Innholdsfortegnelse for July-August 2016 i Australian Flying

Textron Aviation released details in May of their long-awaited new single-engine turbo-prop (SETP) aircraft. The yet-to-be-branded aircraft will be designed to have cruise speeds of up to 285 knots and full fuel payload of nearly 500 kg. With a planned range of 1600 nm at high-speed cruise with one pilot and four passengers, Textron expects the aircraft will be able to fly from Los Angeles to Chicago, New York to Miami, London to Moscow or Geneva to Istanbul. The program is targeting first flight in 2018. “Developed with the pilot and passenger at the forefront, we have designed this airplane to be the clear winner in this segment, from class-leading performance and ownership costs, to superior cabin comfort and versatility,” said Scott Ernest, president and CEO, Textron Aviation. “We have…

If you’re looking for an idea for an air safari, and don’t want to be far from "civilisation" then this little cluster of properties may help ease you into the swing of things. The main thing I’ve found with safaris over the years is not to set myself an overly daunting program. If you’re new to flying in the outback, there’s enough to learn about remote area flying without trying to knock off a string of destinations and six hours flying a day. That’s nuts, and frankly, it doesn’t work. All you need is a very unsociable front to cross your path and rub out your visual flying conditions or a minor mechanical problem to hold you up for a day and, bingo, there goes your itinerary. Friendly reception There’s…

Some self-funded commercial pilots license (CPL) students choose independent flight schools rather than the university or airline linked academies. Are their career aspirations different from students taking the academy route? Certainly there are unique and attractive characteristics of independent flight schools, and they offer some experiences that the academies don't. But are independent schools being squeezed out by students preferring to take the academy fast-path to the airlines? Asking the experts Curtis Aviation at Camden Airport is one of Sydney’s leading flying schools. Its instructors are one of the most experienced teams in the industry, with the three owners alone having approximately 16,000, 20,000 and 20,000 hours flight experience each. Curtis has multiple Authorised Testing Officers (ATOs) and Grade One Instructors as members of its staff. It offers the full…

I’m standing in the midst of disconnected aircraft parts – seats, floor coverings, inspection panels and interior mouldings, all neatly arranged on shelving beside a naked assembly of airframe panels and fasteners, cables, and electronics. A nice young man is studying the response of my HSI to a simulated ILS signal, while the airframe Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (LAME) peers inside the teenage Cessna’s wings. Yep, you probably guessed: it’s that time of the year, and my beloved 182’s yearly check-up is in full swing. I paused, and thought about how many of these I’ve managed in the 27 years I’ve owned aeroplanes – and what all that has taught me. I’d dreamed since boyhood of owning an aeroplane, but it wasn’t until I’d been flying ten years and was…

When the Royal Aero Club at Jandakot officially opened their new premises, a group of amateur-built aeroplanes flew in. Peter Cash remarked to his instructor, “I would never get into one of those.” These of course are famous last words and Peter dished out the cash for an RV6a plan. The experts warned, “Keep away from those taildraggers - they’ll turn around and bite you.” Peter set to work with plans and carpentry skills and the help of the Sport Aircraft Association. It only took four years, but sometimes the eye knows what the heart wants and when an irresistible bird presented herself in a kitplane magazine it was RV – Out, Culp Special – In. The Culp Special is a plansbuilt biplane. With a 360-hp M14P Russian nine-cylinder radial…

A OPA commissioned Project Eureka because the problems that are strangling general aviation are multi-factorial. They go way beyond any single aspect of the industry. Problems with basic training overlap with airwork and airspace issues. Charter somehow mixes with RPT. The end result is a mess that holds back an industry vital to a country like Australia, with its huge land mass. Part 61 came about due to a government desire to somehow "simplify" aviation regulations. They chose to work with the EASA standard, which has its base in the European Union. Anyone in Australia who has spent any time in Europe will understand the Europeans, particularly the French, love red tape. For example, we now have a system that requires native English speakers to undergo a spoken English test.…

The Australian Strategic Air Traffic Management Group (ASTRA) has proposed that aircraft flying under Visual Flight Rules be encouraged to fit ADS-B Out systems voluntarily. Under the current regulations, ADS-B is being mandated from February 2017 for only IFR aircraft. In an ASTRA paper developed in March 2016, the group states that fitting ADS-B to VFR aircraft would increase safety because the aircraft would be visible to ATC, on traffic collision avoidance systems (TCAS) and to other aircraft fitted with ADS-B In. "Maximising voluntary fitment of ADS-B technology in VFR aircraft will enable air-air traffic awareness methods and technologies, and significantly improve aviation safety," the ASTRA document states. "Whilst regulated mandatory fitment is not indicated, widespread equipage can be encouraged through the adoption of appropriate standards and installation process simplification.…

