October 2014 - Sport Aircraft Association of Australia

Transcription

October 2014 - Sport Aircraft Association of Australia
OCTOBER 2014
HE MAGAZINE OF THE SPORT AIRCRAFT
T
AS SOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
Partners in Aviation Safety
Apply for your SAAA Carnet card today.
Install
before flight
CO N T E N T S
H E L LO
Cover photo Scott Palmer
Please Allow me to Introduce Myself…
FEATURES
Blue Skies and Apple Pies
20
A stay at Lily Airfield
Mission Impossible
22
Oshkosh - One Week Wonder
Short Final
42
??????
REGULARS
President’s Report
04
Vice President’s Report
07
Calendar of Events
08
New Members
08
Members Vale
10
Tech Talk
12
Incident Report
14
Engine Management 101
16
Airmanship is much more than simply a measure of technical knowledge.
Tales from the Toolbox
26
Skill, competency, and discipline are the hallmarks of Airmanship.
Builders’ Log
32
Chapter Chatter
36
Qualities you also need in your insurance company.
I’ve arrived at Airsport hot from the editor’s chair at the AOPA’s flagship publication,
Australian Pilot. After two years as editor, and five as a columnist on AP - as well as 18
months as deputy editor on RA-Aus’ Sport Pilot - I was looking for a new challenge when I
heard about Ryan’s departure.
I’m going to confess - straight up - that while I know a thing or two about magazines and
GA aircraft, I’ve had limited exposure to sport aircraft. However, having had the wonderful
experiences of flying in a friend’s RV10, and of interviewing a Falco builder, I am really
excited about learning more about the art of homebuilding. Since observing the One Week
Wonder (see page 22) at Oshkosh this year, I have become more than intrigued about
experimental amateur aircraft and their construction. So: while I promise I will endeavor to
entertain you in this magazine, I’d be most grateful if you, in return, help to educate me in
the finer points of amateur construction and other areas, in which I am less knowledgeable.
And, in case you’d like to offer me a seat in your RV, Glasair or Falco, my credentials are
as follows: 578 hours total time, PPL (but on the way to CPL having finally passed all seven
exams in the nick of time) single engine, fixed wing, tail-wheel endorsed (but not current)
and enthusiastic enough to rise at lark o’clock to fly anything from a powered parachute
to a Cirrus. My weakness (other than single malt whisky) is the Beechcraft Bonanza, but I’m
happy to be corrupted, should anyone out there have a finer alternative!
I’m extremely enthusiastic about working on Airsport, and I bring with me Melinda Vassallo
- an incredibly talented graphic designer and art director. It goes without saying that we’d
both like to hear from you regarding your opinions on the magazine - we want to know
what you like, what you want and where you’d like to see change. Most importantly, we
want your stories, your adventures and your builder’s diaries. Please feel free to contact
me at airsport@saaa.com and, in the meantime, should you see a vertically challenged red
haired lady in heels poking around in a hangar near you - that’s me. Come and say g’day.
Classifieds38
Explore Airmanship at airmanship.qbe.com
QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited ABN 78 003 191 035. AFSL 239545
2 AIRSPORT
J5345
How privileged I am to be in the editor’s seat of such a fine publication. Ryan and John
Keen are an extremely hard act to follow, and I cannot thank them enough for their
wonderfully organised systems, which I’ve so fortunately inherited.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
Chapter Contacts
39
Kreisha Ballentyne
SAAA Contacts
40
EDITOR
The Sport Aircraft Association of Australia is a group of aviation enthusiasts assisting each other to build,
maintain and operate sport aircraft. We educate members to continuously improve safety outcomes.
Ai r S p o r t AT I SSN 0 1 5 6- 60 1 6 is the jo u r n a l o f the Sp o r t A irc ra f t A sso c iatio n o f A u stra l ia I n c . P O Box 9 9 Narro m i ne NS W 2 82 1 I nc
n o . A 0 0 4 65 1 0 Z Tel ep ho n e: 0 2 68 89 7 7 7 7 / fax : 0 2 68 89 7 78 8 / Gen eral en q u i r i es : e m a il a i rs p o r t @ s aaa. co m / www. s aaa. co m
Ed i to r : K re isha B a l l e n tyn e e d ito r @ s a a a . co m . a u / Ar t D i rec to r : M e l in d a Va ss a l l o w w w. f in e l in ed es i g n. co m . au
AIRSPORT 3
P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O RT
N AT I O N A L CO U N C E L LO R S
Dear Members,
Jarrod Clowes
Welcome to my first edition of Airsport as
your president. I must congratulate you all
for the passion, interest and genuine concern
I have seen from the membership. What we
must not forget is: this is your association and
the National Council is mandated to run it for
you; the NC does not take ownership here. I
am extremely grateful that some passionate
members have not only reminded us of this,
but have assisted in many ways to put in place
your new council.
September 13 was the date of our AGM, and we
had nearly 50 people at the meeting. On top
of that, there were a large number of proxies;
again spelling out to us there is interest in your
association from the membership. The AGM
started off with a bit of fun with Neil Unger
(incidentally Neil was elected on as your new
vice president) making his property available
for a mini fly-in via the Parkes Dish.
Thanks Neil.
It’s now down to business for the SAAA
National Council. It has been a complex
and interesting time for the association on
so many fronts, with much to face moving
forward, in terms of the way we operate as an
association. SAAA certainly needs to mature as
an organisation, and implement new business
systems and management to secure its viability.
CASR Part 149 is a part of that framework we
are working towards.
At the AGM, Tony White, our treasurer,
introduced our base plan –our roadmap
moving forward, and as an outcome from that
meeting, our business plan is being drafted.
There are some very important decisions to
make and I am determined that as president, I
will be assuring the National Council bring the
members along with us in these decisions.
There have been many passionate and
hardworking past presidents, councillors
and members who have brought this great
association to where it is, and we must
ensure that this hard work and passion is
not misdirected by us in any direction other
than forward. I strongly believe this National
Council will mature the association with all
that in mind to shape our framework forward.
4 AIRSPORT
There are four key points during my first
term as president that I am personally paying
attention to in order to achieve results.
1. A
usfly – There would not be one member
that was not disappointed with the Ausfly
cancellation. We, as National Council, were
faced with some very difficult, complex and
daunting outcomes: the main one being the
damaging of the brand if unable to fulfil the
requirements required to run it properly.
Despite all rumours, the sole reason for this
cancellation was the lack of manpower to
run it, and the inability to deliver to our
stakeholders, partners and authorities. I am
pleased to report, the day after our AGM,
an Ausfly Comittee was formed and work is
well underway for your Ausfly 2015. Martin
Ongley chairs this committee.
2. C
hapter Engagement – The grass roots level
of SAAA is the membership, and we are here
in management to return benefits to those
members. My pet project for this term is
to engage and build a framework with our
chapters so the National Council is open
and in touch with the members. Currently I
am working with some chapter presidents
as a pilot to set some goodwill in place to
better work with them, and this includes
chapters hosting our National Council
meetings and getting the NC out there
amongst you to communicate and liaise.
