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No word on F-111 incident
July 21, 2006 12:21pm
Article from: AAP
THE Defence Department has refused to comment on whether a wrongly-inserted wheel pin is to blame for a dramatic emergency landing of an F-111 fighter jet.
The 26-strong F-111 fleet has been grounded while Tuesday's incident is investigated.
"We're not prepared to speculate on any causes for the incident until the investigation is carried out," a department spokesman said.
Today's Courier-Mail newspaper reported that a 12cm pin inserted back-to-front in the wheel was the reason for the emergency landing.
The spokesman said an interim report was due early next week.
Flying officer Peter Komar, 29, and navigator Flight Lieutenant Luke Warner, 32, were forced to make an emergency landing of their F-111 at the RAAF Amberley Base, west of Brisbane.
The plane was forced to circle for three hours to burn off fuel before landing after it lost a left wing wheel on takeoff.
There were no plans to bring forward the retirement of the F-111 planes - which are due to wind up their service in 2010.
Australian Defence Association executive director Neil James defended the planes, saying a modern aircraft may have fallen to pieces at such a landing.
"They're (F-111s) large and made of steel and that particular aircraft will be flying again," said Mr James.
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Lloyd's lifetime of improving air safety recognised
Steve Creedy
July 21, 2006
INDUSTRY identity George Alfred "Peter" Lloyd has been working to make Australia's skies safer for much of his life - and the industry acknowledged that effort this week, with a lifetime achievement award.
About 80 guests attended Admiralty House to see Mr Lloyd presented with the award by Aviation Safety Foundation Australasian patron, Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
Mr Lloyd, the convenor of the Safeskies international aviation safety conferences and the Sir Reginald Ansett Memorial lecture, has 11,000 aircraft command hours and has held executive positions in numerous clubs, including being founding president of the Australian Aerobatic Club.
He was awarded an order of Australia for services to international relations and aviation and an OBE for services to aviation and the motor industry.
Other awards include the World Gold Air Medal, the world's premier aviation award, and Australia's top medal, the Oswald Watt Gold Air Medal.
"Overall, Peter has an extraordinary record of achievement and recognition in aviation, business and community affairs within Australia and internationally," the judges said.
Other ASFA awards went to Airservices Australia senior manager Bob Peake for his role in pioneering airborne collision avoidance systems, and a consortium that invented a wheelchair passenger lifter to allow disabled passengers to safely board and exit aircraft.
The unique invention, by John Cree and Ed McGregor of Qantas, and William Hay of Haycomp, was lauded by judges as an "all round winner - safe and comfortable for passengers, safe and easy for staff".
The ASFA meritorious service award was presented to Captain Rex Booth for outstanding service and contribution to safety in aviation training, while the safety promotion award went to the editor in charge of Australian Defence Force and RAAF safety publications, John Crawley.
The association also named two new fellows, Ian Honnery and Paul Middleton, for professional leadership in promoting aviation safety.
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I feel that this new item is important to all of us as is an example of the news items that are placed in the Aviation News area of these forums that are accessed only by registered forum users.
Sector to get help in take-off
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
July 21, 2006
THE federal Government is poised to announce a joint initiative with industry to help boost the flagging general aviation sector.
Transport Minister Warren Truss revealed this week that details of an "action agenda" on general aviation would probably be announced within two weeks.
Mr Truss said the Government had set up action agendas for a range of industries, particularly those facing challenges.
A working group would be formed to allow the industry to have a hard look at its future and the policy mix required to ensure it had one.
"There are absolutely no presuppositions," Mr Truss said.
"The industry has a good hard look at itself and says what do we need to to fix it.
"But if the solution is 'fairy godmothers need to rain money on us' - well, forget about that. They need to look at what practically they can do, living in a real world."
The Government response comes as general aviation groups worried about the industry's decline are joining forces to tackle some of the issues.
There is a move to get the associations involved in general aviation to form an umbrella group to lobby the government.
Industry participants are worried about rising government charges, the loss of airports and a general lack of recognition of the industry.
They want the Government to include general aviation in its infrastructure policies.
"General aviation is part of the total transport infrastructure and it needs somebody to realise that it's important," said Seaplane Pilots Association Australia chairman Philip Dulhunty, who has been spearheading a push to publicise the industry crisis.
"But they just take it for granted until, suddenly, all the airports have disappeared."
Mr Truss agreed that general aviation, which has been declining for a number of years, faced challenges.
He said the fleet was old and expensive to maintain and modernise.
