Feb-Mar 2016 - Sydney Flying Club

Sydney Flyer
Sydney Flyer
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Feb/Mar2016
Volume2,Issue5
From the President
Western Sydney Airport
In December 2015 on behalf of SFC, I wrote to the
federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional
Development in response to its Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Western Sydney
Airport. I expressed concerns about the consequences
of the new airport for aviation business, including our
own, at Bankstown Airport. For your interest, I
provide the text of the letter below.
development potentially more than 30-40 years
away), the preliminary assessment undertaken by
Airservices Australia is limited to a conceptual level
airspace management design.”
The operational life of our general aviation aircraft
types is about 35 years. The cost of facilities is great
and the time taken to develop a flying instructor from
initial CPL through the bottom grades of instructing to
become a senior instructor is long and the cost high. I
have received the retort several times from Dept. of
Being a major stakeholder in Sydney aviation, we
Infrastructure personnel “that’s 10 years away” or like
submit our concerns regarding what increasingly
which, highlights the lack of insight by Infrastructure
appears to us, to be the unexpected development
into any aviation activity outside major airlines.
impacts of Badgerys Creek airport on Bankstown
Airport businesses.
For us to develop and grow our TAFE
partnership plus invest, we need
Our organisation in partnership with
“To plan an airport at certainty of airspace tenure by
Sydney TAFE, has a growing business in
government and clarity of purpose by
Badgerys Creek and
flight training with Australian pilot
the Dept. of Infrastructure, who have
l i c e n s e s b e i n g m a t c h e d t o TA F E
not take into
previously told us that,
Diploma qualifications. This has excited
consideration that the •The land size and shape is not
a market in Sydney and we expect that
fourth busiest airfield sufficient for an optimum international
our current fleet of 30 aeroplanes
generating 14,000 hours will quickly
airport.
in Australia was next
grow to 50 aeroplanes generating over
•The runway direction is dictated by the
door, is a parody of
20,000 hours.
size and shape of the land parcel.
proper planning.”
To put this in the context at
•The Badgerys Creek runway direction
Bankstown today, we generate a major
of 05/23 will conflict with the extended
aircraft servicing event every 2.6 days, an engine
centre line of SYD 16/34.
overhaul every 7 weeks from a multimillion dollar
• Air Services tell us that whilst this situation can be
facility, staffed by 30 or more employees, servicing
accommodated, it is not what was expected after
600 plus members and students. We have developed
thirty years of planning.
an MOU with a regional supplier to train international
The
impact on Bankstown from the sighting of
students plus those Sydney trainees who can
Badgerys
Creek and its runway direction is severe.
physically move from Sydney for their training.
There
has
been no consideration (remember we are
However, we note that the vast majority of Sydney
talking
about
30 years to evaluate the issue) of
based students cannot leave Sydney for training.
dedicating
the
required airspace to continue and grow
Hence any restrictions on Bankstown training airspace
Sydney
General
Aviation businesses or facilitate the
will adversely impact Sydney aspirants gaining an
investment
in
new
operations. Our observation is that
aviation career plus the wellbeing of our employees
when
a
second
Sydney
international airport is
and suppliers.
mentioned, what is being discussed is Sydney’s
Many of our concerns are highlighted by this rather
second rate airport.
casual statement in your EIS about airspace vital for
No airspace architecture has been drawn up but it is
Bankstown’s survival. “Because the operation of the
known
that by the time the second runway comes
Stage 1 development is potentially more than ten
into
use,
IFR approaches into Bankstown will be
years away (and construction for the long term
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virtually eliminated. How Infrastructure can claim that
and cab driver jobs at Badgerys Creek, you eliminate
this is a carefully considered venture is beyond us and
the prospects of those, in highly skilled work at
our colleagues. To plan an airport at Badgerys Creek
Bankstown. From our perspective the Badgerys Creek
and not take into consideration that the fourth busiest
scheme is no longer an aviation plan but a
airfield in Australia was next door, is a parody of
developer’s gold mine, where they get the gold and
proper planning.
General Aviation gets the shaft.
The flawed scheme to privatise airports, has
This decade, you will see the emergence of GA
rendered Bankstown the only suitable General
aircraft into which, UAV technology has been
Aviation airport in Sydney, there is nowhere else to
transferred. Any appearance of semi or fully
go. As a former Camden resident of
automatic, owner flown aeroplane, in
many years, I know very well the
growing numbers will impact severely
topographical limitations of Camden
“… surely a Badgerys on intra state and some shorter,
airfield, now exacerbated by
interstate airline services. In
Creek aerospace
bureaucratic slovenliness in allowing
preparation, surely a Badgerys Creek
housing to be built, on both “rising technology centre with aerospace technology centre with a
ground” approaches.
joint RAAF/civilian RPT operation out of
a joint RAAF/civilian
Richmond is a superior outcome than
Added to our dilemma is the
RPT operation out of
what is proposed now?
preference given to airline and military
for airspace access which, we believe Richmond is a superior Your task is to provide infrastructure
outcome than what is
will kill our industry before Badgerys
not take it away. As it stands now, well
Creek reaches high capacity. Moreover,
before Badgerys Creek starts
proposed now?”
the allocation of significant Sydney
operations, the finance community will
airspace to so few military aeroplanes
see the declining prospects of
and operations, is a scandalous abrogation of
Bankstown businesses and restrict funding. Aircraft
Australian assets. Early this month, attending airport
owners will export their aeroplanes to other markets
and airspace meetings in Canberra, I was advised
before the decline in their prices steepen and BK
that when C27 acceptance is complete and they move
aviation support businesses will begin to close and
to Amberley, Richmond will be host to four C130
look for alternative opportunities. My guess is that will
Hercules. All that airspace for 4 aeroplanes is made
be around 2019 at which time, I offer your
more preposterous, by an operational Holsworthy
department head and the Minister a cordial invitation
airstrip in sight of Bankstown, for an Army with no
to join me at Bankstown, when I tell my staff that
fixed wing aeroplanes.
To preserve this ludicrous
they no longer have employment. That will be exactly
situation, Infrastructure appear to be quite content to
50 years since I began my aviation career at Ansett
destroy our 30 aeroplane operation, all it offers and
GA: Should be a great night.
those of my competitors and associates on
Bankstown.
Kind Regards
To paraphrase another, Badgerys Creek is a riddle
Allan Bligh OAM
wrapped in an enigma. The riddle to most aviation
people is why Air Services is unable to operate
multiple military, RPT and GA airports in harmony,
such as is done every day, in the USA. The enigma is
why Richmond with existing RPT size and strength
aviation facilities, interlocking communications with
SYD, fuel storage and above all, an existing and
tested airspace architecture, was not selected.
This enigma is made more impenetrable when the
rail access already exists to Richmond is considered
and that the second largest market for airline tickets
after the Eastern Suburbs, is the Northern area of
Sydney to whom, Richmond is closer. To say these
advantages are negated by propensity to fog is just
nonsense.
It is quite reasonable to reach a conclusion that the
incorrect value was placed on the airspace of
Richmond and its associated ground assets. What the
Dept. of Infrastructure propose for Bankstown will
devalue the sale price of every Australian GA aircraft
by a third. Reinforcing again the belief, the Dept. of
Infrastructure just cannot properly assess and value
aviation assets. To develop one airport by destroying
another is not planning, it’s not development; it is
vandalism plain and simple.
This whole exercise is made worse with the “blue
Sky” promises of jobs when, to get baggage handlers
Sydney Flyer
New logo
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Those of you who attended our Wings Night, would
have been the first to see our new logo.
The idea for a new logo was driven by your Director
Frank Peronace who engaged the services of a
professional design house.
In my view, Frank’s decision to chair this search for
a new logo was not only brave but also courageous.
As you will recall from Yes Minister, a “brave" decision
was one that would lose you votes, whereas a
"courageous" one was one that would lose you the
election.
Those who have had long business experience know
immediately that when a new logo is being created
the best place to be is a long way from where the
action is.
At best only 50% of those involved will like what
you have done and 90% won’t grasp how much time
goes into the creation and constant review and
discussion over the design.
This was our situation to. We argued, offered
different designs, concepts and even wanted to walk
away at one stage!
Eventually, we were won over and Frank received
the consensus for which, he worked so hard. It is a
styled opera house surmounted by an aeroplane using
our SFC letters with a darker “C” at the end. Hence it
can (and will) be used for Schofields Flying Club
Limited plus all its trading entities:
Sydney Flying Club, College and Flight Charter
Displayed on the big screen at ANZ stadium on
Wings Night, it looked great. Thank you Frank, for a
great job.
Also, don’t let pass Frank’s initiative on a group buy
of a Cirrus or like High Performance Single Engine
(HPSE) aircraft. Read his message and consider if this
would give you maximum aviation satisfaction for an
affordable dollar!
by Allan Bligh
Why you need a PIFR
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When most of us who are not career aspirants learn
to fly, our goal is a Private Pilot Licence (PPL).
However, a case can be made that our goal should be
a PPL with a Private Instrument Flight Rules rating
known as a PIFR (pronounced piffer).
Your PPL training covers the rules about keeping
your distance from clouds; its part and parcel of the
Visual Flight Rules (VFR) by which you fly. But what if
there’s cloud between you and where you want to go?
Consider this scenario: You’ve planned a flight to
take friends or family to Mudgee for lunch at the Blue
Wren restaurant (just across the road from the
airport). However, come the day, there is high
overcast at Bankstown and cloud on the ground at Mt
Victoria though clear sky at Mudgee. With just a PPL,
you would stay on the ground, but with a PIFR you
would be on your way.
To fly through cloud (IMC – Instrument
Meteorological Conditions) you must have an
instrument rating and fly by Instrument Flight Rules
(IFR). As a private pilot a PIFR is what you need.
With a basic PIFR you must be able to climb to the
defined Lowest Safe Altitude (LSALT) in VMC clear of
cloud, but above that you can climb, cruise and
descend through cloud. On descent, you must be in
VMC clear of cloud before descending below the
LSALT.
You can add Flight Procedure Authorisations (FPA) to
the basic PIFR to give yourself further flexibility. You
would want the Navigation using GPS FPA as all SFC
aircraft that are IFR rated have a Garmin GPS on
board. You would be wise to hold FPAs for Navigation
using ADF and VOR as well. You will need a Standard
Instrument Departure (SID) FPA to get you out of
Bankstown and a Standard Terminal Arrival Route
(STAR) FPA to get you back in. You could also add the
GNSS Arrival FPA allowing you to descend en route
lower than LSALT using GPS.
