Schofields Flying Club Ltd - 1 Tower Road Bankstown Airport 2200
(PO Box 200, Georges Hall, NSW 2198 AUSTRALIA)
Phone: +61 2 9773 3611 Email: mail@schofields-flying-club.com.au
SCHOFIELDS FLYING CLUB NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 2008
Welcome to the January 2008 edition of Schofields News. There are the usual plus some new features -
President's Notes by Mike Allsop,
Ask the CFI by Patrick Watson,
X-File X082 (Kawasaki Ki.96) by Anthony Coleiro,
Our new Clubhouse viewed from a GNSS satellite Career Update by Jarrod Robertson, Our Move to Birch Street by Mike Allsop, 2007 Opal Tour Days 4/5 by Jenny Luxford and Steve Pearson, 2008 Queensland Flyaway Update by Mike Allsop, 2007 Opal Tour Day 6 by Richard Pincus, Christmas Party Report by Peter Blackbourn, 2007 Opal Tour Day 7 by Alan Searle, and The Last Word from Latrodectus. As well, there's some of the usual administrivia that you've come to expect. So, read on and enjoy!
Our new Clubhouse viewed from a GNSS satellite Career Update by Jarrod Robertson, Our Move to Birch Street by Mike Allsop, 2007 Opal Tour Days 4/5 by Jenny Luxford and Steve Pearson, 2008 Queensland Flyaway Update by Mike Allsop, 2007 Opal Tour Day 6 by Richard Pincus, Christmas Party Report by Peter Blackbourn, 2007 Opal Tour Day 7 by Alan Searle, and The Last Word from Latrodectus. As well, there's some of the usual administrivia that you've come to expect. So, read on and enjoy!
NEW MEMBERS: Prospective new members of the Club can download a Membership Application Form (174kB pdf) here. Note that it is still necessary for new members to attend the Club in person with photo identification before applications can be processed.
DECEMBER DUTY PILOT DRAW: The Volunteer Duty Pilot Monthly Draw for December ($50 free flying) goes to Rae Cauchi and Richard van Doornum. The Club appreciates the efforts our tireless band of volunteers generously give in helping their Club and this is one small way of saying thank you!
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: The 2008 AGM will be held on Monday, 21 April in the new Clubhouse commencing at 7:30pm. Nominations for the Committee will close on Friday, 14 March at 9:00am. More details and a 'nomination pack' will be available for download shortly.
Manuel Azcona FIRST SOLO: Congratulations to Manual Azcona who completed his first solo flight in JNB on 28 December 2007 at 6:45am. Manuel has been flying with Tom, Lori and Peter Newman who sent him first solo. Manuel flew a good circuit and a textbook landing. Well done!
FROM THE TOWER: The December 2007 issue of From the Tower, Bankstown's Air Traffic Control news circular, is now available (254kB pdf). It's aim is to provide the Bankstown aviation community with a bi-monthly source of news and information from an ATC point of view. You can download previous issues from our Downloads page.
THEORY COURSES FOR 2008: In 2008 we will be offering a wide spectrum of Pilot aviation theory courses. There will be a course for everyone regardless of your stage of flying. If any of the courses interests you, please contact the Club to enrol. Courses will be held in our new large air-conditioned classrooms in our new Clubhouse in Birch Street at Bankstown airport. More...
DIARY DATES: The Club has a number of social and flying activities planned for 2008 and you will be able to check out the full details on our Coming Events page in the next few weeks.
| Mon | 21 | January | Committee Meeting | Old Clubhouse |
| Mon | 28 | January | Public Holiday | |
| Sun | 10 | February | Members' Open Day | New Clubhouse |
| Mon | 18 | February | Committee Meeting | New Clubhouse |
| Sun | 24 | February | Grand Official Opening | New Clubhouse |
Mike Allsop
Happy New Year to you all. The Club has been operating at full steam over the holiday season despite some weather interruptions, and we are pleased to welcome a large number of new members to our ranks. Whether you are learning to fly, upgrading your skills or just looking for a really friendly aviation environment to enjoy your flying, this is the place to be.