"There's a lot of anxiety in the general aviation sector at the present time," he said.
"It's self-evident that the industry is changing quite dramatically.
"Some of the concerns come from, perhaps, an insular position.
"If you're locked into a particular sector of the industry, perhaps you're not noticing there are some other sectors of the industry that are doing pretty well, particularly sport aviation."
Mr Truss said there was big growth in the larger sports aircraft that were outside the regulatory system.
He said this was because sports aviation was cheaper and people could get a brand new aircraft with modern technology rather than the older planes used by GA.
The other sector also doing well was helicopters.
"So all the facts plus the natural difficulties GA is having having are squeezing that sector and we need to look at what's the best way head.
"Can we have a general aviation sector, for instance, that's less regulated?
"Is it the lack of regulation that's attracting people to sport aviation?
"We need to look at it more closely and see if there are some things we can learn from that sector that can be transferred to general aviation.
"And AOPA (The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) is expressing some interest in lifting the maximum weight (of aircraft) that can be taken essentially outside the system.
"I don't have any position on those sorts of issues but that's what action agendas are about - talking about what the options might be for the future and developing a blueprint."
Mr Truss emphasised that the working group was not seen to be captive to a particular organisation.
"We would be looking to drive this agenda with people who have skills rather than membership of a particular organisation," he said.
"Naturally you'd want to engage organisations like AOPA and others who are peak bodies for the general aviation sector."
Asked about the vexed question of cost recovery, Mr Truss said aviation would never return to the old system.
He said something like 80 per cent of costs were still picked up by taxpayers but he conceded the small amount of cost recovery already introduced was being taken hard by the industry.
He cited the argument over medical fees as an example of an industry concern prompting another look at policy.
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G'day Yenn (Ian)
Welcome to the recreational flying forums - how did you come up with the logon of Yenn?
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G'day Robbo
Welcome to the recreational flying forums - enjoy your stay
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Anyone seen the movie Space Cowboys with Clint eastwood in it?
It is an absolute scream of a movie and when they were in the Shuttle Simulator at NASA using their old 50's style of being a test pilot they are coming in far to hot with all systems failed and they just yank it up to stall and plonk it on the runway - if you have not seen the movie then my recomendation is to rent it, borrow it, steal it what ever you have to do cause it is fantastic. Another great part is when they are trying to out do each other in that machine that goes round and round that inflicts horrible G's on you and their face is getting stretched around to their ears:laugh:
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Check out the angle of descent in this video of the shuttle landing:
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With the costs at Tooradin it looks a better choice - have you thought about doing 2 lessons in the one day making it even more economical per trip and try and do it weekly - it makes easier and stops the 2 steps forward and 1 step back syndrome.
Now the next things you need to consider (just in my opinion) is do a check on the weather over the last say 3 months and see how many days have had wind over 12 knots (12 is in my opinion the most you want to go in during basic ab-initio training till you have some experience) and pay them a visit and speak to their instructors - don't be scared to ask some silly questions just to see how they react and what answers you get - just some thoughts on how I would do it.
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Hi David
I called in at one of the barbies at Hoxton Park late last year and found it a good opportunity to have a chat. It was the day that almost every egg that was cracked on the barby was a double yoker which was indicative of the atmosphere in the joining of fellow aviating groups without politics.
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That's great to hear Don and good luck to the new Airpark Committee - can you get them to provide information for the headings on a page in the Clubs area and I will create a record for them.
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- Nosmo, I think you are going to get into some trouble there as I know the Sting owner very well (I prefer to believe my own eyes and the owner then the dealer) and he is not very happy about this not being brought to people's attention especially with it happening twice - once to the previous owner and then to him and definately not the result of heavy landing(s). Plus about pushing both pedals together - please re-read the origional post and all the other posts in this thread.The point here is not to discredit any aircraft or anything else - it has been made very clear in the post that the problem is about communication of which is not happening. Imagine if another sting's front leg callapses or another Texan's elevator fails or whatever else happens and a person is killed - can you imagine the uproar when they find out that it has happened before and no one was told. You say it only happened to that one sting but what about the next one - is that going to kill the operator. Do we have to let accidents happen twice before we tell anyone about the first one?The Sting you speak of was originally the result of a hard landing.I have a great deal of respect for Chris and the team in the office but something needs to be done. As mentioned a database even with anon entries of things that people find, including pressing both pedals at once, would be of great benefit to all of us - I make the offer of providing that but only if all reports to the RA-Aus were also entered into it - as I said even anon.
