Schofields Flying Club Ltd - 60 Birch Street Bankstown Airport 2200
(PO Box 200, Georges Hall, NSW 2198 AUSTRALIA)
Phone: +61 2 9709 8488 Email: mail@schofields-flying-club.com.au
Welcome to the October 2011 edition of Schofields News. There are the most of the usual plus some new features -
Scone Navex - May 2011 by Mike Allsop,
Ask the CFI by Bill Cooper,
DA20 in a day by Mike Allsop,
Book Review (The Forgotten Few) by Phil McLeod,
X-File X100 (CARI) by Anthony Coleiro,
Tumut Fly-In by Justin McCoy,
Cirrus Thredbo Express by Fabian Lukken, and
The Last Word from Latrodectus. As well, there's some of the usual administrivia that you used to expect. So, read on and enjoy!
Last Light Drinks
This is a social activity introduced by the Clubhouse & In-house Events sub committee for members and their guests to join together with some of our committee members on the last Sunday of each month.
Sydney Harbour from the north It is an opportunity to discuss flying at an operational and social level and see the changes that are taking place at the club. Drinks are available from our licensed bar, with complimentary savories served. It's a couple of hours of social interaction with an aviation theme that we can all enjoy. From 17:00 to wind up around 19:00. Come and join us on October 30.
Duty Pilot draw
The Volunteer Duty Pilot Monthly Draw ($50 free flying) went to the following members: June 2011 - Karen Heugh and John Rochford. July 2011 - Craig McGregor and David Hunt. August 2011 - John Carswell and Bill Dawes. 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!
New members
Welcome to June 2011 new members Zackary Kane, Tom Hyam, Tarang Pathiyan, Scott Denny, John Halta, Luke Ford, Brendan Mullan, Vishal Thakur, Paul Hamilton, Man Lai Shing, Werner Slabbert and Ceri Bartlett, and to July 2011 new members Solomon Ould, Sajikumar Kunnel Sasikum, Rida Yacoub, Hans Petri, Koenraad Van Grimbergen, Shukua Keyurkumar, Milan Kuzet, Christopher Scalley, EricsonTsui, Man Wai Lui, Todd Russell and Anthony Kelly. 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.
Diary dates
The Club has a number of social and flying activities planned for 2010 and you can check out the full details on our Coming Events page.
| Sat | 01 | October | 11 | PPL Course commences | Clubhouse | |
| Sat | 01 | October | 11 | NSW Interclub Competition | Taree | |
| Sun | 09 | October | 11 | GPS Course | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 16 | October | 11 | Club competition | Warnervale | |
| Sun | 16 | October | 11 | Garmin 1000 course | Clubhouse | |
| Mon | 17 | October | 11 | Board Meeting | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 23 | October | 11 | Club member BBQ | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 30 | October | 11 | Last Light Drinks | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 20 | November | 11 | Club member BBQ | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 27 | November | 11 | Early morning competition | Bankstown | |
| Sun | 27 | November | 11 | Last Light Drinks | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 11 | December | 11 | GPS Course | Clubhouse | |
| Sat | 17 | December | 11 | End of year function | TBA | |
| Sun | 18 | December | 11 | Garmin 1000 course | Clubhouse | |
| Mon | 19 | December | 11 | Board Meeting | Clubhouse | |
| Sun | 25 | December | 11 | Christmas Day | ||
| Mon | 26 | December | 11 | Boxing Day | ||
Our next flying competition will be our regular competition at Warnervale on Sunday, 16 October. More...
Mike Allsop
Well, we finally got underway with our Navex and BBQ on 14th May, fully 3 months after we tried initially. The whole idea was to combine a bit of fun and competitive spirit with a flyout and BBQ lunch at Scone, coinciding with their Open Day in February. The weather snookered that idea initially, and so we agreed to re-try early in May. All was looking good for the 7th then guess what – the aerodrome was NOTAM’d closed due late running council works. Never mind, so we had another go.
On the day we ended up with 7 crews of 2 or 3 per aircraft, and a good mix of experience in our members. Conditions were clear but a bit gusty early, but forecast to moderate, which indeed they did.
