Innholdsfortegnelse for November-December 2016 i Australian Flying

Initiatives by overseas National Aviation Authorities and lobbying from domestic associations has put pressure on the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to reform the medical standards for private pilots in Australia. Under the existing regulations, private pilots need to pass regular medical examinations by Designated Aviation Medical Examiners (DAME) to maintain their Class 2 flight crew medical certificate. In recent years, the aviation community has protested at the cost of the medical–$75 to CASA for processing and between $150-300 to the DAME, none of which is claimable on Medicare– as well as the onerous questionnaire required prior to the examination. Several pilots have also found themselves grounded for reasons CASA's Aviation Medical Branch (AVMED) seemed to have been unable to adequately explain, then forced to battle the regulator–sometimes unsuccessfully–to get their…

With a good friend diagnosed with terminal cancer, it was decided to update the "bucket list" and one of them was to visit more of our own country, sooner rather than later. Obviously owning kit-built RVs – RV6 for our travelling companions, RV8 for us – meant we could get almost anywhere quickly and relatively cheaply, and the time to go was now. Initially we planned to go anti-clockwise via Broome and Perth, but a last minute hospital stay put the departure date back a month which meant the weather down south was going to be typically winter. Hence a revision to depart our beloved South-east QLD at the end of May, flying west to Longreach for our first overnight stop and visit the Qantas Museum and the Stockman's Hall…

It's question often asked over a coffee at an aero club: if you could fly any plane you wanted to, what would it be? For some, the answer rolls out even before the dot has been put on the question mark because they've coveted something that inspires them for some time. For others, it may take a bit of musing before they give an answer. There are the pie-in-the-sky aeroplanes that are out of reach of most pilots: Mustangs, Spitfires, Lancairs, Citations, F/A-18 Hornets, Mirages ... the stuff that dreams are made of, and remain just that in most cases. My standard answer used to bemuse people because it was very much within the reach of most average pilots: the CT-4 Airtrainer. "Not much of a bucket-list aeroplane," they'd say.…

You can tell who the tourists are in a big city. Jaded locals hurry about their business focused on their smart phones, unappreciative of the architecture surrounding them, while tourists wander slowly, taking in all directions, including up. But if there’s one thing that hypnotises anyone into finding five minutes in their previously full schedule to just stop and stare at the sky, it’s the awe inspiring theatre of skywriting. Glenn Collins has been skywriting for almost 20 years. Based in the NSW Hunter Valley, Collins is chief pilot for Glenn Smith Aerial Advertising. An electrical supervisor in a mine by day, Collins started flying in 1990 and developed a passion for competition aerobatics. In 1998 he got into skywriting. “Aerobatic training certainly helps, but what many people don’t realise…

Red Bull Air Race champion Hannes Arch died in a helicopter crash in his native Austria on 8 September this year. The 49-year-old Arch was flying a Robinson R66 when it crashed into a cliff near the Elberfelderstraße Hut in south central Austria. He has been returning from mountain climbing in the area. Austrian television reported it took rescuers three hours to hike into the crash site, but Arch had died on impact. His passenger survived the crash. "We're shocked, sad and can't quite believe it: the world has lost a life-loving adventurer and great athlete," said an official statement from the Red Bull Air Race. "The Red Bull family has to say its final goodbye to a wonderful person and close friend. "Hannes was one-of-a kind: always searching for…

The world of tertiary aviation training is a tricky one; there are many options out there for aspiring commercial pilots and making the right decisions at this time in their careers may be critical to their ambitions downstream. The answer, of course, is to ask a lot of questions of a lot of people, but even then the advice can be general in nature, resulting in even more confusion for someone who, at that stage of life, is looking for a clear career path rather than one plagued with a myriad of potential wrong turns. For the CPL, there are three very broad-brush paths: Bachelor Degree at a university, Diploma with a TAFE or Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or the time-proven method of working through it with a flying school,…

It should have been a routine mission; it was anything but. At 7.00 pm the Squirrel helicopter lifted off from a location to the east of Lake Eyre with a film crew on board. It was a very black night; there would have been no discernible horizon. At 1500 feet the pilot started a gentle right turn, but the bank angle increased past gentle, and the aircraft started descending. Thirty-eight seconds later it struck the ground. The Australian helicopter community was forced into mourning a very well-liked and well-respected pilot and his passengers. That a simple crash like this could be the end of Gary was almost unthinkable. Some operators reacted by raising a glass to the memory of their missing mate, then carrying on business as usual. Others walked…

Those who say they love flying actually mean they love flying! Whether it is for the freedom they feel in the sky, or the love of an aircraft, those that love the fraternity they belong to in aviation, or the comradery of belonging to a club – whatever the motivation; once you find the passion for aviation it takes hold and rarely leaves again. Like anything recreational there is an element of risk involved … those who also ride motorbikes, water ski or race cars all know this when they involve themselves in their passion. The love of the sport always outweighs the thought of risk and they will do anything to be involved. In recent years our organisation has seen some varied results in the risk of accident involved…

Air Vice Marshal (Ret'd) Mark Skidmore was always going to preside over a turbulent era at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). He marched in to take the job of Director of Aviation Safety (DAS) with the government's commitment to the agreed recommendations of the Forsyth Report as his main armament, determined to make changes to the way the regulator was operating. He marched out again in late August 2016, less than two years after his appointment started, having made severa changes to the structure of CASA and issued edicts to bring the regulator in line with the Forsyth reforms. His largest failing would appear to be not getting the aviation community on board with his program. Skidmore's tenure will always be remembered as one tinged with controversy and dogged…

Flight simulators entered the home market initially as a game. Early Commodore 64 computers were little more than a moving top-down icon of an aircraft flying over a bright green background. Microsoft released Microsoft Flight Simulator 3.0 in 1988. At the time, flight simulators for home PCs were just a bit of fun and a way for people to get in touch with their dream to fly. But each new version release of the MS Flight Simulator platform became more and more sophisticated, ultimately incorporating weather simulation, air traffic control, a huge range of aircraft, interactive lessons, flying challenges and check rides. Today an active and richly diverse flight simulator community has created a range of add-ons for Flight Simulator that serve to further enhance this capable piece of software.…

The Bell 525 Relentless flight test programme suffered a setback on 6 July when the sole prototype crashed approximately 50 miles from the Bell facility in Arlington, Texas on what Bell described as a "developmental flight test". Although witnesses on the ground stated the helicopter, which had recently completed twelve months of flight testing, was brought down by power lines, the preliminary National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) report pointed to an in-flight structural failure. NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said: “The signatures indicate that the main rotor struck both the tail boom and the nose.” The cause of the break-up is still under investigation. Hospital Helipads in the News The rooftop helipad at Royal Perth Hospital would not be strong enough to handle a new class of heavier emergency helicopters, according…

I’m now just a few months into my five-year term as Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to learn that much of my time has been spent on working with our dedicated team on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. I have travelled to Perth and Kuala Lumpur and had multiple meetings with international stakeholders. At this stage the search is due to be suspended at the end of the defined 120,000 square kilometre search area, towards the end of the year. We remain hopeful of finding the aircraft and will remain so until we have completed the full search area. What has impressed me during my short time at the ATSB is the dedication, professionalism and commitment of the…