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 - SEPTEMBER 2006
Welcome to the September 2006 edition of Schofields News.
Piper Arrow VH-JRY
There are the usual plus some new features -
President's Notes by Mike Allsop,
A Piece of Aviation History compiled by Latrodectus,
HAAMC in the Sandwich by Peter Kestle,
X-File X066 (Ambrosini SS4) by Anthony Coleiro,
Have Your Say by Betty Edwards,
Boys and their Toys (Part 1) by John Cornell,
Darwin Flyaway (Part 3) by Bill Larkin,
The Central West compiled by Latrodectus,
Wayne's World by Wayne Russell, and
Last Word from Latrodectus. As well, there's the usual administrivia that you've come to expect. So, read on and enjoy!
DUTY PILOT DRAW: The Volunteer Duty Pilot Monthly Draw ($50 free flying) for July went to Matthew Bates and Jim Cahill, and for August to John Carswell and Hank Langejans. Congratulations!
LAST CLUB COMPETITION: Results from the last Club competition held on Sunday, 20 August were: John Hook (1st), John Carswell (2nd) and Peter Cunningham (3rd). The next Club competition will be held at Warnervale on Sunday, 17 September. More details later.
DIARY DATES: The Club has a number of social and flying activities planned for 2006. You can check full details on our Coming Events page. Below is a summary of the programme for September and October 2006:
| Sat | 02 | September | College Presentation Night | Clubhouse |
| Sun | 10 | September | Jabiru Workshop (10:30am - 1:30pm) Details | Clubhouse |
| Sun | 17 | September | Club Competition | Warnervale |
| Mon | 18 | September | Committee Meeting | Clubhouse |
| Sun | 24 | September | Last Light Drinks | Clubhouse |
| Mon | 16 | October | Committee Meeting | Clubhouse |
| Sun | 22 | October | Club Competition (early morning) | Bankstown |
| Sun | 29 | October | Last Light Drinks | Clubhouse |
Mike Allsop
You will recall from July that we put in place a General Manager role in the Club, driving all day to day operations. John Lowing stepped up to this role at the outset to help get it going. Due to increased flying commitments, he has now resumed his full attention to instructional duties. Taking over from John we are pleased to advise that Nelson Crawshaw was appointed as General Manager of the Club effective mid August. Nelson is already making a substantial difference in our overall business development activity while enabling our instructors to focus on the things they do best. Nelson has resigned from his Board position accordingly.
Because of this, we now find ourselves with a vacancy on the Board. Our Club Secretary Grahame Smith will accept nominations from the membership to fill this position. In the first instance please give Grahame a call to discuss the nature of the role and what might be involved. Nelson Crawshaw or Suzanne Arnel at the Club would also be pleased to help with any enquiry you might have. Don't be shy! This is a great opportunity to add something back to the Club and be actively involved in its business direction.As we have often said (and hopefully demonstrate through our actions) - this Club thrives and differentiates itself in our aviation marketplace through attention to customer service and attention to the interests and needs of its members. Whether you have been a pilot for several years or just starting to learn, whether you are an aircraft owner or not, we aim to provide a range of services which will allow you to further your interests in private aviation in a wide variety of ways. The same attention is paid to members who for whatever reason are unable to fly at present. It is your interests that count, and it is our objective to keep innovating to address them through both our flying and clubhouse services.
Garmin GNS430 On the flying front, we have just had an excellent month in August with strong flying hours despite bouts of poor weather. The Jabiru workshop programme was held twice during the month, and will be repeated again on September 10th. This is great value, great fun and most informative. We are pleased to see the hours being attracted to this aeroplane, and it is clearly forming a band of devotees who enjoy the combination of low cost and high tech. On other fleet matters, we are installing a Garmin GNS430 into Warrior HQR to complete our objective of standardizing all our IFR aircraft with a GNS430 and dual comms. This makes simple the transition from one aircraft to the next, as well as providing a better margin of safety from equipment failure in more challenging flying conditions. Remember too that we are a very strong advocate of the Private IFR Rating (PIFR) even its most basic form as a means of building your flying proficiency. We now have 6 aircraft all similarly equipped with dual comms, VOR, ADF, and GPS which you can use for IFR and radio-nav operations - 3 Warriors (SFK, HQR, SVK), 1 Archer (SFR), and the 2 Arrows (JRY, LSG). Our GPS ground course on the GNS430 gives you the full run-down on GPS navigation for VFR purposes, as well as the basics required for GPS Arrivals and RNAV Approaches for those of you doing IFR training. Give the Club a call if you would like to know more about the PIFR or Command Instrument Rating.