As you will be aware, within the next few weeks we will relocating our operations to 60 Birch St, on the other side of YSBK. Birch St is off Marion St Bankstown, with Aerospace Aviation on the corner. We are down near the end of that street between the private T hangars and the big heritage hangar. We are waiting final approvals to commence operations on this site (various consent authorities, CASA, etc.) but hope to be fully functional by early February. We are already moving out a lot of non essential items from Tower Rd as you may have seen, with the intention of making the "final move" less intensive and enabling a smooth transition. All this effort is being organised and put in by volunteers, so on behalf of all members a great vote of thanks goes to all who have helped in whatever capacity.
We are keen to leave behind as little as possible once we move, so those items not marked for relocation will be available to members either for sale or as scrap, depending on what it is. After we vacate the Tower Rd site, there will be no further access permitted - everything on site will become the property of BAL. Make sure you make your interests known well in advance (preferably by 25 Jan), and be prepared to take possession of your treasure almost immediately.
We sent out a note to members regarding our plans for a familiarisation day at the new site and for the official opening ceremony later in February. These dates still depend on approvals, so we will update you all directly once confirmed. We would really like to see as many members as possible join us on these occasions. With all this going on around us, we still have a business to run of course, and we have good news for you on a couple of fronts:
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Firstly, we are pleased to welcome Lori Timewell as a full time member of our staff. Lori is a Grade 2 instructor and will be available 5 days per week, Monday to Friday. In addition to flight instruction, Lori will be helping Pat and Nelson with various ground courses and associated advice to members with enquiries as to how best to meet their aviation interests. Welcome Lori! |  Lori Timewell |
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Secondly, by the time you read this, we will have on-line our newest addition to the Schofields fleet - Archer II VH-SFA. This is a beautifully re-furb'd Archer with the familiar IFR setup of all our fleet - Garmin 430 GPS NavCom, Garmin 340 audio selector, King flip-flop ADF and second comm. It also has an autopilot just like LSG's. It will be a great addition for us, and I hope you enjoy it. Yes, and before you laugh at the rego, one of our number has already commented that it is the only aircraft in our fleet with a description of the rental rates painted on it. Enjoy! |
I am sure I will see many of you either at Tower Rd or Birch St over the next few weeks. Enjoy your flying, and enjoy the buzz of the relocation - I'm sure you will be pleased with the result. In the meantime, safe and happy flying.
Mike Allsop
President SFC
Patrick Watson
I hope you had a very good Christmas and a nice relaxing break. By the time you get this Newsletter, we'll probably be in our new Clubhouse. As many of our members are not used to the northern side, I thought it appropriate to show a map of taxiways to the various runways and locations of the Runup bays from the Northern Side perspective.
Parking arrangements outside the clubhouse have not been decided at the time I am writing this article - more news on that later. In the following diagram, follow the BLUE lines to Runway 11, follow the RED lines to Runway 29.
Coming out of the Clubhouse parking area, there is a choice of clockwise or anti-clockwise to Taxiway A3. That may change with experience and become One Way. Taxiway A3 is coloured RED and BLUE to indicate that is the taxiway to both Runways 11 and 29. We used to be able to taxi via A4 to Runway 29, However TOLL has stopped that practice.
RUNWAY 29: To get to Runway 29, Taxi via A3, turn left just past the open hangars, down to M2, hard left on to K4, and the Runup bay is just on your left. Leaving the Runup Bay, Taxi along the parallel taxiway, K4 then K5, and K6 and stop at the holding point A5. If you wish to do circuits, continue on K6 then K7, N, and L6. The Runup Bay will be on your left (two to choose from).RUNWAY 11: If you wish to use Runway 11, continue down A3, past the Police Hangar, past the terminal, then turn right on to the parallel taxiway K3 then K2. The Runup Bay is directly ahead at the end of the Taxiway. If you wish to do circuits on Runway 11 Right, you will have to taxi via J1. (Don't go via K1, Q2, unless you want to use Runway 11 Centre or get a clearance to cross 11 Centre at the threshold). Continue along W1, W2, W3 and W4. A familiar Runup bay will appear on your left.