3. C
ASR Part 149 – Why are we doing this? The
short answer is that government agencies
are now outsourcing. CASR Part 149 is
about us becoming a self-regulated body
to manage our fleet. Everything is now
becoming user pays, and if SAAA do not
consider this, then our ability to deliver
our traditional outcomes to members will
diminish and we will possibly become no
more than a social club. Part 149 comes with
many complex and difficult angles, so we
have formed a committee and team to work
through this. This is headed up by Geoff
Danes and as outcomes become clearer we
will be communicating them out to you.
4. IT Systems – Our current IT and office
systems are in need of an overhaul to cope
with our growing business requirements.
Tony White is currently addressing these
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
systems, and this will get attention and
budget allocation as required.
In finishing, I would like to thank you all for
putting in place a new National Council and ask
you to continue the passion for your association.
Lastly, my first day as president met with tragedy
when I became aware of the tragic accident
involving Terry Fisher. I, as every member that
knew Terry, was shattered by this news, and
our hearts go out to his family and chapter 14
colleagues. Terry will be sadly missed.
Until next time, keep up the good work, and
above all enjoy the fellowship and enjoyment
SAAA brings you.
Jarrod Clowes
Hon National President
Deniliquin, NSW
Mob 0438 395 214
President@saaa.com
Neil Unger
Hon National Vice President
Parkes, NSW
Mob 02 6865 3293
neil.unger@saaa.com
Shirley Harding
Communications co-ordinator
Mundijong, WA
Mob 0459 555 025
sec@saaa.com
Tony White
Hon National Treasurer
Guildford, WA
Mob 0419 421 632
treasurer@saaa.com
Jarrod Clowes
Hon National President
Bruce Towns
Braeside, VIC Tel 03 9580 8519
bruce.towns@saaa.com
Martin Ongley
Chapter Coordinator,
Ausfly co-ordinator
Colebee, NSW
Mob 0438 014 877
martin.ongley@saaa.com
Paul Holaj
Chapter co-ordinator,
TC co-ordinator
Nairn, SA
Mob 0408 008 379
paul.holaj@saaa.com
Ken Garland
Safety co-ordinator
Camden, NSW
Mob 0417 244 059
ken.garland@saaa.com
Darren Barnfield
National Councillor
Hastings, VIC
Mob 0408 351 309
darren.barnfield@saaa.com
STOL Or cruzer ? - The chOice iS yOurS
NEW
Zenair Australia is proud to
announce a new Zenith Aircraft:
The CH 750 CruZer
103kt cruise
350ft required for takeoff or landing
Kits from $20,980 USD
CH 750 STOL
75kt cruise
125ft required for takeoff or landing
Kits from $19,480 USD
full details at zenairaustralia.c om.au or call Allan on 0417 121 111
ZEN 13028 3PC Airsport.indd 1
ZEN 13028
AIRSPORT
8/08/13
11:46 5PM
V I C E P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O RT
DIARY OF A
HOME BUILDER
Neil Unger
“I’m going to build my own plane,” I
announced to all who would listen ( and
those who didn’t want to as well) with an
enthusiasm born of stupidity and naivety. The
reaction varied from rolling around on the
ground laughing like they were having a fit,
to looks of pity as I had obviously lost my
marbles. They patted me condescendingly
on the shoulder while silently motioning to
the rest to quickly find a good” shrink” in the
phone book to assist me in my obvious hour
of need.
hire a plane I was about 14th in line. There was
obviously no future in attempting to hire a
plane when needed, so I bought PA28. Oh joy,
oh bliss, until the bills for the annuals started
to arrive. Every time it went in suddenly half
the plane had to be replaced or repaired.
Being a slow learner, I progressed to a baron
as the family grew, but the cost of annuals
now grew to $15,000 per year, plus, plus. The
millennium droughts soon put an end to
owning a baron, so after 30 years with the
baron I had to look for an alternative, or walk.
Why not? I had spent all my pocket money
on rubber powered planes during my
early years and the fact that none actually
successfully flew did not deter me at all. I had
constructed many versions regardless, so my
building skills were never in doubt. Then when
I actually passed my final school exams in the
6th grade and returned to the farm to become
unpaid labour for the rest of my life, my
mother relented and bought me a powered
control line model which actually looked
like a plane many months later. However the
engine required a 1.5 volt battery to make the
glow plug hot enough and by chance that
was the exact voltage of the big batteries
that powered the farm party line phone.
Having been taught to be very resourceful
on the farm, I waited until I was alone for the
afternoon, so that the phone would not be in
use, pinched the battery and fled to the front
paddock to fly my pride and joy. As usual
nothing went like the instruction book said.
An hour later with everything included me
soaked in metho, petrol and anything else that
might burn, not a kick. Totally cheesed off I
half hearted gave a final flick of the propeller,
and suddenly, did that engine howl! Long
story short, I dropped the plane in fright, it
self destructed, the control line finished up
a totally tangled bird nest and I managed to
return the battery to the phone battery box
before anyone found out.
Enter the SAAA after belonging to the ULAA
some 40 years earlier. So what to build? The
RV’s were popular even then, but after 35
years with a low wing I wanted a high wing,
so I could inspect all the neighbours activities
without a low wing to obstruct the view. A
high wing could be taxied through gates and
in the event of a forced landing a high wing
was less likely to be wiped out on stumps,
and it is much easier to sit in the shade of the
high wing. I also had learnt after many years
of flying that there is no substitute for power
getting out of a paddock, so anything under
180 HP was ignored which eliminated a lot
of popular choices. Finally I settled on the
Glastar sportsman as it was touted as a 2 + 2
which I assumed meant I could squeeze in 4
adults if necessary. It is built from aluminium
flying surfaces with a fibre glass fuse. Now
I am expert with anything steel, I can weld,
form, fabricate, temper, turn, mill, drill, you
name it, so aluminium would be similar surely,
just a bit lighter? Then I once had a tractor
cab roof made from fibreglass, so again it did
not seem hard to work with, just a softish
steel? The glossy brochures really made the
glastar look great and with an estimated build
time of only 700 hours, why in two months,
I would have this thing in the air with all the
advantages and performance I required with a
bit of extra night work surely?
Totally disillusioned, I gave up building planes
for many years, but never the passion. At age
16, I then learned to fly with the “Bald eagle”
at Narromine to find that every time I went to
6 AIRSPORT
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
In hindsight, what a stupid, gullible, naive and
incompetent fool!
Neil Unger
AIRSPORT 7
C A L E N DA R O F E V E N T S
2014/15
BRM Aero Bristell.
NSW
QUEENSLAND
SAT 25 OCTOBER 2014
ALBURY AIRPORT OPEN DAY
The Albury Aero Club has teamed up with
the Uiver Memorial Community Trust and the
Antique Car Club again this year. There will be
a static display of light aircraft and warbirds that
normally reside in hangars, invisible to the public.
There will also be a presence by the Australian
Air Force Cadets and the State Emergency
Service (SES), who will be there to speak to the
public about their respective organizations.
Every hour on the half hour, a tour guide
will be available to take a group around the
aircraft to explain to them the history and
specifications of each plane.
A group of aero club aircraft will fly-over the
Albury Race Course in a tribute to the 80th
Anniversary of the Uiver rescue. Saturday
evening there will be a special event, “High
Flying Heroes”, at the SS&A Club from 6 to 9
pm. Visit: alburyaeroclub.com.au
SAT 8 NOVEMBER 2014
WAGGA WAGGA
CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY
Australian aviation hall of fame 2014 induction.