The PIFR is not a permit to blast off through foul
weather frightening all on board. Airmanship remains
the key.
PIFRtrainingpackagesareavailablenowatSFC.
Sydney Flyer
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Who’s who on the Board of Directors
Allan Bligh
President
[email protected]
Steve Kastanias
Treasurer
Director of Accounting &
Financial Management
[email protected]
George Demetriou
CEO, Vice President
Director of Human-Resources
[email protected]
m.au
Frank Peronace
Assistant Treasurer
Director of IT Infrastructure &
Services
[email protected]
Colin Jones
Secretary
Director of Premises & Grounds
[email protected]
Rick Smyth-King
Director of Member Services
[email protected]
Cameron Sandell
Director of Member Services
[email protected]
Scott Pringle
Director of Fleet Operations
[email protected]
You Next-Time?
Director of … ?
Paul Blackshaw
[email protected]
Operations
Chris Koort
Acting Head of Operations/CFI
[email protected]
Joseph Pilo
RTO CEO Operations Manager
[email protected]
Sydney Flyer
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Destination Jordan
from Iceland via Scotland, Europe and Israel
You have read the exploits of Amir & Tamra Hyster
in previous editions of the Sydney Flyer: first in
Destination Africa, then in Destination Alaska and
Destination Iceland. This time they depart Iceland
for Scotland, Europe and Jordan (via Israel!)…
5 August, 2014 – Reykjavik, Iceland to Wick,
Scotland
the sight of the cliffs of Scotland appeared, the skies
broke to a fine blue over the fields and Wick Airport
came into view. We gave each other a high-five, as
we had made it across the North Atlantic Ocean! As
we exited the aircraft and tried to struggle out of our
suits, there was a pilot near his aircraft parked next
to us. He called out, “You survived!” It was very
funny, and just how we felt.
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Departing Reykjavik
We again wore our bright red Gumby survival suits
for the three-plus-hour flight, and were becoming a
bit more comfortable with them. We departed and
requested to fly over the coast for safety and
sightseeing; ATC approved everything we requested.
It needs to be mentioned that most pilots choose to
fly this route via Keflavik because of the customs
availability, however, it is more than an hour’s drive to
the city, compared to Reykjavik, which is in the
middle of the city. Customs was happy to come to this
airport and meet us upon landing.
At FL170, 45 minutes into the flight, we were
skimming the cloud tops and entered a section that
looked like altostratus and CBs. Instantly Amir saw ice
crystals form on the windscreen, so he engaged FIKI
and climbed 500 feet to clear the clouds. The antiicing fluid dispersed the ice in a split second. It was a
reminder to us that we must always remain vigilant
and constantly check the wings.
We began a very slow descent into Scotland and
were cleared direct to Wick; we were descending
through clouds at -19 degrees Celsius with anti-ice
engaged. I saw the TKS fluid start to line the wing,
however within a few minutes, ice crystals started to
form on the wing closest to the cabin. I told Amir and
he engaged the boost pump and made an immediate
call to ATC notifying them we were picking up ice. We
were above the sea descending at 1,000 feet per
minute as I watched ice form across the entire wing,
then it just slipped off, bit by bit, until there was just
anti-ice running freely again. That was scary! Soon,
Crossing the coast of Scotland
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Our spur of the moment accommodation in Wick
was the amazing Ackergill Tower, a restored castle
with traditional décor and furniture, and letters,
invoices, books and journals dating back over 100
years still in the bookcases and bureaus. We dined in
the great hall and slept in a room called Nuns, which
is the old chapel.
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Ackergill Tower – our accommodation in Wick
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We travelled to Edinburgh for the Comedy Festival
and enjoyed the historical architecture. There had
been a persistent series of cold fronts and the
remnants of a Caribbean hurricane roaming around
Scotland, England and the North Sea. This was where
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we needed to cross and enter into Holland. We
relaxed in Scotland moving from the castle to a beach
cottage on the Ackergill Tower Estate. We were
aiming to be travelling through the Middle East by
mid-September, so we were in no hurry to move on
into Europe just yet. We had a house to cook our
meals and the rain and storms beating against the
warm cozy cottage situated on a private beachfront
with a conservatory overlooking old stone walls and
farm fields. This was our dream; to fly and stay for
extended periods at a time in places that we enjoyed.
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15 August, 2014 – Wick, Scotland to Groningen,
Holland
Departing Wick, we had set the GPS to follow the
coastlines of Scotland and England turning to the very
rough looking North Sea around Newcastle, and
allowing us to intercept waypoint KOLAG which is the
“official” entry into Europe.
At approach, we navigated direct to EEL to avoid a
thunderstorm line, then on to Groningen for our first
stop in Europe. We taxied to the Cirrus service centre
to allow our baby a day in the spa (50-hour
inspection).
The Hague was a pleasure and a visit to the
Louwman Museum with the best collection of vintage
vehicles in the world is a man’s lollypop shop, and a
visit stop. We visited our friend in Amersfoort, the
most centrally located town in The Netherlands,
traveled over the famous dyke and took a drive south
to Germany for ice cream.
The skies were closing fast and we were eager not
to lose our window of opportunity to leave. We had
been constantly in bad weather since leaving Iceland,
with rain every day, and we were getting a little
dreary of the depressing northern European weather.
The locals told us they had a nice summer for only
four or five weeks!
Our course was entered into the GPS, reading like a
novel with so many waypoints which were a part of
the flight plan via a new software app called
Rocketroute that also gave the weather en route. The
app was suggested to us by a pilot also getting his
Cirrus serviced. The many waypoints are a mandatory
routing through Europe and are a reflection of the
over regulated nature there.
On approach to Frankfurt airspace, we were
diverted through waypoint FFM, which is over the
Frankfurt airport, and told we were being given a very
special clearance to remain at FL130. Thanks
Frankfurt; it was a very busy airspace.
South of Germany just past Munich and all the way
to the Alps, we encountered icing that wasn’t
forecasted and started the dance of climbing, skirting
around clouds, and descending, but it eventually
cleared. ATC, known as Euro-control, was very
accommodating. When they heard we were in ice, a
new person immediately came on the radio and
offered direction to get us out of it. We had the FIKI
equipment working at normal rate and it easily
cleared the ice. Above the Alps, we were unable to
get lower because the mountain peaks were 1,000
feet below us. Assisted vectoring by ATC, who kept in
contact with us every step while we were in ice,
added to our safety levels.
25 August, 2014 – Groningen, Holland to Split,
Croatia
We woke bright and early with anticipation to take
off before the Groningen weather folded, as it had in
the last several days, inhibiting our departure. The
plane required service bulletin maintenance, a 20-plus
hour job, and it was a pleasure to watch and talk to
the experienced and professional engineers there.
During our wait in Groningen, we drove through the
Netherlands; visited Amsterdam, getting high from
the whiff of air around the local cafes; traveled to The
Hague; spent a few “ground-hog” type days visiting
the visa office of India awaiting a special visa for a
technical stop, which we needed on our travels. We
were told it would take them another eight days to
complete a possible visa, and they still had no
positive answers after three days. We gave up, not
prepared to keep waiting for indecision and
incompetence.
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Over the Alps
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Louwman Museum
Collection of vintage vehicles, The Hague
Above Ljubljana, Slovenia and moving into Croatia,
we had a fabulous view of the Adriatic Sea; the
temperature was warming up to -4 degrees Celsius as
we had entered the Mediterranean. The weather was
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clear and sunny, and we had a panoramic view of
Split, Croatia as we rotated over the sea for a landing
alongside commercial jets loading and unloading
tourists from around the world to this haven of
beautiful beaches. The fuel prices were again very
high at US$16 a gallon. It is evident that still the best
place in the world to fly is the USA for fuel costs,
service on the ground and in the air, airport
availability, accommodations and variation of
locations.
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a storefront in the main terminal; they acted as an
agent handling all international flights. What the
airport lacked in basic hygiene and comfort, the staff
at flight services made up tenfold; they were
wonderful, helpful and accommodating. They found us
a great place to stay and a car to rent in this
overbooked, overpriced island. The boutique hotel we
chose, or rather the only one with a room available
for the four nights we would be staying, was back
from the beachfront and secluded. It was a short walk
into the small beachfront village of Kamari.
Split, Croatia
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Upon a drive into town, we could see there was a
mix of Greece, Italy and Europe there that was
looking very tired and under economical strain. The
buildings were derelict and heavy with graffiti,
however, the streets were a buzz with tourists and the
beaches were packed; at least the tourist trade was
booming at this peak time of year.
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29 August, 2014 – Split, Croatia to Santorini,
Greece
We departed late morning after a wait on the hot
tarmac for over an hour. The filing of a flight plan at
the airport briefing office was our only choice, so we
couldn’t plan the departure slot but only deal with
what was available. The following day had over 120
planes coming into the airport and the usual amount
is around 30 to 40, so we were glad we decided to
move that day. The arrangements to fly to Greece
took several phone calls, emails and much frustration.
If the problem of no fuel wasn’t bad enough, if there
was fuel, there wasn’t a place to park the plane.
Parking needed to be prearranged and filing of a flight
plan couldn’t be met until there was parking
availability at the destination. The only available
avgas in Greece was in Rhodes, however we couldn’t
get parking there for a week, so we decided to fly to
Santorini where there was no fuel, but we took the
last GA parking spot. That meant we needed to fly
very efficiently.
We arrived at Santorini and had a magnificent view
of the volcanic caldera; a result of a huge volcanic
eruption. We parked and were greeted by the Skyway
Services team, skirted through immigration and then
confronted with quite possibly the worst airport we
had ever seen; the place was filthy and full of people.
We were escorted to the office of Skyway, which was
Santorini
2 September, 2014 – Santorini to Rhodes,
Greece
It was a short flight to Rhodes – the only place to
get fuel on the islands – and we needed to make it on
time to our allotted parking spot, one of only two
available for GA. The only way to file a flight plan was
in the tower, where we found the nicest air traffic
controllers in Europe. It is mandatory to file the plan
one hour prior to departure, however we were told
that when we were ready we should send a message
and it will be approved, and that was exactly what
happened. We were given a Standard Instrument
Departure (SID) out of 34R directly toward Rhodes
and a direct climb to flight level – the first time in
over 10,000 km of our trip since leaving Canada.
