REastwood

The legal system is based on 20/20 hindsight. Engine runs rough, pilot applies carby heat, vibration goes away - conclusion: Pilot acted correctly. 20 minutes later engine stops, bad landing etc. conclusion: pilot was negligent for not landing as soon as possible after the engine ran rough.

This one statement is being echoed across many industries and endeavours which basically translates to "we must have perfection." I do not see how this can be practically achievable. Certainly if we stop all aircraft flying, remove all cars off the road, incapacitate all earthmoving equipment then society will reduce the number of accidents these forms of machinery causes. To bring it to zero all aircraft, cars and earthmovers must be destroyed and every person on the planet carefully monitored so that they do not build one secretly in a shed. Society will have to expend a near infinite amount of energy, time and restrictions to bring about a zero injury result. A lot of facets of life can be described by a bell curve, society can move the bell curve left or right by implementing various policies or lack thereof, but you will always have a low minority, a majority in the middle and a high minority. I personally partake in aviation, motoring and earthmoving. I actively try to avoid death and injury by being responsible in the actions I undertake when performing various activities. I receive training and know that instructors do not know everything, therefore I must be responsible in actively seeking as much knowledge and skills as I can. I am also aware that circumstances beyond my control may impact on my safety and I can try to mitigate or reduce the probability of those circumstances but there is always a chance that I may die or be injured and there is nothing I can do about it. Society can help by removing the outwardly dangerous people away from the populace but I also can make sure I do not associate with outwardly dangerous people as well. Society should strive for what is best for the majority, a balance between protection, cost and freedom. Members of society should take responsibility for their own actions in balance with the rules and customs of their society. Societies should grow not become strangled or free-for-alls. Certainly accidents should be investigated, all knowledge is important. Training facilities should meet a required standard, those not up to scratch need to lift their game or be shut down. Pilots need to be aware of their own abilities and the dangers posed to them. However, there will always be those people who do not want to follow the rules, be responsible and will do what they like. Society and/or fate usually catches up with them in the end but no amount of regulation apart from the removal of all free will can stop these people.

When flying IFR and you are coming up to an FIA boundary you are given the next frequency by ATC, you change to that frequency and give a report. So aircraft flying IFR with only one radio will be monitoring the FIA frequency only. When they approach an airfield they are given permission to change to the CTAF and make the required calls but at some stage they must change back to the FIA freq. especially if ATC cannot be contacted on the ground. So if you are flying VFR and you can only listen to one frequency, then if above 5000' monitor the FIA, you do not need to broadcast at the boundaries but you will hear any IFR traffic as they come into the area. Also remember that they will change from the CTAF back to the FIA at some stage over an airfield so if they do not respond immediately on the CTAF try again in a minute or two. Of course if you can monitor two frequencies then monitor the FIA and CTAF, listen and make a call/broadcast if there is a reasonable chance of conflict.

I always find it funny how people will complain about landing fees, airport maintenance etc. to the point of avoiding airports to save themselves $10 but in the next breath whinge about all the airports closing and there is nowhere to keep an aircraft within easy driving distance etc. etc. Some places may be cheap, some way over the top but I suggest to those who think it is all too expensive, go buy a couple of hundred acres, prepare a few strips, build some toilets and an office, put up fencing, buy the machinery to maintain the place, work seven days a week and listen to all the people whinge about how much you charge and how they are never coming back etc. etc. Maybe go look up the costs for keeping a boat at a marina, or the fees for living on a golf course.

Be careful, as some people in the regulatory system (CASA and RA-Aus) believe their interpretation IS the law. Despite what the regulations logically state, they may think that it doesn't apply to a certain group or their policy is safer/better. So, until a few people have been ramp checked and the "current policy" is determined, I shall be a bit wary of buying an iPad mini or using a second iPad as the backup.

