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 - MARCH 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WELCOME to the March 2004 edition of Schofields News. There are the
usual features - President's Notes by Glenn Hughes, Ask the CFI by Patrick Watson, X-Files X040 (Chance Vought XF5U-1) by Anthony Coleiro, an item on Emergency Manoeuvre Training by Anthony Savivanh and, of course, there's The Last Word from Latrodectus. As well, there's the usual administrivia that you've come to expect. So, read on and enjoy!NEW MEMBERS FOR MARCH 2004: Welcome to Adrian Norris and Michael Dixon. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING will be held on Monday 19 April 2004. Although nominations for the New Committee have closed, attendance at this meeting will be a good opportunity for members to express their point of view about the running of the Club. DUTY PILOT DRAW: The Volunteer Duty Pilot Monthly Draw for February ($50 free flying) goes to Shane Paterson and Janet Richardson. Congratulations! 
NIGHT CIRCUITS: Take the opportunity to see the night lights of Sydney and at the same time do some circuits with qualified instructors. This is a great way to see if night flying is for you or to keep night current - 3 circuits with an instructor and 6 circuits as a passenger. The fun starts at 6.00pm on Friday 2nd April 2004. We will be stopping for a dinner at 7.00pm when the bank robbers come in, then flying will resume again at 8.00pm. If you would like to take part please call the Clubhouse on 9773 3611 to register your interest in the time slot of preference. You must nominate which time slot you would like to fly, either 6pm or 8pm to help with the planning of the night. Cost $75. BBQ cost will be extra. Names to be in by Thursday 1st April - no fooling!!!- for food catering purposes.DIARY DATES: The Club has a number of social and flying activities planned for 2004. You can check full details on our Coming Events page. Below is a summary of the programme for April and May 2004:
TEMORA WEEKENDS FOR 2004: Are you looking for somewhere inexpensive to spend an aviation flavoured weekend? Are you interested in inspecting beautifully restored and airworthy Warbirds? Do you want to see them screaming about the sky? If you are then how about popping down to Temora for the day, or better still for a weekend and check out the Temora Aviation Museum and Flying Aero Displays. More... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: The AGM is now upon us in April, so the 2003 accounts have been finalised and the 2004 budget has been set. Schofields has had a better year than 2002 by showing a profit. All will be revealed at the 2004 AGM on Monday, April 19 starting at 7.30pm. Committee nominations have now been finalised, and I am please to see a number of new and motivated persons to assist in the coming year. All positions have been filled with the correct numbers, so there will be no need for a vote. AIRCRAFT: Never let a good aircraft sit for too long! Our engine replacement for JRX has been completed back in early February but niggling problems with undercarriage and CSU (prop governor) have been ongoing issues. I understand the engineers are getting on top of all the issues and the aircraft should be back soon. In the mean time, a new registration has arrived online. The Cessna 152 aerobat SRY (nicknamed "the eel" due to its bright yellow and blue colours) is now available for hire and flight training. This replaces AVG, which is now being utilised by its owner in his own business. MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS: 3 months grace is provided for renewing memberships after their expiry date. For those who fell due on 1st January, your membership will be terminated as of the end of March unless you renew beforehand. Please check to ensure you are current by ringing the Club if you have any doubts. CLUBHOUSE: Renovations are continuing in the form of new paintwork of the interior. Your directors have allocated to spend time in achieving these changes before the AGM. With air-conditioning and a fresh new appearance, new and old members will find a more pleasant atmosphere to come and relax. A short report this month due to the approaching AGM. I’ll see you there. Glenn Hughes President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VCA: We have had a number of incident reports from CASA, regarding pilots entering Restricted area R555C without a clearance. CASA calls these "VCA" - Violation of Controlled Airspace. Most of these VCA's result from pilots flying from the coast westward towards Appin, and inadvertently flying too far north thus entering R555C - Holsworthy Army firing range - not a good place in which to be without notice. When questioned, the pilots described a number of common errors. It was obvious there were a small number of identifiable errors committed by the pilots concerned.