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On final, Rhodes
Sydney Flyer
The flight was very smooth, but the haze impacted
the visibility of the amazing views of the Greek
Islands.
We found an incredible villa to rent in Rhodes on the
east side of the island near Lindos. We had a
beachfront backyard with a private pool in a fully
equipped house, for a bargain price. We could cook,
relax, swim in the pool or the ocean, have breakfast
or dinner on the beach under our own trees, and pick
fresh figs for dessert from the property. It was truly a
haven in the 30-40 degree Celsius heat.
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and handlers on the ground for fuel, immigration and
customs.
In order to save three to four hours of flight over
the sea to Egypt and Amman, Jordan, we decided to
fly over Israel. When we asked about help in getting
the permits, our rep laughed and explained that he
had never managed to get approval to pass over
Israel for around the world flights, and it would take
weeks to get one as it entails extensive security
checks. Tel Aviv controls all flights 1,000 miles around
Israel. Just say the word “never” to Amir and he
always finds a way to make it happen! At 10:00 p.m.
the night before our departure, we called a friend in
Israel who arranged for an Israeli pilot with a
clearance; more importantly he would be in Larnaka
within the next 10 hours! That was great, but the
plane itself and the copilot also needed clearance, so
we were back to the required three-week waiting
period. That still did not stop Amir and after four
hours of constant phone calls to and from Israel
convincing the authorities and the Secret Service, we
received the green light and embarked on one of the
most interesting legs of the trip.
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Tamra at Gate of Saint Athanasios (1441 AD)
Rhodes
Parking for the plane is two Euro per day, compared
with 66 Euro in Cyprus. We still had a couple of weeks
to wait for favourable weather conditions to cross the
hottest parts of the Earth, so we decided to wait it out
in Rhodes and enjoy our accommodations while also
exploring more of the island that has so much history.
12 September, 2014 – Rhodes, Greece to
Larnaka, Cyprus
The flight plan was filed with Eurocontrol via
RocketRoute, shortening the time in the airport as we
didn’t have to visit the tower and the Met office. We
were given a hard time in security as they didn’t like
that I had onboard refreshments in my backpack.
Previously, the FBO staff had interjected to let them
know we were a private flight and not restricted to
carry our lunch, drinks and cutlery to eat, but this
time the airport staff didn’t know what to do. We
eventually told them to take our cutlery, as we didn’t
want to miss our time slot.
We took off without delay and were cleared direct to
Larnaka; visibility was extremely poor. We were flying
over the sea along the coast of Turkey in a strong
crosswind and very hot conditions. Again we were
met by wonderful flight services staff and fuelled up
at $18 per gallon. We rented a car and off we went to
discover a new place in the big world.
18 September, 2014 – Larnaka, Cyprus to Tel
Aviv, Israel and Amman, Jordan
Up to this point of the trip, we had organised all the
flights, fuel and clearances. From this flight and after,
we required an agent to arrange all the clearances
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Departing Larnaka
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We departed Larnaka, on the southwest coast of
Cyprus, with very hot, strong gusting winds up to 35
knots over the Mediterranean Sea with a direct path
to Tel Aviv. It was official – we had left Europe!
Larnaka ATC instructed us to contact Tel Aviv within
five minutes from wheels up, but the air was so hot
and bumpy that we forgot. Immediately, Larnaka ATC
demanded us to contact Tel Aviv. When contacting
them, the Israeli copilot was to provide a secret
personal code, to let them know he was okay and not
hijacked.
When our copilot relayed the code, Tel Aviv didn’t
accept the code, and asked for it again and again. It
immediately escalated to higher level of controllers.
Amir realised there was a problem and repeated the
code. We were feeling that a couple of F16s were
already on the way toward us. After some very nervewracking minutes, Tel Aviv responded with “Cleared to
enter into Israel airspace.” We all breathed a sigh of
relief. We later discovered that the copilot’s headset
was in the passenger socket, hence the reason Tel
Aviv didn’t “accept” our code; they just couldn’t hear
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us, a small mistake that could lead to serious
consequences in a very security conscious area of the
world.
almost draw a line on the border. Israel was green
and full of trees and the desert of Jordan was bare of
any vegetation, but still majestic to see. The end of
the Jordan River is the commencement of the Dead
Sea, which at elevation of -1,300 feet is the lowest
point on earth. There was no sign of any water, the
river had depleted and the Dead Sea was shrinking.
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Arriving Tel Aviv
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Tel Aviv was an extremely busy airspace; a small
country with huge aviation demands – fighter jets,
commercial and GA flights, helicopters and drones all
competing for the same small space. We enjoyed the
most professional ATC services we ever had on the
way and inside Israel. We landed at Sde Dov Airport
(LLSD) right in the middle of Tel Aviv, thanked and
said goodbye to the Israeli pilot, obtained a clearance
and continued to Amman all in less than an hour.
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Parked Tel Aviv
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Departing Tel Aviv, we flew above Jericho, which at
10,000 years old, is the oldest city in the world; and
then north of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea towards
Amman through the aviation waypoint called SALAM.
It is the same waypoint that the first peaceful flight
took place between Israel and Jordan. This historic
flight took place 23 May, 1995, and was called
Operation Peace Flight sponsored by King Hussein of
Jordan and Ezer Weizman, the Israeli president (both
pilots) and led by Barry Schiff and a group of Israeli
and Jordanian pilots. As we passed into Jordan, we
felt that we too were making a bit of history. The
landscape changed so dramatically that we could
!
Arriving Amman, Jordan
!
The city of Amman came into view; it was a large,
vastly spread city. We landed at an airport that is over
2,500 feet above sea level and taxied to flight
services, who flagged us to parking, and the
pantomime started – we were now in the Middle East
and needed to be mindful of their customs and
mannerisms. The driver of the only refuelling truck on
the airport told us “Only Cash!” as he rejected every
one of our credit cards. We settled and paid for the
fuel through the FBO who added 15% commission to
the already inflated fuel price. We arranged for a
rental car and on the way to the hotel were fully
immersed in the traffic of Amman. To put it lightly,
basic traffic rules don’t apply; there are no designated
lanes and the only rule is push or be pushed out!
Also, honk the horn a lot; it’s international language
for “I’m coming through!” We kept trying to get a WiFi connection to access our GPS, by occasionally
stopping in the middle of intersections and along the
side of the road. Each time we were waved on by the
local traffic or parking police. No one understood
English, but it was hilarious how it didn’t matter that
we were trolling along in the car; everyone just went
around us and the police gave a little knock on our
window and waved their hand.
The next day, we drove to an ancient city called
Jerash – a Roman Provincial town that dates back
between 800BC and 130AD Byzantine Period and has
been excavated and restored. The three-kilometre
area consisted of important temples and churches,
theatres and colonnade streets of the AD era. We
started the drive back to Amman and saw a small tent
with Syrian refugees camped along the road, so we
turned around and headed back towards the Syrian
border. We drove as far as Ar Ramtha and the road
stopped at a huge security fence, a buffer zone seven
kilometres before the border. There were some of the
refugee camps – one million people in a small space
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 10
sealed from the outside world. The village of Ar
Ramtha was very interesting; it was full of new
developments and huge palace-like houses, intricately
detailed architecture, large stone work walls and
gates around each house. Unfortunately, they all
appeared to be unfinished as if everything had
stopped. It may be the war in Syria that is the cause,
or just a cash-flow shortage as in Europe. In Amman,
we drove through areas of refugees from Syria and
Iraq, many bringing fundamentalist religious practices
that we had never seen before in Jordan. It was clear
that the culture of Jordan was changing. We had
visited Jordan many times in the past, we love the
country and its people, but this was the first time we
felt very uncomfortable once we were out of the
modernised parts of Amman.
!
by Amir & Tamra Hyster
Aviator
Magazine
Female Pilots of Jordan
Worldwide Women of Aviation Week – 7-13 March 2016
The Middle East is a volatile region of the world
where women are often discouraged from dreaming
beyond marriage and motherhood. But one nation is
leading the way in encouraging its women to break
the shackles and to dream the dream. That nation is
Jordan, which now boasts a growing number of
female pilots, including six who operate jet airliners
for Royal Jordanian Airlines.
Airline captain
Carol Rabadi first became interested in aviation
when, as a 14-year-old, she flew in the jumpseat on a
flight between Cyprus and Amman, Jordan. “I always
say that was the day I fell in love with aviation,” the
33-year-old says. “From that day forward I planned to
become a pilot. It was a beautiful day with blue skies,
no clouds and I could see the Mediterranean Sea and
the land clearly. The pilots were very nice and I was
taken by the professional environment, the uniforms
and the complexity of the cockpit.”Carol learnt to fly
at Daytona Beach, Florida and went solo in April
1996. Then for four years she studied a Bachelor of
Science Degree (aeronautical science) at Embry
Riddle University. Graduating in May 1999, Carol two
!
months later returned to her homeland and joined
Royal Jordanian Airlines, where for two years she
worked in ground personnel.
“At the time it was the company’s policy to hire
cadet pilots as ground personnel and have them work
as dispatchers, operations controllers, radio
operators, and in the library update and performance
sections,” Carol says. “After two years I started
Sydney Flyer
intense first officer training and was cleared to line in
April 2002.” Carol flew the A320 and A340 for four
years each before earning command on Embraer 175s
and 195s.
Now boasting around 6,500 hours in her logbook,
Carol’s experience as Royal Jordanian’s only female
captain ensures she commands respect from
colleagues of both genders.
Page ! 11
!
“Yes, we are all friends,” she says. “I try my best to
maintain friendly relationships with the other girls and
I keep an open line of communication with them. We
also have some female pilots who work in general
aviation, and I enjoy being friends and keep in touch
with them as well.”
When asked what advice she would offer schoolgirls
looking at pilot careers, Carol replies: “Aviation is not
an easy career to have, it takes passion and
commitment and self discipline. My advice is gather
as much support from family members, trust your
parents’ judgment and advice and go for it!”
As successful as she is, Captain Carol Rabadi simply
loves to fly and is vibrant when she says she loves
“everything” about her job. “I love everything about
it,” she says. “The technical aspect of the aircraft, the
navigational details, the ultimate office view of the
land and sea, sun and moon; the feeling of great
achievement after a flight has been conducted safely,
smoothly and efficiently.”