Until next month, safe flying.
Mike Allsop
President SFC
RECOVERED CLOCK A PIECE OF AVIATION HISTORY - COMPILED BY LATRODECTUS
The Southern Cloud before the crash
Seventy-five years after Australia experienced its first major civil aviation disaster, a piece of the crashed plane's wreckage has been acquired by the National Museum of Australia. The Southern Cloud disappeared in 1931 and Museum curator Matthew Higgins says the clock from the instrument panel, which wasn't found for 27 years, is a direct link with a key incident in Australia 's aviation history.
The Southern Cloud was one of five aeroplanes operated by Australian National Airways, launched by Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm in 1929 during the pioneering days of Australian aviation. The plane took off from Sydney's Mascot aerodrome on the morning of 21 March 1931, bound for Melbourne. A few hours later the weather bureau changed its forecast from 'windy and rainy weather' to a warning of virtually cyclonic conditions over the Australian alps. But there was no way to communicate the news to the Southern Cloud, because the plane had no radio.The aircraft, carrying eight people (including six passengers), failed to arrive at Essendon and a search began, coordinated by the Civil Aviation branch of the Department of Defence and including private flyers, air force personnel, Charles Kingsford Smith, Charles Ulm, other pilots and people on the ground. No sign of the missing plane could be found and the story headlined newspapers during the dark days of the Depression.
The official inquiry which followed could not determine the precise cause of the plane's disappearance, though it concluded that the weather conditions had played a major role.
Clock pieces from the Southern Cloud One of the inquiry's major recommendations was that radios and qualified operators be made compulsory in regular passenger services. As a result, the Southern Cloud accident helped create safer air travel for all Australians.
The wreckage was eventually discovered 47 years later, by a Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme worker bushwalking on his day off. He stumbled upon the wreckage and within days officials and police confirmed the wreck was the Southern Cloud. In the ensuing days, hundreds of people visited the site, many collecting souvenirs.
John Boddington, showing an astute sense of history, bought the battered clock components in 1958 for five shillings from a classmate at Canberra Grammar School. The classmate had visited the site with his father and souvenired the clock from the aircraft's instrument panel.
In another twist to the story, what John Boddington did not realise when he contacted the National Museum on 21 March this year to donate the clock, was that it was exactly 75 years to the day since the Southern Cloud disappeared. Just a coincidence?
Compiled by Latrodectus
Peter Kestle
T his is all about maintenance and some of the changes that have occurred since the Club appointed me as the Head of Aircraft Airworthiness and Maintenance Control (HAAMC). The following are just some issues that have arisen recently:
- The addition of oil to an aircraft must be recorded on the sheet in the oil store where you get the oil from AND must be recorded on the Maintenance Release. The reason for this is that you can tell what is happening to the engine. For example, if it is consuming 1 litre of oil for every 2 hours air switch (worst case) we can look at a top overhaul or leaks in the system.
- Check the Maintenance Release and make sure that the figures are correct. Every week I find errors in the MR. As part of my job I check this on a weekly bases as it is more practical to pick up all these errors in one day than checking them every day. I will give every one credit that the MR has gotten a lot better.