A quick perusal of the Sydney VTC shows two roads going westwards, beginning at very similar looking intersections with the Prince's Highway / Southern Freeway. One road - Appin Road - goes to Appin, the other - The Old Coach Road - turns northwards, right through the middle of the Restricted area. Obviously, these pilots picked the wrong road. A simple check of the compass would have solved this problem. Remember your "CLEAROF" checks?
DRIFT: Some pilots - especially when flying a route with which they are familiar - overestimate drift. One example is described above. Here is another.
On a recent Night VFR Flight test, I had a pilot end up over Richmond Airport, while flying south down the lane and supposedly tracking to Prospect. (Richmond was not active). Later, back at the Clubhouse, the pilot told me that he knew from the forecast that there was a westerly wind and so he allowed for it. In fact he decided to allow for 20 degrees of drift. What sort of wind would require you to allow 20 degrees of drift? Here is a little exercise for you. Put this information on your navigation computer and determine the wind velocity: Track 180 M; Drift 20 Left; TAS 120 Kt (Archer); Groundspeed 120 Kt You should get an answer of W/V = 281 M, 42 Knots. Windspeed of 42 Knot is gale force. It is categorised by the Bureau of Meteorology as "Strong Gale". What are you doing flying a light aircraft in a strong gale? The lesson here is that you should ordinarily NEVER have a drift of 20 degrees in cruise. In the same situation with a much more likely 15 knot crosswind, you would have a drift of only 7 degrees - a lot different to 20 degrees. Here is a little exercise for you. If you were flying down the lane (Track 180M in an Arrow (TAS 140 Kt) and allowing for 20 degrees of left drift, would the crosswind be more or less than the 42 knots calculated above? What about the C152, TAS 95 Kt? That’s it for this month - fly safe - keep a good lookout. Patrick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FILE X040 - CHANCE VOUGHT XF5U-1: The story of the Chance Vought XF5U-1 is truly worthy of the tag, X-FILES. Its inspiration literally came from the stars.In the 1940’s and 50’s, America played host to many strange visitors, seemingly from another planet; certainly the performance of these craft were apparently beyond what was conventionally known. Objects moving at phenomenal speeds and performing seemingly impossible manoeuvres had been tracked on radar and intercepted by fighter jets only to speed away out of reach. More often than not, these UFO’s tended to be saucer shaped. Committees were set up to collect reports of sightings, the private National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) and the USAF’s Project Blue Book. 
The disc shape had intrigued aircraft designers for some time. It offered great possibilities in regards to strength-to-weight ratio, low drag and extreme manoeuvrability. In 1942 the first serious attempt was made at exploring the shape. Charles Zimmermann who worked for the then Vought Sikorsky designed the V-173 "Flying Flapjack", a prototype Navy fighter. It was constructed from wood and fabric, the wing had a circular planform, which was also the primary structure of the aircraft, it had twin fins for rudders, swept tailplanes and powered by two 85 hp Continental engines buried in the wing driving a pair of 13-foot propellers on the end of extensions through right-angle gearboxes.The V-173 flew in November 1942, due to lack of power, it had sluggish performance but it was able to take-off and land within 50 feet, and the aircraft proved to be stall and spin proof; the concept worked. From the low powered V-173 concept came the more powerful business-like XF5U-1. In overall appearance it was the same as the concept with changes to the tailplane (used for both pitch and roll control; the same concept as on the TSR-2 [File X039 in the previous newsletter edition]), the skin of the aircraft, a unique aluminium/balsa sandwich called Metalite and the cockpit, which had a one-piece blown canopy and an ejection seat. 
The additional power came from a pair of 1,350 hp Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasp radial engines driving four-blade propellers, which gave the aircraft an estimated maximum speed of over 680 km/h. Its unique wing and the fact that the propellers were articulated gave the aircraft a landing speed of 64 km/h, the aircraft could almost hover; from minimum to maximum speed was over 600 km/h, now that’s versatile performance. The aircraft also had the ability to keep both propellers turning in the event of an engine out situation via a cleverly designed clutch and shaft system.