So what would her ultimate flying job be?
“Being a Captain has been absolutely fantastic and
for me, it doesn’t get better than this. However, I’m
becoming more and more interested in the
management and commercial aspect of the operation
of an airline.”
“I think in any profession women will encounter
some difficulties,” she says. “At Royal Jordanian the
culture is that they treat you as a pilot and if you are
up to the task then you will not be treated any
differently. We have a total of six female pilots at RJ.
The culture of the country is changing and being a
female pilot is becoming more acceptable. Not quite
the norm yet, but we’re getting there.”
A major part of the groundswell of change taking
place in the ancient kingdom is attributed to Her
Majesty Queen Rania, whose push for reform and
women’s rights has enabled Jordanian women –
indeed, Middle Eastern women – to dream and to
pursue careers without suffering dire consequences.
“I feel we are on the right track, I think it’s
important for accomplished women in Jordan to be
showcased for all women in Jordan to see,” Carol
explains. “It’s proof that whatever a woman chooses
to do she can do. All she needs is the right support
from family and superiors. She may have to work
harder to prove herself but really women today do
have more choices.”
In 2009 Carol and first officer Hadeel Khamash
became the first all-female tech crew in Middle
Eastern airline history to pilot an RPT flight when they
flew between Jordan and Greece. Royal Jordanian
made the most of the milestone, reinforcing the
company’s equal rights and equal opportunity policies.
“I’m very proud of that accomplishment,” Carol
says. “And since that flight I have operated many allfemale crew flights, so for me it has become normal.
There’s no difference really whether the first officer is
male or female, or the flight attendants are male or
female. All are qualified and perform the same
standard of work.”
As proud as she is of her accomplishments, Carol is
humble, dedicated to her profession and she
embraces Jordan’s tight-knit female pilot community.
Chief pilot
Basmah Bani Ahmad believes aviation is a great
career for women. Why? “We have many advantages
as women, we multi-task with ease and are very
usually studious,” Basmah says. “My advice is to stay
physically fit, exercise, eat healthy and maybe even
play a few video games every once in a while. Handeye coordination is important in aviation and we tend
to not focus on developing those skills.”
Now chief pilot at the Royal Aero Sports Club of
Jordan, Basmah seven years ago became her
country’s first qualified female glider pilot, and
recently earned the honour of being Jordan’s first
female aerobatics pilot.
!
“Gliding is a sport that gave me the opportunity to
expand my skills in aviation, and I continue to have
that attitude when choosing other forms of education
in the aviation world,” Basmah says.
“Aerobatic flying is blood pumping, exciting,
thrilling, challenging, and in my opinion unmatched
by any other sport in terms of adrenaline and skill. It
has been compared to driving a racing car in three
Sydney Flyer
dimensions. It pushes skills to the ultimate, and
completely changes your perceptions of time. Every
detail counts in aerobatics, movements are small and
complex. I discovered that in order to move and think
simultaneously you have to become more aware,
which means that you need to somehow slow down
time.”
Basmah, 30, grew up in Canada to Jordanian
parents and her father was a private pilot. “I always
knew I would fly,” she says. “Once you are introduced
into the world of aviation, it becomes an obsession …
you’re always looking up!”
Now boasting more than 1,400 hours in her
logbook, Basmah’s first job was instructing at Ayla
Aviation Academy. She swears that since then, being
a woman in a part of the world often criticised for
being chauvinistic, has been positive.
“Surprisingly, it has been a very positive experience
here in the Middle East,” she says. “The Middle East
has opened up many doors for me as a pilot and
throughout my aviation career I have had nothing but
support and encouragement.
“As for students, like anything new, some are
hesitant and curious about having a female instructor.
But building confidence in people starts with the
confidence you have in yourself. I know my ability and
I know my limitations and this reflects in how people
react to me. In my experience, because I am a
female, there are people who ask to fly with me.
They feel it is a unique experience for this part of the
world and they want to be a part of that. For those
who are sceptical, with time, dedication and hard
work, you can create a reputation in this field and
gain the respect of the people.”
Basmah says the female pilots in Jordan are a very
tight community, with each being unique and
distinguished in their own way. “We are very
supportive of each other and continue to keep track of
each others careers,” she says.
She also believes Queen Rania’s influence on
Jordanian women – indeed, Arab women in general –
is a huge step in the right direction.
“Queen Rania is a role model for women in Jordan
and we are proud of her achievements,” Basmah
says. “Families in the Middle East are embracing the
idea of working women. This is a very important step
for the Jordanian women of tomorrow. With the
support of the community women can start to
contribute to the development of this wonderful
country.”
So, what does Basmah absolutely love about her
job?
“What’s there not to love?” she replies. “Every day
is different and every task exciting. I would love to
work with Red Cross or United Nations bush flying in
Africa or working with National Geographic
photographers flying in exotic, remote locations.”
Airline first officer
Royal Jordanian A320 first officer Alia Twal didn’t
realise women were allowed to become pilots until
she attended a careers day when she was 16.
Listening to an aviation lecture delivered by a captain
from Royal Jordanian Airlines, Alia was surprised to
Page ! 12
discover that the company had had female pilots
since 1985, when Taghreed Al Akasheh became the
first Arab woman to become an airline pilot.
“Since that day I knew that this was what I wanted
to become and this was the life I wanted to live and
to find my home in the sky,” Alia tells Aviator. “From
that day I was that kid lying on the grass staring at
the sky thinking, ‘what would it be like to be able to
touch a cloud?’”
Alia started flying in 2006 and graduated as a flight
instructor at Ayla Aviation Academy. She then joined
Mideast Aviation Academy as a flight instructor and
marketing officer and spent much of her time
recruiting students from throughout the Middle East
and Africa.
!
“I didn’t log many hours as I was flying almost every
month to recruit students and to meet with airlines as
marketing for the Mideast Aviation Academy,” she
says. “I wanted to inspire others just as I had been
inspired.”
As a flight instructor, Alia admitted that some
students didn’t feel comfortable flying with a woman.
But in time they relaxed and eventually looked at her
as both their instructor and an older sister to whom
they could seek advice, both personally and
professionally.
“I am still in contact with all my students, even the
ones who have moved back to their home countries to
become first officers,” she says. “And as an airline
pilot at RJ, my colleagues respect me and have no
issues flying with a woman. They simply respect me
as another pilot, not necessarily a female pilot.”
Now 24, Alia is a proud member of the Ninety Nines
club, an international organisation of female pilots
from more than 35 countries. She currently holds the
prestigious position of Governor, Arabian Section.
“The Ninety Nines Club promotes advancement of
aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual
support while honouring our unique history and
sharing our passion for flight,” Alia says. “We have
more than 5,000 female members and in the Arabian
section we are thirty female pilots.”
Given her role of encouraging young women to fly,
it’s not surprising that Alia believes girls looking at
flying careers should just go for their dreams. “There
are no longer male jobs and female jobs,” she says.
Sydney Flyer
“Whatever you want to be in life, whether it be a
teacher, doctor, lawyer or pilot, love and live for it.
“Personally, I love the feeling of knowing that home
for me is between the clouds. It’s the only place I feel
at home as I love the idea of feeling that I conquered
the sky. Flying’s everything I love and they say that if
you love your work, you will never feel like you are
actually working … even on my days off I fly gliders
and single engines.”
“It’s like what Leonardo da Vinci once said: ‘When
once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the
Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you
have been, and there you will always long to return.’”
Flight instructor
Mary Mavis Uzaizi loves her job so much she
considers it to be more a hobby than an occupation.
“I’m one of the few people who get paid to do what I
consider to be my hobby,” she says.
!
Mary Mavis has achieved plenty in commercial
flying, working for Royal Jordanian Airlines as a flight
engineer on the Boeing 727 and Lockheed L1011
before earning her wings as a first officer on the
A320. But now, the veteran of over 7,000 hours earns
a crust as an instructor, “paving the road for future
pilots”.
“My father was a pilot and I started learning to fly
when I was 18-years-old,” Mary Mavis says. She
swiftly moved through the aviation ranks and after a
decade at Royal Jordanian, decided that family was
more important than work. “So I took four years off
work to become a full time mom,” she says, looking
after Christina, now 11 and Khaled, now nine.
In 2004 Mary Mavis returned to aviation, joining
Mideast Aviation Academy as a flight instructor. “In
the beginning, people thought it was strange to have
a female instructor but now they’re used to it and
often ask for a female instructor,” she says. Why?
“Because females are more patient than men,” she
replies matter-of-factly. “First the students feel shy,
then once we pass that barrier they feel more
comfortable.”
According to Mary Mavis, she has never
encountered any difficulties associated with being one
of the few Arab women in what is a male-dominated
profession.
Page ! 13
“Flying is not about whether the pilot is a man or a
woman,” she says. “It is about the results of the
actions imposed by the pilot and the responses
returned by the aircraft. The aircraft does not know or
understand gender. It only knows the difference in a
true pilot, and one who was perhaps not meant to
fly.”
She also stresses there is a special bond between
female pilots within Jordan, each of whom offers the
other emotional support and encouragement.
So what part of the job gives Mary Mavis the most
satisfaction?
“I love when I hear the voices of my former
students on the radio in different airlines,” she says.
“It’s nice to feel that you have helped them fulfil their
dreams. I am happy where I am at the moment. I
enjoy teaching and feel it is the most fulfilling job
being an instructor and paving the road for future
pilots.”
Conclusion
Queen Rania recently said that while women in
Jordan are very diverse, they still face challenges in
their daily lives. “Women feel under pressure to give
up their careers once they get married, even if they
have educational achievements and wonderful
degrees,” she explained. “But the idea is to just give
them choices, so in addition to the choice of being a
mother, or being a career women, there’s a third
choice of being a working mother. It’s my job to try to
spotlight the achievements and successes of these
women because they’re very quietly and proudly
eroding some of the negative cultural stereotypes”
often attributed to the Middle East.
The Middle East may be one of the world’s most
capricious regions; it also remains a region where
many women do not enjoy the same freedom
embraced in western cultures. However, Jordan’s
proactivity in the field of human rights for women
ensures that the likes of pilots Carol Rabadi, Basmah
Bani Ahmad, Alia Twal and Mary Mavis Uzaizi, among
others, can continue to lead the way for young girls
who dare to dream the dream.
by Derek Royal
reproduced with permission from:
Aviator Magazine
www.aviatormag.com.au
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 14
X-FILES
FOXJET AUSTRALASIA ST600
FILE X118
The promotion behind Foxjet Australasia’s Foxjet
ST600 was that it was the smallest and cheapest jet
yet built. Its diminutive size caused a stir amongst
business jet buyers as they were used to aircraft of at
least twice the size. It was claimed to use less fuel
than the average six-place piston engined single while
cruising at twice the speed, a boon for the 1970s oil
shock conscious shopper.
