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
SCHOFIELDS FLYING CLUB NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 2009
Catalina VH-PBY on final approach
Welcome to the September 2009 edition of Schofields News. Here are some of the features of this edition -
New CP/CFI Arrangements by Mike Allsop,
A Steamy Weekend in Mildura by Peter Blackbourne,
X-File X090 (B733) by Anthony Coleiro,
Ask the ex CFI - by Pat Watson, 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!
SCHOIES NEWSLETTER: Members may have noticed that there's been no Schofields Newsletter for some time. This edition is, in fact, the first one for 2009. The reason: there have been no contributions - articles, stories, photographs - from members or staff. This edition, although incomplete by previous standards, was necessary because of the the need to inform members of the significant senior staffing changes that have taken place at the Club over the last week or so. Nevertheless, it's interesting to note that there hasn't been any comment or feedback about the absence of the Newsletter for the last 8 months. If the Newsletter is to continue, it needs ongoing commitment from the Club - the committee, staff and members - to provide content for inclusion.
NEXT AVIATION NIGHT: On September 19 we are having an aviation night (sorry about the short notice). Our guest speaker will be Richard Purdy, and he'll be talking about what was involved with getting the Catalina to Australia from Europe. It should be an interesting evening. Some "finger food" entrees followed by a sit-down main meal and desert. All for $40.00 per head. Numbers will be limited, so get in early.
| NEW MEMBERS: Welcome to the following new members who joined the Club in the last eight months. 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. | |
|
January 09 - Scott Canner, Jason Ajaka, Michael Antolovich, Brad Evans, Kathleen Wong, Scott Butler, Kurt Melville, Corey Gavan, Thomas Chapman, Sukhdeep Singh, Alex Alaouie, Donald Fan, Philip Olsen, Nathan Barker, Edward Tomazic, Gunter Haig, Russell D'Cunha, Frances Townsend, Shane Fleming, David Lane and Peter Kelly. February 09 - John Brunell, Ross Seller, Timothy Ball, James Joyce, Brett Foran, Bradley Maloney, Mark Wiggins, Dorothea O'Conor, Michael Quigg, Rory McVeigh, Christopher Walsh, James Raju, Peter Ingrao, Jack Chitty, Lachlan Chestney and Nicholas McAlpine. March 09 - Benjamin Glattstein, Matthew Luke, George Kontaratos, Daniel Perendija, Kathleen Burns, Julien Vayssiere, Hugo & Emmanuel Rodriguez, Thomas Mackey, David Searle, Kenny Lalljee, Ricardo Lu, Peter Spoto, Barry Small and Stephen Ridgewell. April 09 - Stephen Brown, David Lennard, Alec Waugh, Joel Blackett, Luisa Faletau, Joseph Salim, Randall Powell, Wade Midgley, Madison Coldwell, Kam Chuen Tsang, Michael de Manincor, Stuart Nagle, Louise Davies, Bradd Allan, Bhodyandra Mulliah, The Quang Vinh Phan, Mitchell Hows, Joseph Dunham, Murray Brown, Haroon Khan, |
April 09 (cont'd) Joseph Divis, Andrew Grima-Farrell,Mack Gridley, Henna Gobin, David Glanville-Williams, Brendan Quaife, Shane Bisset, Aaron Crawford, Dean Gray, Kin Lai Pang, Cameron Miller, Paul Lechner, Rocco Larobina, Bruce McNair and Rakan Mirza. May 09 - David Rose, Nicholas David, Lachlan Hannaford, Matthew Albiston, Sazzad Zoha, Gary Carter, Ragnor Simm, Ho Yi Ken Tang, James Acreman, Teddy Rusmin, Fredrik Nisser, Nikola Maksimovic, Conrad Romanow and Benjamin Sutton. June 09 - Jack Harris, Rianna Pekama, Audrey Bourgedis, Yuhao Niu, Cavan O'Grady, Aleesha Moroney, Ian Graham and Klaus Herrmann. July 09 - Matthew Chalmers-O'Halloran, Christopher Collings, Christopher Nicholson, Paul Jeffrey, Tung (Ken) Nguyen, Hai (Henry) Tran, Ben Pieters-Hawke, Christopher Cheetham, Rodger Tranter, Richard Worrad, Dominique Estival and Tracy Shannon. August 09 - Alon Markunsky, Jonathon McWilliam, Gabriel So, Allan Kirk, Katie Zhang, Vanessa Hegarty, George Varghese, Samiullah Syed Khadri, Grzegorz Gawronski and Benjamin Fewtrell. |
DIARY DATES: The Club has a number of social and flying activities planned for the remainder of 2009 and you can check out the full details on our Coming Events page.