A speculation that I have, and I have talked to a few people who have had engine failures, is that one of the differences between GA and RA-Aus is that there are a lot more Owner/Pilots in RA-Aus (and GA Experimental) than in GA (certified) and a few people have stated that they didn't want to damage their pride and joy when having to do a forced landing. This may very well lead to the problem of "stretching the glide" leading to a stall/spin, or a risky turn back to the airfield. If you are flying a "rental" it is more likely you are only thinking of you and your pax, and stuff the aircraft. I heard an interesting stat when doing my NVFR, apparently in USA the death rate for single engine aircraft is lower at night than during the day. This was attributed to the fact that at night, because you cannot see much, you fly the aircraft into the ground, whilst during the day you might try to get somewhere and cause a stall/spin. I was always told that if, during flight, you have a failure then the aircraft immediately belongs to the insurance company so there is no longer any need to try and save the aircraft just save yourself. It is better to hit a tree a 20-30 knots than the ground nose first at 70+ knots.

Dutchroll & Maj: I reckon CAR 157 (4)(e) covers a fair bit. Clearing animals of a runway is certainly a part of the landing process. Also sometimes it is required to conduct a low pass to make sure the undercarriage is retracted properly or a ground observer to check. Sometimes you do a low pass to check the crosswind etc. etc. I have been told by someone who was there that the aircraft did a left orbit, then a right orbit and it was during the right orbit that it stalled. Does any body know the exact time it happened as it might appear on WebTrack - the Air Services radar page?

The Spitfire Mk26b is an exact copy of the spitfire. The guys who brought it back into production bought the plans and name from Supermarine. The first ones were a 70 or 75% scale, then 80% and the latest ones 90% (with an 80% wing). The Jabiru 8 cylinder motor (180hp) was designed for the kit, which is fitted to my fathers aircraft. With the Jabiru 180hp it is very nearly the same power to weight ratio as the Mark IX Spitfire. Most of the ones in Australia did fit the Isuzu or similar motor, but these had to be registered VH. Both Rogers and my fathers are the 80% kit. Actual spitfire pilots who have flown them say they handle very much like the bigger original ones. Richard.

It is also possible that, being over water, a bird may have either hit the spat, causing it to break off, or the witness saw a bird and not a spat. I know at this time of year in our area that you have to keep a good eye out for birds up to several thousand feet and they do like to congregate around water.

Hi, Just to clarify, if you go from GA to a High Performance RA-Aus, like a Jabiru or Tecnam, then there is no minimum time, all you have to do is show the CFI you can fly the aircraft, demonstrate the differences in inertia etc. It can take anywhere from 30 min to 10 hours depending on your ability. The 5 hours minimum is ONLY if you are flying a low performance aircraft.

Having actually done a forced landing for real after a catastrophic engine failure in a Jab 230, I can tell you that your priorities and techniques change, and that some of the things taught during my early training certainly come to the fore. First thing is, I was always taught to look for a paddock, but now I also look (whilst flying along every 5 min or so) for straight dirt roads, farm house driveways etc with no trees, there's a lot more than you think (in SA, VIC anyway). I landed in a wheat paddock with soft wet dirt and a crop which caused the aircraft to flip, the nearby road/track would have been better. Also I was taught to always have a Primary and Secondary site, incase you can't make the first. I had selected a clear paddock with a slight down hill slope and the wheat paddock as secondary. I ended up too high and fast for the first one so I had my backup and it was the one I landed in. Thirdly I was taught if there is a fence, tree, cow etc. in the way then hit it! Do not try to fly over it, sure it may hurt or injure you but if you climb, stall and come in nose first you may kill yourself. And last, as soon as the engine quits you no longer own the aircraft, the insurance company does so who cares if it gets damaged, as long as you don't. With regards to wind, if there are no indicators (smoke, wind turbines, windmills, dams etc) go by the area forecast winds, they may not be dead on but are rarely 180 deg opposite. It took about 120 seconds to go from "Why is the engine doing that?" to "I'm upside down in a paddock!" - Engine ran rough, pulled carby heat, nope, check fuel nope, engine stops dead, mag check, starter wont work, bugger. Mayday, MayDay Mayday, position, POB, Aircraft and colour on Area Freq. (whilst getting aircraft trimmed for best glide and looking around), select a target and another just past it and off to the right just in case, no wind today, right-do an approach, too high, set flap, side slip, nope not going to make it, slope is more than I thought, airspeed good, slight right turn, full flap, fuel off, master off, paddock looks good but has a big tree straight ahead on the fence! Too bad, fly the plane fly the plane, flare, mains hit the deck, phew! Whoops crop has a lot of drag! why can I see crop in my windscreen? Why am I dangling upside down? Can't get seat belt undone! push with feet, unlatch belt crawl out door, look at upside down aircraft. 5 min later CFS, Police and Ambo's all rock up. Things I do now - Whenever I'm flying I am regularly noting terrain (slope, features, cover, roads) and thinking "I could put it down there, or there". I practice glide approaches with various flap settings so that I am familiar with how far the aircraft can go and how quickly you can loose height if needed (as I always tend to be high). I always have the Area Freq. dialled up on the second channel (or com2) as it is better monitored than the CTAF. And I keep my PLB around my neck, or the passenger holds it and is shown how to use it (I had it in my flight bag when I had my forced landing and was unable to activate it, but I had given Adelaide Centre a GPS coordinate as my position, i.e. 5 miles east of Kapunda township GPS 34 20 15 138 58 40 - which I read straight of from the Garmin). Things not to do - Never try to save the aircraft, save yourself and pax, never try to stretch the glide, a stall will kill you, but if you fly the aircraft you stand a better chance of survival. Never get too focused on one thing, like "why has it stopped", or talking to ATC, or "How does this PLB work again?", try to aviate, navigate, communicate all at the same time. Hopefully the above helps you in some small way, everybody's experience will be different and I hope that no-one ever has to go through a forced landing for real, but if you have trained, and are prepared you stand a very good chance of survival.

