Innholdsfortegnelse for September-October 2019 i Australian Flying

1 Flight Options to extend Training to Gympie 2 Textron marks 50 Years of the B58 Baron 3 Senate votes down Green Objections to Civil Aviation Bill 4 CASA grounds all Airvan 8s 5 French Companies to develop Hybrid TBM 6 CASA retires OnTrack 7 Minister hands New SOEs to CASA and Airservices 8 ATSB celebrates 20 Years 9 Airservices to cut Charges 10 Daher set to acquire Quest Aircraft SIGN UP TO KEEP UP! The Australian Flying website is updated daily with the latest GA news stories. Visit us online now at www.australianflying.com.au to also check out our free classifieds section, photo and video galleries, blogs, flying tips articles and comprehensive Warbird coverage. And be sure to register for our FREE weekly electronic newsletter, which delivers the latest news…

The mission was typical Northern Territory general aviation. The aircraft was a Cessna 210, the workhorse of the north; the flight was from Darwin to Elcho Island, the cargo was a coffin and they were going VFR. What was not typical was that the flight lasted for only 26 minutes and got barely 20 nm away from the departure point. VH-HWY crashed into the ground near Howard Springs, east of Darwin. Witnesses described it rotating down in a flat attitude with a portion of each wing missing. The two pilots didn’t stand much of a chance. The ATSB later concluded the aircraft wing had been overloaded due to airspeed, control inputs and turbulence. A more chilling conclusion followed. “… the pilots had no experience flying in the ‘build-up’ to the…

Glen Buckley bet his house on CASA. It was a huge risk, but he saw a market for an innovative type of flying training organisation tailored directly to the new and onerous requirements of CASR Part 142. In order to get it right, Buckley enlisted the help of CASA to write the many manuals and address the 600 dot-points the regulator needed to issue a Part 142 approval. What more can you do than have the people who are going to approve the organisation effectively help to set it up in accordance with the regulations? Buckley’s company, the Australian Pilot Training Alliance (APTA) was one of only 5% of flying schools ready to go the day CASA flicked the switch on Part 142. It had been a lot of work,…

Aeroplanes are graceful machines in the air, but can be cumbersome brutes on the ground. Whereas the design is perfect for its intended operating environment thousands of feet above the earth, aeroplanes are understandably compromised when it comes to moving across the ground. They’re awkward, gangly and often heavy; they don’t have reverse gear and are regularly stored in tight places where all sort of solid things lurk ready to reshape surfaces into something less aerodynamic. Enter the aeroplane tow. Aeroplane tows (also called tugs) are small powered machines that latch onto the aeroplane’s nose wheel and provide motive force to enable the owner to move the aircraft by themselves; winches and helping hands just became redundant. If only it were that simple! Aeroplanes are not all the same, hangars…

I mentioned this matter briefly in the July-August issue of Australian Flying. It's unfortunate that I need to raise it again, as very little progress has been made since then. Sydney Airport Curfew Regulations 1995 and nine other Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Aviation and Airports Division instruments are now due to sunset in April 2024. Many of these, including the Sydney Curfew Regulations 1995, were due to sunset April 2019. These sunsetting postponements are very disturbing. Regulations now due to sunset 1 April 2024 are: Airports (Building Control) Regulations 1996 Airports (Control of On-Airport Activities) Regulations 1997 Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations 1997 Airports (Ownership—Interests in Shares) Regulations 1996 Airports (Protection of Airspace) Regulations 1996 Airports Regulations 1997 Sydney Airport Curfew Regulations 1995 Sydney Airport Demand Management Regulations 1998 Sydney…

Our Occurrence Management System (OMS) turns four in a few weeks’ time. If you are wondering what the OMS is you should check it out (http://oms.raa.asn.au). In a nutshell it is where our members report aviation related occurrences, hazards and lodge complaints. We built the system from scratch and it continues to serve us well. During the second half of 2019 and into 2020 the system will see several enhancements, which will make it easier to report and also ensure ATSB reporting requirements are also met. Furthermore we will continue to work with the ATSB to improve data quality, reporting analysis and develop strategies for predictive analysis tool assist with training and education activities for our members and the broader aviation community. A few years ago, RAAus saw more member-to-member…