Gala dinner to induct nominees into the
Australian aviation hall of fame, including
the Southern Cross award. Contact Mr Kerry
Carmichael: Phone 0411 222 205.
www.aahof.com.au
SAT 25 OCTOBER 2014
KINGAROY AERODROME
Kingaroy Aerodrome is proud to host Wheels
in Motion. Featuring aeroplanes, cars, tractors
and motorcyles, if it has wheels, you’ll find it
at Kingaroy on ordinator - Call Kevin Krosch
0428 622 749
SAT 15 MARCH 2015
CLIFTON AIRFIELD
VICTORIA
SAT-SUN 22-23 NOVEMBER 2014
MOORABBIN
ROYAL VIC AERO CLUB
The AOPA has announced the return of their
safety Seminar. This event is open to all aviators and their friends. BBQ lunch, seats strictly
limited. RSVP manager@aopa.com.au
Darling Downs Sport Aircraft Assn. Inc. Annual
Clifton Fly-In at Clifton Airfield (Bange’s) 8am
– 2pm. This fly in has become an iconic event
in the region and is the premy other flying
machine.
Contact: Trevor Bange 0429 378 370
A/h: (07) 4695 8541
Email: trevorbange@bigpond.com
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
A warm
welcome to our
following new
members >
NEW SOUTH WALES
01 - Simon Bleuler MT KURING-GAI
02 - Chris Charles DARLINGHURST
02 - Tom Kakouros DULWICH HILL
Brett Mahlo CANOBOLAS
Cameron Ritchie PORT MACQUARIE
01 - Jamie Schuts CRONULLA
VICTORIA
14 - Kevin Edmonds YARRA GLEN
27 - Noel Lyons FRANKSTON SOUTHH
20 - Phil Pitt-Nynde TULLAMARINE
27 - Kenneth Smith TONIMBUK
14 - David Thompson SALE
8 AIRSPORT
QUEENSLAND
34 - Simon Coombs EDMONTON
34 - Ross Franzi BLOOMFIELD
39 - Steve Stafford ROYAL PARK
15 - Greg Manzie KANGAROO POINT
19 - Kenneth Edwards JIMBOOMBA
22 - Gary Burns BUDDINA
15 - Michael Read GREENSLOPES
15 - Andy Coles KANGAROO POINT
Integrity of design, quality of build
and proven in perfomance.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Paul Humphrys CLEVE
3 - Wilfrid Jaksic MALVERN
John Turner KINGSCOTE
TASMANIA
42 - David Boarder YOUNGTOWN
20 - Adrian Port CAMBRIDGE
42 - Peter Mathew DEVONPORT
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
William Carmody CASCADE
13 - Anderson Dufty MT BARKER
AUSTRALIAN CAPITOL TERRITORY
26 - Christopher Price GARRAN
Byron Funnell CARNARVON
16 - Adam Price DARLINGTON
13 - William Waideman SPENCER PARK
NORTHERN TERRITORY
35 - Graham Wallace HERBERT
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
Customised to suit your needs with your choice of Rotax or Jabiru power.
Well designed, quality construction and outstanding performance
from the masters of Czech aviation, BRM Aero.
NSW demonstrations are now available through Central West Flying.
Please call us for more information
andersonaviation.com.au | Brett . 0428 355 266
AIRSPORT
9
IGUANA.4541.AS9/13
M E M B E R S ’ VA L E
VALE, PETER CROOKE
I first met Peter sometime in the late ‘80s when an acquaintance with
a 2-stroke powered Quicksilver ultralight, which he kept at Peter’s
Dixon’s Creek property, needed help in maintaining it.
Around the same time, I had started attending the legendary
Mangalore event and was co-opted by my acquaintance to join a four
man syndicate to buy the somewhat tatty SAAA Lightwing aircraft,
which we duly bought with the assistance of Brian Ham. We carried
out a complete restoration of the aircraft at Peter’s property, and
even used his camouflage-schemed Auster as the basis for our own.
I was fascinated by his stories, including the time he had to put it
SAAA MEMBERSHIP
If you’re thinking about building your own aircraft, then the
SAAA is your starting point. We provide advice and technical
information. Our experienced Technical Counsellors can guide
you through the challenges of your project and help you to build
a competent safe aircraft. Membership includes a subscription to
Airsport, published quarterly.
down on a football oval due to engine problems, and the difficulties
when trying to depart. This very aircraft (VH-KBI) now resides at
our airpark in Queensland, flown regularly by a neighbour. During our
time at Dixon’s Creek, Peter was busily engaged in building his Kitfox,
and had built an Osprey amphibian before that. Thanks to Peter’s
generosity, we made use of his hillside airstrip for our first flying
lessons, but the strip was not suitable for this and we ended up taking
the Lightwing back to Penfield at Sunbury.
It was some time later when I got more involved with SAAA
that I realised that Peter was not only a kind and generous man,
but a passionate and enthusiastic driving force behind this great
Martin Hone
organisation.
?
For when
circumstances prevent a safe
conventional landing
The SAAA local Chapters provide an active and enjoyable
environment where members work together developing building
techniques and get together for local events and fly-ins.
The SAAA has something to offer everyone with an interest in
sport aviation, whether you’re a builder, a pilot or just enjoy being
around aircraft and fellow aviation enthusiasts.
SAAA MEMBERSHIP RATES
Full membership
$190
Concessional membership*
$155
*Available to pensioners, member’s dependent family, approved Technical
Counsellors Membership rates are adjusted July 1 annually in line with CPI
MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES:
PO Box 99 Narromine NSW 2821
tel 02 6889 7777 / email enquiries@saaa.com / www.saaa.com
email airsport@saaa.com
10 AIRSPORT
Sales Service & Support
contact BRSAustralia.com
info@BRSAustralia.com (02) 8355 7009
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
AIRSPORT 11
T E C H TA L K
B U I L D I N G A ROA D M A P
BUILDING A
ROADMAP
From your National Technical
Manager - Geoff Danes
Hello to all members. May I wish you all a warm
welcome to this my first Tech Talk. I would like
firstly to acknowledge the untold amount of
dedicated effort by my predecessor, Mr. Brian
Hunter. From the short time I have known Brian,
and the small amount that I have learned about
his input to the SAAA, I know that I have a big
set of boots to follow. I would like to thank
you Brian, both personally and on behalf of the
members. You have more than earned the right to
spend more time enjoying lots of safe flying.
As reported in my earlier communications to our
members, the priority matters that have been my
initial focus for attention are:
a)Weight and balance management
negotiations with CASA
b)Transition training and its integration in
our procedures to support members to
safely fly and enjoy their new aircraft
c)Working with CASA to review the CASR
149 rules for appropriateness, to support
your NC in their understanding of these
rules, and to build a roadmap for SAAA’s
transition into becoming a CASR 149
approved self-administering aviation
organisation.
I would like to take the time to give those of
you who do not know me some background on
my life in aviation. I was one of those kids who
rode my bike miles to the airport to hang over
the fence to watch aircraft come and go – I was
fascinated then, and not much has changed in
this regard in the 50 years since.