!
The ST600 was to be powered by a pair of 850 lb
thrust Williams Research WR44-800 turbofan engines.
The engines were one of the world’s smallest being
only 91.5 cm long and 40.5 cm in diameter with a dry
weight of just 86.2 kg. The WR44 was the same
engine used in cruise missiles. These tiny engines
were very quiet and fuel efficient sipping just 191
litres per hour between the two engines.
It was estimated that the aircraft would cruise at
330 kts at 39,000 feet for a range of 1,000 nm with
an initial climb rate of 3,400 feet per minute.
Performance wise, the aircraft was similar to the
Cessna Citation II or Lear 24F or 25. It was to be
fitted with speed brakes and fowler flaps, which would
have rapidly decelerated the aircraft to its approach
speed. In fact its approach speed was so low for this
type of aircraft, that it is able to operate out of short
unpaved strips only needing 823 metres to clear a 50foot obstacle.
Apparently, because the tiny WR44 engine became
the powerplant for cruise missiles, the United States
government blocked non-military use of the engine.
Without a suitable alternative available, the project
could not proceed.
For a long time a mock-up stood in the car park of a
Mazda parts dealer on Milperra Road near Bankstown
Airport, the place now an equipment hire company.
!
!
!
The diminutive jet had a wingspan of 9.6 metres
and a length of 9.7 metres and stood 9.5 metres tall.
Surprisingly, with such dimensions, the aircraft had a
roomy 6-place interior with velour bucket seats
looking out through large oval windows (shades of
Vickers Viscount).
Foxjet invested $60,000 to create a mock-up of the
proposed new jet to demonstrate its creature
comforts. It was expected that deliveries would start
in late 1980. It was planned that eight aircraft per
month would be manufactured and order books were
filling up and deposits taken especially from the USA.
Acknowledgments
Australian Aviation & Defence Review
June 1979
Aerospace Publications P/L
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Commercial Aircraft
Bill Gunston
Wikipedia
Photograph
Anthony Coleiro
by Anthony Coleiro
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 15
Wings Night 2015
Wings Night 2015 was held on 11 December at ANZ Stadium. Fifty Sydney Flying Club members received awards
for completing RPL, PPL, CPL and Instrument Ratings in 2015. Sydney Flight College presented its first ever
Sydney TAFE Diploma of Aviation qualifications to nineteen successful graduates. Congratulations to all concerned!
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 16
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 17
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 18
Club competition flying
There have been two competitions since the last
Sydney Flyer, both in excellent conditions resulting in
high flying standards (no pun intended!). The results
and some photos are published on the club Facebook
page for your info and comment.
These two competitions were the so called
‘Breakfast Competitions’ because you move on to
breakfast after you fly, making it a nice way to start
your Sunday. Activities are kept to the Bankstown
circuit and all up its 20-25 minutes in the air. From
February we will get back to the long-form
competition to the training area and back. We will be
using Scoresheet 1 which you can find on the SFC
website (log-in: Members area: Flying competitions).
Scoresheets are along the bottom of the calendar.
The events will comprise a short field take-off,
circuit and a spot landing before departing for the
training area. In the training area there is an
instrument flight event, details of which are also
available online with the scoresheets. This is followed
by a forced landing from 3,000’ which will be curtailed
at 500’ as there is no where we can land out there.
We will then return to Bankstown, join the circuit and
land, again with points awarded for a spot landing
(touching down as close as possible to a designated
spot on the runway).
All sectors of the flight are assessable, including
radio and procedural requirements for the departure
and arrival at Bankstown. Estimated time for the total
flight is one hour. The competition has become the
latest beneficiary of the ‘members dividend’, with the
price dropping to $150 (this is NOT a typo).
All the air judges are instructors, so students and
“out of hours” pilots may all take part. An extra circuit
is also available if desired, for a nominal charge.
However it’s worth noting that if you make a point of
flying in the competition each month you will always
be current year in year out. At $150 a month, the
competition is a great investment in your flying!
course everyone is asked to arrive a bit ahead of their
booked time for the same reason. If we can stay on
schedule we are better able to enjoy the events and
the rest of our Sunday. We have three aircraft and
instructors booked for the morning. Let’s enjoy it all.
“It is an opportunity to check the
knowledge and skills you learnt in
your training – conducted in a
relaxed and enjoyable manner.”
As I said last time and repeat: Competition flying is
not a flying lesson. It is an opportunity to check the
knowledge and skills you learnt in your training –
conducted in a relaxed and enjoyable manner. The air
judge sitting beside you while you fly will not interfere
with your flying except to ensure safety. However a
score sheet will be marked and at the end of the
event, you may request a de-briefing. The scores will
be collated and first, second and third published on
the SFC Facebook page. Your score sheet will be emailed back to you so that you may repent at leisure
your hasty acts!!!
The next competition will be on Sunday 14 February.
Details will be published in due course but the score
sheet (No 1) and the instrument climb course for the
day can be downloaded in advance from the website
so you can practice on the club simulator (or your
simulator) if you wish.
by Bill Dawes
SPORTS AND COMPETITION FLYING
6. After 60 secs
turn left 90
degrees
“The competition has become the
latest beneficiary of the ‘members
dividend’, with the price dropping
to $150 (this is NOT a typo!).”
We are endeavouring to run the competition on time
– a big ask in any aviation activity. Review of
operations to date indicates that the first competitors
and the air judges and the Marshall (i.e. me) need to
arrive before the scheduled start time to avoid the
entire program suffering delay. Accordingly the first
booking time will 0740 so that the first pilots can
preflight the aircraft and the instructors receive a
briefing and hopefully depart asap after 0800. Of
INSTRUMENT CLIMB
7. Hood off
4. At 2000ʼ, 270
degree climbing
turn left
5. At 3000ʼ level
flight for 60 secs
at cruise speed
!
3. After 60 secs
commence climb
to 3000ʼ
1. Hood on,
climb to /
maintain 1500ʼ
2. Start timing
(when air
judge says)
20 DME YSSY
3 NM YSBK /
12 DME YSSY
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 19
Australian Light Aircraft Championships 2016
(ALACs)
The ALACs are being held in Toowoomba on Friday
15th and Saturday 16th April 2016. Darling Downs
Aero Club is the host.
The Competition includes 5 events;
•
Spot landing
•
Forced landing
•
Streamer cutting
•
Aerobatics
•
Formation team
The event is open to individual pilot entry as well as
club teams. Pilots must have at least a GFPT/RPL, and
must not have operated as a commercial pilot in the
previous 2 years. That is, the competition is for your
average private GA pilot!
Sydney Flying Club has entered both teams and
individual pilots over the years, with considerable
success. We have won gold medals in forced and spot
landing events, as well as creditable results in
aerobatics and team entries.
ALACs 2015 Echuca
!
Low cloud temporarily halts play
!
“ALACs are a fun event – the
emphasis being on airmanship and
camaraderie.”
ALACs are a fun event - the emphasis being on
airmanship and camaraderie. Every competent GA
pilot has an opportunity to compete, and with fair
wind and good fortune, to win!
Club members who have competed in ALACs in
recent years include;
•
Mike Allsop
•
Ray Hand
•
John Hook
•
Allan Drury
•
Bill Dawes
In fact, SFC hosted the 2012 ALACs at Maitland - a
massive effort by the Club Board and an army of
volunteers.
The ALACs were hosted by Echuca Aero Club last
year and a several SFC members travelled to down
there to be in it.
A number of Club members are planning to attend
the ALACs this year, and I would encourage others to
join us. It's a fun event, participants and air judges
are friendly and helpful - it's not an event for sky
gods!
If you would like to enter the ALACs 2016 let
Bill Dawes ([email protected]) know
so that a briefing and practice session can be
organised.
!
Cockatoos – Tough competition for the
formation event!
!
Sunset over Echuca Airport
By Ray Hand
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 20
Drones as a force for good
Say the word “drone” and most people
automatically think “strike” or “privacy concerns”.
Today drones get a bad rap; the general public’s
perception of drones is quite negative in regards to
both the aircraft and their uses. They are perceived as
dangerous toys, infringe on our privacy or used to
bomb women and children. However in many places
around the world they are being used to benefit
people, society and the environment.
Depending on how you classify ‘drones’ or
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), you could argue
that they have been around since the mid nineteenth
century when Austrian unmanned balloons loaded
with explosives were used to bomb Venice, Italy in
August 1849. Sinin regard toce then however pilotless
aircraft have been built for target practice, advanced
research, surveillance and bombing, gradually
evolving into what they are today. Now they have
become a well-known technology, frequently featured
on the news delivering goods, photographing,
mapping, racing, spying and also bombing. This
rapidly developing technology is moving away from its
previous all-military purpose, diversifying into
commercial and private roles, thus shaping its own
industry and changing the world of aviation.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly
referred to as ‘drones’ are known by many names,
including unmanned aerial systems (UAS),
unmanned-aircraft vehicle system (UAVS), remotely
piloted aerial vehicle (RPAV), remotely piloted aircraft
(RPA) and other similar terms. Regardless of what
they are called, there is a stigma surrounding their
image in the media, along with fear, privacy concerns
and a general lack of knowledge when it comes to
their application in non-military areas, such as
surveying, firefighting and environmental monitoring.
Throughout the year I will be looking not only at how
people view UAS and their potential uses, but also at
how they can work alongside manned aircraft and
benefit people in ways that manned aircraft cannot.
I am a PPL student at SFC under instructor Andrea
Harrison, having recently relocated from Perth
(Jandakot) and currently undertaking Year 12 at
Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School. As part of my studies
I am completing a yearlong investigation into “What
people's perceptions of ‘drones’ are, and how broader
society can benefit from their commercial application
in the sectors of conservation, disaster relief and
rescue.”
I would like to invite any interested parties to
please email me, whether to find out more about
what I am doing or to contribute. Participation may
take the form of completing short surveys, input of
professional opinions or experience, interviews or
attending a brief focus group with peers. It would be
wonderful to hear from the community and I would
welcome any input or suggestions.
by Allison Gillespie
[email protected]
!
DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ V3
!
!
Conservation - ShadowView Eco Ranger UAS
!
!
US Customs & Border Protection MQ-9 Reaper
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 21
Cooper’s Corner
Air experience 101
This is the first of a series of three ground school
notes, supplementing your Flight Instructor’s preflight briefings, on what to expect during your flight
lessons.
Welcome to the experience, exhilaration and
privilege of flying with you at the controls. Your trial
instructional flight will give you an opening to that
world, but before you fly, you need to know a little
about how it is done.
We have long out-performed the birds in flight,
flying higher and faster, but we cannot innately fly.
Birds push the young ones out of the nest, but for
humans, flying must be taught. Pilots need
instruction, training and practice until the hardlearned skills and techniques of flight, accumulated
over the last century or so, are well understood.
The quest
Buoyancy: To float in the air, displacing air with a
Flying
Flight is possible in at least three ways:
lighter gas than air, e.g. airship, balloon;
Thrust: To use engine power alone to overcome
gravity and drag, e.g. a space rocket shot;
Lift: From moving through air, e.g. wings on birds,
insects and aeroplanes, rotors on helicopters
!
!
The seemingly effortless, skilful flight of birds has
long been envied, but our bones are too heavy and
we lack the wings and specialised muscle power to fly,
Superman notwithstanding. Human flight was the
stuff of legends, such as ‘Icarus’, who allegedly
crashed trying to fly his Dad’s Home-Built, made out
of feathers and wax. The first credible humanpowered flight had to wait until 1977, with Paul
MacCready’s huge, pedal-powered Gossamer Condor.
In the meantime, gliders, parachutes and balloons
helped man achieve some sort of brief, hazardous
flight. Serious aviating had to wait for the rise of
technology to produce a suitable power source: the
car engine (1890s) and its fuel. Within a decade, the
Wright Brothers’ Flyer flew (in 1903), the first of
many successful light aircraft. Early types were
trembling, moth-like assemblies of wood, fabric and
thin steel wire, with primitive, unreliable engines and
little grace or style, but rapidly evolved to be more
workmanlike, reliable and easier to fly, though
perhaps not yet as elegant as birds.
Wright-style flyer
!
An aircraft ‘flies’ just as a bird or insect does, or
indeed pterosaurs did in the past, by using the air’s
reaction to movement through it. Flight needs
energy, either stored energy (height and speed) to
glide, or by adding more energy by burning fuel.
Managing this energy is part of the pilot’s job.
Another part of the job is to generate lift to sustain
flight and to manipulate that lift to maintain a desired
flight path, i.e. control the aircraft during Climb,
Cruise, Descent, Turning and Take-off and Landing.
Lift is an upward force, supporting the aircraft
during flight. Lift is generated when moving through
air by the aircraft shape, which is a collection of
aerofoils, primarily the wing, which deflects air
downwards in level flight. A fixed-wing aircraft
(Aeroplane) must keep moving to sustain flight. A
Helicopter has a rotating ‘wing’ (the Rotor), so it can
continue to be supported by the still-moving rotor
when the helicopter fuselage ‘stops’ in flight.
Aeroplanes have to land first then stop, Helis can stop
and land, dramatically reducing the landing space
required. They can also hover, i.e. stop in the air
above a surface location.
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 22
Attitude Indicator (FAI), an ‘Artificial Horizon’, to
supplement the actual horizon and replace it when
there is no visible horizon.
In visual flight, Visual Flight Rules (VFR), the real
horizon remains the primary reference, as this outside
view also contains waypoints on our route, other
traffic, terrain etc., so you need to maintain a
continuous LOOKOUT, 3600 around the aircraft:
‘Don’t keep your head in the cockpit’.
Nevertheless, The FAI gives precise attitude
information, so is included in our regular instrument
scan and is well worth an occasional glance.
!
Attitude
From the pilot’s viewpoint, the aircraft’s attitude
(the position of the aircraft nose relative to the
horizon) is fundamental to control of the aircraft’s
flight path.
Pitch attitude is the vertical position of the aircraft
nose relative to the horizon.(Other aircraft control
attitudes are roll and yaw).
When a wing moves through the air in level flight,
small pressure changes occur around it, but the main
lift force is due to an upward reaction to downward
deflected air. Newton’s third law of motion:
‘An action causes a reaction, equal in magnitude
and opposite in direction’ e.g.
1) Action: pushing the air downward generates
2) Reaction:’lift pushing the aircraft upward’.
Lift can be controlled by the pilot in three ways:
Speed (IAS, Indicated Airspeed), controlled by
using power and pitch attitude;
Angle of Attack (AoA),controlled by using power
and pitch attitude;
Camber, curvature of the aerofoil, controllable by
flap setting.
!
!
Significance of the horizon
!
When moving on or near the Earth’s surface, we
need a horizon to sense which way is up, i.e., to
sense the vertical and horizontal. It is so familiar to
us that, if not visible (e.g. in cloud, fog, at night, or in
rough country), then we feel uncomfortable,
disoriented, directionless and prone to falling over.
The horizon is a vital reference in flight too, where it
is used by the pilot to navigate and to assess an
aircraft’s flight path, tasks where it is vital not to feel
uncomfortable, disoriented, directionless and prone to
falling over.
Our horizon view is so critical to our situational
awareness that most aircraft panels contain an
instrument right in front of the pilot, the Flight
Aircraft performance = Pitch attitude + Power
Control
The pilot’s key task in flight is to control the
aircraft’s flight path.
Control of the flight path is achieved in most aircraft
by manipulating lift, via primary controls in the
cockpit which are linked to movable surfaces on the
wing and tail, which vary the lift force and power, via
the throttle.
What is to be controlled?
On the ground, when driving a car or taxiing an
aircraft,
• speed and
• direction
are controlled by engine power, brakes and steering
and
• height is a function of terrain.
In the air,
• speed,
• direction and
• height,
Sydney Flyer
Are all controlled and affected by engine power, lift
and drag.
Secondary controls round out the control of flight
path:
Power can add energy to the aircraft, in the form of
speed and height/rate of climb.
Trim is used to relieve the pilot of maintaining a
flight path via the primary controls, by adjusting the
neutral control setting.
Flaps are used to steepen the approach to land and
to enable the aircraft to be flown slower when
required.
Page ! 23
Power
Aircraft power sources include piston, gas turbine
and rocket engines. Electric motors and even humans
have been used (Humans can generate almost 1HP,
short-term, if frightened enough). Of these, most
training aircraft use reciprocating piston engines. (Gas
turbines are light, smooth and powerful but
expensive, noisy and thirsty (high fuel-flow) in the
dense lower air).
Most common piston aero engines are ‘flat’, 4- or 6cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled, 4-stroke,
100 to 200 Horsepower (75-150KW) maximum at
about 2700RPM,cruise typically at 2400 RPM, burning
about 35LPH (litres per hour) of Avgas (A similaroutput gas turbine would burn about 140LPH), driving
a propeller to provide thrust (The prop. limits engine
RPM, as they are direct drive for simplicity and
lightness but, at 3000RPM, the tip speed would
exceed the speed of sound, Mach1, which is bad for
efficiency and noise).
!
Four cylinder horizontally opposed engine
Piston engines are controlled by throttle and
mixture levers. While some have propeller pitch
controls, fixed-pitch props are the norm for trainers.
Engine power is monitored via: tacho(meter) (RPM);
manifold pressure (with Controllable-Pitch Propeller);
oil pressure and temp.; cylinder head and exhaust
gases temps; fuel quantity and fuel pressure gauges.
We humans are clever, but we still proceed by car
and aircraft by a series of small explosions.
Trim
Trims are the pilot’s friend, if set right. Trimming is
a means of moving the neutral position of a control
surface, setting a trimmed attitude, so that primary
control pressure is relaxed, the aircraft maintains
stable flight and is less prone to move away from a
held attitude. Pitch trim is the most important
because of the vital role of pitch attitude in aircraft
performance. More complex aircraft also have roll and
yaw trim.
Trimming is achieved in several ways:
Trim
tab: A small flap on a control surface trailing
•
edge, movable by a cockpit trim wheel;
!
• Fixed tab: Only adjustable on the ground, on rudder
or aileron e.g. rudder trim tab on C152;
• Spring bias:Operating directly on a primary control
run, movable by a cockpit trim wheel
On the PA28 Cherokee, for example:
• Pitch trim: is tab on the tailplane trailing edge, also
doubling as an anti-balance tab (see below),
controlled via a trim wheel on the floor console;
• Yaw trim is a spring bias, controlled via a trim wheel
on the floor console
Trim technique: When the pilot changes flight path,
from, say, cruise to a climb, then the attitude and
power are set for the climb with the primary pitch
control and throttle. When the aircraft has settled in
the new flight path, the trim is used to remove any
load required to maintain the required attitude.
Every time that a change is made to attitude/power/
configuration (e.g. flap, gear), retrim!
Note: Change attitude with the primary control, held
and adjusted as necessary until correct, then trim to
maintain a hands-off attitude.
(It is considered bad practice to use the trim to alter
attitude, as trim is indirect, weak (smaller surface)
and slow in effect relative to the primary controls ..
but could be useful if the primary controls are
damaged).
Because the atmosphere and aircraft is almost
always moving and turbulent, small primary control
adjustments will probably continue to be needed to fly
attitude, but trimming dramatically reduces the
fatiguing effort and attention required.
Electric pitch trim and autopilot reduce the pilot
workload even further. (Not fitted to all aircraft)
Sydney Flyer
Flap
Flaps were introduced in Naval Operations (c1920),
for carrier landings. They are now in almost universal
use, during landing, slow cruise and at a smaller
setting for high-performance takeoff. Flaps are usually
mounted on the trailing edge of the wing, inboard of
the ailerons. Some aircraft use the ailerons as well to
increase flap area, by depressing the ailerons, which
still perform their roll control function by moving
differentially (one up, one down) via the control
wheel.
When trailing edge space is filled, the leading edge
can also be used to increase camber, but this is more
difficult as the LE must be aerodynamically clean for
efficient cruise (i.e., LE flaps, etc., must fit flush when
closed to avoid drag).
Designs include:
• Simple: Just a camber change, as they rotate down
to several available settings via a manual lever, or
driven by an electric motor.