The format for the day for us was a sort of “air rally”, with a set of questions to be answered by each crew and scores tallied on our return to Bankstown. Some of the questions related to planning and map reading, and others to direct observation. The standard was generally very good, and it was pleasing to see that all estimates of fuel used on the day were higher than the actuals (which we determined on return). A good lesson in leaning if I was charitable, or good examples of sandbagging the answer if not!
The observation questions were kept reasonably straightforward, although crews found themselves busy keeping up occasionally. Several creative guesses were received, but the prize for initiative went to Rae Cauchi’s crew who asked a couple of Scone members about a missed question or two. The level of detail received about the number and construction of the silos at Aberdeen siding could only have been determined on (or near) the ground!
Overall the observation part of the Navex was won by Hank Langejans, David Winter and Cameron Crawford in Cessna 182 MIG.
Lineup of Schoies aircraft at YSCO Just goes to show what you can see when you put the wing overhead. The event was won overall by Rae Cauchi, Ray Hand and Angelo Cauchi in Archer KTN. The prize for perseverance went to Ron Keonig and Dave Roberts who found their steed (Dave’s Cherokee) u/s at Bankstown so drove to Camden to collect Ron’s Cherokee buried about 4 deep in a hangar. They made it, and negotiated a handy change in their estimates for their trouble.
To top the day off, I received a call from BN CEN when over MQD 5500 on the way home. They asked “is something on” – we were all strung out like a string of pearls on their screen which they said “looked most impressive”. Similarly, BK GND asked Bill Dawes on his return in EOM “where have all you Schoies guys been – was something on”. Great to see that it was not only our guys that got a kick out of the day.
The organisers, Peter Cunningham and myself, were pleased to map the event out and to co-ordinate with our friends at Scone. They have a great little club and are encouraging visitors both on the weekends and on their fortnightly Friday evening dinners. Night nav anyone? We would love to return the compliment at some stage. The operations at the Scone Aero Club now mostly focus on the LSA segment (Aeroprakt Foxbat) as well as a very active homebuild group. The hangars are all freehold and are a heaven for the tinkerer – aeroplanes, cars, motorbikes you name it. It was great to be shown around by real enthusiasts who will do whatever they can to enjoy their aviation past-time. I did not know Subaru car engines were so popular!
We will certainly run another similar event to Scone, and will arrange other destinations as well during the year. Stay tuned for the next event. Any suggestions for destination?
Mike Allsop
Vice-President, Schofields Flying Club
Bill Cooper
Threat and Error ManagementWhen, pre-test, I go over a candidate’s KDR (Knowledge Deficiency Report; quaint bureau-speak for a list of wrong theory quiz answers), the most consistently incorrect syllabus topic is TEM, ‘Threat and Error Management’. This is an academic attempt to structure what was called ‘Airmanship’. Airmanship is a valuable pilot skill, a mixture of Situational Awareness, Knowledge and Understanding, instilled in the student pilot’s brain by their extremely skilful, situationally-aware Instructor. TEM, on the other hand, is evidently common sense rendered incomprehensible.
TEM springs from the notion that ‘To err is human’. So, if we accept that mistakes may occur, then how can we stop them developing into incidents or accidents? TEM is a ‘what-if’ philosophy ... a form of Murphy’s Law (‘What can go wrong, will’) in which the pilot:
 | forsees Threats |
| imagines Errors and |
| envisions the result as an Undesired Aircraft State (UAS) |
UAS does not mean a crash, but may be a set-up for one. For example, if the pilot flies a retractable-gear aircraft, then the:
| Threat is that the aircraft may be landed with the gear up |
| Error could be that the pilot has failed to extend the gear |
| UAS is that the aircraft is on approach with the gear up. No accident yet |
Managing such a situation is at the heart of TEM. It would be covered in Airmanship terms, by insisting that Students:
| Learn by understanding, not rote |
| Use a checklist all the time, right from the start |
| Arrive somewhere five minutes before the aircraft |
So, in this case, the pilot on approach, listening to the ‘gear up’ warning horn would say:
| If academically-trained in TEM: ‘Aha! I have detected an undesired aircraft state’ |
| If an untutored oaf pilot: ‘Shit! The gear’s up!’ |
| If trained and skilled in Airmanship, the pilot would have either had ‘3 Greens’ by that time, or would have been somewhere nearby sorting out a manual extension. Of which, more next time. |
What was it?
