Innholdsfortegnelse for September-October 2016 i Australian Flying

CASA has lifted the operating limitations on many Jabiru-powered aircraft provided the individual motor complies with conditions laid down in a new legislative instrument. In an announcement made in June, CASA outlined maintenance requirements that needed to be met in order for aircraft to be allowed to operate without limitations, which include adopting Jabiru's maintenance schedule and replacing engine though-bolts in accordance with Jabiru service bulletins. CASA developed risk mitigations in collaboration with Jabiru and Recreational Aviation Australia (RA-Aus). “CASA’s engineers have looked very carefully at engine failure data and analyses and worked with Jabiru’s engineering adviser,” CASA Director Mark Skidmore said. “CASA and Jabiru now have a better understanding of the problems involved and this has led to the development of the new direction. “I am pleased operators of…

This will not come as something new to most pilots in Australia today that we have some of the best flying and soaring conditions in the world. It is not by chance that Benalla in Victoria was chosen to host next year's world championships. The number of glider pilots in Australia has been slowly declining over recent years after highs around seven years ago that saw around 5000 active glider pilots listed with the Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA). This has declined to close to 2700 flying members spread nationally. Along with these members, the GFA lists close to 2000 introductory members who fly for 1-9 days in a year. There are also some glider pilots who come here on a regular basis from countries like Japan. Some even own…

Any of us lucky enough to be a part of aviation in Australia have worked hard and made sacrifices to earn our licences and ratings. Whether you're in command of an A380 or flying around your local area in a 172 for fun, flight training is expensive and in many ways, a luxury that usually requires a certain degree of privilege to be able to achieve. For Aboriginal Australians, social, cultural and economic barriers exist that often mean aspirational careers such as aviation seem beyond reach. Matthew Spicer witnessed the effect of these barriers first hand while working in Kununurra in regional Western Australia, which started him on a journey to establish DreamSky, Australia's first indigenous aviation training organisation. "Working out west I would see organisations chartering flights to remote…

Whether under the pressure of 10 g whilst tumbling the one-of-a-kind Wolf Pitts Pro or delicately handling a WWII torpedo bomber it is safe to say that Paul Bennet is considered one of Australia’s finest airshow performers. Based in Maitland in the New South Wales Hunter Valley, Paul Bennet Airshows (PBA) offers an array of services from solo and formation aerobatic displays to warbird displays, warbird adventure flights and advanced flight training. Paul is now renowned around the country as one of our leading air show pilots. With such achievement and experience behind him you would think that few things would worry Paul Bennet, but in 2015, one request for an air display would challenge that theory completely. The Papua New Guinea Government approached Paul Bennet Airshows in the hope…

US company Guardian Avionics has released a new line of USB power solutions for both panel-mounted and remote applications. The new iFDR Power 250 series provides small, but highly capable power conversion, bringing 9 to 48 VDC systems down to 5 VDC at 2.1 amps to safely power most consumer electronics using a USB-A connection – including most smartphones and tablets like the iPhone and iPad. These units were designed to be used both stand-alone and integrated with the iFDR Panel Mount line for iPhones and iPads. According to Guardian, the iFDR Power 250 line offers a great solution to cut down on the cable clutter and provide safe and reliable power to keep devices charged and connected at altitude. The new line includes three power unit models 250-101, 250-201…

From time to time as sport aviation bodies we see ourselves as foes, but uniform agreement on collaboration at the recent Sport Aviation Safety Forum, hosted by CASA and attended by every Sport Aviation Body in Australia, proved otherwise. For two days we came together and talked. We all shared information about our membership demographics. No surprises, our members were largely born in the middle of last century. We all talked and agreed we need more women involved. No surprises, collectively less than 10% of people engaged in our sport are women. We agreed that a just culture was the best way to collect information about accidents and incidents and that educating, training and communicating with our membership groups was far better than resorting to punitive management strategies. My point:…

When I started learning to fly in South Africa in 1966 I was told to buy two books: The Private Pilot’s Handbook by Dave Worthington and Flight Briefing For Pilots by Birch and Bramson. That covered everything for a Private Pilot Licence including Air Navigation Regulations. The radio licence was a separate matter. Cross countries were pretty elementary. We had a choice of 1:1,000,000 WAC charts or 1:500,000. We used 1:1,000,000. WAC charts were topographical charts over-printed with aeronautical information, prohibited, restricted and danger areas, controlled airspace, VORs and NDBs. That’s what WAC charts are according my last reading of Annex 4 to the Convention for Civil Aviation. CASA take note. There were two types of airspace: controlled and uncontrolled. NOTAMs were few and relevant; no flannel and were not…