Also, it can be hard to determine the height of the tops of the cloud, you are concentrating on climbing above the cloud tops without realising you've busted into controlled airspace! Read the AIP ENR 1.2-4 for the visibility and cloud separation requirements. Scattered is 3-4 eighths (i.e 37.5% to 50%) and if there are different layers remember SCT + SCT = BKN etc. You must be able to fix your position at least every 30min (see AIP ENR 1.1 19.2.1), so as long as you can meet the above then it is generally better above the layer then below.

Recency requirements are all in the CAO's from 40.2.1 to 40.2.3, but quickly; PIFR-Flight review every 2 years AND sufficient recent experience to undertake flight safely (see CAAP 5.13-1), NVFR(Private)-1 flight of >= 1 hour every year plus 1 landing every 6 months, CIR-every 90 days: 3 hours on instruments or 1 hour dual or passed an instrument test. FPA's are part of the PIFR and do not appear to have any separate requirements RNAV, DME/GPS, NDB or VOR every 90 days (can be done in simulator), DME covers GPS and visa versa, ILS/LLZ covers VOR. With RNAV, must have done an approach within 6 months using same equipment type (CAO 40.2.1 11.3B). Basically you must fly on instruments (in IMC or under hood with safety pilot) for 3 hours every 90 days and do an RNAV, GPS, NDB and LLZ/ILS approach to remain fully up to date. This is hard to do as a private pilot hence the desire for the PIFR, or a trip to an instructor for a 1 hour brush up every 90 days. Nope, a PPL can go straight to a CIR. I have no intention of getting my CPL at the moment but if I do decide to in the future having to fly the precision required for IFR (+/- 100', track error<5 deg etc. etc.) will give me a good start. I was told that the time taken to do the NVFR (min 10 hours) counts directly to your PIFR, but I cannot find it written anywhere, but any instrument time definitely does count. For CIR you MUST have 5 hours as PIC at night, you can go to a school, do enough training to go solo at night then do 5 hours of circuits but I reckon you might as well do the NVFR. Several reasons; 1. You are under SARWATCH all the way for added safety and informed of other traffic, 2. for VFR in class G you must remain 1,000' clear of cloud vertically and 1,500m horizontally. If at or below 3,000'AMSL or 1000' AGL then clear of cloud and in sight of ground. If you don't like scud running then with the PIFR if the cloud base is at the LSALT you can get to the cloud base, or go above it (which is often smoother). 3. If you get the FPA's for instrument departure and say an NDB and RNAV approach then you can depart if cloud is 300' AGL and vis 2km (with some exceptions) and get into most airfields if the cloud base is around 1000' (some RNAVs can get you quite low). Personally, where I live you often get a low cloud base of 1500' stopping you getting over the hills VFR, also we often visit family in Melbourne which suffers the same fate. Having IFR I can get through the Stratocumulus, get into smooth air and get to where we are going. I will not fly if thunderstorms are forecast, or MOD to SEV turbulence, if there is icing conditions or the cloud base en-route is below 1000'. These are my personal minimums based on my aircraft (Cessna 172 - single engine no de-icing) and my own confidence/comfort. I also enjoy the precision of flying IFR and the procedural nature it involves. The hardest part I think is doing an NDB approach in moderate turbulence trying to keep your track, keep an eye on the stopwatch and your altitude, maintain your scan and monitor both the area frequency and CTAF, whilst giving required calls and trying to stop any sudden sink from busting your minimums. But I do LOVE doing a LLZ(Localiser) approach into Adelaide lifting the hood at 800' and seeing the runway right in front of me! Richard.