Well, the aircraft is the Focke-Wulf Ta187, from the fertile mind of Kurt Tank. Though development was abandoned in late-war Germany as ‘too hard, too late’, both the Russians and Americans acquired the drawings and ideas. From this plunder came two absolutely classic, long-serving aircraft. The Russian team of Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich developed the Mig15, greatly assisted by a totally dopey UK gift of a RR Nene turbojet (By the new post-war Atlee Labor government), while the excellent North American F86 Sabre appeared on our side of the Iron Curtain.
When the Mig15 was encountered over Korea, it out-performed all Allied aircraft ... but not for long. Arrival of The new F86 equalised things and, with a bit of combat experience, soon won a kill ratio of 15:1. Ironic that both shared the same parent!
Well, that’s all, ‘til the mood strikes again.
Bill Cooper
CP/CFI
Mike Allsop
Getting to know a new generation trainer
Satisfying an interestI am a long term private pilot and have been associated with Schofields Flying Club at Bankstown for many years, both as a member and on the Board of Directors. I also happen to be an avid enthusiast of all things GA, and in particular the consideration of new developments in this world for the benefit of private flying and flying training.
A little while back I was approached by Diamond dealer Hawker Pacific to see if Schofields Flying Club would be interested in acquiring new Diamond aircraft for its fleet. We were keen to introduce new generation aircraft for those members who really appreciated modern equipment and for whom exposure to advanced avionics was a strong attraction.
I test flew a DA20 Eclipse two seater and a DA40XL Star four seater and was satisfied that these indeed would make a highly desirable addition to a club fleet. And very fortunately for us, two of our members decided exactly the same thing, and bought one of each respectively to make available for Club purposes.
The Club put together a conversion course for the DA40 with strong focus on its G1000 avionics, which has proven very popular.
Mike test flew a DA20 Eclipse two seater After good exposure to the DA40, I felt it was time to re-familiarise myself with the smart looking DA20 2 seater with its Aspen PFD “glass” central stack. This aircraft is positioned as a premium trainer and touring aircraft – a bit like learning to drive in a BMW Z4 it was put to me – and represents the best of the modern non-LSA 2 seat aircraft in the market.
To satisfy my interest, I chose to undertake a full familiarisation session with Club instructor David Bettridge, who is a great fan of the Diamond line. I asked David to run me through the full experience he would offer to any of our Members wanting to fly the DA20 Eclipse for the first time. Let’s see how we go.
First, start with a thorough briefing
Sure I’ve been flying for 40 years, but you should never stop learning when it comes to flying (anything). David’s starting position was to understand the sort of experience I had had and then to relate the DA20 to that. For those of us with the bulk of our experience in metal aircraft with yoke style controls, conventional instrumentation and plenty of drag at our disposal, there was a fair bit to cover but nothing at all daunting. Some of the key features and differences that were highlighted by David included:
| This is a certified “GA” aircraft, not a “light sport” (recreational) type – its max gross weight is 800kg, some 50kg higher than a C152 and its useful load is also somewhat higher than a C152. Fuel capacity is similar to a C152, and its performance is leagues ahead. It is maintained in the NVFR category. |
| It has a sporty control stick integrated with the leather seats, with very positive linkages to elevator and ailerons – no sloppiness in the controls. This type of control layout is “new” for a lot of GA pilots, but presents no problem at all. Elevator trim is electric, and is activated by a fore-aft switch on the joystick. |
| There is a tilting canopy with 2 safety latches and associated warning system – this gives superb visibility with no structure to impede forward and side vision. |
| The fixed seats are integrated with the roll cage, and the rudder pedals adjust for reach – rather than sliding seats and fixed pedal location. |
| Primary instrumentation is an Aspen PFD Pro, which is surrounded by conventional instruments as standby. The idea here is that if the Aspen is turned off, you can fly on the basic round dials, offering a broader training experience. This instrument is enormously capable and deserves a half day briefing in its own right to cover the full range of functions it can perform. David has a separate briefing on the Aspen covering its nav and HSI functions and integration with the Garmin 430 etc. Suffice to say that for our purposes all that was required was to know how set the QNH (one knob), read the target speeds on the ASI tape and where to find the balance “ball” – which is a trapezium on glass instruments – now you know. |