The ADS-B debate is one of the most emotional issues in general aviation over the last 10 years. This writer brings up the point of pilots relying too much on surveillance technology instead of the piece of equipment most reliable for collision avoidance: the Mark I eyeball. Keep your head up Dear Editor, While I can understand the benefits to ATC if all aircraft (VFR and IFR) are fitted with ADS-B, I can also understand there are other reasons, apart from the cost, why owners of VFR aircraft would be unwilling to fit ADS-B. ADS-B (Out) seems to be the natural progression of secondary surveillance transponder technology allowing ATC to “see” and identify aircraft, with the added benefit of other aircraft being able to receive the identification and position signals…

Australia is about to come under attack from a new Italian LSA as Bari-based Blackshape Aircraft prepares to launch the stylish Prime LSA onto the market. The Prime is a low-wing, tandem-seat aircraft that has the looks of a high-speed military trainer along the lines of a Pilatus PC-21, Embraer Super Tucano or the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II. But whereas all those aircraft are turbines, the Blackshape Prime is dragged along by a 100-hp Rotax 912 ULS or 115-hp turbo-charged 914 engine. Still, the books say the Prime has a maximum cruise of 150 knots. Until now, the Prime has been restricted to very few countries, but the manufacturers have been eyeing-off Australia for some time, and are now ready to pounce with an aeroplane they say is unique and…

General aviation activist Ben Morgan has taken over as CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Morgan replaced Aaron Stephenson who reportedly left to concentrate on private business concerns. Morgan, the CEO of Aviation Advertiser, led the industry rally at Tamworth last May and also formed part of the Project Eureka team that met with government representatives in Canberra a few weeks later. He is also on the AOPA board. AOPA has said that Morgan has "youth, business acumen and a strong desire to get aviation moving again in Australia." Morgan will be working full-time to help grow AOPA’s membership as well as taking a key role in the association's fight to reform of the GA industry. The AOPA board has also been strengthened with the appointment of…

What is a short field take-off, and why do general aviation (GA) pilots need to know how to perform one? Is it because they are departing from an airstrip that would ordinarily be considered too short for a safe take-off? Is it because the airfield has an obstacle near the departure end of the runway, an obstacle that is making them nervous? Are they practicing the prescribed "short field take-off technique" for no reason other than because it is part of a training syllabus? For the purposes of this article let’s apply the number one tenet of aviation, the KISS principle (that’s right: Keep It Simple, Stupid!). A short field take-off is any take-off where the performance chart take-off figures indicate that the take-off is marginal. This does not mean…

«Jim Davis explains how he got into aviation, and all the distractions that nearly stopped a stellar career before it started.» «A pilot’s logbook is far more that just a record of dates, times, places and flights; it is also a history of a pilot’s flying career and a chronicle of the lessons learnt that makes them the aviator they are today. Jim Davis takes a look back through his own logbooks, and records the incidents that have shaped his approach to flying.» My first flying lesson is not in my logbook – because I was only ten. Also I didn’t really know it was meant to be a flying lesson. We lived in Kitale, a little farming town in the north-west of Kenya. My hero was Dennis Pharazyn, an…

Professional Helicopter Services (PHS) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for three Bell 505 Jetranger Xs at the Australian Helicopter Industry Association’s (AHIA) Rotortech 2016 Expo. “We are thrilled to become the first Australian helicopter school to integrate the Bell 505 into our programme”, CEO and Managing Director Brett Newman said. The company, formed in 1981, has its main base at Moorabbin airport and is Australia’s oldest family-owned helicopter operator. Bell Helicopter announced recently that it had also signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Cambodian operator VIP Jets Limited for the purchase of a Bell 505 which will be the company’s first Jetranger X and, coincidentally, the first Bell product on the Cambodian civil aircraft register. The aircraft, to be operated by Helicopters Cambodia, will be based at…