Being in Goondiwindi, Qld in the early 60s, the
rate of nourishment for my aviation diet was
pretty sparse, but the seed was nonetheless
sown. Come year 10 in high school, I made
application to Qantas to become a LAME
apprentice, but my dad was wise and blocked my
path in this endeavour. After high school, I quickly
found acceptance with the RAN on a direct entry
12 AIRSPORT
pilots course which saw me trained on Winjeel
and Macchi.
My Wings graduation, from No 87 course at
Pearce, was followed by an Iroquois conversion.
The end of the Vietnam War and other political
circumstances saw military reductions at
this time, which resulted in my moving into
commercial aviation in WA where I have resided
since 1974. I flew for Skywest in their formative
GA, commuter and corporate jet days for 16
years. I joined the SAAA in 1976 and built a
Varieze (#2 in the air in Australia in Sept, 1979) my first ABAA project.
My second project was a one of a kind
composite aerobatic aircraft - the Maverick
which was undertaken with Graham Swanell.
First flown in December 1987, it was presented at
the bi-centennial air show in 1988. A company
merger saw me in Ansett for a very short airline
career of six weeks in 1989 just before the pilot’s
dispute after which I spent 9 years flying with
Skippers Aviation.
The last of my flying for Skippers came with
a shifting of my focus into aircraft design as
part of a team, again with Graham, to produce
a prototype utility aircraft the Explorer. I
spent five years involved in the development,
manufacture, test flying and commercialisation
aspects of this project, first in Australia and
then further five years in the USA. During this
period I also performed some production test
flying for Eagle Aircraft and several EAB aircraft
first/test flight schedules for builders (Sonerai,
RV6, Lancair 235) here in Perth. My time in the
USA exposed me to both the FAA and Transport
Canada aircraft certification processes. I acted
to successfully obtain FAA NVFR certification
of the Eagle 150B aircraft on behalf of CTRM
Malaysia (formerly Eagle Aircraft in Perth).
Upon returning to Australia from the USA in
2004, I again flew B200/C441 on charter flights
for a couple of years before taking up the
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
HAAMC appointment with Network Aviation.
During my period as the maintenance controller
with this company, the company acquired its
first Fokker 100 aircraft. The company needed
a high capacity AOC and I worked almost
independently with CASA to achieve their
approval of the company’s Maintenance Control
Manual in a record short time. The Qantas group
acquired the company in 2011 and they now
operate 12 Fokker 100 aircraft. I now serve as
their Technical Services Group Manager within
the CASR Pt 42 CAMO, and was recently one of
a small team that produced their CASR Part 42
Exposition.
Despite recently accepting the NTM role in
support of your NC, life as a homebuilder
continues - however somewhat more slowly.
My Varieze is now undergoing a rebirthing with
turbojet power.
Although the above dialogue is about me, my
purpose for presenting it is to give you a little of
my background and provide some reassurance
of my ability to support and well represent
you - our all-important members - on technical
grounds. The privilege to re-engine my Varieze
with a turbojet engine or to build any other
experimental aircraft in Australia is one that
is well worth working hard to preserve in my
opinion. I believe that we are very fortunate
to have the CASA representatives that we
presently do in the SASAO office and CASR 149
development. They have a heart for our pursuit
although they have their own governmental
challenges. Whilst I am a person who can be
very tolerant of those constraints, rest assured
I will take up the defense of our right to safely
and affordably pursue our favourite recreational
activity. Unnecessarily complicated regulations,
lack of standardization, and bureaucratic
regulations without a commensurate,
appropriate or affordable safety benefit are all
high ticket items which motivate me to take
up the defense. The KISS principle drives me
strongly.
I have a very sincere desire to see our
organisation become the premier recreational
aviation organisation in Australia.
Technical Articles - a member challenge
from your NTM. I have a book written by Dr.
Jan Roskam of the DAR Corporation in Kansas,
USA titled “Lessons Learned in Aircraft Design”
VHN-DED Geoff and Bert Rutan
Explorer 500T
(ISBN978-1-884885-58-7). The author states that
My motivation is three fold. Firstly, it is important
the purpose of his book is to present lessons
the information is passed on to prevent others
drawn from accident/incident literature since
learning your lessons the same hard way,
1945 in the hope that it will contribute to flight
secondly to form a database of events to support
safety. It draws largely upon airline type events,
our safety management system, and thirdly to
but it contains a large amount of content
compile them all into a book for future use by
directly applicable to our activities. I thoroughly
experimental/recreational aviators. Articles
recommend it to all members.
will be de-identified and anonymity assured or
My request is for any members who have similar
authorship credit given as per the submitter’s
experiences to share - associated with ABAA/
choice. I reserve the right to edit any articles
EAB aircraft construction/flying - from which
submitted to better fit the context required for
lessons can be learned, to submit them to me for
publishing. Come on folks; please support your
republishing via e-newsletter or Airsport.
fellow members through this initiative.
AIRSPORT 13
I N C I D E N T R E P O RT
E N G I N E FA I L U R E
VM1000 engine monitor. The aircraft was cleaned
up and engine set early after take-off for a cruise
climb configuration.
After reaching 1000ft, levelling out and
accelerating to > 160 knots, the engine quit totally
with no prior warning.
There are two main reasons an engine will quit
abruptly:
a.
Lack of fuel
b.
Ignition failure
The aircraft was full of fuel and had been
developing full power for 1 to one and a half
minutes.
The engine, a six cylinder Lycoming, was running
smoothly, until it cut totally with no progressive
loss of power, rough running, hesitation or
coughing to indicate a developing problem.
The aircraft was fitted with dual Light Speed
ignitions. The ignitions were fitted with dual
power supplies and the switches protected
by location and switch detente to prevent
accidental isolation.
Andy George T.C., FIE(Aust)
ENGINE FAILURE
GLASSAIR III
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
December 2013 saw an unfortunate incident
where two friends were seriously injured when
the Glassair III they were flying suffered a total
and abrupt engine failure.
and very nearly the pilot and passenger.
THE INCIDENT
This article is not meant to pre-empt any ATSB
After an extended pre-flight check and run up
checks, the aircraft accelerated normally with
all engine parameters reading normal on the
landing on a postage stamp – only to be taken
findings, but is written to air concerns felt by TCs
and APs who were aware of the aircraft ignition
14 AIRSPORT
How can this occur? There are many potential
causes - vibration, impact during maintenance,
broken alternator belts - to name a few.
How is this potential issue solved;
1.Run one electronic ignition and one
magneto
2.Protect your wiring loom from mechanical
damage (this is recommended even with a
single electronic ignition)
In Chapter 24 we have seen several new aircraft
with duel electronic ignitions that have exposed
wiring, hence our concern.
Post-crash examination showed the wiring
had parted at a lock wired mil spec plug
approximately 200 mm behind the sensor plate.
In this case there is enough circumstantial
evidence to suggest that the alternator belt may
have been the culprit. Note: this is not a finding
by the ATSB at this time.
The aircraft was totally destroyed by fire - leaving
little to base concrete conclusions upon.
However we as a group (SAAA) feel that there is
sufficient evidence to raise this as a safety issue
that should be recognised.
Do alternator belts fail very often? No they
don’t. Do they fail? Yes they do.