| The castoring nosewheel – no direct steering linkage – requires the use of light differential braking while taxying, however it was noted that (aerodynamic) rudder authority is available from quite low speeds on take-off and landing so not to worry about this as a complication in practice. |
| Long wings (eg wider span than a Cessna or a Warrior) require attention while taxying but offer very effective glide performance. The tall undercarriage prevents any wing scrapes in crosswinds (up to 20kts). |
| A low nose attitude provides great forward visibility airborne, and needs to be accompanied by considerable nose-down trim in the cruise. |
| The very slippery aerodynamics and good power to weight ratio provide good acceleration and cruise performance with low aerodynamic noise levels. |
| The aircraft is able to zoom climb due to a wide margin between cruise speed and best rate of climb – so trading speed for (considerable) height without having to adjust power in many instances. |
| Close attention to power settings and speed is required, especially in cruise and descent – David noted that at “C152 typical” power settings the aircraft will cruise in the yellow arc, and lower (and more economical) settings are required to stay in the green. Full throttle static and climb rpm were noted to be somewhat lower than “usual”, with 2100rpm typical at 65kts, while 2100rpm in cruise at half throttle will give about 120kts. More herbs still and it’ll go even faster. |
| The two position electric flaps are thoughtfully labelled “take-off” and “landing” – the white arc shows the landing setting available below 83kts, but first position can be selected at 100kts (also labelled). Even with full flaps and power off the aeroplane will maintain a fairly flat attitude, not at all nose down. |
After a chat about speeds and power settings to use in the various stages of flight, we did the full walkaround before climbing aboard. We noted the spring balance on the elevator – no trim tab as such – the two side by side fuel drains under the 91 litre belly tank and the quite substantial undercarriage legs. This aircraft had its spats removed for training to allow students to inspect tyres and brakes. Everything else was pretty familiar. Climbing aboard was like getting on a horse – once you have the action it is no trouble at all to step up in front of the wing and swing your free leg over the side and around the joystick.
Off we go
Armed with all this briefing information and firmly strapped into the full harness with the canopy locked, it was time to fire up the Continental IO240. This is a 125hp fuel injected engine, and runs as smooth as silk after a short (electric) prime and rich start. A bit different to an injected Lycoming in the start up, but just follow the instructions.
Taxying was a cinch, and the little vents in the perspex canopy were fine for ground ventilation. Nice big eyeball vents became effective once we got some dynamic pressure in the system. Pre-takeoff and runup checks were as normal. The twin radio setup with a Garmin 430 as com1 and a flip-flop com2 were a breeze to select via the Garmin 340 audio panel – all very familiar to Schoies members since this is our avionics standard.
With flaps in “take-off”, lined up and cleared, off we went with a dab of right brake then right rudder early in the run to counter the yaw. 50kts rotate and accelerate to 65kts for climb and we were going up at 600 fpm in a flat attitude – just like being in an elevator. Flaps up at 300’ (just past the airfield boundary I might say) and we settle into a 75kt climb with only a slight rise in nose attitude. Levelling off at 1000’ on the YSBK 29 upwind departure, accelerating through 115kts I noticed we required a LOT of power reduction to prevent exceeding the green arc and a lot of nose down trim, just as David predicted.
Later on at 2500’ we did a bit of a speed experiment. Starting at 60kts in level flight at 1500rpm, we accelerated all the way to 135kts at 2400rpm in smooth air – just as well since this is well into the yellow arc.
Panel of the DA20 Eclipse We never had a chance to do a proper TAS and fuel consumption check at cruise altitudes with the engine leaned – there is a fuel monitor on board to keep a good handle on those precious litres – but I get the sense this would be a very economical tourer with well over 3 hours endurance plus reserves at over 120kts, out of the 91 litre tank.
The aircraft is very sweet to handle, offering a nice balance between stability and responsiveness. It is not at all skittish in its behaviour, but responds quickly and positively in both roll and pitch. Steep turns with direction reversal were a doddle. Full flap stalls are not much more than a 40kt mush, and very quickly recovered by releasing back pressure and accelerating a bit without much height loss at all. Trimmed clean to best glide speed of 75kts, the rate of descent was about 450fpm with power off, so this tells me something about what to expect in the circuit with power, and the need to make sure it is actually descending! The aircraft also sideslips very nicely, and although its slender flanks don’t present a lot of drag to slow things down, it can certainly be made to go down at a considerable rate if needed without speeding up too much.