Editor’s Pick There’s an old saying that you can’t regulate for idiots. Rules are effective only if people are willing to abide by them, and making regulation to try to curb those that won’t adhere to the rules is a waste of time. Punishing the Obedient The article written by Mr Carmody, in the July-August edition of this magazine states that CASA uses risk management statistics to judge what is safe and what is not. While this method has some merit, it ignores one of the greatest considerations – the human factor. By putting the emphasis on risk ignores a pilot’s flying ability and skills, yet these affect accidents, such as pilot error. For example, if two or three aircraft have an accident caused by lack of fuel, CASA finds…

Central Coast Council and Central Coast Aero Club (CCAC) are at loggerheads over the future of Warnervale Airport after a council meeting last July moved to investigate revegetating of part of the existing runway and preventing clearing within 200 metres. CCAC owns 2.4 hectares of land on the eastern side of the airport and has a usage agreement in place, but the council owns the majority of the airport land and the runway. The council motion has triggered fears that the runway may become unusable and raised suspicions that the council may not support the future of the airport. CCAC General Manager Andrew Smith told Australian Flying that the council has also been reluctant to engage with the aero club on extending the usage agreement. “We have a current agreement…

Consider the act of ballooning and immediately images of romance, couples and champagne begin to percolate; a balloon even looks romantic, like a colourful bubble with a picnic basket attached. So popular are balloon-inspired marriage proposals, ballooning companies offer proposal packages and YouTube is a-flood with balloon-themed weddings, proposals and honeymoons. So what is it about the hot air balloon that brings out the soppy side of humans? Enthusiastic balloonatic Grant McHerron believes it’s magic. “When flying a balloon, you’re moving with the wind so it’s amazingly still and peaceful. You only feel a breeze when you move into a new wind layer. The views can be amazing: mist in valleys, animals (especially ‘roos), your balloon’s reflection in a pond or lake as you slowly fly over it.” As in…

When Errol van Rensburg contacted me recently about flying the new Sling TSi, I jumped at the opportunity after my experiences with the Sling 2. Arriving at Gold Coast Sport Flying Club’s Hecks Field, just near Jacobs Well on Queensland’s Gold Coast, I couldn’t help but notice a Sling LSA taxying in behind the club’s hangar. This was the same Sling LSA (24-8340) which appeared in Jan-Feb 2014 Australian Flying. At that time I was suitably impressed by this 600-kg LSA compared to some it’s competition at the time. This particular aircraft is still flying strong with now upward of 4000 hours accrued and now being used as a training platform. This is true testament to the strength and longevity of the design that comes from the Airplane Factory’s Tedderfield…

This article is going to be subjective. Some of the aircraft named may well be in the favourites list of some readers. So I should start by stating that this is my list of worst planes, and you may well have a completely different list. Mine is not the correct list; it’s just mine. To give an example, someone else’s list of the worst fighter aircraft found on the Internet had the General Dynamics F-111 at Number 1. That particular aircraft is close to the top of my world’s best aircraft! (the RAAF should have kept them flying until at least 2060, if for no other reason than to display at air shows). Having said that, some of the aircraft I’ve researched are truly awful, and I’d be surprised if…

Airbus Helicopters have delivered two new H130s to Far North Queensland (FNQ) tourism operator, Nautilus Aviation. Nautilus recently entered into a new tourism partnership with the Quicksilver Group, based in Port Douglas. “As we have been successfully operating the H130s for a number of years now, the choice of new aircraft for the Quicksilver operation was an easy one to make," said Aaron Finn, CEO of Nautilus Aviation. "It’s the ideal helicopter for tourist operations, with the ability to carry seven passengers the H130 becomes a very economical platform to operate in a high volume operation.” The aircraft boasts a minimal noise footprint which has become an industry benchmark, meeting the most restrictive noise limits defined for flights over national parks, animal reserves, and urban areas. The addition of the…