Having just recently completed my NVFR and will be completing my CIR in about 2 weeks I can hopefully shed some light on the subject. Firstly the NVFR, if you end up doing a CIR then you have to have 10 hours night flying with 5 as PIC, you do not need to get the NVFR but it can make things easier if flying IFR at night (you can get better LSALT's by making visual fixes etc.). If you do a PIFR then any instrument time done doing the NVFR counts towards the PIFR, again most places recommend you do the NVFR. It took me about 14 hours all up in my own aircraft. Recency is just doing your 3 landings every 90 days (only 1 every six months if not carry PAX) and a flight of at least 1 hour duration once a year. As for the CIR/PIFR, if you can find someone in your area who can do a PIFR then that could be the best option. In SA there isn't anyone who was able to conduct a PIFR course. I ended up sitting the IREX exam (self taught through Bob Tait books) and currently doing the CIR at Adelaide Airport. The basic PIFR gives you enroute only, i.e. take off clear of cloud until you reach LSALT (the cloud base can be at LSALT) and you must be visual to descend below LSALT. You can however do FPA's (Flight Procedure Authorisations) which allow you to do additional things like Approaches, departures etc. You will have to do either the NDB or VOR FPA as part of the PIFR but I would suggest also doing: Instrument departure (removes the climb to LSALT limitation), Holding, and DME approaches. If you intend on going into bigger airports and you do the VOR approach, you might as well do the Localiser as well. The CIR is about 40 hours, the PIFR minimum is 20 hours, but if you add on the FPA's you might end up doing 30 odd hours, a lot of people suggest doing the CIR and getting the PIFR signed off at the same time. That way you get everything and are up to a good standard. Having both the NVFR and CIR/PIFR allows more flexibility when planning private flights. Of course you still have to fly within your aircrafts and your own limitations, i.e. icing, thunderstorms, personal minimums for cloud, turbulence, wind etc. but for those days when it's overcast at 1000' but beautiful over the ranges you get get to were you are going safely.

Yep, that is the proposal, but it was passed by council in November 2012, it will be in the Government Gazette either this month or January (if it's not already in there). We are taking expressions of interest so as to gauge interest. We have planned to do 10 blocks first but that can change depending on numbers. We have 6 signed up already. Doug (Deskpilot), I'm Richard, Ray's nephew. Ray has now retired and is moving his aircraft to Goolwa. Cooperplace - we have advertised in the Aviation Trader, under Aviation related Real Estate. Once of the encumbrances is that you must be affiliated with aviation, so there is little point advertising in the normal real estate places. We are still in the early stages but there are people here who want a specific site so the earlybirds can take their choice pick at a fixed price. While to Council has finally approved this development, it has been a hard slog, and other airparks in other states have taken half the time to go from concept to fruition. We had to deal with changes in Development Assessment Panels, Changes in Government Planning Ministers, etc. Hopefully it should be straight forward from now on. Richard.

We have been working for eight years to get to this point. Goolwa Airport has finally been approved for re-zoning as an airport (as opposed to rural) with a residential capacity so from now on residential approval will be a complying development. We have 58 residential blocks available with the first stage of ten ready for selection now. This will ensure the existence of the Goolwa Airport for the foreseeable future and allow us to upgrade the grass runways to all-weather strips with new taxiways and update other infrastructure.