David explained that the characteristics of the DA20 make it an excellent trainer, since transit times to and from the training area are reduced and the overall performance of the aircraft enables more sequences involving recovery of altitude etc to be performed in a session. It also teaches a lot about inertia control and speed management with behaviours not dissimilar to larger commercial aircraft in some senses.
Getting back down again
Back to Bankstown for a few circuits, and immediately the requirement to think ahead of the aircraft is evident. Approaching the zone at 120kts at 1500ft for a high downwind entry and late clearance for visual approach would be a recipe for never actually meeting a normal descent profile. Speed needs to be brought back early so that prior to descent clearance there is no more than about 95kts on the tape, sufficient to lower the first stage of flap and enable a steady descent with about 1300 rpm. Target is to turn base at circuit height at 80kts, lower full flap and hold 1300rpm, reducing speed with attitude to 65kts at the turn to final, and reducing further as required to cross the fence at 55kts. And it worked, and so did the next circuit. A flapless approach was more challenging, especially as we were baulked on descent leaving us high on base and having to get down without building up speed in this clean configuration. Let’s just say we got there, but it took a bit of work. David explained that the fairly coarse pitch on the prop provides very little “braking” effect at low power, leading to the sense of perpetual levitation. This is one of the joys of practice and learning through experience in different types.
Reflection
On return to the Schofields clubhouse at Bankstown, both David and I had smiles from ear to ear through our sortie in this little “sportscar” of an aeroplane. After a debrief I was cleared to make my own adventure and let David move on to the next student.
Flying this aircraft was just plain fun. I subsequently took it on a Northern Beaches scenic and a run down the Victor One route with my favourite passenger aborad. A spectacular route in one of the best viewing platforms this side of a helicopter – what could be better than that.
I would highly recommend the DA20 Eclipse both for the fun of flying and for a premium training experience.
Mike Allsop
Vice-President, Schofields Flying Club
'The Forgotten Few' - by Doug Hurst
The book opens with 77 squadron packed, and ready to return to Australia from their Japanese base, Iwakuni. They were in Japan as part of the Commonwealth Occupation Force after WWII.
When the North Koreans invaded the South, The United Nations responded by declaring war. There was no steady build up by the UN, this was “come as you are” war.
77 Squadron was involved almost immediately, and some glaring gaps in training appeared. While flying P51 Mustangs many of the pilots, (who had over 100 hours on the type), did not have night flying capability. However, they still had to takeoff to rendezvous with C47 and B29 aircraft which they were to escort before dawn. So, with not much more than a briefing they were on their way to war. This was real learning on the job.
Another gap in training was that not all pilots had learned the art and science of Aerial Combat. So, while still carrying on with their missions the WWII veterans in the squadron were getting the younger pilots up to speed. A remarkable achievement in itself.
Later with the arrival of the Mig 15, 77 Squadron had to convert to jet aircraft, The Meteor. The need to keep 77 Squadron fighting was so great that they could not be withdrawn to allow them to convert to this entirely new aircraft, the first jet aircraft in the RAAF. Therefore, they converted a few at a time, and for a while the Squadron was a mix of P51’s and Meteors.
I can only imagine what it must have been like to fight a war and try to convert to a completely new type of aircraft at the same time.
By the time the war ended 77 Squadron had undertaken roles such as Air Interception, in Mig Alley, Ground Attack and Reconnaissance. In all these duties the Squadron performed extremely well. Was the Meteor as good as the Mig? You should read the book and make up your own mind. However as a teaser, by the end of the war it was 5 kills each.
The author Doug Hurst was an RAAF Navigator for 33 years before turning his hand to writing. The book is carefully researched and a very good read.
Phil McLeod
Club Member
T he Germans used them operationally as the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, the Americans toyed with the idea with the Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor (See File X014 May 2000) and believe it or not, even Australia considered them; they were, rocket powered interceptors.