The heart knows what the heart wants and Frank Deeth knew he wanted to build a full-scale Spitfire. The aircraft is loosely based around the design of Clive du Cros who, in the 1980s, built a full-size replica powered by a Jaguar V-12 of about 350 hp. The plans have been significantly beefed to handle much higher flight loads and hp. Something in the order of 450 kt Vne, 10 g and 1200 hp was the design brief and after lifting the wing spars he became a believer. As the real Spitfires are generally limited to 350 kt and 5 g, there’s no reason to go faster or harder and so those are the limits that are set for this project. The Build The internal structure is very similar to…

Oz-Kosh has set itself the most ambitious target it possible could: to be the premier aviation gathering in Australia. The event–which is a re-branding of Ausfly–is back at Narromine 6-9 October this year under the administration of a conglomerate of industry bodies that hope to attract all sectors of aviation to the event. Oz-Kosh has been established as a non-profit organisation that will feed any cash generated from the event back to the foundation associations to help support aviation across Australia. Ausfly–although nominally industry-organised–was largely a Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA) project, which led to it being canceled in 2014 when the SAAA struggled to cope with the workload. By contrast, the aim of Oz-Kosh seems to be to share the load across Australia's broad range of aviation enthusiasts.…

In July, CASA launched a standards development project to explore voluntary fitment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) to aircraft operating under VFR. In February next year, ADS-B will become compulsory for all aircraft operating under IFR, but VFR aircraft are not included in the mandate. CASA now wants to explore what changes would need to be made to standards and regulation in order to encourage VFR aircraft owners to fit ADS-B of their own accord. "ADS-B is the cornerstone for Australia's transition to satellite technology based surveillance," the CASA project brief states. "The technology has already enabled a vast increase in the air traffic surveillance coverage over Australian territory – resulting in significant increases in operating and safety efficiencies. "CASA has promulgated various requirements and standards concerning the carriage and…

N ew Zealand is a great place to fly. The challenging weather, spectacular mountainous landscape and coast that varies from gorgeous beaches to wild forbidding shorelines means no two days of flying are the same. Like most pilots I’m a restless type, enjoy travel and always have a plan or two in mind for the next cross-country flight. However, what would it be like to really go “cross-country”, leave New Zealand and fly across international borders to another country? In 2014 I attempted to fly my Vans RV-6 (aka Thunderbird 6) across the Tasman Sea to join good friend Shelley Ross on one of her outback flying adventures. I’d flown with Shelley and her husband Rossy on several trips in Australia before, but had always hired an aircraft and flown…

Few people understand what an aerodrome’s operational airspace actually looks like and how to protect it. This article is intended to provide a basic understanding of airspace protection measures applicable to aircraft landing areas (ALA) by describing and defining applicable obstacle limitation surfaces (OLS) and explaining how to ensure they are not penetrated by obstacles. The rules The generally accepted basic OLS for an ALA is described in a document known as Civil Aviation Advisory Publication (CAAP) 92 1(1) –Guidelines for Aeroplane Landing Areas. CASA published this CAAP in July 1992 (it may be old but is still relevant) to provide guidance on how to meet the requirements set out in Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR) 92, which states that a person must not land an aircraft on, or engage in…

Of all general aviation sectors, it is probably aerial application that has changed the most over the last 20 years. Most sectors have seen a rise in new technology and new aircraft, but aerial application has been through a complete transformation from a largely tractor-shed industry to full aviation professionalism. Gone are the rickety "crop-dusting" aeroplanes pulling off hair-raising Spitfire-like manoeuvres between trees as they roar in for another worm-burning pass over a paddock, trailing a cloud of herbicide that coated the crops in a matter most likely haphazard. It was a world where derring-do was accepted as part of the culture and almost a daily imperative to get the job done. By contrast, instead of flying a tired Piper Pawnee operated from a hayshed, today's aerial application pilot can…

Kinetic Technology Industries has replaced their very popular RB3 PLB with the new Safety Alert SA2G. This is a robust, compact unit, which harnesses the 406 Mhz COSPAS-SARSAT satellites, enabling almost pin-point accuracy and faster rescue response times. The SA2G also transmits a homing signal on the 121.5 Mhz frequency. Measuring a mere 88 x 64 x 31 mm and weighing in at only 140 g, the SA2G fits neatly into most nav bags, pockets and all sorts of cockpit nooks and crannies. It's also bouyant, so if you have to ditch, it will float along beside you rather than sink to the bottom of the Tasman Sea. It can also handle immersion down to 3.0 m for up to one hour. Installed inside the lightweight case is a 66-channel…