- 'Defects' is a lengthy subject. For those that have already seen, on the counter is a "pilot duty protocol" which has all the problems and defects that I know about - parts on order from USA, aircraft hours (50 hourly/100 hourly). When you find a defect have a look at it and think about it. For example if you se a tear in the fabric, it is not a grounding defect so write it on the defect list/snag sheet. If the pilot's seat has been broken, i.e. you can not sit on the seat to move aircraft controls, THEN endorse it on the MR and put it on the snag sheet.
- If you break something, be honest about it and tell me. If you say "I broke it" I can then talk to you about this as you may not know about that aircraft system or understand it. For example I had someone say that the "GPS in FTU did not work". I went to the aircraft and turned it on and it worked. After a discussion I found out that they did not know how to call the NAV page on the system to get information like CTA etc. This would have been solved easily if they said I do not now how this works, can you tell me about it, or where is the manual?
- If there is a problem with a system, use the Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) to help you. Remember, the emergency section of the POH is always section 3.
- Write down the defect in detail - eg lights U/S (a common defect) what type of light is U/S, nav lights, overhead lights, landing lights etc.
- When I am on duty don't come up and say "has anything been done on aircraft XYZ?" My reply will be "narrow it down to what year!" If there has been no report, I will not know so nothing will be done.
Peter Kestle
HAAMC (and CFI/CP)
S.A.I. Ambrosini S.S.4
An aircraft that was highly advanced for its time, the Societal Aeronautica Italiana (S.A.I.) Ambrosini S.S.4 was a canard fighter with retractable tricycle landing gear. These proved to be firsts in fighter design.
Work began on this innovative fighter in 1938 following research on a two-seat canard experimental aircraft powered by a 30 hp engine designed by Sergio Stefanutti. The aircraft was successful and proved to be aerodynamically efficient.
The S.S.4 was of all metal construction and powered by a 960 hp Isotta-Fraschini Asso XI R.C.40 12-cylinder liquid cooled engine. It flew for the first time on 7 March 1939. It displayed good handling qualities and excellent stability and its landing characteristics proved satisfactory.Along with its intended fighter role it was thought that this aircraft would make an excellent dive-bomber. Unfortunately it did not last long, the day following the maiden flight, while undergoing further testing the aircraft was destroyed and the pilot killed when the engine failed and the aircraft crashed while conducting an emergency landing. Due to the limited testing, the claimed maximum speed of 540 km/h was only a manufactures estimate.
The Italian Air Ministry ordered another prototype but this was later cancelled so that efforts could be concentrated on another fighter of conventional layout then under development, the S.A.I. S.207.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft - Orbis Publication
- The Complete Book of Fighters - William Green Gordon Swanborough
- War Planes of the Second World War Fighters Volume Two - William Green
Betty
Edwards
On 1 January 2006, new fees were introduced for CASA's regulatory services in line with the Australian Government's cost recovery guidelines. The second phase of cost recovery, due for implementation from 1 July 2007, is now underway and includes a review of CASA's costs and fees. Before any changes are made, CASA will be embarking on a thorough consultation process with the aviation community, seeking feedback on whether existing charges should be reviewed and how any new charges should be applied.
As part of that consultation process, CASA will be conducting a series of public forums across Australia in September explaining why and how future charges will be determined, and will also invite industry members to provide feedback. This consultation process is designed to ensure the public and the aviation community have the opportunity to comment on proposed changes before they are introduced.While CASA is obliged to recover costs, and charging for our services will remain, we are constantly striving to improve the way we do business. Any reasonable suggestions about proposed fees will be considered, recognising that cost recovery is a government policy. Importantly, we invite your suggestions on how CASA can improve the way it delivers services to the aviation community in the most effective and efficient ways possible.
We look forward to everyone who has an interest in CASA's second phase of cost recovery taking part in these forums.
You can download a poster (159kB pdf) showing the dates and locations of these free forums. Seating is limited so bookings are essential - RSVP by email to Christine Hill or Toni Guenther, or telephone 131 757 during business hours.
If you are unable to attend the forums, you are welcome to provide your feedback by email or post. Full details of CASA's proposed fee changes - including how to submit feedback - are available on the CASA website.
