DWF

The Cairns RWY 15 ILS Approach chart is at: http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/current/dap/BCSII01-132.pdf The ILS track is about 150deg. The missed approach procedure is to turn left onto 015deg - a turn of 135deg. The normal Missed Approach minima is 320' at about .5nm from the runway but the first aircraft commenced the MA at 1000' (just after the Outer Marker at about 3nm from the runway) so turned left early and conflicted with the following aircraft on the ILS approach. I'm not sure what the controller's separation minima is but they would be about 3nm and 1000'.

Wotz ATC? Shouldn't worry RAAus aircraft [in most cases].

From our constitution: "15. Treasurer ...... (iv) The Treasurer shall produce a financial statement of accounts twice yearly and publish to the membership, the first occasion being not more than 30 days after the end of financial year, thereafter 6 months later." Has anyone seen the financial statement of accounts due by the end of Jan 2013?

To my mind the most important thing with a forced landing is to get the aircraft occupants back on the ground safely and in one piece. If the aircraft is reusable as well that is a bonus. The hardest part of achieving that is the last bit from 500' to touchdown - the bit we DON'T get to practice. I know we practice glide approaches to our own airstrip(s) [don't we?] but the 'picture' can be quite different away from 'home'. If you can, find a low flying area and/or ALA in your training area where you can come down to (almost) ground level safely and do a go around (or even touch and go if you are lucky). It is better to be too high than too low! You can always lose height - it is almost impossible to get it back (thermal). You have flap (in most aircraft), side-slipping (you have been taught that haven't you) and S turns (you can lose a lot of height with this technique so practice at height first). At touchdown you want to be as slow as possible (just above the stall) so speed control on final is also important - short field landing practice is useful here. Even a PFL from ~2000' over your home field can be a useful exercise. Choose a forced landing area as close to directly below the aircraft as possible - not always that easy I know. motzartverv's tip about using the 'field selection checklist' to reject an area is very useful. DWF

This is a link to the RAAus web site. I can't get the report to show. Can anyone else get it?

I thought you said they didn't know how to do that.

Maybe we should move a motion that all our Board members attend something like this: Secrets of Successful Boards (Tuesday 26 February, 10.00am - 3.00pm) A healthy committee of management or board is integral to the success of any community organisation. This full-day course will help you to understand your legal and practical responsibilities as a committee/board member, and how you can create a more harmonious, more productive and more effective working group. Fee: $295 Further information: www.ourcommunity.com.au/boardseminars Don't miss these great opportunities. Best regards, The Our Community Team If you can't make it to these courses, some of our practical publications may be of interest to you: www.ourcommunity.com.au/books Fast Forward: Please feel free to send this email on to your networks. If you're not a member of Our Community and you would like to be - sign up at www.ourcommunity.com.au/signup. It's free!

It's just my jaded but sorely tried sense of humor trying to lighten the mood a little.

Who cares about apathy?

G'day Pud I am busy Tuesday afternoon till about 6pm. Wednesday is OK. Give me a call after 6pm Tue. 0407 036 173 David

The idea is not that new. It was used in the MU2 designed in the 1960s. History of the MU-2 The Design Concept From the ground up, the MU-2 airplane was designed to be powered by a turbo propeller engine. ..... In order to achieve the short field takeoff and landing capability for the aircraft, a highly efficient double slotted Fowler flap was chosen and designed to run the full span of the wing. A spoiler system was utilized for roll control instead of ailerons, thereby permitting the full wing flap. Use of spoilers for roll control was the latest state-of-the-art and has many advantages over typical ailerons for roll control. One advantage of spoilers over ailerons is the retention of positive roll control even during slow flight, a realm in which ailerons become sluggish, heavy, and are much less effective. Spoilers are also not subject to aileron snatch. .... http://www.mu-2aircraft.com/index.asp

I am extremely disappointed at the emotive, inflammatory, hostile and often inaccurate nature of some of the posts on these forums. (I wonder if this post will generate more of the same toward me. ) It is not hard to get the impression that there is a lynch mob forming to storm the bastions of RAAus headquarters. For example, while the Secretary's letter suggests members think carefully about who they give their proxy to and even says Board members will accept proxies, I cannot see how you can interpret it as " instructing members to ONLY give proxy votes to members of the board and to NO other party." This highly emotive and (in my opinion) inaccurate statement significantly diminishes the credibility of the post and the poster. There are enough real, credible questions to be asked and arguments to be made without having to descend to mud slinging and name calling. I know people on (semi) anonymous forums tend to get a bit carried away but these issues are too serious to be derailed and deflected by emotive and inaccurate statements. Just because something is said LOUD and OFTEN does not make it true or correct. This applies to both sides of the argument. "Middo's letter, in my opinion, is a one-sided presentation of the Board's defence(sic) of their ....... conduct ...." What do you expect! Many of the posts here are a little one-sided as well. Are you denying them a right of reply or a chance to explain their position? Surely it (the letter) is an attempt to address the second reason for calling the GM. Isn't that what you want them to do? I think it falls short of what we would like but at least it is an attempt. Good on them for getting the process moving. Its about time! But what concerns me more is, is it moving fast enough? 75 renewals processed in a week. Isn't that about the rate that our aircraft regos fall due? At that rate will they ever catch up? I understand and sympathize with the frustration of those who are awaiting (re) registration of their aircraft. I too was grounded for a month just because the rego became due in December. You certainly have a right to complain and ask when you can get back in the air. I don't think getting abusive about it will help much (and may move you to the bottom of the pile!) I also agree that there seems to be a large number of other irregularities that need sorting out. I live in one of the beautiful but far flung corners of the Empire country and have very little contact with other RAAus members. I joined and participate in this forum to try to get some idea of what is going on. Highly biased rhetoric and name calling do not help in this. The very limited communication from the Board is also mostly unhelpful. I do not know and have never met (to my knowledge) any of the Board members and do not know anyone who is going to the GM. Members in my situation feel disenfranchised as they would like to participate in the deliberations but cannot get to the GM and do not know anyone who is going well enough to give their proxy to. I would urge those attending the GM to stay calm keep a clear head collect the (irrefutable) facts make a list of your questions (in reasonable, un-emotive language) marshal your arguments not vote for any motion in the heat of the moment that you will regret in the cold light of day. Remember that the prime objective is to (re)establish a functional, efficient, well run association so we can get back to FLYING FOR FUN! [End of Tirade] DWF