Only one prototype was ever built. It was not before 1947 that taxi trials took place with the aircraft even doing an inadvertent hop. The best place for flight-testing in Vought’s mind was at Edwards Airforce Base in California. Because of its shape, it could not go by road; instead it was transported by boat from Connecticut via the Panama Canal to California. As the aircraft was being readied for flight-testing, the US Navy cancelled the project. The Navy had reconsidered its position on piston-powered aircraft as jet propulsion was showing to be of greater potential. Except for the inadvertent hop, it never flew and the navy ordered its destruction.There had also been plans to build a turboprop version that would have had the ability to hover and capable of a top speed of 885 km/h. The XF5U-1 (the last piston powered aircraft from Vought) was not just remarkable in its shape and performance but also in its construction. Its patented Metalite structure proved so strong that a wrecking ball had to be dropped through the wing between the spars to start its demolition; cutting torches did the rest of the job. The V-173, when its job was over, was handed to the National Air Museum in Washington D.C., it’s a shame that the XF5U-1 was not offered the same chance at preservation to show the world how close the military came to using flying saucers! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Illustrated Ency. of Aircraft - Orbis Publication U.S. Naval Fighters - Lloyd S. Jones Air Progress (October 1967) - Condé Nast Publications Inc. Air Progress (January 1974) - Petersen Publishing Co. Anthony Coleiro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EMERGENCY MANOUEVRE TRAINING AT SCHOFIELDS FLYING CLUB: If you’ve ever wondered how you’d react in an unexpected situation, our Emergency Manoeuvre Training Course is for you. Whether you’re a new Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot or a veteran aviator, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to take this invaluable training. Based on the very popular EMT course developed by Master Aerobatics Instructor Rich Stowell of CP Aviation in the US, we are very pleased to be able to offer it to Schofields Flying Club.Let’s face it; most of us learn how to recover from inadvertent stalls during basic flight training and revision of stall recovery techniques during a biennial flight review. Some may even avoid any revision on stalls altogether. Too many accidents involve a stall situation exacerbated by windshear after take off, therefore it is not something we should simply ignore and ‘hope’ it never occurs. The EMT program at Schofields Flying Club will dispel any myths you may have had about stalls and spins and heighten your awareness of them. Other things that are covered in this course include control failures, glide approaches, sideslipping and unusual attitude recovery - essential skills which all pilots should be proficient and be aware of. 
Whether it’s recovery from being inverted or returning to normal flight after an unintentional spin, this training will teach you to make proper timely corrections under surprise circumstances in a controlled environment. After completing our program, you will fly with more confidence...a confidence that puts you at ease behind the controls and makes all your flying more pleasurable.The course consists of 2 modules that include approximately 4 hours of ground briefing and 5 hours of flight training per module. The first module aims to develop your stall/spin awareness and introduce the emergency spin recovery technique. A thorough understanding of the mechanics of a spin and the reasons why an aerofoil stalls is essential and should not be underestimated. "What speed does the C152 spin at?" The correct answer to this question should be, "ANY SPEED" as a stall can occur at any airspeed and depends on many factors. The obsession with the stall speed not only creates a very nervous flyer, but one that lacks the correct training in stall awareness and recovery. At the completion of module one, the student will receive an endorsement in his/her logbook to practice spins as the Pilot in Command. This will allow you the opportunity to practice spin entry and recovery technique on a regular basis without an Instructor. 