Betty Edwards
Chief Financial Officer
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Author, Author...!
T he following is the story of a flight to Wollongong, piloted by Emmanuel Merali, with John G Higgins, Paul Fourie and myself, John Cornell, as passengers. Ian Simpson was invited, but declined outright, presumably fearing for his safety. Hearing of its success, he insisted a transcript of the journey to be published in the erstwhile FSG NEWS. Here it is. Facts have been embellished and ignored, and lies made up to keep it entertaining. The names remain the same. The innocent have nothing to fear.
Emmanuel nearly put us off at first. "...In case of Rain, Hail, Storms, Snow, Thermo Nuclear fallout, we WILL fly, sorry!" read the email, along with a map showing us the way to his flying club. Ten minutes later a second email arrived that read: "Sorry, I missed a word, In case of Rain, Hail, Storms, Snow, Thermo Nuclear fallout, we WILL NOT fly, sorry!" We blamed his accent.WEATHER: The papers predicted a good chance of Rain, Hail, Storms, Snow, Thermo Nuclear fallout for Saturday, easing off to occasional on Sunday. I cursed Fate, and planned my weekend of staring morosely out the window, until the Emmanuel "Red Baron" Merali pointed me to the pilot's official weather site that read something like a foreign language and assured us that this translated into clear skies and views above 2500ft for myself, John "Jr" Higgins, and Paul "Mr Furry" Fourie, at 14:30 hrs the following afternoon. I wonder why the SMH doesn't use this information, as opposed to just making it up.
Coincidentally, my sister left for somewhere in Northern China that morning. I bade her a fond farewell, and, after being searched at customs, and stamped at Immigration, she alighted a luxurious Boeing 747, and, I am told, went for the complimentary whiskey. I phoned Emmanuel on his mobile.
"Hello", said a French accent, followed by a pause just long enough for me to say, "Hi Emmanuel", before it went on to tell me I was listening to his voice mail,
Someone has to take the photos and that he was an employee of some company called "Compuware Associates". As I anticipated, I was entertained by this message for the following 1½ hrs, whilst driving from the airport, back home.
The second I stepped through my front door, Emmanuel phoned, and told me to go to the airport. I notified my next-of-kin and departed. Paul was late, I was later, and we phoned John H. three times to see where he was. He was ten minutes away. Five minutes later he was quarter of an hour away, and he turned up half an hour later.
FORMALITIES: We all bludged a cigarette from our pilot, Emmanuel, and got ready for the flight. There was no customs, no immigration, and, strapped into our Matchbox plane, I discovered to my horror, no complimentary whisky. I'm jumping the gun here, let me return to our idle smoke, contemplating our craft and our captain.
Paul contemplated that, whilst owning a pilot's licence was a pretty "Flash Git" thing to do, it would also be pretty cool. He already had purchased a Cessna in his head.
"Cigarette!" we shouted at Emmanuel as he passed by again. He chucked his pack at us, and walked off with his lighter. He opened a hatch on the side of the plane, and threw in our life jackets. We started arguing whose job it would be to get out of the plane to retrieve the jackets if we started to plummet.
CONTINUED NEXT MONTH...
John Cornell
(This little gem was hidden away in a company internal newsletter, and John Hook, who works for the same company, just knew we would love it. Thanks guys for your permission to reproduce it.)
CONTINUED FROM LAST MONTH...
A crocodile (or just an allegation?) FRIDAY, MAY 26: We take a tour of the local points of interest, the cool clear springs, called Bitter Springs which were not bitter at all, just cool, crystal clear ponds with an unusual blue hue, due to the high content of dissolved calcium salts. We saw the original Elsey Downs Site and the cemetery where most of the characters in the book "We of the Never Never" are buried. The graves show old original faded photos of the people whose lives are described in the book. We visit the town of Mataranka, the theme park and an interesting art gallery. We visit a Barramundi fish farm and watch as the big Barra snap at offerings of fish in a big pond full of flowering water lilies. Beautiful. We visit the Roper, a big river with steep banks and deep water. Back at the resort we have a swim in the thermal pools fed by springs. Very relaxing. Another good evening meal, more live entertainment off to bed for an early start next day.
