Andrew Beveridge

I learned on a Tomahawk at Jandakot many years ago and it didn't initially have an oil cooler. Engine temps on a 30+ day (very common) were always at the top end of the green, nudging the red. So the operator had an oil cooler fitted and it just made managing the engine temps so much easier. Safer too.

That's great news! To all you Kiwis, can you please send some of that 'pragmatic common sense' over the ditch, as it's in precious short supply in Australia. Jandakot where I did my PPL has been under threat for the last couple of decades and will eventually become a housing estate... It will be an incredibly sad day for aviation, and "once gone", it will never ever be possible to reinstate such fantastic infrastructure, so close to the city of Perth. Sydney and Melbourne are facing similar challenges, and it really begs the question : "What is the national strategy for supporting World class airports such as Jandakot?..... when pressure from developers is leading to their inevitable, sad and appalling closure?"

Indeed they are quite a pretty aircraft... Of course I just dream of the 'heady speed' that Savannahs cruise at... I've got a similar type that's an older design, and I flight plan at an even more racy 70kts! Good thing is, rather than hammering along in a Grumman Tiger which I used to fly, doing 125kts, I'm actually enjoying going a fair bit slower. I now have time to actually 'spot and avoid' that tall radio mast, or to actually to see that NDB beacon... So, I'm enjoying the navigation a lot more, largely as I have got more time and less stress. What's not to like!