| Sat | 19 | Sep | 09 | Aviation Night - Guest Speaker: Richard Purdy; Topic: The Catalina. | Clubhouse |
| Sun | 27 | Sep | 09 | Bankstown Navigation Competition. | Bankstown |
| Sat Sun |
31 01 |
Oct Nov |
09 09 |
Gloucester Fly-In. | Gloucester |
| Sun | 08 | Nov | 09 | Club Brekkie Competition. | Bankstown |
| Sat | 21 | Nov | 09 | Presentation Night (by invitation only) | Clubhouse |
| Sat | 12 | Dec | 09 | Christmas Party. | Clubhouse |
|
LAST LIGHT DRINKS 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. 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 September 27.
Mike Allsop
F ollowing Pat Watson's retirement from the senior technical roles at the Club, we are pleased to announce new appointments to the position of Chief Pilot and CFI. In a new move for the Club, we have adopted a dual-CFI model for the supervision of our training activities. Danial Martin takes on the Chief Pilot role, having responsibility for the safe conduct of all flight operations (ie training, charter etc). He also takes one of the CFI roles and will focus on instrument training and multi-engine training. For the other CFI role we welcome Charles Thompson to the Club. Charles is now responsible for our "Commercial School" and for Flight Instructor rating training. The Commercial School encompasses everything from ab-initio to CPL, including NVFR. All private pilot basic training falls under Charles' supervision, and you will find him a keen advocate of private flying in all its forms in addition to training for professional flying careers.
This arrangement provides us with deeper coverage at the senior level and enables us to build on all of our existing training approvals.
| DUTY PILOT DRAW: The monthly volunteer duty pilot draw ($50 free flying) is awarded in appreciation of the efforts of our tireless band of volunteers duty pilots. The following Duty Pilots were recognised in the last few months: | |
| Bill Dawes / Adrian Brett Colin Phelps / Louie Elias Julian Wilken / Craig McGregor John Carswell / Karen Heugh Rae Cauchi / Richard Ure Greg Leversha / David Jaffray Stephen Penfold / Ronald Koenig Sean McBain / David Hunt |
Dec 08 Jan 09 Feb 09 Mar 09 Apr 09 May 09 Jun 09 Jul 09 |
Danial has been with us in a full time capacity as Deputy CFI for about 18 months, and much longer as a member of our instructor group. Charles joins us from a senior position at Basair, and brings experience in the operations of larger flying schools as well as smaller "club" environments where he has also spent time.
While Pat ceases his full time role at the Club, we will still him around from time to time both as a testing officer (ATO) and in the occasional theory course or check flight for members. Pat has been a huge asset to the Club over his past three years with us, as well as in a prior term. We all wish him well in his new endeavours and in his continued association with the Club. You might just see him with a wider smile than usual from now on. Danial and Charles already have a firm hand on the reins at the Club. They will continue to enhance all of our training services and build on our reputation for quality, safety and friendly service delivery for our members. When you are next at the Club, come and say g'day to them and discuss your particular interests. They'll be pleased to help.
Mike Allsop
President SFC
Captain Hank Langejans (left) and Author
Blackbourne prefilght Hank's C182, VH-MIG
A couple of months back Viv and I went along to last light drinks, our clubs social activity held on the last Sunday of each month. Whilst there I caught up with some friends who told me how they were heading to Mildura for the Queens birthday weekend. These were club members Hank Langejans, David Winter and Alan Drury whom I had been away with on previous flyaways/events. The purpose of their trip apart from committing aviation was to see some of the steam activities that are operational in the area. As luck would have it they had a spare seat in Hanks 182 and I now had a planned activity for the long weekend with a great group of club friends.
We departed YSBK on the Saturday around 08:30 with Capt Drury as our PIC and refuelled at Griffith. The stop was short, usual defuel and refuel etc and from a brief chat to one of their club members I heard how they were now RA status after the CFI took up a job with REX and they could not get a replacement. GA is certainly a changing world, sadly it would seem one that's heading South.