This was a well-built ignition system with all
the normal dual protections and safety factors
built in.
The point of weakness was the wiring harness the only common point that if damaged could
cause a sudden and total power cut.
We would have preferred to wait until the ATSB
findings were made public but the ATSB keep
extending the time to issuing their findings.
Therefore, we felt that this potential issue should
be aired.
The ATSB will issue their findings on this incident
later in 2014.
In no way does this article condemn the build
or workmanship in this aircraft; the aircraft was
exceptionally well maintained and presented.
out by a goal post, totally destroying the aircraft
a very high performance aircraft for a perfect
SUMMARY.
setup and have had a general concern regarding
dual electronic ignition systems.
Our Chapter (Chapter 24) has a strong safety
culture. This article is an extension of that culture
and a wish to air our concerns to a potential
safety hazard.
Through some exceptional flying they positioned
All in all, a well thought out system with
redundancies built in.The one potential point
of failure that could take the system out totally
was the cabling from the flywheel sensors to
the control boxes in the cockpit. The wiring (as
in all Light Speed I & IIs) runs from the sensor
plate behind the flywheel - along the spine of
the engine to the firewall. Unless protected by
a substantial cover plate or supported tubing,
this arrangement leaves the wiring exposed to
mechanical damage.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
AIRSPORT 15
E N G I N E M A N AG E M E N T 1 0 1
THE BIG MIXTURE PULL!
THE BIG
MIXTURE
PULL!
gauge and they pulled to a 10% drop. This was
done by complicated load cell arrangements
on the front of the gearboxes, but effectively
they did the same thing, just by using a different
measurement device, and one we do not have
thankfully. EGT has so many other diagnostic
benefits that they did not have.
So now that I have demonstrated how easy it is
what are the key elements of the BMP and why
and when is it to be used?
David Brown and Walter Atkinson
By David Brown
About two years back I wrote an article about
the use of too much fuel, and how to treat your
engine better not only in the air, but on the
ground. If you missed that article and would
like a copy please email me. One of the most
simple - yet most misunderstood - methods of
engine management is something that should
be discussed as a follow up to the “Too much
of a good thing” (ref, which edition?) article, so
here goes my best effort to do just that: the BIG
mixture pull.
No doubt over the years reading many internet
forums, or the writings by John Deakin on
AvWeb, the term BMP or Big Mixture Pull will
have been used. So why is this simple yet
misunderstood engine management technique
so powerful in the cockpit and what are the
benefits of its use?
I should begin with a little story of real life
use by none other than our new editor Kreisha
Ballantyne in mid-2013. Yes even a girl can do it!
(As I duck for cover). In fact, I will go on record
here now, that of all the people I have coached
with this technique, the men all, yes all of them
have performed sub-optimal the first go but
usually get it right on the second or third. But
no, not our Kreisha, first go!
16 AIRSPORT
So here we were at the Australian Women’s Pilot
Association event in Hervey Bay, and Kreisha
was keen to fly the RV10 again, as well as take
a scenic around Fraser Island. We discussed
the idea of my teaching her lean of peak ops
and I said she would be doing it not long after
crossing the coast and well before we got to
Fraser Island. Those who know the end of RWY11
at YHBA and the Sandy Straits, you will realise
she was in for a very quick lesson. So with
Kreisha at the controls, away we go. I said level
off at 1500’ and fly RWY heading to Fraser Island
towards Lake Mackenzie. She did!
The lesson was simply this: as we went through
700’, once we level off, let the plane accelerate,
which happens quickly in an RV, reduce the
RPM only, to about 2450 or wherever is smooth,
and wait. Once the speed is stable, reach over,
grab the mixture and close your eyes, then
progressively but swiftly pull the mixture back
at the rate that would get you to idle cut off
(ICO) in no more than four seconds. As soon as
you feel the plane decelerate, stop pulling the
mixture back. She did.
Kreisha opened her eyes with a giggly smile
and said,”Is that it?” And I replied, “Welcome
to the world of the BMP and LOP. It was that
simple. She did not need hours of training, she
did not need an engine monitor (her eyes were
closed) all she needed was her calibrated butt
telling her that the engine had passed right
over the peak power curve and with the delay
in sensation and the time it takes to have the
fuel control unit (or carburettor) respond, it had
parked itself nicely at a safe LOP power setting.
Of course like any good woman she did not
trust me. “Is that it? So what is all the hype that
I hear all the time she claimed?” And hype it
is! So as we cruised on over to Fraser Island I
said, “Let’s see how well you did.” ( I knew she
had nailed it, the BMP was 100% perfect and
I knew the fuel flow we should have had, and
it was spot on.) At a power setting of 80-82%
when LOP, we should be around 60-80dF LOP,
and knowing which cylinder peaks last on my
engine, I suggested she take note of that EGT,
which was around 1450dF. Then we slowly
pushed the mixture back in until we found peak
EGT, which was no surprise to me about 1520dF.
Spot on first go!
This works every time! Even at lower powers, say
when up high and the % power is 60-65% where
you might be after a target of only 10-20dF LOP,
it works again. That’s exactly where you end
up. Back in the days before EGT and all cylinder
monitors, the big radial airliners used a BMEP
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
The key here is to have your aircraft in an
already stable and accelerated state, either
levelled out for ATC reasons or at top of climb.
The plane accelerates, and as John Deakin says,
“Do what all good airline pilots do: do nothing!”
Let things settle for a minute or five if need be,
but when it is stable and the CHTs are coming
down, reach over and set a comfortable RPM.
My suggestion is 2300-2500 range, and usually
when at high power down low, at the higher
end than say lower power at 9000’. If you are in
the FLs you may want the extra power of having
extra combustion events, so 2500-2600 might
be what you need.
Next thing is to do the BMP. The first few times,
I suggest this is not done in a high traffic density
area, as you need to close your eyes for 2-3
seconds, and having another pilot on board the
first time may certainly be wise. (Otherwise your
body will not switch its sensory inputs over and
you will miss the deceleration). You are no less
looking out for those couple of seconds as you
would be reading your flight plan or looking
at a map, so do not stress over that. Just use
common sense. Once you have mastered the
art, you will be able to do it while talking on
the radio, reading a flight plan or even watching
other traffic. It will be that easy. All you have to
do is swiftly pull the mixture until you feel the
deceleration, then stop. Of course if you go too
far it will alert you accordingly and you need to
do it again, or just squeeze a bit more back in.
One other key here is you need well-matched
fuel air ratios, and while some engines do not
behave nicely, with either tuning injectors,
or using some carby heat the vast majority
can. You will need nice plugs and mags, and
no induction leaks, but other than that any
conforming engine will do this with ease.
So why do we do this BMP thing? It is quick and
simple and it works! In a busy ATC environment
where you are surrounded by CTA and local
CTAF traffic, while waiting that clearance, there
is no point blasting away at max power and
massive fuel flows. Simply reduce the power
a bit with mixture, slowing things down a bit,
cleaning up the combustion events, saving a
heap of fuel (typically 45% or more) and cooling
off the cylinders after take-off and before the
next stage of climb. What is the downside? This
is a simple no fuss procedure and while you
are in a traffic congested area or dealing with
ATC the very last thing you should be doing is
having your head down mucking around with
engine monitors and mixture knobs. This does
everything it should, and nothing it shouldn’t.