On some taxiways you may have a choice of two yellow taxiway lines to follow. You'll see these along A2, and U1. Unless you see an arrow indicating traffic direction, then always choose the right hand yellow line to follow. Keep to the yellow line and don't wander all over the taxiway. The nose wheel should be on the yellow line or within 200 mm in the case of taxiways with centre lights.
You may find a lot more taxiing traffic on the northern side. Don't forget the basic 'give way' rules.
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All aircraft exiting a runway have right of way |
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Give way to your right (unless you are exiting a runway) |
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Diverge to your right in order to pass oncoming traffic. (Even if it means getting on to the grass.) |
As always, if you have any problems at any time, come and see me, or your favourite friendly instructor, and finally, if you get into difficulty at any time, use the radio. Bankstown Ground on 119.9 will guide you to where you want to go.
Patrick Watson
Chief Pilot - Chief Flying Instructor
T he Ki.96 was designed to be a single-seat twin-engined heavy fighter based on the successful Ki.45 Toryu (Dragon Killer) two-seat twin-engined multi-purpose fighter.
There prototypes were built, the first being ready in September 1943. The first Ki.96 being a Ki.45 with the rear cockpit faired in but the other two were built as single seaters from the outset with redesigned all-round vision canopies.
The Kawasaki Ki.96 - a single-seat twin-engined fighter The aircraft were all-metal in construction and were powered by a pair of 1,500 hp Mitsubishi Ha.112-II fourteen-cylinder radial engines. The aircraft achieved speeds of up to 630 km/h at 31,170 feet.
Despite initial interest from the Japanese Army Air Force, no definitive policy was formulated on the aircraft and it was decided to revert back to the two-seat configuration and so the Ki.96 was abandoned and the Ki.102 heavy attack fighter was born. This new aircraft used the same wings as the Ki.96.
A little over 200 of the Ki.102's were produced; production hampered by engine technical difficulties and they only saw limited service.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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The Complete Book of Fighters - William Green Gordon Swanborough |
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War Planes of the Second World War - Fighters Volume Three - William Green |
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Japanese Aircraft of World War II - Basil Collier |
Anthony Coleiro
Jarrod Robertson
Some of you may remember me sitting at one of the tables (sleeping occasionally) and eating Kinder surprise chocolate with my instructor, Ayako Mabuchi, a few years ago. I completed my initial training with the flying club in 2003-4, completing my GFPT under the ever watchful eye of Pat Watson and finally my PPL with Rob Pieroboni. From this point I have only visited the club a couple of times as I have been a very busy boy.
Since learning I have been following my dream to fly for Qantas. This was in the capacity as a short-haul flight attendant for about one year. I applied for the Qantas cadetship program while I was busily flying around Australia, convinced that sitting up the pointy end of the aeroplane would be much more satisfying and probably less work!
Jarrod in the Embraer Brasilia 120 I was incredibly fortunate to be selected into the program and completed my training in Melbourne. At the moment I am approaching the end of the Industry Placement Program which is a two year period of employment with regional airlines in Australia.
I am working for Airnorth in Darwin as a Fairchild Metro First Officer. Airnorth has a fleet including Metros, Brasilias and a newly acquired E170 "jungle-jet". The work is always challenging and very rewarding especially after negotiating what seems like an endless wall of thunderstorms in the wet season and landing safely. I still regularly use the many pieces of advice and skills transferred to me from Ayako and can swear that I can hear her talking me through cross-wind landings even now! I have included a few shots of the many destinations in Australia and Indonesia that we fly to.
I still regularly read the Club's newsletter with interest and try to answer Pat's puzzles each month (with occasional success). I look forward to rejoining the club when I return to Sydney in May, and catching up with old and new members for a strong cup of tea in the new club-house. All the best and safe flying.
