which has already flown nearly 600,000 hours in 16 engine applications…

Surprises are nice, sometimes, and on other occasions surprises are very unwelcome. I like the nice ones. One such nice event happened on one of my delivery Flights in USA when circumstances required me to fly from Seattle on the west coast to Minneapolis St Paul, the twin cities which are in the mid-west of the US, but more than a few less comfortable moments accompanied this flight. Unlike flying in the southern parts of the “lower 48”, Alaska being a case of its own, the weather and terrain feature often in a more negative aspect of the northern parts, especially those parts associated with the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains are aptly named, with all parts above the snow line being rocks of various sizes, but all of very…

Commercial Overkill? The new Basic Class 2 medical uses the commercial driver's licence standard, which in the case of this reader is actually more stringent than the CASA Class 2 standard. This could be an unintended consequence that CASA will have to address. Steve, Last week I took an early bite of the Basic Class 2 Medical cherry (commerical driver's licence) … and it’s a lemon! It certainly left a sour taste for me. Trust CASA to not do what all the other countries have done: Private Drivers Licence Medical for Private Pilots. Is it so hard and Australia so unique? Is the "risk assessment" so dire and the "safety case" (if they bothered to do either) so great that Oz aviators have to be so impeded? I certainly have…

Thirty years ago a flying instructor could set themselves up as their own business, teach where they liked and who they liked. Free of the need for operations manual, safety management systems and audits, the independent instructor could lob at a small aero club and conduct lessons for a fraction of the cost that flying schools charge today. It meant a student could go to a local airport and start flying lessons almost immediately. Today, so many small schools and aero clubs have folded under the weight of maintaining an AOC, that students don’t have local options anymore. But it seems now there is a push on to return to the days when independent instructors were common. In particular, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA) and the…

It’s all about the jungle drums. Imagine how many places and faces we’d miss out on if we didn’t all love passing on the good oil about a great experience we’ve just had. Word-of-mouth – Australians are masters at it. I’d heard from Barb at Bindara and Toni at Kilcowera Station that another Outback Beds member, Corynnia Station, the home of Bruce and Julie Armstrong, was well worth a visit. So I did a bit of homework a while ago and liked what I found. I then had long chats with Julie who, amongst a million other duties, runs the “people” side of things out here, looking after their ever-growing tourism business. If her energy and enthusiasm over the phone reflected her usual disposition, I was very much looking forward…

Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast, or ADS-B for short, continues to rank high in hangar talk all around the country. For many owners, the IFR mandatory requirements that came into effect last year at lower levels forced their hand, and much of the IFR fleet gained new navigation systems and transponders in order to comply. Some who had a choice simply decided to operate VFR until ready to take the plunge, whilst others confine their IFR operations to private flights in Class D and G airspace and take advantage of the temporary time extension CASA provided last year. Whichever way you look at it, ADS-B is not going away and amazing new navigation systems, which have emerged in the last five years, complicate choices for aircraft owners. Be pretty simple: a clever…

It’s a perfect Saturday afternoon for flying, and Kyneton Aero Club is hosting it’s monthly Gourmet Hot Dog Fly-in. The fine weather has attracted a large contingent of aviation enthusiasts from aero clubs far and wide. They gather ostensibly to indulge in the fine lunchtime fare and raise money for neuroscience research, but in reality they pore over each other’s aircraft and indulge in a generous dose of hanger talk. In this one month alone the club will raise nearly $500 for the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuroscience Foundation. Last year Kyneton Aero Club (KAC) was awarded Aero Club of the Year by the Royal Aeronautical Society and Australian Flying. Club Secretary Peter Murphy is rightfully proud of what the club has achieved. “There are many people that don’t know the…

Two Victorian regional airports will be the focus for an innovative aerial fire-fighting trial using night vision goggles (NVGs) to fight bushfires at night. A first for Australia, the trial, known as Night Fire Suppression Operations (NFSO), will see Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) lead a multi-agency group including the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, (DELWP), Country Fire Authority (CFA), National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFFC), Coulson Aviation (Australia) and Kestrel Aviation. The trial has been approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). “While night vision aircraft operations have been permitted for many years, under the safety regulations, using this technology in fire-fighting is a new challenge,” a CASA spokesman said, “and a lot of work has been done by CASA’s experts to ensure the appropriate safety standards are…

Risk is a concept at the heart of what we all do in aviation. Whether we fly, maintain aircraft or run an aviation organisation, we need to have a sound understanding of the risks we face and how they can be successfully managed. Understanding risk management in your organisation is essential to a successful business model. Our knowledge of risk and the best ways to mitigate risks is continually evolving and must never be allowed to stagnate. As every pilot knows, a critical element of safety for each flight is being aware of all the potential risks on the day well before take-off. A safe flight yesterday doesn’t mean a safe flight today. In this area CASA is no different to everyone else in aviation. We place risk management at…