The Australian civil aviation industry touches the lives of most Australians, whether as members of the travelling public or through its broader economic, social and technological impact. Arguably, no other country depends more on aviation than Australia – the tyranny of distance means aviation is especially vital for the economic and cultural wellbeing of our dispersed regional and remote communities. Underpinning this is Australia's impressive aviation safety performance, which is a major contributing factor in ensuring Australia's aviation industry is efficient and competitive. As the civil aviation safety regulator, CASA continues to maintain and improve Australia’s proud record of aviation safety. CASA must focus strongly on managing its aviation community relationships more effectively The aviation industry is increasingly dynamic and this is having a profound effect on the operating and…

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s latest rule set, CASR Part 149, became law on 14 July this year, giving the relevant organisations three years to fall in line. CASR Part 149 governs the self-administration functions of associations such as Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus), the Australian Parachute Federation (APF) and the Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA), which were known as Recreational Aviation Administration Organisations (RAAO). RAAOs previously operated under an exemption that enabled them to perform administrative tasks such aircraft registration, accident investigation, training syllabuses and certification. CASA recognised 10 organisations as RAAOs: Australian Ballooning Federation (ABF) Australian Parachute Federation (APF) Australian Skydiving Association Australian Sport Rotorcraft Association (ASRA) Australian Warbirds Association Limited (AWAL) Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA) Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (HGFA) Model Aeronautical Association of Australia (MAAA)…

Qantas has stuck with its spiritual home state and selected Mackay as the site of its second training academy. The airline announced in July that Queensland would host both academies after the first was established at Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba. Qantas Group Pilot Academy Executive Manager, Wes Nobelius, said the airport would be an ideal place to train the next generation of pilots. “Mackay offers optimal flying conditions and a sunny Queensland lifestyle which makes it an ideal site for a pilot academy,” he said. “It’s home to good infrastructure, a proud community – even a new, state-of-the-art sport and recreation precinct for students, trainers and their families. We were really moved by the way locals came together with the #MackayWantsYouQantas campaign. “Our initial focus is opening the first pilot…

You would think that the Wright Brothers, who were in the bicycle business, would have adopted wheels from the outset, but their first aircraft used skids and rails on the ground. The design stayed that way for years – even the first Wright Military Flyer, delivered to the United States Army in 1909, had no wheels. In 1910, wheels were fitted to most Wright Flyer aircraft, largely because of the logistical inconvenience posed by the skids that were needed for every flight. By then, these early machines had become reliable enough to be used in a range of situations, although there were still plenty of crashes. Needing a ground crew to set up rails and a catapult at every location had become too hard. Wheeled landing gear made it possible…

Don Gordon took lessons at Casey Airfield out at Berwick, Victoria, and within a few years he’d completed his Commercial Licence. Soon after, he joined the Sport Aircraft Association with the intention of building his own aeroplane. It had to be something that was affordable and utility. Don bought a set of plans for a Zenith 701 and over the next three years built it in his garage at Donvale, Melbourne. By 2004 it was flying. For the next project, Don wanted something that would be a bit more complicated. He wanted something that would challenge his skills and make people stop and look. It took a few years, and he looked around at the RVs and others, but none suited his desire to build something a bit more obscure.…

It is no news to anyone that relations between CASA and many parts of the aviation industry were at rock bottom a few years ago. The aviation regulation re-write had stalled and what regulations had been produced had caused widespread concern in industry. Many hoped that with the appointment of a new CEO, things might change for the better. One area of positive change has been the effort by both industry and CASA to work on a new consultation model. Established in August 2017, the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) has provided a structured and disciplined process where industry and CASA have been able to work on the development of long overdue aviation regulations. The ASAP model replaced scores of consultative committees, which had led to confusion, rising angst and…