The brief from the government was for an aircraft that could attack a 600 mph bomber at 55,000 feet. Various designs were considered but the final layout was for a swept wing aircraft powered by
The motors of choice were the reaction Motors XLR-11-RM-5 rocket engines similar to those used initially in the North American X-15 (See File X054 Aug/Sept 2005). With these engines the aircraft would only have a ground run of some 200 yards.
The wingspan of the aircraft was very short, only 15 feet and the aircraft was fitted with a tricycle undercarriage. It had two fuel tanks, one made of rubber for the alcohol fuel, and the other made of aluminium for the liquid oxygen.
The planned armament for the aircraft was six 3-inch Oerlikon rockets.
The aircraft never left the design stage as military thinking soon turned away from the idea of rocket-powered interceptors, most probably because they were far too dangerous for the occupant and the advancement of missile technology made the concept obsolete.
Acknowledgements
|
Aircraft - October 1968 - The Royal Aeronautical Society |
|
Australian Aviation & Defence Review June 1979 - Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd |
Anthony Coleiro
Justin McCoy
I’ve taken part in many Schoies events over the years - night circuits and breakkie comps at Bankstown, and instrument sequences at Warnervale. But until now a navex flyaway is something I’ve never been involved in. Earlier this year I completed the PPL theory course with Harry Petropolous, and David Jaffray’s account of the Scone trip in a previous newsletter piqued my interest. So when I received an email invitation to join an August fly-in to Tumut, I thought it was a good opportunity to put some nav theory into practice.
As organizer of this event, David sent out a route of the outward trip, with legs and waypoints, together with one set of flight planning questions to be answered in advance. There would be a second set of questions given out on the day,
The Navigator to be answered on the trip down based on observations made along the way, and a third set of fuel estimations, to be checked against actual fuel used.
This took me right back to the days of my youth in the Pennant Hills CYO, and a car rally to Oberon…over 20 years ago now ...
To prepare, I drew the legs on my VNC, measured and timed them according to the Warrior performance of 105kt cruise, and calculated the tracks.
I then fired up X-Plane flight sim on my Mac, and flew the whole outward trip. Most of the visual cues were present in the sim, including all the airports, the rivers and lakes, and the wind farm near Breadalbane. I was happy that my waypoint times were accurate to within a minute or so, with zero wind.
So on Sunday the weather on the Area 21 forecast looks promising at 2030Z; a bit of fog around Bowral and Goulburn, but not much wind or significant cloud.
Arriving at the Schoies clubhouse at 8am, I consult with my fellow crewmembers David Jaffray and Bill Dawes. Bill has done the flight planning for the outward trip, and David for the return. Being a student pilot, I can keep the navigator’s seat warm.
Bill and I confer on the flight planning questions, and compare notes on headings and timings etc. David can’t help us with the questions as he has set them! Bill, who has flown many hours in a Warrior, informs me that he worked his times out on the basis of a more realistic 95kt cruise, not 105 kts. Turns out that he had also flown the route on MS Flight Sim the day before. I adjust my times accordingly, and we settle down in the classroom for the briefing delivered by Mike Allsop, before heading out to SFM.
It’s like Pitt Street in the run-up bays, with every slot occupied by a call sign SF something or other. We lift off from 29C at just after 10am, Bill flying, me in the right seat and David in the back.
Straightaway I’m on the map, as we track to Picton on the lookout for conveyor belts at a mine. The DI is not behaving itself, so Bill decides to make the compass the primary instrument. We arrive over Picton more or less on time, then to Mittagong airport to count hangars, again on time, then to Calwalla to determine the composition of the dam wall.
Marshalling the Stearman Here local knowledge is useful, because Bill used to live nearby. I’m amazed at how logical the process of basic navigation is, using only a compass, ASI and clock, which in my case is a mobile phone that keeps putting itself to sleep so that I can’t read the time. (Note to self, suggest a Breitling Navitimer with a built in whiz wheel for next Fathers’ Day).
We proceed very pleasantly at 95kts around 4,500 ft, with Bill giving me tips on map reading, eg, reading from map to ground, (unless of course temporarily unsure of position) taking into account lakes shown on the map which may have ceased to exist on the ground because of evaporation, and therefore requiring sightings of other features to confirm position. We reach our last waypoint at Burrinjuck, but can’t find the required buildings downstream of the dam. We can’t even see the dam. Bill dodges and weaves around as we crane our necks, with no help from the back seat whatsoever. We need to nail this last item on the list, but decide it must be a trick question, and that we’ll give it a miss. However, flying over the lake we discover that in our search for the dam we were looking at the upstream end of the lake….no admission into the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators for me just yet…..we mark off the last answer and continue to our destination.
