Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2021 i Australian Flying

AMDA Foundation, organisers of the Australian International Airshow and RotorTech, announced recently that both exhibitions had been placed on a schedule of approved events to enable exhibitors to receive government grants. The Business Events program provides delegates, including buyers and sellers, with financial support to attend and participate at exhibitions, conferences and conventions. Exhibitors will be eligible for grants of up to $250,000 or 50% of the attendance cost including space hire, design and manufacture, travel and accommodation. “The Business Events Grant program aims to support the event industry including the tourism sector to fund Australian businesses to participate as buyers or sellers at pre-approved business events including exhibitions, conferences and conventions from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021,” the grant website states. “It aims to ease the financial…

While the infernal global pandemic has stymied a significant proportion of the planned celebrations and commemorations, we can still expect to see, hear and learn about the RAAF’s current and future capabilities while the historical load will be partly carried by the heritage flights. Publicity like that is good, especially if we can at least watch some of the types that made that history. What, then, of the aircraft (and, by extension, the people) that are no longer with us or operated far beyond the public eye? It’s fair to say the RAAF has achieved far more than we will ever know. The birth of the RAAF was, of course, not until 1921, but its origins lie in the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) and the Great War period. The first…

Paradise ahead! Descending over the Deua National Park from 9000 feet, tracking from Wangaratta to Moruya on the South Coast of NSW, there are clues of what is ahead. Pristine beaches as far as the eye can see, a bottle-green sea stretching all the way to New Zealand, white frothy breaking surf, beach-batch hideaway settlements surrounded by tall Norfolk pines. A turbine-powered Beaver’s jump pilot calls as it rises to drop parachutists and quickly descends for the next load. Float planes come and go on the river amidst sail and powered pleasure craft are scattered all over. Tall mountains keep a watch over everything. This is Moruya. Located on the Moruya River, Moruya is 300 km south of Sydney and 175 km from Canberra. Not surprisingly, many Canberrans like to…

An Airservices Australia proposal to lower Class E airspace on the eastern seaboard to 1500 feet above ground level met with strong opposition from the general aviation community when consultation was released in late January this year. As part of its Airspace Modernisation Program, Airservices proposed lowering the current 8500 feet lower-level Class E airspace between Cairns and Melbourne to replace most of the Class G, creating more controlled airspace for IFR aircraft. “Airservices is seeking to change their service provision at 15 regional airports and across thousands of miles of low level airspace as part of the Airspace Modernisation Program,” Airservices stated in the consultation documents. “Benefiting the entire east coast and regional Australia, they are leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) and radar surveillance assets to enhance their…

Australia’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service in northern NSW has seen a change in the nature of accidents in light of restrictions in place because of COVID-19 “We initially saw a decline in the number of accidents. There were fewer car accidents and fewer recreational holiday accidents,” says Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service CEO Richard Jones. He says after the initial decline, the number of accidents increased to the earlier levels, but there was a change in the nature of accidents. “We saw more domestic household accidents as well as farm accidents, as people in country towns and surrounding rural areas were confined to their homes,” says Jones, referring to the stay-at-home orders in parts of NSW due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is most wellknown for its…

Jabiru J-170D Country of Origin: Australia Engine: Jabiru 2200 80 hp TAS: 100 kt Useful load: 260 kg Jabiru’s J-170D is an all composite high-wing that grew from the need for better performance at flying school level, especially in hot and high conditions. The company took the standard J-160 hull and mated it with the wing of the larger J-230 and gave it a bigger elevator. The result is a very versatile trainer that also serves well as a cross-country machine as well. It succeeded the J-160 into virtual extinction. The 135-litre fuel tanks will carry the aeroplane for 850 nm at the 75% cruise of 100 KTAS, but the 8.5 hour endurance is like to be beyond the capability of most pilots! www.jabiru.net.au Jabiru J-230D Country of Origin: Australia…

The ABAA acknowledges that most aircraft movements at Australia’s primary capital city airports are by international, domestic and regional airlines. To our knowledge, international flights do not require a slot at these airports, which is out of step with many other international airports throughout the world. Many segments of the Australian general aviation industry do not have a requirement to operate at primary capital city airports at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, as secondary airports at these cities are suitable for their needs. However, a few GA industry segments, such as aeromedical, freight, SAR and business aviation (domestic and international charter and private flights) do have a requirement to operate at capital city airports when, for a variety of reasons, secondary airports are not suitable. Fortunately, GA requirements…

In a move which was not completely unexpected by veteran Australian aviation observers, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has rejected Airbus Helicopters offer of upgrading their current fleet of 22 Tiger ARHs, along with the promise of an additional seven Airbus helicopters H145Ms to meet the requirement for LAND 4503, and have instead opted for up to 29 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters. The fate of Army’s fleet of 22 Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARHs) is therefore looking uncertain, as does the future of the local 300 strong Australian Airbus workforce. The Managing Director of Airbus Australia Pacific, Andrew Mathewson, recently revealed that Defence had advised him that they rejected their offer of upgraded Tigers and additional H145Ms. Former army officer and Minister for Defence Industry, Senator Linda Reynolds CSC,…