• Fowler: Camber, slot and wing area increase as flap
moves rearward and down.
!
Fowler flap
Stability
An aircraft is stable if,when trimmed accurately, it
will fly aligned with the flight path, i.e., straight into
the relative air flow, without any control input by the
pilot. Stability is built into the aeroplane and underlies
the primary control inputs. Being stable makes an
aircraft much easier to fly. Unstable aircraft are
illegal, but a stable aircraft may become unstable in
flight if out of balance (mis-loaded) or damaged.
If a trimmed aircraft is disturbed from its flight path
by air turbulence or a momentary control input, it
may pitch, roll or yaw away. A stable aircraft will
generate a restoring force, opposing the move away
from stable flight, until alignment is restored, with no
pilot input. Pilot input can help, of course, as long as
they are timely and in the correct direction. Sustained
pilot control inputs must however be able to
overcome stability, otherwise, the aircraft would be
uncontrollable.
Being stable does not mean that the aircraft will fly
straight on its own. It will fly if only pitch is disturbed.
If it pitches up or down in rough air, then the attitude
should be restored in the same direction as before,
but if it rolls, it sideslips and the relative airflow
Page ! 24
swings toward the down-going wing, so a stable
aircraft will yaw in the direction of roll, away from the
original flight path.
Stability is generally achieved by airframe design.
The tailplane and fin tend to maintain flight path
alignment, in height and direction respectively and
wing dihedral (or sweepback) oppose roll. In highperformance aircraft, e.g. military fighters,
aerodynamic stability is too slow to react and has a
drag penalty, so is assisted by computer-controlled
primary control inputs.
Cockpit controls
While aircraft come in all shapes and sizes, their
cockpit control layout is generally similar, which
assists in conversion between types. There are three
main cockpit control components:
Primary controls, for pitch, roll and yaw, comprising
the control wheel or stick and the rudder pedals,
operating the elevator, ailerons and rudder
respectively;
Secondary controls, for power, trim, flap and gear
(if retractable), comprising the throttle, mixture (and
propeller pitch in some aircraft), trim wheel/switch,
flap lever, (gear lever, if fitted) operating the Engine,
Trims, Flaps and Undercarriage, respectively.
Panel, providing information on the flight path,
location, radio, engine, fuel, electrics, flap and gear
positions (if retractable) and warnings, comprising the
ASI, FAI, ALT, TC, DI, VSI, MC; NAV/COM, GPS, ADF;
RPM/(MP if prop pitch fitted), oil temp/press;fuel
gauges, fuel flow, ignition/start, annunciator panel;
alt/bat, volts/amps, fuses/circuit breakers;flap and
gear position indicators (if fitted). respectively.
It is worth spending ground time sitting in the
aircraft, studying the layout, so that you become
totally familiar with all controls and can confidently
locate and move them by touch.
Warning: Only do this with your instructors’
approval and check master switch off when leaving
Balance
There are three types of balance in an aircraft:
• Flight balance: An aircraft is said to be balanced in
flight when the turn coordinator ball is centred. If it
isn’t, then the aircraft is crabbing (misaligned with the
flight path). It can still be stable and the usual cause
of imbalance in cruise is probably crossed controls
(aileron opposing rudder). When climbing, the aircraft
will be out of balance, due slipstream swirl pushing on
the rudder and causing yaw. This can be fixed by
rudder pressure but is better trimmed out with the
yaw trim. The correct way to fix imbalance is to
Level the wings with the ailerons; then
‘step on the ball’ (push the rudder pedal on the side
that the ball is out), or;
Turn the yaw trim wheel until fixed. Don’t forget to
reset the trim at top of climb.
• Load balance
• Control balance
by Bill Cooper
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 25
Private flying – in business class
How a PIFR works for me
There are many reasons why we choose to fly. To
fulfil a dream, to explore the never ending Australian
landscape, to challenge ourselves, and to some of the
luckier ones, to integrate it into our jobs and
businesses, to afford us more mobility, especially
when travelling to regional areas for business
purposes.
Imagine, achieving door to door travel times and
costs that rival RPT, by flying yourself to your
business destinations, conducting your business, then
returning at your leisure, timetable free. Sounds too
good to be true? Well, it isn’t but there are
qualifications to this statement.
Recently, myself, Chris Koort and Joseph Pilo from
SFC needed to attend a presentation at 1030 in
Wagga Wagga, followed by lunch, then a meeting.
After that, we needed to arrive in Melbourne for
another meeting at 1700.
Consider this scenario flying RPT. Rex Airline’s
schedule on that day had a flight to Wagga Wagga
departing Sydney at 1000 and arriving Wagga Wagga
at 1115. Too late for us, to achieve the meeting the
only option would be to drive early in the morning, or
take a flight the day before. Forgetting this leg, if we
were then to take a flight Wagga Wagga to
Melbourne, allowing time for our meetings in Wagga
Wagga, Rex could get us there no earlier than 1810,
leaving Wagga Wagga at 1655.
My point is, for regional business, RPT schedules are
likely not to be suitable. This makes the door-to-door
aspect of flying yourself easily compete with airline
transport.
But…by far the biggest qualification, is the necessity
to conduct these business flights under Instrument
Flight Rules (IFR). If you need to schedule to be
somewhere on a certain date at a certain time, VFR
simply will not suffice. You cannot turn up on the day
and decide that the weather is unsuitable, or delay
the flight for several hours or another day, or god
forbid, do a scud run.
And when you need to return home, back to your
family, your work, your dog, when your deed is done
for the day (or days) you need to return on the day
you organised to return, not a day earlier or later due
weather.
Such has been the impetus that drove me from the
moment I obtained my PPL to achieve some form of
IFR qualification, being Command Instrument Rating
(CIR) or Private Instrument Flight Rating (PIFR). I
chose a PIFR qualification for many reasons, which
are probably the subject of another newsletter article,
but I will say that since I have attained my PIFR, that
I have not looked back. Once trained, flying IFR is
easier and safer than flying VFR. It is the singularly
best thing I have done for myself in aviation.
So on the trip itself:
For this trip, we had the option of flying one of the
club Arrows, but my IFR training was based on a
Cirrus SR-20, with a G1000 Perspective, which I
believe reaches a new level of information presented
to the pilot, so I chose an aircraft that to date I have
flown over 120 hrs in, the trusty VH-IPP.
I will make a short diversion here to qualify my
earlier statement. Yes, IFR is easier than VFR… but…
it is easier in a Technically Advanced Aircraft (TAA),
once you have mastered managing all the information
that is constantly thrown at you. I am not the sort of
pilot that would win our club landing competitions, or
air rallies, and would not attempt to cross the
Nullabor with just a WAC chart. There is a time a
place for that style of flying, and it is not business
flying. For business flying, you need to use every
means at your disposal, to get there on time, without
fuss and out of cloud with the runway in front of you
where it should be, not half a mile to the left or right
or behind you.
Back to the trip:
On a visual Friday morning with few clouds (who
needs IFR right?), we filed the following flight plan
with NAIPS through my AvPlan App on my iPad
(FPL-IPP-IG
-SR20/L-SRG/C
-YSBK2200
-N0140A080 DCT BK CORDO W138 GLB W724 YAS
W10 WG DCT
-YSWG0135
-PBN/O2S1 NAV/GPSNPA DOF/150917 REG/VHIPP
PER/A)
(SPL-IPP-YSBK2200
-YSWG0135
-E/0313 P/3 A/WHITE/WITH/RED/STRIPES C/FRANK
PERONACE X/0418XXXXXX)
In the run up bay we were cleared for our planned
route, Wagga via CORDO, BK6 Departure at 3000ft.
The route was Bankstown, CORDO (an IFR waypoint),
Goulburn, Yass, Wagga at 8,000ft.
We departed Bankstown at 0835 on the Bankstown
6 Departure, departing on Runway 29, tracking 290,
and reported passing 2000ft. After being handed over
to Sydney Departures, we maintained 3000ft and
awaited further instructions, still tracking 290. At just
over the M7 we were given instructions to track direct
to CORDO, maintaining 3000ft. Left turn onto a
bearing of 186°.
Reaching Denham Court, we were cleared to climb
to 5,000ft, and at little while later, just past the Appin
Mine, we were cleared for our climb to our cruising
altitude of 8,000ft, and on our way to our first
waypoint at CORDO. At this point, we were climbing
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 26
through broken cumulus and then eventually, at
about 5,000ft, popped out over the top to clear skies
ahead.
!
!
So, into our cruise, one hour away from our top of
descent, it was time to get down to business. Joseph
had some work to finish in preparation for our
meetings on his laptop, attend to emails and carry out
some routine duties. Fortunately, I had brought along
my Telstra 4G WiFi device, which even at 8,000ft,
enroute to Wagga Wagga, we were getting excellent
reception and data coverage. So whilst Chris and I
conducted the business of flying, Joe conducted the
business itself, and we isolated his intercom from any
communications between Chris and myself, and any
ATC chatter, to let him concentrate on his work.
We knew that once we arrived in Wagga Wagga,
there would have been no time to change for our
meetings, so we left that day, in our suits and ties,
ready to hit the ground running. Although not a
particularly warm day, we were still thankful for the
air-conditioning feature of the aircraft. Suits, ties,
computers, data access, air-conditioning - This was
real business class!
Time for a selfie then..
!
40 Nm out from Wagga Wagga (YSWG), we began
our approach checks, and as we were bouncing in and
out cloud, decided to carry out a RNAV approach into
YSWG, which was made very easy by the Garmin
G1000. We selected RNAZ-Z RWY23 with an entry
point at WGAEG, and loaded it into the G1000.
At 25Nm out from YSWG, we requested traffic for
descent to 4200 (the 25Nm Minimum Safe Altitude,
MSA) and direct to Wagga Echo Golf. Apart from some
traffic notices from ATC, the approach went without a
hitch as we descended through the RNAV Waypoints
and heights for a straight in approach into RWY 23,
landing at just after 10:00 am, with plenty of time to
spare for our 10:30am presentation attendance and
subsequent meeting. Not bad, just a whisker under
90 minutes flight time. Now here was something
interesting. Our flight time was 90 minutes. The
scheduled Rex flight was 75 minutes flight time! We
were only 15 minutes slower and we were controlling
our own schedule.