The second reason is a more scientific one, and
one that will appeal to the inquisitive mind.
Imagine you have arrived at top of climb, you
use those “lean find” modes (not the best idea,
but that is another story) and you slowly lean
from a nice rich mixture, all the way up the
curve, CHTs climbing, and then to peak EGT
followed by slowly over the lean side and to
your nominal, let’s say, 20dF LOP based on the
last cylinder to peak.
Once this has been done, the CHTs start cooling
off nicely, your peak EGT was say 1460dF and
you are settled on 1440dF, cruising along, you
get that nasty inquisitive feeling, and decide
to see what peak EGT is again. So knowing
the last cylinder to peak, which is going to be
the first one when moving back up the curve
from the lean side, you start slowly winding
in the mixture. As you go past 1460, you think
to yourself…how is that so? You keep steadily
increasing the fuel flow, 1465,1470,1475, 1480,
maybe even 1485. Now you have a new peak
EGT! So what do you do now?
Assuming the fuel flow is such that your 10-20dF
LOP is still appropriate, you should now lean
back to just 1465-1475, which is much higher
fuel flow and hence HP than before. So now
you have found the new best brake specific
fuel consumption (BSFC) again, based on the
“new normal”. So what is this new normal all
about? What changed over the previous time
period? Simply the only thing that changed
was the cylinder head temperatures. With
lower CHTs the volumetric efficiency of the
cylinder improved marginally, and hence it is
now capable of flowing more mass airflow. As a
result the fuel air ratio leaned out further, and
likely slipped away from the peak of the 1/BSFC
you can see on the graph. (point 4)
With all that said, a BMP at top of climb,
followed by a period of doing nothing, will
allow the engine to stabilise and then if you
are really trying to squeeze every last bit of
engine efficiency out, you can. But you can’t do
it using a “lean find” mode from the rich side of
peak EGT and with a hot engine. Go try this for
yourself and log the data!
Happy big mixture pulls to you all. If you have
any questions, or would like a topic covered for
the next issue, please email me at
davidbrown@advancedpilot.com
Until the next edition, safe flying, happy building
and live life!
Advanced Pilot Seminars Australia
Please note: while these articles are written
based on data backed scientific facts dating
back to the 1950’s, you should always consider
any limitations placed on your engine by the
manufacturer. Please note LIMITATIONS.
Most manuals do not go to the trouble to
produce educational material and hence
lack detail. Please consider taking further
education if you are unsure of anything
written above. The best source for education
is www.advancedpilot.com
AIRSPORT 17
A D V E RT I S E M E N T
Did You Puke
at the Cost
of Your Last
International
Shipping Bill? How an RV-8 owner slashed HIS International
Freight Costs by 65.2%....AND sourced
cheaper parts from USA without having to
worry about all the “Importing stuff” Ben Bowden is a LAME, and an RV tragic.
He runs one of the most successful aircraft
maintenance businesses in Queensland and is
well known for his business acumen and
involvement within the aircraft industry. In his “spare time” he also built himself one of
his prize possessions, a VAN’S RV-8.
One of his frustrations in building his plane and
servicing his clients was the excessive freight
costs of importing parts from USA. Often he
could source MUCH cheaper parts from USA,
not only for his RV-8, but also for use in the
maintenance of many of his clients’ aircraft.
However the exorbitant freight costs from these
suppliers made it a lot less attractive. His research into the freight industry astounded
him. He found that small operators are paying
a huge mark-up on freight. In fact as much as
80% more than companies who have massive
buying power. His research ending up finding a service that has
negotiated a huge discount on freight on behalf
of smaller operators. The service allows Ben to
use a major freight company, UPS, to ship his
US purchases, 40 - 70% cheaper than before.
As Ben said, “Now I just source for the cheapest
parts. The cost of freight is not even a
consideration any more. It’s made my RV-8 a
much more economical proposition.” For a free report on how to access this service,
email ausconshipping@gmail.com.
If you wish to speak to someone immediately,
0011 1 940 902 4743.
18 AIRSPORT
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
AIRSPORT 19
T R AV E L F E AT U R E
BLUE SKIES AND APPLE PIES
BLUE SKIES AND APPLE PIES
The Dakota fit out looks great!
The Dakotasun deck
Narrikup. Again we were met with some striking
views; however, the wind had picked up and it
was a bit bumpy.
By Scott Palmer
In July, Bunbury Aero Club organised a flyaway to the Lily Dutch Windmill. Scott Palmer
and Gerrit Nienaber joined the convoy in
VH-EZT
My last attempt to visit the PC9 at Albany
was met with a wall of thunderstorms south
of Bunbury, so I was very glad to have another
opportunity to head back. The forecast was for
bad weather all week, but on the day we were
greeted with clear skies and a perfect weather
forecast for the rest of the day, after a little
morning fog.
Co-pilot Gerrit and I arrived at icy-cold Jandakot
at 7am prepped for an early get-away in VH-EZT.
Somehow luck never seems to go our way and joy of joys - during the walk-around I discovered
the landing light was loose. Fixing it caused
a short delay, but soon we fuelled up and
departed Jandakot to the south east heading
out over Boddington Mine and direct to the Lily.
With a clear blue sky, the views were amazing.
We had a tailwind to boot and arrived in just
under an hour and a half after take off. The air
was silky smooth the whole way and before
long we found ourselves chatting with one of
the BAC Cessnas as we approached the Lily. We
overflew to get a good view of the strip then
20 AIRSPORT
dropped down to join the others on runway
32. I always find these little unpaved runways
exciting. The approach for 32 was slightly uphill
but I put EZT down happily and taxied up to
the windmill, where a small group had formed
to watch everyone else coming in.A few more
arrived after us and we parked got out to take
pictures of the amazing landscape. Wow what a
view! This is definitely somewhere to come back
to for a longer stay.
We were then distracted by the smell of apple
pie and coffee and so headed inside for morning
tea. The owner, Pleun, gave us a fascinating
tour of the windmill. I was in Kinderdijk a few
years back so I was expecting to see something
similar; however, Pleun’s windmill was something
else – absolutely immaculate inside and out.
The workmanship was incredible - this guy really
has some skill and patience
Next up we had the briefing for Narrikup and
then headed over to check out the Dakota
where more amazing workmanship was on show.
The Dakota is almost finished and the fit-out
looks great.After watching the others depart,
Gerrit took over the reins and we departed off
runway 27 planning to fly around the ranges
then head over the Porongurups then on to
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
As we approached the Porongurups, we heard
the same BAC Cessna on the radio approaching
the circuit for Narrikup. To our surprise we
then heard that the previous aircraft had had
a problem on landing. We assumed they might
have burst a tyre or something and so carried on
around the Porongurups. We heard another radio
call from an aircraft joining the circuit and then
on downwind, another radio broadcast provided
more info about the previous aircraft which was
apparently damaged. We were told everyone
was ok. The second aircraft made a go-around
and headed back to Bunbury, and so we decided
not to land and overflew the airfield first to get
familiar with it for the future. What a fantastic
looking runway!We had a 30kt headwind on the
way back to Bunbury, so it took us 2.3 hours from
wheels off at the Lily to landing.