One of the many privileges of being a Senator is the amount of time I get to spend traveling this country. Whether it be on our worldclass airlines or on four-seat charters, travel has provided ample opportunity to note the once-busy aprons of regional airports, where tie down areas now host only occasional RAAus aircraft, and regional services keep the carpark busy. Forty years ago, at airports like Mt Isa, Longreach, Roma and regional field days and race meetings, the strips would be full of planes that were integral to regional businesses’ and families’ lives. What is missing is the local flying schools, maintenance hangars and the workhorse aircraft like the Cessna 206 and King Airs. As a nation that has arguably the best flying conditions in the world, it…

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack’s premier GA advisory body, the General Aviation Advisory Network (GAAN) has developed and published a 10-point plan to revive the flagging fortunes of the industry. Published in November 2020 as a submission to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport’s Future of Australia’s Aviation Sector Issues Paper, the plan centres on the need to reclassify operations in line with risk profiles to reduce unnecessary regulation. “Consistent with its more recent practice, GAAN members have recently completed a Policy Note document outlining a strategic approach to a simplified Classification of Operations, which is linked to the development and implementation of Sector Risk Profiles for different types of general aviation operations,” the submission signed by GAAN Chairman Andrew Andersen states. “A simplified Classification of Operations would deliver greater…

Bell’s iconic workhorse helicopter, the Bell 412, surpassed 40 years of service earlier this year, having been introduced to the industry in January 1981. A development of the Bell 212, the 412 has heritage going back to the military UH-1B Iroquois, known mostly as the Huey. More than 1100 of the type have been placed into service around the world, with the fleet massing 6.5 million hours across 11 variants. “The evolution of the Bell 412 is a testament to the incredible flexibility and durability of the aircraft, a utility helicopter with designs originating from the world-renowned and venerable Huey,” Bell Helicopter said in a statement marking the milestone. “Customers continue to rely on the rugged and reliable Bell 412, which carries operators through parapublic, offshore, emergency medical and even…

Col Pay Award for a Lifetime of Service to General Aviation 2020 Winner – Roger Merridew Roger Merridew has seen many changes in Australian aviation during his 50-year, 15,000-hour flying career. From the late 1970s, supported by his wife Neroli, Merridew took over the management of the Lilydale Airport on the outskirts of Melbourne, steadily developing it into a vibrant flying centre. As well as providing for the aviation needs of the area, its flying school has trained several thousand pilots, many of whom have gone on to successful commercial and military aviation careers. Merridew’s engineering background propelled his desire to examine and improve aviation safety in many areas, including advocating for GNSS approaches to be permitted at non-certified airports. Merridew has also been a long standing contributor to the…

At year’s end 2019, 30-40-year-old fleets, costing way too much to maintain, and suffering continual and excessive downtime, were the norm for many large flight schools in Australia (and overseas). Predictions abounded of hundreds of thousands of new pilots being required to be trained for multiple international airlines in the coming years. Australia was awash with a vast multitude of international and domestic student pilots, taking initial to CPL or ATPL training. Even private equity was spending tens of millions to acquire pilot training organisations, some with rich veins of income flowing like the Amazon, from TAFEs, and international students. It was a time of comparative milk and honey, or perhaps, the calm before the storm. Flight schools were being pursued by manufacturers, offering a diverse range of aircraft, as…

When Steve Jobs walked out onto the stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco in January 2010, he promised the audience he would show them a device that he described as “magical and revolutionary”; a device that would fit somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop that would be better at doing a lot of key things existing devices did. Having whetted their appetite, he blew away the audience as he held up the very first Apple iPad. Everyone knew right then that Jobs and Apple Inc. had changed the world forever. Across the Pacific in Australia, two visionaries were inspired by the iPad, seeing immediately how it could transform their common passion: general aviation. Independently, the two set out to leverage the technology and create applications that…

CASA has injected new life into an important and longstanding consultation and communication pathway with the aviation community. The changes will make it easier for everyone in aviation to have their say on a range of airspace and operational issues, as well as providing a new opportunity for meeting face-toface with CASA and other aviation related government bodies. The new approach is based on the regional airspace and procedures advisory committees – better known as RAPACs. These committees were state-based forums for the discussion of issues relating to airspace and operating procedures. Membership was open to all significant airspace users through major industry associations and organisations, or independently. Each RAPAC provided advice, recommendations or comments to CASA and other stakeholders on policies, procedures and programs relating to airspace or procedures.…