Innholdsfortegnelse for September-October 2018 i Australian Flying

The leading hand rattled off a long string of language complete with complementing hand gestures. I didn’t get a word of it because it was in French, and to be embarrassingly honest, my French is at best mauvais. When he stopped, my guide and interpreter, Caroline, turned to me and said: “Savour faire. He says it’s all about making aeroplanes with savour faire, and none of the others do that.” Two little words that summed up the entire philosophy of Daher and the TBM 930 single-engined turbo-prop (SETP), and I couldn’t have said it better myself (obviously). From the slick production line at Tarbes in the shadow of the Pyrenees, to the company restaurant and the finish of their aeroplanes, Daher (it rhymes with “stayer”) tries to do everything with…

I was in the middle of some important duty in the hangar when my domain was intruded upon by a figure who, at first glance, appeared to be a scarecrow. He was an extremely skinny and washed-out looking human being of about 30. He had a beakish nose, tatty khaki shorts and a paint-splattered shirt that was now well past its toss-by date. He wore no shoes and his hair mostly stood on end. On closer examination, his hands were ingrained with filth and his finger nails looked as if he had used them for tunneling. “May I help you, sir?” I asked. “I’m thinking of buying an aerie, so I thought I would just have a look round.” “Certainly, sir. Will you be using it for…?” I heard the…

I have a saying that I used to live by: never go back; life is too short to repeat past experiences. My logbook attests that although my aviation experience hasn’t been in a straight line, starting with a Beechcraft Skipper, to a Piper Warrior, a Dakota, a Grumman Tiger, a C182, then a Foxbat, a Citabria, a Robin, an Archer and finally a Cirrus, I have seldom returned to the previous aircraft. In the past three years, I had flown nothing but the Cirrus, both the SR20 and the SR22, and once, in the luckiest of moments, the SF50 Cirrus Jet. In the last twelve months, I have flown nothing at all. Having had the most difficult of years, personally speaking, I decided that my woes were too weighty to…

I know there are people who continue to believe CASA has something against general aviation. It is claimed we ignore the needs of general aviation, fail to listen to the views of people from general aviation and create regulatory problems for the sector. Some people go as far as to say CASA deliberately takes decisions which disadvantage general aviation. I do understand the genesis for some of this thinking. There have been times when CASA has made decisions, perhaps with good intentions, that have led to sub-optimal outcomes. That said, in my time at CASA I have seen no evidence of deliberate policy or decision making with an anti-GA bias. Rest assured, people are not sitting around in CASA plotting ways to make life harder for general aviation. Quite some…

Delegates to the July Australian General Aviation Alliance (AGAA) summit at Wagga Wagga were infused with a new optimism in the wake of the event, not because of what politicians said, but because of the summit itself. For the first time that most of the delegates to the summit could remember, the GA community came together in one place and agreed on solutions and actions to revitalise the industry and create an environment for growth. Under the supervision of independent chairman Geoff Breust, delegates from 30 associations representing over 30,000 people worked for two days over 9-10 July to create a consensus of action that was later presented to both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael McCormack and shadow minister Anthony Albanese. Association representatives rose to…

A leaked e-mail from within CASA and a statement to Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) members has all but confirmed that RAAus will get an increase in the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) for aircraft they are permitted to administer. The CASA e-mail stated that although RAAus requested a new weight of 1500 kg, CASA was proposing an initial increase to 760 kg. The weight increase will require an amendment to the Civil Aviation Orders which will require CASA to seek industry comment on those changes proposed. RAAus and CASA have agreed to a staged approach to increased weight. Stage One will see aircraft with an MTOW up to 760 kg enter the register, while Stage Two will raise that limit to 1500 kg. RAAus has agreed with CASA on the framework…

Airservices Australia has waived more than $2 million in annual service charges for five not-for-profit aeromedical operators. Angel Flight, CareFlight, LifeFlight, Little Wings and the Royal Flying Doctor Service will benefit from the move. Airservices CEO Jason Harfield said “Airservices is entrusted with, and committed to, fostering a collaborative environment in which the aviation industry thrives. It’s why we place a critical importance on not being an economic or operational impediment to industry growth,” he said. “Given that these aeromedical operators rely on donations from individuals, organisations and businesses to sustain their operations, we are pleased to offer this support.” Harfield said a key enabler to waiving the fees was Airservices modernised operating structure.…

Marketing 101: find out what your customers want and then give it to them. It's a very simple philosophy that far too many companies today tend to ignore. Mostly, the markets are asked to accept what the company is capable of making, and aviation is not necessarily immune to that. Swiss manufacturer Pilatus, however, went back to marketing basics when they decided to build an upgrade to the super-successful PC-12 single-engined turbo-prop. What did the customers want? They wanted an aircraft that carried forward all the best bits of the PC-12, but it had to go faster. Only a twin jet was capable of delivering that, but Pilatus was a turbo-prop company, having made iconic aircraft such as the PC-6 Porter, PC-9, PC-21 and the PC-12. Building a jet was…

It’s doubtful there’s anyone whose life isn’t touched by GPS. Today’s world expects a universal source of position, navigation and timing (PNT) that is dependable and accurate. Every industry relies on it, and without it, many things we take for granted would not be possible. Almost every aircraft in Australia uses satellite navigation in some form, from hand-held devices to multi-sensor flight management systems. All Australian IFR aircraft now have a TSO C145/146 GNSS, first available in 2003, or an older TSO C129a system. TSO C145 and C146 were developed to support the Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the world’s first SBAS, which covers North America. These standards also contain other improvements, including Fault Detection and Exclusion (FDE), and the integrity parameters needed for ADS-B. Many Australian IFR aircraft have been…