We landed at Bunbury, refuelled and went inside
to catch up with the other pilots and grab a
quick coffee before heading back to Jandakot.
From Mandurah onwards the wind started to die
down. It was a quiet afternoon at Jandakot so we
were given a straight in for 06L, we landed and
packed up the plane. What a day – five hours in
the air.
I strongly recommend a visit to the Lily if you
haven’t been.
VH-EZT is owned by University Flying Club and
the volunteers go to extraordinary lengths to
provide an affordable entry into aviation for
many pilots. The club is celebrating its 50th
Birthday this month. If other pilots want to get
involved in the club, and fly VH-EZT they should
check out our website: www.uniflying.org.au/
The Lily Airfield
THE LILY AIRFIELD
STRIP INFORMATION
The airstrip is adjacent to the windmill and you are able to park your plane close to the accommodation.
For our fly-in accommodation visitors, hangar-space and a car may be available, please check. For general
airstrip information and strip condition please call mobile 0427 279 206 or land-line 08 9827 9205.
We are 47 NM from Albany and 173 NM from Jandakot Airport (Perth).
Position: 34 deg. 13’ 25” South, 118 deg. 12’ 57” East.
Strip directions: 14-32 and 09-27.
Windsock: N/W of restaurant, WAC Chart 3463, Comm.
Freq: CTAF 126,7, UHF: channel 33, Elevation 650 AMSL.
Please check strip condition ON 0427 279 206,
Avgas/Mogas: by prior arrangement.
RUNWAY 14 - 32 Grass 660m - 14 slopes 2.5% down, tyre markers.
RUNWAY 09 - 27 Grass 900m - tyre markers, possible sheep, check.
Please check local weather and strip condition on Mobile 0427 279 206 or land-line 08 9827 9205.
AIRSPORT 21
F E AT U R E
O N E W E E K WO N D E R
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
By Patricia Mawuli
22 AIRSPORT
CODE NAME
: ONE WEEK WONDER
DATE
: MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014
TIME
: 0800 LOCAL
LOCATION
: OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, USA
MISSION DURATION
: LESS THAN ONE WEEK
OBJECTIVE 1
: BUILD A ROTAX 912iS SPORT POWERED CH750 CRUZER
OBJECTIVE 2
: INVOLVE OVER 2,500 PEOPLE IN THE BUILD
OBJECTIVE 3
: INSPIRE TENS IF NOT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
REPORTING AGENT
: PATRICIA MAWULI, GHANA, WEST AFRICA
It was like some mysterious, off-the-books
airframe - and, literally, hundreds of thousands of
mission, shrouded in rumour and disbelief.
passers by certainly sounds more like a story line
The concept of a handful of core volunteers,
for ‘Mission Impossible’ than an event at Oshkosh
supported by a cast of 2,500 builders, most of
2014. But a real mission it was, and the clock
whom would only learn to pull a rivet a few
started as soon as Jack Pelton, EAA Chairman gave
moments before pulling a ‘live rivet’ on the
the ‘GO!’ at 0800 on the Monday morning.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
E AA volunteers walk the One Week Wonder to the flight line on
Aug. 3 after its completion in seven days during EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2014. (EAA photo)
I was born, raised, live and work in Ghana, West
Africa, where, until 8 years ago, I was living in
a mud hut, fetching water on my head each
morning. Then, by magnificent coincidence I
had the opportunity to embrace a life-changing
career in light aviation. It changed me - and
led to my participation in this event. What an
honour and privilege to be a part of the core
team for the week. I was the only woman and the only indigenous African - full-time
on the build. My initial role was to build
the horizontal surfaces, and to train some
youngsters in how to build light aircraft at the
same time. They were bright, ready to learn
and respectful of the knowledge that was
being spilled freely before them by the whole
team. From reading the drawings to following
the photo guide manuals, deburring to trial
assembly, mastering Cleco pliers to pulling
rivets - and ultimately from a set of parts to
a finished airplane! In just two days, my team
had the horizontal stabiliser and elevator all
but completed. All around there was a buzz
and excitement - seeing these ‘factory standard’
parts come together and have my favourite
Rotax 912iS engine hung on the front!
In the same 48 hours, other teams had
completed the vertical stab and rudders,
almost completed the front and rear fuselage
parts ready to join and achieved most of the
build of the right wing, ready to go for riveting
outside the main work area by the thousands of
‘wannabe builders’.
In my time in Ghana, West Africa, where I install
Rotax engines, build Zenith STOL aircraft and
fly humanitarian missions for Medicine on the
Move, I have come to understand that the big
bits come together quickly, and so they did at
the One Week Wonder event. We have a saying
‘90% done, 90% left to be done’ - there was a
lot left to be done!
By the Thursday morning, the fuselage was
looking as if it was all done - but there was so
much still to do. The Rotax 912iS team and
Dynon touch screen avionics guys were busy
fighting for space in the cockpit - and then the
rudder and elevator installation team wanted
them to stop ‘touching the stick’ and shaking
the fuselage. It got quite challenging working
with so many different nationalities, cultures
and personalities in such a confined space - but
it worked. I chose to work on the wing-tip
electrics, and had the opportunity to discover
some new tools and techniques along the way as well as to make some new friends!
With less than twenty-four hours to go, the
Saturday was ‘hot’ to say the least. Wings had
to be fitted, dihedral set, those massive single
AIRSPORT 23
F E AT U R E
O N E W E E K WO N D E R
Each attendee who participated in the One Week Wonder project at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh had a photo taken and uploaded to social media.
Audrey Poberezny (left), wife of EAA’s late founder Paul Poberezny, secures a rivet on
the One Week Wonder project. She is assisted by EAA staffer Charlie Becker (center)
and experienced homebuilder Patricia Mawuli from Ghana. (EAA photo)
struts that make the CH750 Cruzer look even
more beefy had to be cut to length and drilled
for the end fittings. During these times I had
to hold up and adjust the right wing... nothing
too much, but when being watched by so
many, and answering questions about the build,
engineering and flying - it makes any task a bit
more of a challenge!
It was fantastic to watch so many different
people participate in this life-changing event.
CEOs of major companies in aviation, veterans
from the second world war, the Thunderbirds
crew chiefs, pilots, engineers, lawyers, sheriffs,
teachers, journalists, air-show performers...
but most importantly for me, I saw and spoke
with many mothers, fathers, grandparents and
boys and girls of all ages, helping them to get
involved, sharing in the passion that makes
light aviation so, so exciting, educational and
positive for all.
Patricia working with Chris Heintz
24 AIRSPORT
The Sunday morning dawned, with single-digit
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
hours left, and much to do... The crowds
swelled, and those who witnessed the 100Hp
Rotax fuel-injected work of art fire up for
the first time were all thrilled beyond belief
as it roared out it’s thousands of kilowatts of
excitement. The general public got to watch
all of the build during the week, and now to
participate in the systems testing, weight and
balance checks, and most importantly the
dreaded FAA inspection.
With no time left on the clock, at 1500 on the
Sunday afternoon, the FAA man signed off
the One Week Wonder as airworthy. Due
to the large numbers of people, and in the
spirit of safety, it was decided to simply do
a taxi demonstration - right before the USAF
Thunderbirds closing display. Tears could
be seen in many eyes, mine included, at the
beautiful sight of aluminium and steel brought
together, in seven days, into that marvellous,
inspirational, creation that we call ‘an airplane’.