For the next leg, we took off under the command of Capt Winter and set course for YMIA. Apart from a few lakes and a couple of Highways it was a pretty baron landscape our track took us over. However with 4 pilots on board, loads of maps and 2 GPS, our pilot was well in control of our navigation. It was a graceful landing into YMIA and we taxied to the GA area where the plane was tied down and a taxi summoned for the trip to the Murray River and a paddle ship cruise.
Our water vessel "Rothbury" is no longer steam power these days but it did take us through Lock 11 which is part of the Mildura Weir system built in 1927 to ensure the river was navigable all year round.
Hank Langejans preflighting Big Lizzie, a
steam powered land clearer from the 1920s The water lock system may be hundreds of years old, but it has certainly stood the test of time operating in many parts of the world, and indeed many are on a grander scale than here in Mildura.
The next morning we returned to the river and checked out the P.S. "Melbourne" which is steam powered. Her engineer was a real steam enthusiast and not only did he share with us the secrets of the "Melbourne" but also briefed us on the Psyche Pumps which was our next stop. It was a muddy taxi ride to the Psyche Bend pump station but well worth the trip (wasn't our car). The power of steam has a magnetism of its own. It was then another taxi ride to look at "Big Lizzie", a steam powered land clearer from the 1920s era. Although this is a static display it shows how creative our forefathers were when applying steam power in those times.
We left Mildura at 14:00 and headed for Bathurst where we landed just before last light. With the usual fuelling needs attended to and having updated the weather for the last leg of our return trip, we took off under the command of Capt Hank who is night rated. He safely navigated us back to the Sydney basin and YSBK. What a great weekend.
This flyaway is a good example of the social benefits of being a member of our club. Hope to see you at our next last light drinks. Meanwhile, check out these links about the Weir, the Ships and of course Big Lizzie.
Peter Blackbourn
Flying Member
Tony Coleiro
T he only supersonic airliner that operated with success was the Anglo-French Concorde; briefly, the Russians had their version of a supersonic airliner (the TU-144) flying but the Americans never quite made it. With such aviation prestige on the line you think they would have had a competitor trying to out fly the Concorde and TU-144, but they never did. The truth is they did try, especially in the light of Pan Am, the national airline placing orders for the Concorde.
In June 1963, the then President John F. Kennedy called for a US Supersonic Transport (SST) Programme to compete against the Concorde airliner. The technology was not an unsurmountable problem but environmental politics was another story.
In June 1963, the then President John F. Kennedy called for a US Supersonic Transport (SST) Programme to compete against the Concorde airliner. The technology was not an unsurmountable problem but environmental politics was another story.To test people's reaction to living with sonic booms and to see if any structural damage could result, the population of Oklahoma City were used as test 'guinea pigs'. They would be subjected to one sonic boom per day from an F-104 Starfighter, building up to eight per day at scheduled intervals over a period of 26 weeks! Later, the sole North American XB-70 prototype supersonic bomber was also used in the sonic boom test programme. Public opinion would be sought at the end of the test period. One could imagine the reaction. In fact, by the end of the test, one in four people were opposed to sonic booms; this figure would have been even greater had they occurred at night.
Three aircraft companies' submitted proposals for the government sponsored SST competition, Boeing, Lockheed and North American. Boeing's competitors' proposals were all basically bigger versions of the Concorde; Boeing opted for something a little different, an aircraft with a swing-wing and conventional layout. In January 1967, surprisingly, due to its complexity, it impressed the US government's evaluation team sufficiently to choose Boeing's proposal ahead of Lockheed and North American's. The US government were heartened by the fact that their specification for a supersonic airliner was attracting more orders than the Anglo-French Concorde.
Contracts for the proposal were signed on 1 May 1967 by Boeing and the US Government to build two prototypes. The contracts were very tough and required Boeing to have the first aircraft in the air by 31 December 1970 and the second by 3 March 1971. The first 100 hours of flight-testing with both aircraft to be completed by 30 June 1971.
This was Boeing's first attempt at designing an SST. It came from an eight-year study into the problem, which started in 1956, trying out some 290 different layouts and wind tunnel testing 56 different high-speed wings.