Aviation marketing departments will tell you the ideal aeroplane is one that goes fast, hauls heaps of cargo, carries passengers in comfort, can operate into the shortest and wildest strips known, has low operating costs, incredible range, is miserly on fuel and any mug pilot can make a good fist of flying it. In other words, a perfect aeroplane that will suit the needs of any operator regardless of who they're trying to sell it to. That's when the aircraft designers step in and announce it can't be done; that if you want cargo and good performance on unimproved strips you have to usually have to forfeit speed and handling. But thanks largely to the surge toward turbo-prop aircraft, the designers themselves have been able to explode some of those…

While tying down your 172 after a session of solo circuits you spy a Citabria on short final. The steady crosswind that caused you so much difficulty still blows steadily. As you watch, the taildragger flares almost silently just above the runway, banked in the direction of the wind. Flying level, straight and true, the upwind main wheel touches the grass, the downwind wheel following soon after. As the speed washes off you notice the tail coming down, deliberately though, like there’s no hurry. The aircraft slows to a walking pace and turns off the runway. You’re impressed. You thought taildraggers usually land in the three-point attitude, but this method, on just the two main wheels instead of all three–a wheeler landing–seems to take it up a notch. What’s so…

Whether you fly for a career or purely for the love of aviation, the paths available to aviators are as diverse as the aircraft we fly. Wherever our aviation journeys take us, they all have one thing in common, they all start with a flight instructor in the right-hand seat next to you. Being an instructor can mean different things to different people. For some it's a stepping stone to a career in the airlines, an opportunity to build experience on the journey to 1500 hours. For others, a flight instructor rating is the key to a rewarding, lifelong career that will not only provide opportunities for tens of thousands of hours in the air, but the satisfaction of passing on your passion to the next generation of aviators. Ask…

Over recent months, concerted efforts from sectors of the general aviation community have put the bite back into demands for reform. Steve Hitchen explains. General aviation, it would appear, has had enough. After nearly 30 years of protracted regulation reform and a regulator whose safety culture has been seen as antagonistic, the industry is pressing hard on Canberra for significant change, and change sooner rather than later. A bushel of hope was delivered to the industry in 2014, with the release of the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (Forsyth) report, and the response of the government that seemed outwardly positive. A change of regime at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority seemed to also herald a real shot at reforms that could unchain and revitalise the industry. But since then, the small steps of…

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will soon introduce legislation to mandate fuel reserves and actions to be taken once the reserve limit is reached. According to CASA, the amendments will bring Australia into line with ICAO countries. "The way the current regulations were drafted is now out of date and the fuel regulations themselves need to be in line with international best practice," a CASA spokesperson said. "For private operations the Federal Aviation Administration require 30 minutes for day VFR and 45 minutes for night VFR and IFR. The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority requirements are the same. ICAO has the same reserves in its standards and recommended practices.” After comments on the proposed CAAP 234-1(2) closed, CASA said that many submissions opposed mandatory reserves for simple operations, whilst…

Large piston twins have been a sustaining tool of the charter industry in Australia for many years. Designed specifically for that purpose, they tend to boast two engines pouring out loads of turbo-charged power, a relatively large cabin holding more at least six passengers, are flown by one pilot and, nowadays, will be over 30 years old at best. The supremacy of these old warhorses is being challenged by the rise of single-engine turbo-props (SETPs) that often promise better short-field performance, cavernous cabins and aren’t as ancient as the piston twins. Even so, SETPs have one weakness in the eyes of the charter customers: no matter how sophisticated and powerful that engine up front, there’s still only one of them! Many clients– especially mining companies running fly-in, fly-out (FIFO)–still demand…

Wings over Illawarra took advantage of some very usable weather at Albion Park over the weekend of 30 April-1 May to stage a vibrant air show that is gathering steam as the premier event for aviation in the Sydney area. Dogged by bad weather in 2014 and 2015 that saw both shows effectively canceled, organisers Mark and Kerry Bright must have been heartened that all their good work paid off this year in a well-attended event that showcased some of Australia's aviation talent. With the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) as the cornerstone of Wings over Illawarra, the aircraft in the static display area was a roll-call of the most iconic types that have seen both civil and military service in Australia: F-111, Mirage, Caribou, DC4, DC3, Catalina, Boeing 747,…

RAAus provides a safe, accessible platform for the average person to follow their dream of flight, whether it’s a budding young aviator still at school, a mature retiree who has patiently waited for their time to fly or the vast array of people in between. For RAAus Operations, a regular question relates to deciding when a pilot becomes too old to fly. Let’s face it, we all want to keep flying for as long as possible, but at some point, a decision has to be made about when it’s time to hang up the boots. We need to be realistic. None of us is getting any younger and with an average RAAus pilot age of 54, it’s important to be vigilant about our medical fitness. For most recreational pilots who…