The Regional Aviation Association of Australia, through its many initiatives, fully supports the general aviation sector of the industry. Not only does the sector significantly contribute to the overall social and economic growth of Australia, but also the vast numbers of passionate pilots and engineers in training and employment provide great benefits from general to regional aviation and the domestic airline market and beyond. The RAAA is proud to work consistently and collaboratively with industry and government to ensure the viability and progression of general aviation in Australia. Scholarships The Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) members recognise the importance of a vibrant GA sector. For example the RAAA facilitates, through its members, Trial Instructional Flights (TIFs). This is often the first foray for many aspiring pilots and is so…

An air race from London to Darwin has been planned for 2019 to celebrate the centenary of the 1919 Great Air Race, using only aircraft powered by electricity. In 1919, the Australian Government offered a £10,000 prize for the first plane, crewed by Australians, to successfully make the journey from London to Darwin in fewer than 30 days. Brothers Ross and Keith Smith, flying modified Vickers Vimy G-EAOU, won the prize when they landed in Darwin after 27 days and 20 hours. The 2019 event is expected to attract competitors from around the world, and is planned for September next year. The event has the support of the Northern Territory government. “By showcasing low pollution, electrically-powered and innovative, highly efficient aircraft in the Great Air Race, we aim to celebrate…

“the newest technology will appear in the least regulated aircraft first.” Many in Australia’s aviation community still regard Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) with the same snobbishness that a Jaguar owner looks upon a Holden Barina: the lack of power, luxury, utility and prestige is very off-putting. That sentiment prevails despite most LSAs actually being a more technologically-advanced aircraft than many general aviation models on the market. The LSA category developed with one major advantage over GA aircraft: it was free of the dinosaur constraints of FAR 23, the world’s peak standard for aircraft certification. That meant designers could employ new materials, new avionics and new construction methods with abandon; all necessary virtues in a category restricted to a 600 kg maximum take-off weight. Consequently, the LSA category finds itself in…

In February this year Qantas announced it would establish a pilot academy capable of training up to 500 pilots a year. The Qantas Group Pilot Academy is expected to open its doors to students during 2019 and will initially train around 100 pilots a year for direct entry into the Qantas Group, including Jetstar and regional carrier, QantasLink. Depending on demand from other parts of the aviation industry, this could grow to 500 pilots a year on a fee-for-service basis. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the academy is partly a response to the rise in demand for aircrew fuelled by meteoric growth in airlines, particularly in the Asia Pacific Region. “Boeing estimates the world will need about 640,000 more pilots in the next 20 years, with 40% in the…

There’s something pretty wonderful about getting to a stage in your flying when you feel confident enough to venture outside your familiar training area and set off cross-country with friends onboard. Now that you have your licence and are blissfully untethered from your instructor, you get to choose where you fly – happy days! I don’t think I’ve ever come across a situation where the planning hasn’t taken longer than the actual trip. The success of a cross country flight is hands-down directly proportionate with the amount of thought you give to some vital components. If you’ve learnt anything about me over the past 19 years, it’s that I do not like working once the sun goes down. If I’ve just arrived at a new destination after a long day…

Since 2014, macro change has resulted in dramatic improvements in the accident rate, the financial stability and the governance of RAAus. Some people in industry and at regulatory and policy levels have not had a lot of visibility of these changes and still see RAAus as an aero club from the 1970s. We are no longer that aero club. RAAus is a professionally governed and managed, important and pivotal part of the future of aviation in Australia. RAAus is now a company limited by guarantee with seven directors responsible for strategy, policy, oversight and legal compliance. We have implemented an over-arching governance framework which is publicly available on our website. In terms of financial stability, the Board of Directors and Leadership Team have made significant changes to our business model…

the CAA may as well have given us a diagram of Jeremy Clarkson’s underwear. Extracts from the full report The battery is situated above the cables in the aft fuselage section. The battery overboard vent-pipe was found to be venting into the fuselage instead of overboard. From the work-pack, it was established that the AMO had inspected the control cables but had not noticed the corrosion. In the interest of aviation safety, it is recommended that the AMO should be audited regarding maintenance practice in terms of scope of work and approval certificate. Jim’s Analysis Wow! This is one to make everyone sit up and pay attention: pilots, AMOs and particularly the CAA themselves. Let’s start with the CAA. Once again, their report is a disgrace. 1. At no stage…