I am very disheartened to hear you try and "fluff off" something about safety when it should be supported by all!!!
I will continue always to push and push and push keeping everyone honest when it comes to safety - this is not a game, I love to go out and fly till the sun comes down and then I love coming home safely to my wife and children
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- Is this for the new Space Shuttle ;) - geez Rotax are good arn't theyInterested in what they're doing with Rotax engines around the world, check out this story on how NASA has modified a Rotax 914 with triple turbochargers and EFI to operate at altitudes up to 90,000 feethttp://www.designnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA151154&cfd=1
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If anyone is considering purchasing the Telex headset could you please PM me
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Geoff - anything as important as this OR has anything to do with the RA-Aus I always send them a copy of the post before I post it here just out of common decency and respect for the great work that they all do.
This gives them an opportunity to advise if any of my facts are incorrect or to make any comments first and depending on their comments I determine whether to post an edited version or even decide not to post it at all. In this case a copy was sent to Chris (Techman) and I waited till I received a response back before I posted it.
If Chris had advised me that the facts were incorrect or in any way different to what I had written then I may not have even posted this. I try to be as open, decent and professional to them as possible and I only ask that they reciprocate the same.
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The last edition of Australian Flying had a write up on headsets and this is how they listed the Telex:
Telex Stratus 50 Digital
This head set is definitely top of the line, in both price
and performance. The active technology uses digital signal processing (DSP) to
continuously sample and cancel low-frequency noise. As a result, the noise
reduction claimed is a whopping 50db; more than any other active headset. Four
AA batteries provide power and auto shut-off saves the batteries when you’re
not using the system. The Stratus 50 comes with an adaptor so mobile phones and
MP3 players can be connected without having to switch cords in flight.
Cushioned head pads and ear seals and a flexible mic boom finish the unit
nicely. Anyone considering the best in active headsets should look closely at
this one.
Noise Cancelling: Active
Microphone: Noise-cancelling
Mic Boom: Flexible
Weight: 0.510 kg
Retail: $1575
It seems the price quoted may be a little high if you can get them so much cheaper from overseas and it is interesting the piece about the phone adaptor with so many different phones out there all with different connectors getting one to fit for a lot of phones may take some investigation.
I personally am very interested to here back on how these units perform as I was just about to get 2 pair of Bose X's but perhaps it may be more prudent to wait and hear back from you JL - thanks for your information, it may have been your first post but it has turned out to be a very valuable one - thanks.
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- MY POINT EXACTLY Geoff.If say I went out and bought a Jab tomorrow I would not have known this and whilst the onus is on me to do my pre-flight it is the things that we can't see that are the problems and it comes down to communication.Add a rudder pedal on a C.T that was at Lethbridge vic. Very interesting about the Jab as an owner I had never heard of this, will have a bloody good look tomorrow.I could very easily set up a database here with search etc and with everyone entering anything they know - even anonymously - but it may not have the things in it that get reported like the Texan or Sting that I mention, and we can't have things as important as this fragmented - it should really only be in one central place - here if the RA-Aus would provide me with a copy of all reports to enter into the database or on the RA-Aus website.
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Hi All
I was a bit disheartened when today I heard yet another story about an aircraft type that has had to undergo major structure repair and then re-repair without any safety releases, bulletins or even a simple notice being issued. We have in recent times enjoyed a decreasing level of accidents occurring which I personally feel is mostly attributed to the communication of potential safety issues throughout our sport. Apart from these forums, that has already brought to many of our colleague’s attention some very important safety repair issues, but this communication has largely emanated from the great work being done by Chris and the others in the RA-aus office. BUT, can we still do it better? Are we currently just balancing on the razor's edge of between the comfort of today's numbers and the increase of many more accidents that are about to happen due to the so called "technology advances" in our industry in which communication can be the weighing factor?
With this in mind I am asking the question why are we not receiving this all important information that can make the difference of life or death - CAN WE DO IT BETTER?
For example (just a couple that I have heard of - there are many others):
A Sting was found to have a severe crack in the front leg but was caught in time which didn't result in a catastrophic failure. The aircraft was sold and with not many hours later the front leg cracked again which did result in the leg collapsing (luckily only whilst taxiing) causing extensive damage to the aircraft. The incident was reported but no communication was made to existing owners or to anyone else. Also, the Sting distributor in New Zealand also had a front leg failure at just 80hrs and was repaired but still no news to anyone. Imagine just after you touch down you lower the nose and the front leg collapses, it digs you in and you flip over, being a low wing the force of the canopy hitting the runway breaks and then breaks your neck and you are killed or left a quadriplegic - if only you had known to pay very special attention to that front leg.