Jarrod Robertson
Birch Street view of our new Clubhouse (pre-signage)
We are rapidly approaching the date for our relocation to 60 Birch St. We thought you might appreciate a quick heads-up on our plans for the move and for events for you to enjoy. Read on!
The fit-out is largely complete. At present we are moving various non-operational items to the new site, as well as receiving various replacement items direct to the new site. We are still waiting on the certificate of occupancy from the approving authorities which we expect in the next couple of weeks if all is well.
Our planning date for commencement of flying operations at Birch St is Sunday January 28th. We hope the approvals go smoothly, but if not we may have to amend this date. We will spend a little while bedding things in, so please bear with us.
We are holding two opening events with different purposes, and you are invited to both.
| 1. | MEMBERS' OPEN DAY: Sunday 10th February 11:00am - 4:00pm. | |
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We would like you to come to the new clubhouse for a look around and a chat, drink and bite to eat. In particular we would like to discuss some operational facets pertaining to the new site and to make you feel very comfortable in our new abode. Guided tours and short briefings will be provided. | |
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Flying operations will be business as usual on the day, so you might like to book a flight as well - it might be free! A lucky door prize of 1 hour free flying will be on offer. | |
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We will supply a casual lunch courtesy of the Club, and will open the bar at 3:00pm. | |
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Your feedback and suggestions will be very welcome - this is a day for you as a Club member. | |
| 2. | GRAND OFFICIAL OPENING: Sunday 24th February 5:00pm - 8:00pm. | |
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This will be the "official" opening of our new premises with a number of invited guests including the aviation press to join our members and friends for the occasion. | |
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Club flying operations will be as normal during the day, but cease at 4:30pm. Book a flight - it may be free! We have a second lucky door prize to award on the day. | |
The Programme of Events will be:
| 1715 | Brief guided tours of the premises for those visiting for the first time. (the Members Open Day will be more informative) | |
| 1730 | A fly-by of Club aircraft, subject to prior CASA approval and Airservices approval on the day. (Members wishing to take part please tell Suzanne) | |
| 1745 | The official opening by Mr Ian Honnery (Airshows Downunder and Life Member of the Club). | |
| 1830 | Cocktail style dinner and refreshments |
We will be sending invitations to you later this month (and as a reminder!), but could you please make a diary note of these dates now. We expect good numbers on both occasions, and it would help our planning if you could give us an early indication of your attendance at either or both these events and any guests to accompany you.
Please give Suzanne a call at the Club 9773 3611 even before the invite arrives. We look forward to welcoming you to 60 Birch St, the new home for Schofields Flying Club. See you there.
Mike Allsop
President SFC
OPAL FLYAWAY 2007 - DAYS 4/5 - JENNY LUXFORD & STEVE PEARSON
Steve Pearson and Jenny Luxford
T his was a full day at Andamooka, after a hearty breakfast in motel. Two 4wd vehicles laden with happy travellers made their way to Roxby Downs, driven by Wayne and Nelson (who both did a wonderful job of driving and organising on many occasions).
Drove past native pines alongside road, these were used in the pioneer days for building, as termites do not attack them.
Day 4: Andamooka
Tuesday, 4th September 07
Saltbush is main vegetation in this area. The town of Roxby Downs has a stadium, netball and basketball courts, bowls, golf, gym, and 3 swimming pools Built specifically to accommodate mine workers and their families, 85% of population of 14,500 work at mine. Plans are underway to expand town, which is very clean and modern. Coffee break enjoyed at the information centre, where we learnt that 900 native animals/sq km are consumed every year by feral cats, therefore a 86 km wire dog fence protects native animals from cats, foxes, rabbits. 60% of animals have already become extinct since white settlement.Tuesday, 4th September 07
At Roxby Downs group transferred to a coach for conducted tour of Olympic Dam mine. Production was started here in 1988 by Western Mining, has been owned by BHP Billiton since August 2005. Mine lease covers 250 sq km, and water is obtained from the great artesian basin, and then desalinated. Mine is 800m deep and air is changed every 12-15 mins as a protection against uranium contamination. It is anticipated that the mine will probably go open cut in 2013, feasibility studies are in progress at the moment. Two crushing mills, one handling 460 tons/hr, reduces football size rocks, to size of grain of salt.