Our afternoon meeting went quite a bit longer than
we anticipated, and thus we had to change our
5:00pm Moorabbin meeting for the next day, which
posed no problem for the other party, and no problem
for us either, as we could now enjoy a leisurely flight
down into Victoria and spend a night out on the town
instead.
So with our presentation, lunch and meeting all
done and dusted at Wagga Wagga (which went
extremely well, the results of which may feature in
future newsletters), it was off to Melbourne for our
next leg.
We submitted our flight plan as follows:(FPL-IPP-IG
-SR20/L-SRG/C
-YSWG0600
-N0140A080 DCT WG V410 ELW W188 MB DCT
-YMMB0139
-PBN/O2S1 NAV/GPSNPA DOF/150918 REG/VHIPP
PER/A)
(SPL-IPP-YSWG0600
-YMMB0139
-E/0314 P/3 A/WHITE/WITH/RED/STRIPES C/FRANK
PERONACE X/0418XXXXXX)
We departed YWSG around 4:00pm and climbed to
8000 feet, and continued to cruise at this altitude
with a TAS of 140kts until reaching Eildon Weir VOR
at the foot of Lake Eildon, a spectacularly beautiful
lake from the air.
Sydney Flyer
Page ! 27
!
!
Our flight path was taking us direct to HARRO from
COLDS, and approaching HARRO we were cleared by
ATC for the RNAV Approach into Moorabbin. At 6
minutes to HARRO we commenced our descent to
3,000 ft and we hit the ‘Activate Approach’ command
on the G1000. We descended through cloud and at
HARRO the autopilot commenced a right turn onto a
heading of 253° towards MMBNI (the IF or
Intermediate Fix). Approaching MMBNI, the cloud
layer was thinning and we burst into a clear (under
the cloud that is) Melbourne afternoon, with the CBD
skyline directly in front of us.
In the distance, we could see a solid bank of cloud
at about 5,000 ft blanketing the horizon and our
destination. We began our preparations for our
approach into Moorabbin and loaded into the G1000
the RNAV-Z RWY 17L approach, with HARRO as our
IAF (Initial Approach Fix)
Now I will say at this point, that I was approaching
this final stage into Moorabbin with some trepidation,
as I was not familiar with the entry procedures and
landmarks, even though I had briefed myself through
the ERSA and CASA’s excellent ‘ON TRACK’ website,
until I reminded myself that we were on a IFR flight
plan, and therefore not subject to the VFR entry
procedures. Here was a clear example of how much
more simple IFR flying is to VFR.
Just prior to LACEY, Melbourne Centre contacted us
and gave our clearance into Class C airspace, and
instructed us to descend to 5,000 ft. At this point, I
indicated my preference for the RNAV-Z RWY 17L
approach. We made our descent and by this time,
were flying over that thick blanket of cloud that we
could see in the distance from Eildon Weir, over
Lilydale aerodrome in the beautiful Yarra Valley,
although there was nothing to see from here.
!
The time was 1738 and the sun was beginning to
set below the cloud bank on our right hand side.
!
Upon reaching MMBNI, the autopilot commenced a
left turn onto the final approach bearing of 164° for
our straight in approach into YMMB RWY 17L.
I will make mention at this point, that the latest
software update of the G1000 Perspective system
found in all post 2010 Cirrus Aircraft, has a new
function called ‘BARO VNAV’, which basically is able to
autopilot descend on an RNAV profile with a glide
slope derived from its GPS, similar to an ILS
approach. A great relief when you have your hands
full. VH-IPP did not have this software update at the
time, so once the autopilot had us established on our
final course, we switched to hand flying and the set
the aircraft up for its final landing, extended one
stage of flap, reduced the speed to 100kts (IAS) and
commenced our descent profile at 3.4 Nm to MMBNF
as published.
All looking good on a sunny afternoon over
Moorabbin and Port Philip Bay, and YMMB Tower
cleared us for landing on RWY 17L
Sydney Flyer
!
So here we were some minutes later, parking the
Cirrus in front of the Royal Vic Aero Club, after a
thoroughly enjoyable one and a half hour flight from
Wagga Wagga. Who needs IFR right? We did! Yes, we
probably could have made the flight VFR at 3500 ft,
but why would you? We could have made a VFR entry
into Moorabbin (most probably through the southern
GMH reporting point), but doing an IFR entry straight
off our flight path and with ATC assistance was so
much easier and better – and with traffic notification.
Added to this, I like the feeling of extra assurance
ATC gives enroute, always in contact, with traffic
updates etc.
Sunday morning we woke up to a sunny Melbourne
morning. We checked the YSBK weather forecast and
found it to be dismal for our return. (Shouldn’t that
have been the other way around?) Forecasted
overcast cloud down to 3,000 ft and rain. What do we
do? Do we wait, defer, postpone? No, we were
scheduled to go, so we went. Thank god for IFR right?
Our plan was for a fuel stop at Albury and a push on
to Bankstown:
(FPL-IPP-IG
-SR20/L-SRG/C
-YMMB0100
-N0140A070 DCT MB W188 ELW W696 WGT W465 AY
DCT
-YMAY0110
-PBN/O2S1 NAV/GPSNPA DOF/150920 REG/VHIPP
PER/A)
(SPL-IPP-YMMB0100
-YMAY0110
-E/0312 P/3 A/WHITE/WITH/RED/STRIPES C/FRANK
PERONACE X/0418XXXXXX)
(FPL-IPP-IG
-SR20/L-SRG/C
-YMAY0330
-N0140A070 DCT AY W817 WATLE Y20 BK DCT
-YSBK0149
-PBN/O2S1 NAV/GPSNPA DOF/150920 REG/VHIPP
PER/A)
(SPL-IPP-YMAY0330
-YSBK0149
-E/0204 P/3 A/WHITE/WITH/RED/STRIPES C/FRANK
PERONACE X/0418XXXXXX)
I won’t go into detail on our return trip, as it was
quite similar to our outbound flight, but we landed on
YSBK 11L on a rainy afternoon, and taxiing back to
Page ! 28
our parking, found little activity on the aerodrome
and all the aircraft that should have been flying
parked on the ground. So we were able to come back
home on schedule, enjoy the rest of the weekend and
return to work the next day, as scheduled.
Private, Fly, Work, Schedule, Business. Making a
sentence out of these words could only be made
possible through an IFR rating. I urge all of you that
fly or wish to fly regularly, cross country, fly aways,
that romantic overnighter in a wine region
somewhere, and especially business, to consider a PIFR rating. Once you have achieved your rating, I am
sure you will agree with me that it was be the best
thing you have done for your flying.
So get down to the club and enrol in one of our new
P-IFR courses, and enjoy Business Class Private
Flying!
by Frank Peronace
Director
Cirrus Syndicate Expressions of Interest
The club has fielded several recent enquiries
regarding hire of Technically Advanced Aircraft,
specifically Cirrus SR-20 or SR-22.
Currently, we do not have access to these type of
aircraft, the closest being the Diamond DA-40, which
falls somewhat short of the capabilities of the Cirrus
Range. We have sought to cross hire these aircraft,
but unfortunately, the limited availability in the
Sydney basin has meant that any cross hire
arrangement would come at a premium with
unfavourable conditions, and a severely limited
timetable with little or no flexibility.
Therefore, we are seeking expressions of interest
from our club members in a possible syndication
ownership of one or more Cirrus SR-20 or SR-22. Full
details of this syndication would be available once we
have numbers of interested parties assessed,
including any cross hire arrangements to SFC.
We are entering into an exciting new year at SFC,
with our college enrolments at an industry record
beating level, great flying discounts on some of our
basic aircraft models due to the success of the college
business, and the introduction in the coming months
of our PIFR programme, which will no doubt drive
interest in aircraft such as the Cirrus range.
If you can see yourself flying in one of the most
exciting GA aircraft available, please use the following
link to submit some information about you and your
level of interest:https://sfcaero.doodle.com/poll/msssaqtv5ihwdfer
Please tick each of the following choices on the
screen that best describe yourself and your level
interest. All information collected will be treated as
confidential.
Yours faithfully, Sydney Flying Club
Frank Peronace, Director
[email protected]
Sydney Flyer
Sydney
Flying Club
Page 20
Wanted: your stories, opinion pieces and humour
When you come back from your next flying trip, write a short article to tell all of us
about your experience. If you have a view on how the world of aviation can be
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send it in. Write a review of an aviation book you’ve read recently.
Editor: David Jaffray, [email protected]
PS: Sydney Flyer makes a great read on your iPad or tablet.
Calendar
08 Feb IREX Theory Course (Ultimo, 10 days, 9 am - 5 pm, to 19 Feb)
14 Feb Club Competition (Slots from 8 am - 12.30 am)
20 Feb PPL Theory Course (Saturdays 9 am - 4 pm for 5 weeks)
21 Feb Aviation Safety Seminar
Phone:0297098488
Fax:0297091045
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Accounts
28 Feb GPS Course (9 am - 4 pm)
05 Mar Worldwide Women of Aviation Day event
12 Mar Fly-in to Crookwell – Binda Picnic Races
13 Mar Club Competition (Slots from 8 am - 12.30 am)
19 Mar BAK Theory Course (Saturdays 9 am - 4 pm for 5 weeks)
20 Mar Club Competition (Slots from 8 am - 12.30 am)
[email protected]
21 Mar CPL Meteorology (Ultimo, 5 days, 9 am - 5 pm, to 29 Mar)
Web:
www.sfcaero.com.au
10 Apr Club Competition (Slots from 8 am - 12.30 am)
25 Mar Deadline for articles for Apr-May Sydney Flyer newsletter
09 Apr PPL Theory Course (Saturdays 9 am - 4 pm for 5 weeks)
18 Apr CPL Flight Rules and Air Law (Ultimo, 5 days, 9 am - 5 pm, to 22 Apr)
Aproudhistoryof
flyingoperationsover
fortyyears
30 Apr BAK Theory Course (Saturdays 9 am - 4 pm for 5 weeks)
About Our SFC
Schofields Flying Club Ltd, trading as Sydney Flying Club, Sydney Flight College and
Sydney Flight Charter, has had a proud history of flying operations for over 40
years, with training as one its core propositions. Students have come from all walks
of life and at all stages in their careers, but all have shared the common passion for
aviation. A large number have moved on to professional aviation careers, others
have chosen the challenge of aviation as a recreation. All carry with them the
enthusiasm for professionalism coupled with fun that so exemplifies the modern
aviator.