The Texan at Sunbury I am told had a Rudder Pedal failure and no mention of that has been made - I would not want to be flying when that happens and even worse if I didn't know that it had happened to another Texan. Plus, that same Texan at Sunbury I am told also had an Elevator Mass Balancer failure which was welded back up but then failed again and still no news, no announcements, nothing. I can only assume that these Texan failures were reported as the current Board member is the CFI so why were these failures not released?
A new Storch used in training had to have its main legs replaced after less then 50 hours as a pilot one day said they thought the aircraft looked a little lopsided - it was found the legs were bent and then later the front leg also failed and as I said all in less then 50 hours.
I am guessing that if I was killed due to a Sting that had a front leg failure or a Texan with a rudder pedal failure or elevator mass balancer failure andI hadn't been told then my wife would have grounds to sue - is something going on here - WHY are incidents like these not being released???
I am sure that everyone at the RA-aus office know how much I respect and admire the work and effort that they put in (if they don't then they should know by now) but come on guys this needs to be fixed and fixed NOW instead of reading about a leg failure on a nearly 500 hour CT that happened 9 months ago, we need to hear about things thathave just happened.
Here is a thought- instead of just AD's or AN's what about an open book on ALL incidents even if it was a maintenance fault, pilot error or anything - just one piece of information may save a life or if not anything else, it may help to make us more cautious when checking things.
Dare I say it but if there is any corruption or politics involved in preventing this from happening or things getting swept under the rug then for the sake of our lives those people should just make an excuse and leave the room.
X has left the building.....now let's start communicating!!!
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HolyCow - WHAT A STORY!!!
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- Ok guys' date=' yes include photoshopped stuff [b']BUT[/b] you will have to just note it in the post with the text "Image altered"So come on put up or...... Bummer... can we please have a section for Photoshopped stuff? :big_grin: -
Hi Ken
Have you been up in a CT yet? If not then remind me around Nov when my new one arrives and we can go up for a couple of hours.
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Gavin - As it usually takes a week or two for me to get my copy of the mag, can you enlighten me on what is happening?
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Hi Shifty
May I ask why you ONLY like the Jabiru or Texan? Is it because that they are the only ones available to you on that side of Melbourne without having to travel (although I believe both those schools still have their Gazelles)?
I am just trying to understand the reasons why you prefer these two given they are not exactly similiar aircraft.
As for the money side yes they are expensive and I started my training with one of those schools but the other one I felt existed simply to extract as much money out of my pocket as possible - I felt they would even charge me to sneeze - it was very much business like and I wanted to enjoy the whole flying experience. I found another school that was also a club but required a 1.5hr drive to get there but at the time their prices were a lot cheaper and if I stayed the sat night - sleeping in the clubrooms I was able to get more flying hours for my money over the weekend and had a great time being in a club. Now that club has 4 (possibly 5) different RAA aircraft that you can choose from not only getting your hours up in but also experiencing the different characteristics of different aircraft - just a thought!
So in summary I am saying that depending on why you prefer either of these two aircraft perhaps thinking outside the square may enable bigger opportunities ;)
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- Now Now, keep it cleanThis reminds me of a joke:and one with real pilots in taildragging LightWings! ;) Arthur.How can you tell a pilot at a party.......
Don't worry..............
he'll come and tell you
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Jake - Unfortunately I have to send my brand new Flightcell back as they can not find a plug that will fit my 3 CDMA LG phone (the guy at Flightcell Neil says he knows you).
As I am having to get a new headset soon and was going to go for the Bose again I was interested to hear about a headset called the Telex Stratus 50 Digital which is about $100 more then the Bose but comes with a mobile phone connector. I might look into these and see whether I can connect my phone to them as they are suppose to be a very good headset (yes, I know, everyone will say "well they would want to be a bl**dy good headset for $1575).
Incidentally, I was with Orange who are closing down due to Telstra closing down their network that Orange uses but their sister company 3 using 3g CDMA will still be around in that form of CDMA - or so I believe
Bummer... can we please have a section for Photoshopped stuff? :big_grin:.gif)
How the professionals do it (F111)
in AUS/NZ General Discussion
Posted
HeyRiver, If you didn't know the story then that 2nd picture is brilliant - one would assume they were flying very close to the ground but then you scroll down to the 3rd picture and say "Oops"