Yes, you can do it in an RAAus aircraft. CTA LL 2000 in the Freo area. Some form of SAR watch required (12nm over water). Normal CTAF procedures at YRTI. Practice your crosswind landings! Wear lifejackets. Know how they work. Brief your Pax. In an RAAus registered aircraft AVDATA may have trouble tracking you down to send the bill. Short walk to 'town' centre and beach. Bus and train tours + bike hire. Don't feed the quokkas. Have fun. DWF

Andy, I am not saying we should "totally ignore CASA". RAAus (as well as the rest of aviation) has to play by the rules and develop a harmonious relationship with the regulator. What I was trying to say is that some posts on this forum have been over reacting and alarmist. David

I agree Andy. If the Old Bar incident had not occurred the CASA audit would still have happened. The record deficiencies would still have been discovered. If the CASA audit had not occurred (at the time it did) the records of the aircraft in the Old Bar incident would have (probably) been checked. Was there any deficiency found in that aircraft's record? [i have not seen an account of the incident and the following investigation.] I think the temporal juxtaposition of the two events is purely coincidental. People are jumping at shadows and the big bad boogyman [aka CASA]. DWF

Which indicator would you rather see in the Tech Mangers KPIs. 15% of renewal applications rejected on first presentation. or 95% of renewal applications processed with 1 working day. It all depends on how you write the KPIs and how they relate to the objectives of the organisation.

KPI is just a name. You need a benchmark to judge whether a task is being done (correctly) or an objective is being reached otherwise there is no way to know how you are going, where you are going and if you have got there. You can call it what you like - KPI is just a name for a method of assessing performance. Ian is correct in saying (I think) that it is choosing the correct/appropriate KPIs that is the critical factor. You have to know what you want or where you are going before you can see if you have arrived. I think part of the current problem is that nobody is really sure of where they are going or what they want/need to achieve so they are wandering around staggering from crisis to crisis. We need a bit more proactive planning rather than just running around putting out spot fires. Remember PPPPP. DWF

In aviation it is never the time for PANIC! What is needed is Preparation, Procedures, Practice and Proficiency. DWF

Has anybody seen the Job Descriptions for GM and Tech Manager? Applications have closed (I think) so they are not on the F2F web site. What is in them? DWF

I think you have hit the nail on the head there Jim. The Board should have a policy like "RAAus will establish procedures and systems to process aircraft registrations in accordance with the CASA Deed of Agreement." The Technical Manager will (have) set up the procedures and systems (including checklists) to process aircraft registrations iaw CASA DoA. The Board will monitor and review the procedures and systems to ensure they are effective, etc. To assist the Board in this task there should be a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) [board sub-committee] made up of at least one Board member plus a number of other people with expertise in the area. It would appear that, until recently at least, this has not been the case. Why not? Has such a process now been put in place to handle aircraft registration? If not, why not? DWF

If there was a secret agenda, would you know about it? [Or would it be a secret?]

No. That would be too easy. Try again.

Yes, we're #3 on final. But where?

For those who do not have an Ops Manual, here (in part) is what it says about accident and incident reporting. RA-Aus Operations Manual Section 4.08 ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING GENERAL Aircraft operated under CAOs 95.10,95.32,95.55 or relevant legislation as amended from time to time are NOT EXEMPT from any of the Transport Safety Act Regulations applicable to accident investigation. ........................................ NOTIFICATION OF ACCIDENTS Where an accident occurs the pilot in command, the owner, and the hirer (if any) shall each be responsible for ensuring that notification of the accident is furnished, by Fax or telephone immediately after the accident, and by written report, as soon as practicable after the accident. ............................ NOTIFICATION OF INCIDENTS Where an incident occurs, the pilot in command, the owner, the operator and the hirer (if any) shall each be responsible for ensuring that a written notification of the incident is furnished to the ATSB within 48 hours of the occurrence. ......................... RA-Aus REQUIREMENTS In addition to the above statutory requirements the following categories of accidents shall be reported to the Operations Manager by the quickest means available (land-line and mobile numbers are published in every issue of the RA-Aus magazine.) Fatal accidents; Accidents incurring serious injury; Accidents causing substantial damage; Accidents in which in-flight structural failure is known or suspected. ............................................ See Section 4.08 for the full story.