WOW! If AM397 is standing up for journalists and trying to lead by example then he is doing a bang up job. (<- note: sarcasm) Personally, I would like to know the full story, including his side of things, it may be an interesting insight into the thinking/reasoning of a professional pilot and why a course of events took place to end up where he did. We recently had an AvSafety seminar here where they showed some clips of various scenarios concentrating on human factors, its possible this scenario could prove very insightful.

Jab engines are seen in the Air Safety magazine, one or two pops up every second or third issue (hard copy editions) haven't seen any since electronic versions though.

If we are given the correct information then we can plan better. Our Jabiru was maintained according to (and above and beyond) the schedule required. We completed the Jabiru maintenance course and applied the knowledge to our maintenance routine. The engine was pulled through before every flight and we knew what to feel/look for. Yet at 283 hours we suspect (because up to this day Jabiru will not tell us what went wrong!) an exhaust valve failed 35 minutes into the flight destroying the engine. If Jabiru had said, "oh your from SA and only get 100/130 AVGAS, you better do a top overhaul every 200 hours", or "yes, our valves can burn off in less than 15 minutes if they stick open at any time" (a guy from the workshop told us this after the failure). We could not, due to RA-Aus rules, change or modify the aircraft as it was used for training. So it does annoy me when people say "oh you didn't maintain it right", "there must have been some unknown condition or circumstance", "you didn't treat the engine right" etc. etc. We know now (and Jabiru has confirmed it) that the engines require "more frequent maintenance" if using 100/130 (the only AVGAS available in SA), and after telling us that "you CANNOT run it on MOGAS", they have changed their story and MOGAS is allowable. The J230 was a nice aircraft to fly, a great tourer and interesting training aircraft, if Jabiru would certify the fitment of another engine, be it Continental, Rotax, U/L etc. then training facilities could have a good aircraft that is nice to fly for hiring out and a good trainer for day to day work.

He is trying to get me to keep it as close to 3deg glide slope as possible, which is flatter than what I am used to during the day - but I find the 3deg much easier to judge the round out. The question being is should you try to maintain a glide slope which will allow you to make the strip in case of engine failure at night, or maintain a 3deg glide slope which is easier? (Best glide on C172 is around 5-6deg). Just because something is easier doesn't mean it is always the best.

While we are talking circuits, all you people who are NVFR rated, do you change your cct technique at night? I have started doing my night rating and I find it harder with my normally steep approach, a slightly longer/flatter approach (but not too low) makes judging the round out a bit easier. Aircraft is C172.

The "legal document" about restricting operations to ground only is just a letter sent to the council, it is not a legal document and this fact has been told to South Coast Aviation, the governing body of Aldinga airfield. It was seized upon by some people who want to restrict movements at Aldinga but they did not read any further to find the true context of the letter. The council themselves operated the airfield for five years after that letter was written and my brother was the owner & CFI of the flying school at that time.

A question then, does the RAA Tech manual (4.0 para 6) in regards to maintenance (Daily inspection only if used for Hire & Reward) counteract CAR 1988 Schedule 8 (sub regulation 42ZC (4) which allows a pilot to conduct certain activities on a B Class aircraft (i.e. Replace, clean, gap spark plugs, change oil, replace batteries etc.). It would be strange (but no real surprise) for GA to be less prescriptive than RAA! P.S. Class B aircraft covers GA private, airwork and charter.

There is an NDB and VOR situated at Tailem Bend. Training facilities use it to practice NDB and VOR approaches as well as intercepts etc for IFR.

My 2c worth; Climate is always changing, and over the past x thousand years it has changed quite dramatically at times. Our society's prosperity and growth is based on the current stable climate. Therefore it is to humans advantage that the climate remains stable. Whether our climate is changing because human output is causing it to, or because of a natural cycle (or a combination of both) is a question that science has not yet confirmed, science has only confirmed that it is changing. Now there are two options really, try to minimize the change by controlling the atmosphere (restricting output of certain gases) or use technology and investment in infrastructure to help humans adapt to the changes (or a combination of both). There can be some good lessons for human society along the way. Sustainability (living with our means), world wide cooperation, and a deeper understanding of our planet. Of course it could go the other way and it could turn into a post apocalyptic chaotic free for all, in which case better star stock piling AVGAS and spares so we can continue to fly after society goes to ell.