Banjo Paterson wrote of wanting to be far away somewhere else, and just about every pilot, in a dingy little office somewhere, has had the same thought. For Western Australian GA pilots, there’s a standard rite of passage to the east coast, and vice versa. But almost anything is possible at inland destinations, too, from self-sufficient bush camping to five-star hotels. Even some international flights are feasible for much of the GA fleet. All that’s needed is capability and preparation. Then, the question of where one would like to go, quickly becomes one of where a flight could go. Destination anywhere Preparing for a long journey in a GA aeroplane requires research, and logical thought, before anything is finalised. For the purposes of this article, let’s assume that the destination…

Aeroplane engines are expensive things to maintain, but the cost of not maintaining them can't be counted. We rely on them every time we fly, so–CASA requirements aside–we'd be fools to keep them in less than serviceable condition. What we can do, however, is bring down the cost of maintenance by doing what we can to protect them from potentially expensive damage. One method of protection that has proven itself many times in the USA is to add Camguard to the oil. Camguard is an additive designed to protect an aircraft engine from the four major factors that shorten engine life and increase maintenance bills: corrosion, engine wear, deposits and leaky seals. These four things are the great demons in the destruction of engines, and impact nearly every component in…

Jim’s Analysis Before we start, I was initially confused about who “she” was – then I realised that the instructor and pupil were both females. Knowing this makes it easier to understand what was happening. OK, we have at least five things going wrong here. ≪the pupil had been flying with other instructors for at least three months≫ The full accident report says that the pupil had done nine hours on Cherokees in the last 90 days. But this instructor had not flown a Cherokee at all in the past 90 days, so the pupil had been flying with other instructors for at least three months. The system has two serious drawbacks for the pupil. First, the instructor has no particular empathy with the pupil, and no real responsibility for…

Hi, Steve. On reading, the Basic Class 2 is another RAMPC; a list of disqualifying conditions which leave the only option as a Class 2 (or move to RAAus). Austroads generally require a specialist opinion/recommendation and driving test and a licence is granted on that. Instead, AvMed is imposing restrictions currently in force for a Class 2, for example, With Safety Pilot. Neither of two initiatives this year can be described as “reform”. The first in April is just a clerical streamlining of issuing a simple uncomplicated Class 2 on the spot through a DAME. Basic Class 2 is a different type of licence. Most (all?) pilots currently denied an unrestricted Class 2 will still be denied as their condition will be listed under Austroads. Austroads accepts a specialist opinion;…

The objective of every pilot is to be airborne, but sometimes, life gets in the way of flying. Often, we are forced, by a myriad of events or challenges thrown at us by life, to stay on the ground for a while. Commonly health, starting a family, living overseas or changing jobs are factors that can clip our wings for a while. After time away from aviation, a return can be a little daunting. Rather like meeting an old school friend, there’s a feeling of familiarity, paired with an experience of change. Depending on the length of your absence, many changes to the rules may have occurred: the growing number of glass-cockpit equipped aircraft, the boom in recreational aircraft, the changes to a Part 61 licence, the graphical area forecast…

Moorabbin-based Microflite helicopters together with backing from Victorian tourism and convention groups are proposing a permanent helipad in the Melbourne Central Business District (CBD). A four-helicopter helipad and a small terminal has been proposed for a riverside location–known as the Turning Basin–next to historic Enterprize Park. Currently two operators, Microflite and Heli-Serv, operate from the river, mainly on joy flights and passenger transfers, but the floating helipads they use are currently on short-term leases. The lease for the North Wharf pad expires in two years, and a previously use pad at the old World Trade Centre was decommissioned as part of the North Wharf area development. Whitemark, in conjunction with Schutz Consulting, is assisting the helicopter operators to secure the appropriate planning and regulatory approvals. Owner of Whitemark, former Melbourne…

The plan was for me to fly the RV, with Mike, the owner, in the rear seat handling all nav/com functions, so I could concentrate on flying the aeroplane I’m familiar with, and the scenery. We flew in company with Malcolm, a local dynamo who also designs and builds an all-wood version of the Piper Cub. For this trip he was in a Cherokee. Also joining us were Jim and Keith in Jim’s Tecnam Sierra. Taking up the recently leather-recovered rear seat of the Piper was Christine, official photographer and backseat driver. Everything hinged on the weather, so with a fine forecast, we got an early start the flying low-level coastal around The Bay of Plenty before rounding the eastern-most tip of the North Island, onto Gisborne and Napier on…

There are many dumb ways to crash as airplane but running out of fuel has to be one of the dumbest. When I heard that CASA were about to change the regulations regarding fuel requirements for aircraft, my initial reaction was to think that was maybe not a bad thing. But, before leaping to any conclusions, we should look in more detail at what CASA are doing. In brief, the changes include: A simplification of the reserve requirements around twin-engine failure and depressurisation requirements for AOC and Part 141 certificate holders to make changes to their operating manuals a fixed fuel reserve for day VFR for small piston or turbo-prop aeroplanes of 30 minutes a requirement that pilots conduct in-flight fuel management with regular fuel quantity checks if the expected…