This is a licence to practice! I say again the words "PRACTICE". The spin endorsement is also aircraft type specific, this means that the training we do in the Cessna 152 does not automatically allow you to spin a Robin 2160.The second module reviews the training completed in module one and introduces such things as Control failures-which isn’t even part of the Day VFR Syllabus. Unusual attitudes- which is really only introduced as part of a basic aerobatic rating. We also practice quite a few Practiced Forced Landings and glide approaches, in fact every lesson in both Modules One and Two of EMT will consists of at least one simulated engine failure (both partial and total). This will hone your gliding skills and develop your assessment of the glide during an engine out scenario. When was the last time you practiced a forced landing? Sideslipping is also practiced thoroughly during this module. At the completion of module two, you will be awarded a Certificate of Proficiency in Emergency Manoeuvre Training from the Club. All flight training is conducted in the club’s recently acquired Cessna 152 Aerobat VH-SRY. Some parts of the training can also be conducted in other aircraft types, subject to approval. Remember- A pilot should always strive to learn as much as they can about the art of flying to ensure that the experience is not only memorable but safe! You can obtain a detailed description of the course syllabus by contacting Anthony Savivanh. Anthony Savivanh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LISTEN FOR THE FUEL PUMP: When you start your engine, do you wear your headphones? Most pilots do - it’s quieter that way. But there could be some things you’ll want to hear during the start-up process. For instance, before you engage the starter, you should check that your electric fuel pump is working. How do you do this? By checking for an indication of fuel pressure (on the fuel pressure gauge) and by the sound. This is the only opportunity you’re going to get because, as soon as you start your engine, the engine-driven pump will dominate the pressure reading and the noise of the engine will drown the sound of the electric pump. Unusual mechanical noises may not be noticeable if you’re wearing headphones. For example, a failure to disengage the Bendix drive of the starter motor may not be apparent if your ears are covered. Likewise, the sound of a seatbelt flapping outside the door might go unnoticed. While the Club doesn’t insist that you start-up before putting on your headphones, it does seem like another facet of that intangible thing called airmanship.
THREE VARIABLES IN FLYING: For day VFR flying, there are three variables you must take into account - daylight, fuel and weather. You should never compromise on more than one of them. For instance, If you’re flying in marginal weather conditions, make sure you’ve got plenty of daylight and fuel left. If you’re operating in a minimum fuel situation, do so in conditions of good weather with sufficient daylight remaining. And if you’re arriving around the end of daylight, plan to have a healthy fuel excess and good weather conditions. RADIO OPERATION: The most common cause of radio problems at Bankstown is the pilot’s fingers! You should make sure your radio is operating correctly before you taxi. Before starting your engine, copy the ATIS and thoroughly familiarise yourself with your particular radio (its switches, frequency selector, headphone/speaker switches, microphone selector etc). Ask an instructor if in doubt. 
The "squelch" control is used to remove background noise between transmissions. It can also be used to test that the receiver is working. But the best way to test your receiver is to tune the ATIS on 120.9. Avoid clicking your microphone (or blowing in it) to see if the transmitter is working, especially when tuned to an ATC frequency. Do this, if you must, on a non-essential frequency. The microphone should be placed 1-3 cm from the lips. Speak slowly, and across the mike, rather than into it. If you want to sound cool and professional, remember the basic rules of speaking over the radio:
Don't start talking before you've pressed the PTT button (or let it go before you've finished!) Press the button, pause, speak, pause, and then release the button. With practice you'll be able to reduce the duration of the pause to a minimum. Whenever you change frequency (for instance, from GND 119.9 to TWR 132.8), you should pause for at least 5 seconds before transmitting (to ensure your are not going to overtransmit another station). A pet hate of air traffic controllers is the pilot who doesn’t listen out before pressing the PTT. Change frequency, wait 5 seconds, making sure no-one else is in the middle of a conversation, then make your transmission. (No message is so urgent that it can’t wait a few seconds!) When it’s busy on the radio, a good practice is to release the PTT briefly after you’ve started to speak, like this: "BK TWR" (release button), "JRX" (release button), [REST OF MESSAGE]. The duration of this release only needs to be short enough to hear whether another station is transmitting at the same time as you. If there is, cease transmitting until the other message is finished. If not, continue with your message. To the casual listener, the pause is practically imperceptible; but it will save your breath and will certainly make ATC more friendly! FEEDBACK AND CONTRIBUTIONS: Well, that's your newsletter for this month. With your help (in the form of contributions, photos, etc.) it should be possible to produce a newsletter every month. Don't forget to check the latest news on the Club's website at www.schofields-flying-club.com.au. Contributions, comments, feedback, and (polite) suggestions to latrodectus@schofields-flying-club.com.au. THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it." - Henry Ford Until next time. Latrodectus |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© 2003 Schofields Flying Club Ltd. All Rights Reserved.