Approaching Tumut Bill makes the call a few miles out and gets the runway direction. We join crosswind, aware that Mike in LSG is close behind. We touch down, and ground marshals are ready with hand-held 2-ways to direct us to a parking spot.
The place is jumping, with aircraft everywhere! Twins, ultralights, warbirds, even a Transavia Airtruck. The catering is excellent from the Tumut Aero Club barbie dept, and there’s a van dispensing Leichhardt quality lattes.
A very pleasant couple of hours are spent poring over aeroplanes, chatting to random pilots, listening to buskers and watching the activity on the runway. There are many movements, as aircraft, including an autogyro, are doing circuits, and taking punters for local hops. By early afternoon there is a wonderful cacophony as multiple aircraft run-up simultaneously in slightly out-of-synch harmony.
As we start to think about heading back, David, who is PIC for the return trip, decides that we have used a bit more fuel than anticipated on the way down, and so prudently adds another 50 litres from the tanker.
Spectacular Blowering Reservoir We join the take-off queue, in batches of about four aircraft at a time due to the back-tracking requirement, and depart to the north. A Yak bound for Albury is right behind us, but we never see him; his rate of climb outstrips ours by a good margin.
David takes us to the south over the spectacular Blowering Reservoir, before turning to track direct to the Yass NDB. As a student pilot passenger I’m privileged to occupy the right seat on the return trip as well, and David elects to use the ADF and GPS as minor navigational resources in addition to my map-reading. He adds to my store of knowledge with detailed descriptions of their use.
At Yass we pass directly over the NDB and watch it flick through 180deg, then tune to Goulburn. We climb to 7500’, and take advantage of a tail wind, which the GPS informs us, gives us a ground speed of around 130kts! The weather stays calm, and there are minimal bumps over the tiger country southwest of Bowral.
Northeast of Mittagong we start our descent to be at the 4500’ step just out of Camden, then another 2000’ downhill run gets us in sight of 2RN, and a straight in approach to 11C.
After another landing I didn’t feel, we’re back in the club house to claim our prize.
Mike reads out that SFM, that’s us, has scored zero in the fuel estimation component ... must have been an unaccounted for headwind. We didn’t find out how we scored in the other two sections, but we’re pretty sure it was 100%.
It was a wonderful day, flawlessly organized by David and Mike from Schoies, and by the Tumut Aero Club.
Justin McCoy
Club Member
Fabian Lukken
As some of you may have noticed Schofields has a proud new addition to the line-up, the Cirrus SR20 GTS G3, VH-IPP. The Cirrus is now the third aircraft online with a glass cockpit. Decked out with the state of the art Cirrus Perspective Avionic Suite, it is based on the Garmin G1000 but with a few nifty additions such as larger screens and a full size keyboard for the Flight Management System.
A weekend on the slopes
In June I was lucky enough to make two trips to the snow in VH-IPP. The first trip was a last minute idea by fellow Director Ric Mejias and Matthew Kline. The plan was to depart Bankstown on Saturday the 13th at 9am and to return the following Monday pending weather.Matthew and his partner in crime, Victor the arms dealer, decided to take UFY for the trip while Ric and I decided the Cirrus was the best craft for the mission. Having previously done a number of trips and the 5 hour minimum dual check in the Cirrus I was reasonably comfortable to take the Cirrus G3 to Jindabyne. The night before I planned our trip using PocketFMS: this nifty flight planning software has a built in plug-in that allows exportation of flight-plans onto an SD memory card, which can be inserted and subsequently imported by the Cirrus Flight Management Computer automatically saving time and reducing the probability of mismatched flight plans.
So there we were, 7:30am at the Clubhouse, weather was looking average however we made the decision to at least have a look and if it turned out to be crap to turn back or sit it out somewhere else (plenty of options around).