SATURDAY, MAY 27: A short leg today only about 50 NM to Tindal, the RAAF Air Force base, near Katherine. We are fortunate - the base is in stand down mode and it's a CTAF, so no clearance needed. We refuel and get taxies into town to the Pine Trees Motel. Very comfortable - swimming pool, good restaurant and rooms. After lunch we visit the interesting limestone Cutta Cutta Caves. As we descend into the caves the air becomes hot and humid, unusual for caves, due to the cave system having only one entrance so little natural ventilation. At night there is a Crocodile Night Adventure - plenty of crocks and you have your meal in the open with your back to the crocks, only meters away! (I gave this tour a miss and visited a friend in Katherine, and went to mass, said by a Vietnamese priest with a mixed Vietnamese, Aboriginal and Aussie congregation - most unusual!)
SUNDAY, MAY 28: Up early for the Katherine River Gorge trip. It's unusually cold and windy although a wonderful trip. We have to change boats half way along and our skipper, a bearded veteran, gives a lively commentary. The towering ochre red cliffs are majestic. They're made of sandstone, the result of a river delta in a long ago inland sea being uplifted by tectonic forces and fracturing over eons of time). One spot is the sheer wall-like cliff featured in the Aussie film "Jedda" where the finale comes as the star-crossed lovers jump off the cliff. We see a small crock and crock tracks in the sandy beaches - no swimming here!
We made it ... we made it to Darwin! We return to town and visit the "School of the Air". Most impressive how the outback children, previously taught by radio, are now schooled by satellite link via home computers .We look at the heritage museum, relics of early pioneers, the wartime expansion of Katherine and the floods. We then go to the Katherine hot springs, a good swimming hole, and have a refreshing dip. Back at the motel we have a meal around the pool till the cool night air send us inside to pack and get ready for flying to Darwin tomorrow.
MONDAY, MAY 28: Up early and out to the airport. Tindal is a CTAF for now, so no trouble getting away. A quick overfly of the Katherine River Gorge and we track for Darwin. Much chatter on 123.45 frequency, and we report at 40 DME, get our transponder code, continue from Manton Dam towards Channel Island and are instructed to follow Sue in the other Archer. Easy. Then when she is told to turn down wind for Runway 11 we lose sight of her. We think she is descending on final, when the tower calls us - she is at our altitude on long final, we call "traffic sighted", and we turn out over the bay and follow Sue. Almost too close, we slow down, and are given clear to land as Sue taxies off the immensely long runway. "Ground" gives us instructions to taxi via V2, V1, Y1 and we zig and zag until we find the GA area and a slot to tie down to warning notices of "cyclone prone area". Kristin is ecstatic, "We made it! (We sure did, two low time pilots with good preparation, some grit and good co-operation, we made it to Darwin!) We assemble at the Aero Club building, our taxi arrives and we are taken to the sumptuous Marakai for our stay here. What a view! From the 8th floor we see much of Darwin, the harbour and the Hercules coming and going to the troubled island of Timor.
CONTINUED NEXT MONTH...
Bill Larkin
Bill, age 74, has been flying for 30 years. After being almost a passenger on three Schoies Flyaways he felt that this time he would fly the trip myself but still needed a co-pilot; Kristin filled that position admirably. He hasn't hung up his headset yet - he's going on the Tassie Tour on Boxing Day, and looks forward to seeing everyone in Hobart!
THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN THE CENTRAL WEST - COMPILED BY LATRODECTUS
CSIRO Radio Telescope at Parkes CSIRO RADIO TELESCOPE - PARKES: 20km north of Parkes, with its giant dish, the telescope can be seen even kilometres away from the Newell Highway. Star of the movie 'The Dish', the telescope is one of Australia's most prominent landmarks, and part of our scientific and engineering heritage. Astronomers, curious about the universe, have used the telescope for over 45 years. You can drive almost right up to the telescope and marvel at the 64 metre steel paraboloid dish, elegantly balanced atop a three storey concrete tower. The Dish Cafe provides meals or there are free BBQ and picnic facilities for our Sunday afternoon lunch. The Visitors Centre features interactive exhibits and displays about the telescope and audio-visuals, including 3D. Staff answer children's questions about the telescope, and the shop includes a range of souvenirs, books and educational products.
Open Cut Gold Mine at Peak Hill OPEN CUT GOLD MINE - PEAK HILL: The 'Open Cut Experience' includes the historic mine works with some of the old workings preserved, and the more recent mines with several walking paths constructed. Gold panning costs an additional $2 per person. Heritage trails established around the mine site offer great viewing platforms that have been built adjacent to the pits. The gold mine operated between 1893-1917 producing about 60,000 ounces from 500,000 tonnes of rock, and again between 1996 and 2002 retrieving 145,000oz from 4.9m tonnes mined. A guided tour on Saturday afternoons is available by appointment only with a minimum of 10 people.
WESTERN PLAINS ZOO - DUBBO: Explore the wilds of Africa, Asia, America, and Australia in just a few hours at Australia's leading open range zoo, throughout the 788 hectares of bushland - with Australia's only African Elephant herd and the endangered Black Rhinoceros - home to more than 1,400 animals. The Dubbo region landscape is not that much different from the African Savanna, so that many exotic animals feel very much at home. Zoo visitors can enjoy their 'safari around the world' by travelling around the undulating ring road by vehicle, on foot (bushwalking trails), or by hiring one of the many electric vehicles or bicycles. Visitors come face to face with some of the world's exotic and most endangered species.
Compiled by Latrodectus
Wayne Russell
Last month's quiz posed the question "You sit in the pilots seat of a Warrior. You let your left knee touch the side of the aircraft. You come towards the rear of the aircraft approximately 500mm. You find two buttons on the side of the aircraft, between your waist and your backside. You wonder: what are these buttons for?"
I'm surprised I didn't get more pilots responding to this question as it's in the POH for the Warriors as part of the pre-flight check list. Can one assume that the POH is not being read or taught? Look out the next half a dozen pilots doing their AFRs with Wayne!!! Answer: They are water release valves, one for the static side and one for the pitot side of the Pitot/Static system. The Winner was Michael Young.THIS MONTH'S QUIZ: You land at Dubbo (where you have VHF contact on the ground) and wish to cancel SAR. What do you say to Melbourne Centre or Flightwatch if your flight was VFR? What about if you were flying IFR?
Correct answers received by Wayne Russell by Friday, 15 September will go into a draw for another 'mystery prize' - winner(s) will be announced in the next Newsletter.
Wayne Russell
Flight Instructor
AIRSHOW POSTERS: Back in 1976 Schofields Flying Club (then at Schofields) launched its first airshow and began an era of flying spectaculars culminating in the Bicentennial Airshow at Richmond airforce base in 1988. Bob Paddock was in the club at the time (and became a flying instructor) and his son, Chris, enjoyed the benefits of some 'backstage' privileges which was pretty exciting for a 10 year old kid!Chris has some old posters of the airshows (a photo of one is attached) but is missing a few. He would love to collect the 'set' and is wondering if anyone in the club has any hiding away. The airshow dates were 1976, 77, 78, 79, 81, 83, 85, 88 and he's after the A4 (or thereabouts)-sized posters for 1977, 1985 and 1988. Anyone able to help out should contact the club.
FEEDBACK AND CONTRIBUTIONS: Well, that's your Newsletter for this month. With help (in the form of contributions) it might be possible to continue 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 suggestions to latrodectus@schofields-flying-club.com.au.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: Always remember you fly an aeroplane with your head, not your hands. So never let an aeroplane take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.
Latrodectus
© 2003 Schofields Flying Club Ltd. All Rights Reserved.