From Olympic Dam our hard working duo drove to Woomera where we visited Missile Park with its display of planes, rockets, launchers, missiles, etc launched at Woomera over the years.
On return trip, passed fields of Sturt Peas, presently giving their best display for over 10 years due to rain early in year. Everyone stopped for photos of this spectacular display which hasn't been seen for many years.
Day 5: Andamooka to Coober Pedy
Wednesday, 5th September 07
Wednesday, 5th September 07
After breakfast at motel, the group left for Andamooka airport, to prepare for flight to Coober Pedy. The warm up area was a concrete pad on the edge of the worst gravel runway we had ever experienced.
On route we diverted to fly over Painted Hills, as we had seen a travel documentary of this colourful and rugged area which consists of hundreds of small hills in red, white and ochre colours. After landing at Coober Pedy, the group transferred to Mud Brick motel, which was built from mud and concrete mix poured in situ. Here Sue and John Chambers joined us, having driven from their home in South Australia.
This was a day for relaxing, walking around town, visited underground Desert Cave Hotel, opal shops etc and finished off with a wonderful meal at Joe and Mary's Greek restaurant.
Jenny Luxford & Steve Pearson
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As you may know, the Club is organising a Flyaway to Queensland for a fortnight in late July / early August this year. Plans are well advanced, and we have already made tentative bookings at key destinations. The trip will take in coastal Qld all the way to Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands, and come back via the ranges. We have done tours to outback Qld etc in the past, which are also great, but his will give a unique opportunity to enjoy some parts of the country that many of us never see. The broad plan is to avoid one night stands, and to spend up to 3 nights in places with lots to do. Most flying days will be half day only, although a couple of full days will be required. We are assembling "the ground component" at the moment with accommodation and various tour options to join. Prices seem pretty reasonable. The itinerary is shaping up as follows:
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Hervey Bay | 2 nights |
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Whitsundays | 3 nights |
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Cairns | 3 nights |
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Thursday Is | 3 nights |
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Undara | 2 nights |
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Carnarvon Gorge | 2 nights |
Check it out on the map! Potential fuel stops are shown in red, we stay on yellow. Members and guests will be welcome to join in either Club aircraft or their own. Aircraft sharing is also possible if you would like.
We already have a number of members keen to participate, but there is still room to join us if you would like. Please call Suzanne to register your interest, and have a chat to Richard Pincus about the detail. Once all details are settled we will advise final prices and a payment plan. Firm bookings will be accepted at that point, probably around mid February. We look forward to having you join us!
Mike Allsop
President SFC
Richard and Helen Pincus
Coober Pedy - Opal Capital of the World - the town and the surroundings reek of the long history and the amazing "colourful" characters, past and present.
Day 6: Coober Pedy
Thursday, 6th Sep 07
They are great people in my view - among other things they provide a lot of work for lawyers! The immediate surrounding area is far more interesting than the country around most famous outback towns, and our visit was designed to let us enjoy the best of both the town and its surrounds. Having been there before, I over-flew the town itself to see the Breakaways and the gibber plains from the air before turning back to join the circuit into the very close-to-town airport. As we came back, the areas of seried ranks of mullock-heaps made the whole area look like a giant ant colony with ant hills 30 - 50 fifty feet high and presumably giant ants to match!Thursday, 6th Sep 07
The Breakaways and gibber plains and mines do not look as spectacular from high up, so we practiced careful 500 foot flying to get the full flavour, climbing up to do the circuit at the correct height.
We slept in the above-ground Mud Hut Motel, built, you guessed it, out of mud! They call it rammed earth. Sounds primitive but the walls were beautifully finished, thick and cool, and the hospitality from Katherine and Garry was great.