The 733 could operate out of existing airfields What was finally decided on was an aircraft with a variable sweep geometry wing, capable of cruising at Mach 2.7 (flying the intended New York to Paris route in 2½ hours), a non-stop range of over 6,400 km and capable of carrying 150 passengers. The 'swing-wing' made for a more complex aircraft, but Boeing felt that the slower approach speed and the subsequent short field performance warranted the complexity. The 733 could operate out of existing airfields with no modifications, which meant that any airline could transition to SST use.
The take-off performance and noise output was projected to be better than current commercial jets in operation due to the fact that it could climb out more steeply and a smaller percentage of take-off thrust was required. The variable engine intake geometry also assisted in noise suppression as the engine could be 'choked' on approach to prevent compressor noise escaping. The sonic boom was the most serious problem and not easily overcome.
Construction of the aircraft was to be of a titanium honeycomb to withstand the heat generated from such high speeds.
Stainless steel had been considered, like what was used for the XB70, but its weight would have been too great.To assist pilots training to fly the SST, a C-131 transport aeroplane was heavily modified to become an in flight simulator. A second cockpit complete with a droop snoot was grafted on the aircraft ahead and below the original cockpit and side force fins were fitted mid way between the engines and the wing tips. The crew in the original cockpit acted as safety pilots for the SST pilots in training in the cockpit ahead. At the heart of this system was a computer that could change the handling characteristics of the C-131 to more emulate the handling qualities of an SST. Apart from training, the in flight simulator could also be used for systems testing.
Over time Boeing refined the design by lengthening the fuselage and increasing the seating capacity to 300 passengers in six-abreast seating, shifting the engines to the rear of the fuselage and the addition of canard surfaces. It was felt that for high-speed performance a delta wing plan form would be best but retention of the swing-wing would be good for low speed handling. Designing the swinging wing to fold neatly against the tail would give the aircraft a delta wing. The layout resembled that of the General Dynamics F-111 bomber. Boeing changed the model designation from 733 to 2707, as the re-developed aircraft was significantly different to the original concept. While the development was taking place, Boeing's order books were filling up with orders from such airlines as TWA, Pan Am, Alitalia, El Al, JAL, Air France, Air India, KLM and QANTAS just to name a few, some 123 aircraft in all were required.
Boeing expected the first flight to take place in late 1967 with first production deliveries to take place in mid-1971. The aircraft never left the design stage. In October 1968 the design was dropped in favour of a fixed delta wing after further refinement from wind-tunnel tests (subject of a future article). The aircraft ended up with the same configuration as the two losing designs, much to the embarrassment of Boeing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 |
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft - Orbis Publication |
|
Aircraft - March 1964, April 1965, April 1966, June 1966, November 1966, December 1966, February 1967, January 1968, June 1968, and May 1971 - The Royal Aeronautical Society |
|
Aeroplane - June 30, 1966 - Temple Press Ltd |
|
Australian Flying - March 1969 - Ellis Richardson & Partners Pty Ltd |
|
Australian Flying - July 1969 - Page Publications Pty Ltd |
|
Flight International - February 1964, 23 June 1966, 11 May 1967 and 3 August 1967 - Iliffe Transport Publications Ltd |
Anthony Coleiro
Pat Watson
Aircraft recognitionRecently, we had an interesting visit from some CASA Inspectors who wanted to check certain aspects of our training syllabus, particularly in respect to operations in the Bankstown circuit. I thought I would share some of the discussion - it relates to all members - not just instructors and students.
When the tower instructs you to follow a particular aircraft, for example "follow the Cessna 337 on late down wind" would you know what a Cessna 337 looks like? It was suggested that perhaps we should teach aircraft identification. Most pilots take an intense interest in the aircraft and can easily identify most Bankstown aircraft. However, if you want to know more, there are a number of excellent, cheapish books available from the pilot shop.
Of greater importance is the significance of the aircraft type. Is it behind you? Is it faster? Are you faster? Can you recognise the fact that you are catching up to the aircraft you are supposed to be following? From a distance, it is hard to see that you are faster. As you get closer, you will seem to "speed up" and overtake in no time at all.
It is important to recognise early that you may be catching up so that you can do something about it. You are not allowed to overtake an aeroplane in the circuit without the Tower's permission. So what do you do about it? We don't like you extending downwind. Nor do we like you "widening out". Extending upwind is okay, provided you don't enter Sydney CTR. If you are not on upwind and notice you are catching up to the aircraft in front, then the only options are to slow down or go 'round.