I loaded up the snowboard and our bags into the Cirrus. By the time I was ready for taxi Matthew and Victor had already left the circuit en-route to Cooma initially for a possible re-fuel for the return leg.
Ric and I had a play with the systems on board before deciding it was time to go if we wanted to hit the slopes later that day.
Prior to departure Ric had called Gary Pearson of the Jindabyne Aero Club to confirm weather conditions. All was good and he would be waiting on our arrival.
At Mittagong we had caught up to Matt and Victor - not surprising as we had a TAS of 151. In the rush of things we had forgotten to submit a plan into the system so about 10NM from the Canberra CTR zone Ric and I frantically tried to submit the plan using our iPhones and iPad hoping it would get to the controller in time for a clearance. By the time it was accepted we were only 10NM out so I quickly made my call to ask for the much needed clearance. The controller had some trouble finding our plan (surprise, surprise), but I swore to him black and blue that we had one. The controller budged and gave us the clearance; Matt had his own methods in getting his clearance.
Since we were considerably ahead of UFY we planned to land at Cooma for a refuel. This turned out to be a bad idea since the local refueler wanted $70 for his troubles to come out so we got on the radio and told Matt to keep on going to Jindy as we could probably get fuel there if we became members.
Jindabyne presented with a straight crosswind at 15 or so knots. The landing was a little off centreline but survivable.
Gary was on the ground waiting for us and kindly offered the use of his hangar to park the Cirrus and for which he refused to accept any payment. So, a 6-pack of beers for Gary then.
Since the idea to come to the snow was all last minute, we had no accommodation booked, so we figured we would ring a few places on the way to Thredbo from the cab Matt had organised. This was easier said than done since the opening weekend at Thredbo was reportedly one of the best they’d ever seen. Nonetheless Ric secured us a room for 4 at one of the local lodges, where we checked in and unpacked before it was time for a beer - or twenty as it turned out. Most of us were in bed by 8pm as we wanted to hit the slopes nice and early and ideally without the lasting effects from the previous day's beverages.
The skiing was top notch for opening weekend so we vowed to be back soon.
Now for the challenging flight home where we were to encounter plenty of fluffy white stuff and threateningly low temperatures, with a planned route via Moruya to refuel then coastal back to Sydney.
What did it cost?
The 1.3 hour trip to Jindabyne is relatively affordable when shared between 4.
Cirrus hire to YJIN and back: $850
2 nights accommodation and transfers
for 4 at Kasee’s Lodge: $570
2 x 6 pack of Peroni: $34
Lift passes: $100/day/pp
The experience: PRICELESS
Surely beats the 6 hour drive!
Ric and I arrived at MRY before the Warrior and I guided Mat down who was at A095 over Moruya looking for the hole we had just managed to come down through - eventually he made it down. In the meantime we met a colourful chap in a Long-Ezy, which had been on our Traffic Awareness warning system all the way from Cooma. After an hour on the ground at Moruya, and with something to eat, we made the move via Wollongong to YSBK. Winds were decent giving us a ground speed of up to 186KT.The 1.3 hour trip to Jindabyne is relatively affordable when shared between 4.
Cirrus hire to YJIN and back: $850
2 nights accommodation and transfers
for 4 at Kasee’s Lodge: $570
2 x 6 pack of Peroni: $34
Lift passes: $100/day/pp
The experience: PRICELESS
Surely beats the 6 hour drive!
The snow bug had bit me so before long I was checking out the forecast on Thursday the 22nd and rang up a few friends to see if they wanted to come along for the second trip. This time it was myself, my wife Christine and my fellow countrymen from Spain, Alberto and Marisa. This time I managed to book couple of rooms at Kasee’s Lodge in Thredbo, where the lively Dutch owner Cees Koeman was kind enough to offer us free transfers to and from Jindabyne, saving us a wad in taxi and park entry fees. Another 6 pack of beers.
The accommodation at the lodge was very cosy, right in the middle of the village, full of character and very affordable too! We will be back again!
Fabian Lukken
Club Director Member Services
Contributions & feedback
Well, that's your Newsletter for this month. You should check the latest news on the Club's website at www.schofields-flying-club.com.au. Contributions, comments, feedback, and suggestions to latrodectus@schofields-flying-club.com.au.
Thought for the month
Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back. - Harvey MacKay
Latrodectus
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