We stayed above ground but there is
a fine underground motel if you like. Breakfast at the motel, a walk around town buying a few opals, then a long tour of a "working" mine, an underground Church, (There are several - almost all the buildings in CP are underground.) the cemetery, a miners house, (cool, extensive, and very well fitted out) the astonishing Breakaways ( see Priscilla, Queen of the desert, to see how incredible they are if you cannot go yourself) , the moon plains (a gibber desert - see Mad Max I) the petrified wood and gypsum area (see Hieronymous Bosch) and the dog fence. The area was at its best and is truly a magical land and a photographer's delight indeed. The tour guide was well-informed and very knowledgeable and skilful.
The opals, as always, were the real highlight of the stop, for the ladies anyway. Shops everywhere and some very good displays, very much more diverse and better-priced than at home. The assistants knew far more about what they sold, of course, than in Sydney, and were able to tell you far more interesting things, mostly about the goings-on of the miners. But they knew the technical stuff as well. For example, do you know what the difference is between a triplet and a solid opal? I was trying to interest Helen in a beautiful triplet, but she fell in love with, a "solid" in a gold setting. So what is the difference between a triplet and a solid? In this case, $3150!
If you only go to one Opal town, make it this one. We stayed above ground but there is a fine underground motel if you like.
Richard Pincus
Top Gun and our Christmas Party make a night to remember
Members listening earnestly to Topper's presentation
Our recent xmas party was a fitting way to say goodbye to Tower Road. Guest speaker Topper, who is featured as a rookie in the SBS series Real Top Guns (this was filmed early last year) certainly provided a great insight into fighter pilot training and the RAAF's front line fighter the F/A 18 Hornet at our last major social event at Tower Road.
The rain had kept away on Saturday 15th and as I pulled into Rydges Hotel driveway to pick up Topper and his finance Belinda, I thought what a great day. We swung by Birch Street on the way back to check out the new clubhouse. They thought it was great. After Topper plugged his laptop into our presentation equipment and had 3 greens for video, sound and overall setup we had a walk around the club aircraft.
Peter Tippner
('Topper') With a background in GA he had quite a few questions about the performance of our fleet. We both had to do a few quick head calcs when it came to some discussions - his airspeed is in Mach numbers and for fuel quantities by weight in pounds. Our little warriors seemed to be from another planet when compared to the stats of the Hornet. Both financial as well as operational.
In his presentation Topper told us how the Hornet climbs at 35,000 FPM, costs some $40,000 an hour to run and with the after burner on you can literally see the fuel gauge dropping. Interestingly enough they are signed out like other military ordinance and how one would repay what is close to a $40 Million plane if you ejected and it crashed I can only wonder.
Topper provided our members and guests with a great presentation and insight into what it's like to fly at the sharp end of military aviation. The communication skills of these guys certainly match their capabilities in the cockpit. For those who could not join us and have an interest in the boom and zoom side of military aviation then consider getting the DVD of the Real Top Gun series, the flying video footage is worth the value alone.
It was a combined party and presentation night with Topper and CFI Pat Watson presented awards to those members who have been successful in attaining a milestone(s) in their flight training. A few photos from the night have been added to our Photo Gallery and these can be checked out if you click HERE.
Well that was it for another year and indeed another chapter in the life of Schofields Flying Club at Tower Road.