Many pilots are averse to slowing down for some unknown reason. In flying lesson 2, we learn slow flight. Reduce the power to about 2100 RPM and perhaps drop a little flap.Bankstown hot spots
Do you know where the "Hot Spots" are around Bankstown? The obvious ones are at the inbound reporting points - Prospect and 2RN. Another is Warwick Farm. Some people advocate calling when close to - but not exactly at, the inbound reporting point. That is bad. If an aircraft calls at a particular place - it should be there, so that everyone affected knows exactly where to look for it. If you are abeam it - say so.
Another danger point is the place where you join (or turn) downwind for runway 29. Keep a good lookout for aircraft coming inbound from Prospect or 2RN. Another danger area, particularly if there's a crosswind, is where aircraft turn final. They may tend to drift on to another runway's extended centreline, especially when turning from a base tailwind. Turn early; allow your aircraft to "DRIFT" on to your extended centreline.
Many people don't seem to know exactly where the inbound reporting points are. At Prospect, it is the North-east shore of the Reservoir, near the Quarry. At 2RN, it is overhead the Strobe.
Radio congestion
What happens if you can't get your inbound call in due to radio congestion? In that case, you can proceed towards Bankstown, however, you cannot enter the zone until you give your call. For example, if you are tracking from 2RN, and can't get your call in due to radio congestion, then you are required to turn (left is the most logical direction to turn), return to 2RN and try again. Whatever you do, do NOT turn left and cut in front of other aircraft. If the congestion is so bad, then it's a sure bet that there are a lot of aircraft inbound to Bankstown. Turning in front of them will result in a collision. If you are in a high wing aeroplane, lift the left wing (roll right) before turning left. You need to check for traffic before turning.
Rather than turning left, it may be better to maintain track and climb. Class C airspace (controlled airspace) is 2500 feet at Warwick Farm.
Piper Seminole VH-TEA You could quite easily climb above all incoming aircraft before turning. Another option is to track to Warwick Farm before turning left. All the other aircraft will be turning right there for Runway 11, or will be inside there if tracking for downwind Runway 29.
New aircraft on line
You may have noticed that we now have a number of twin-engine aircraft on line. The first new one is VH-TEA, a very nice PA44 Piper Seminole. It is an ideal aircraft for initial Multi-engine endorsement, or Instrument training, or an aircraft to take away for a holiday. It is fitted with Garmin GNS430 to help you navigate.
A word of caution when starting this aircraft. It does not have engine fuel Primers. Instead, there is a direction in the Pilot Operating Handbook, that states the pilot should pump the throttle two or three times before cranking the engine. I am totally opposed to that method of priming, due to the propensity of engine fire. (See the article in the November December 2002 newsletter). Instead, pump on, start cranking the engine, then pump the throttle twice as the engine is cranking.
Prior planning
For those who wish to plan their flights at home, we now have aircraft, Loading data and Performance data available on line in PDF format, ready to be downloaded. See Aircraft Fleet page on the Schofields Flying Club website then click on the W&B link for your aircraft.
Club exams
| Are you aware that you can sit a number of CASA Cyberexams at the Club? You can sit: |
 Matt Reid sweating over a Club exam |
|
|
Private Pilot Licence PPLA | |
|
Private Pilot Licence Overseas Conversion PAOS | |
|
Private Instrument Rating PIFR | |
In addition, we are in the process of rewriting and updating all of our Club in-house exams and putting them on computer. They are all multiple-choice style - answers selected by clicking your choice on the screen. Results are advised immediately at the conclusion of the exam and stored on a database. Club Exams include the following: | ||
|
Pre-Solo | |
|
Pre Area Solo | |
|
Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (BAK) | |
|
Flight Radiotelephone Operator's Licence (FROL) | |
|
Instructor Rating (BMI and General Knowledge) | |
|
GPS | |
|
PIFR FPA (3 each of 18 different Flight Procedure Authorisations for a total of 54 exams) | |
|
Aeroplane Endorsement | |
That's all for this month. Keep a good look out.
Patrick Watson
ex Chief Pilot and ex Chief Flying Instructor
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
We learn from history that we do not learn from history.
Latrodectus
© 2003-2009 Schofields Flying Club Ltd. All Rights Reserved.