Peter Blackbourn
Director - Clubhouse Services & Events
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A ROCK POEM - Day 7: Coober Pedy to Ayers Rock (Uluru) - Friday, 7th September 07
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The sun rose menacing, uncovering a scrub speckled clay, Eager folk with their planes, itchin' to lift them away. Shovelled my brecky, 'cos I'm an old miner who's greedy, Hell, we're all lean and hungry in this town, Coober Pedy! Then we hustled about with a satchel and tore, As with one glance behind, we shot for the door! Threw the lot in the back, did the usual flight check, Maz roared, "don't waste any time - just get off the deck!" So we flew over red desert, then we flew over red dust, As the missus yelled out "It's the Ayers Rock or bust!" "Bloody hell - there's nothin' below - it's damn daunting", I said. Well! By the look that she gave me, I am already dead! This scalded desert seems endless, how far must I fly? This parched, searing vista on my sun blistered eye. But that vastness 'down under', so inspiring when seen! Hell, we flew over terrain where no man has been! |
 Maz roared, "don't waste any time - just get off the deck!" |
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When out in the distance, like a huge dinosaur, Loomed the biggest damn thing that I ever saw! It perched like a crown - she's the queen of the land, The majestic Ayers Rock stood splendid and grand. Landed a greaser, then rolled up the tarmac, Couldn't wait to return, but we had to unpack. That dusted and done, time to jump on the bus For those "what were comin'" and then there was us! And we sat window glued to this view now unfolding, The awesome Olgas before us, the colours beholding. Ochres on rust lay these strewn rocks of time past, Marbles of giants dwarfed a landscape as vast. And then it was time for our champagne o'clock, For a wee little tipple at a place called 'The Rock'. Thus we gathered around, all smiles, glasses clinking! As one took in the view, while the sun started sinking. |
 When out in the distance, like a huge dinosaur, Loomed the biggest damn thing that I ever saw! |
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And then, right there before us, in red through to blue, The graphics start changing and right on damn cue! Kaleidoscopic colours - hell, you'd never expect 'em! You couldn't believe it, the whole bloody spectrum! First yellow then ambers as it turned to late day. Next browns, deep and rich, as they melted away. But that didn't last as so quickly we learnt, 'Cos then she gave way to deep orange, but burnt! Yet wait, here comes more! Hell, that wasn't the lot! These colours were churning like in an old earthen pot. For then lastly she rolled on, to a rich fiery red, This huge Aussie giant was now ready for bed. So we all held our breath - what a magnificent sight! As we toasted the grandeur and wished her goodnight. Thus the rock turned away, mantled cloak of dark blue, And slipped 'neath the stars, as we bid her adieu. And just as I spun, from this last light and hue, I swear I heard Maz say, "Farewell, Hooluru!" |
 I swear I heard Maz say, "Farewell, Hooluru!" |
Alan Searle
Schofields Poet Laureate
An INDUSTRY FORUM MEETING will be held at Camden Airport hosted by Airservices Australia at the Airborne Aviation Hangar (or Southern Cross Gliding Club, depending on the weather) on Saturday 2nd February between 1700 - 1900. A barbecue and cold softdrinks will be provided. This is intended to be an open forum in a friendly environment. It's to enable full and frank discussion about whatever issues you may consider to be relevant in GA today. Reply to Matt Windle or to Mike O'Keeffe on 9738 3181 or 0402 142 714.RECENT NOTAMS: Here is a selection of NOTAMS and AIP SUPs that have been promulgated via NAIPS that you should be aware of:
- The Lane of Entry beacon at Berowra will not be available until at least the end of March. Make sure you can navigate the lane between BBG - PSP without relying on it. NOTAM C5851/07 refers.
- Flightwatch is not available on the discrete frequencies notified in ERSA. If you normally cancel SARWATCH of notify flight plan amendments on 121.1, you should now do this on the appropriate control frequency, such as 124.55 or 121.2, etc. There's a list of the appropriate frequencies in AIP SUP H88/07. You should coninue to use the generic callsign 'Flightwatch' and also prefix the call with the name of the appropriate ATC unit. For instance, "SYDNEY RADAR - FLIGHTWATCH, SIERRA FOXTROT ALPHA - LANDED WARNERVALE, CANCEL SARTIME". You should ensure that an appropriate preflight briefing is obtained prior to departure as per AIP GEN 3.3 para 2.3.2. NOTAM C5682/07 refers.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: You fly an aeroplane with your head, not your hands. So never let your aeroplane take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.
Latrodectus
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