What better way to spend a week than to build
an aircraft amongst my international family of
aviators, inspiring and encouraging thousands of
people, proving that aviation is not complicated.
Aviation is simply magnificent. Aviation is for
everybody. And for me to shout at the top of
my lungs ‘ONE WEEK WONDER!’
OUTCOME : MISSION AND
ALL OBJECTIVES
ACCOMPLISHED
CONCLUSION
: MISSION POSSIBLE
WHAT NEXT? The One Week Wonder aircraft
will be touring the USA over the coming year
to spread further the concept of inspiration to
all, young or old, male or female, tall or short,
black or white - aviation is for everybody and it
is amazing.
AIRSPORT 25
TA L E S F RO M T H E TO O L B OX
Capacitance type
T I P S F R O M T H E TO O L B OX
MECHANICAL
MUSINGS
By Ken Garland
One question I often get asked by builders is,
“what type of fuel quantity indicating system
should I use?”
The answer to this question depends on the
type and use of the aircraft itself. I am old
enough to remember the cork float with
calibrated wire coming up from the fuel
cap and more recently the calibrated tube
running up the side of the tank, but usually
the question relates to the more modern float
type potentiometer or capacitance type. Some
aircraft use a sight-glass or tube to see what
fuel is remaining, but these are notoriously
unreliable in flight due to bouncing around. A
lot of aircraft use a fuel flow-meter, which then
subtracts from a known quantity during flight
(either calculated automatically, or entered by
the pilot at the start of the flight).
The float type is simply a float mounted on
a swinging arm. When there is no fuel, the
float sits on the bottom – when the tank
is full, the float rises to the top. The arm
is attached to a variable resistor which, in
most cases, is mounted inside the tank. An
electric current is sent through the variable
resistor to which a float is connected, so that
the value of resistance depends on the fuel
level. This system has potential risk as sending
current through such a resistor has fire and
explosion potential. Corrosion or wear of the
potentiometer will provide erroneous readings
of fuel level and these resistance sensors are
also showing an increased failure rate with the
incremental additions of alcohol in automotive
gasoline fuel. Alcohol increases the corrosion
rate at the potentiometer, as it is capable
of carrying current like water. In automotive
applications the potentiometer used in
26 AIRSPORT
PRODUCT OF
THE MONTH
By Ken Garland
conjunction with alcohol fuel use a pulse and
hold methodology in that a periodic signal is
sent to determine fuel level decreasing the
corrosion potential.
The other thing to consider when using the
float/potentiometer type of fuel sender is
that this type was designed for automobile
use and very few automobiles are designed
with aerobatics in mind. Even normal flight
operations can produce quite violent movement
of the float and moving parts will wear out
eventually. The arm can get stuck or the float
can get saturated and stop floating. Most fuel
tanks sit at an angle due to the dihedral and
angle of attack of the wing, the float sits at the
inner edge of the tank, and therefore the float
is fully submerged quite a bit before the tank
is actually full. This means that you read full
until you burn off as much as 20 litres. They are
accurate at the end however, where you really
need it to be accurate.
level changes, so does the capacitance. The
capacitance is part of an oscillator circuit. As
the capacitance changes, so does the oscillator
frequency. The frequency is converted to a
voltage that is displayed with a fuel gauge.
The advantage of a capacitance type fuel
level probe is that there are no moving parts.
The disadvantage is that the gauge must be
calibrated each time that the type of fuel is
changed because unleaded fuel, leaded fuel
and gasohol each have different insulating
properties. When the fuel tank is almost full,
the capacitance fuel gauge will display different
levels depending on the type of fuel in the tank.
When the tank is almost empty, the fuel gauge
will be more accurate because air is now the
insulating medium and the probe does not know
or care what type of fuel used to be in the tank.
The variation in fuel insulating properties also
includes avgas.
The other option is the capacitive sensor. A
capacitance fuel tank gauge utilizing a pair
of diodes to rectify the capacitance signal
before transmission to the fuel gauge, thereby
eliminating effects of stray capacitance and the
need for coaxial cables with the advantages of
reducing weight and cost.
The main advantages are no moving parts, very
accurate from full to empty, they aren’t affected
by sloshing fuel as much, the non-contact
nature of these sensors address the fire and
explosion hazard, and also the issues related to
any fuel combinations or additives to gasoline
or to any alcohol fuel mixtures.
A good explanation from a post on the
AeroElectric list:
Both systems are available from most aviation
hardware suppliers, and Van’s makes capacitive
sensor kits for a number of their aircraft.
A capacitor is constructed of two parallel
conductors insulated from each other. The
amount of capacitance is related to the
distance between the conductors and the
type of insulation. The insulation between
the conductors of a capacitance fuel level
probe consists of air and/or fuel. As the fuel
If there is a topic you would like me to
comment on for future issues please send a
request to SAAA at ken.garland@saaa.com
As always, the final word is mine but the final
decision is yours.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
As an aircraft builder, I am always looking for products and services which will improve my aircraft
by making it better, cheaper or look better. Here is a product I have been using with great success.
Designed initially for automotive use the product has made significant inroads into aviation and
marine applications. My wife has also found uses for it around the home when I am careless enough
to leave it lying around.
FW1 – WATERLESS CLEANING WAX
TS2 – TOUCHLESS TYRE SHINE
FW1 is a high performance cleaning wax that is
designed to clean vehicles without the use of
water. You can achieve fast, amazing results in
a matter of seconds. FW1 removes grease, tar,
bugs, mildew, road grime, light scratches and
marks, most faded paints and tree sap quickly,
and with comparatively little effort.
RGS Labs Inc.© has created a unique formulation
to provide a long lasting, ultra black glossy shine
that will complement great-looking wheels.
FW1 is in high demand by crop-dusters out
west because it removes squashed bugs quickly
and effortlessly. I like the FW1 because it can
be used on a variety of non-porous surfaces
such as metal, composite, fabric, glass and even
Perspex and Lexan.
FW1 has been approved with a Smart Approved
Watermark to show it satisfies water reduction
criteria. It does not contain silicones, teflons, or
CFCs, which are harmful to the environment and
deplete the ozone layer. Considering it takes 32
litres of water to wash the average car yet one
single can of FW1 washes four medium-sized
cars, the choice for car cleaning is easy!
Using FW1 requires only a few simple steps:
spray on light coat of the product in a small
section, then using a cloth rub in a circular
motion. Using another cloth (preferably a
microfibre towel) lightly buff to a shine.
The special formula also limits residual spray or
‘sling’ on paint and heels.
TS2 can be applied to your tyres with little
or no wastage. It cleans and protects and its
unique formulation helps revitalise the look and
condition of your tyres.
TS2 leaves a protective film to guard against
fading, drying and cracking. Use on dry tyres
only.
•Easy one step application, shines in just
minutes
• TS2 creates an ultra black, glossy ‘wet’ look
• Spray or wipe on
• Low ‘sling’ formula
• Water-resistant, long lasting•
GP3 - GENERAL PURPOSE CLEANER
This General Purpose Cleaner is designed to
penetrate and break up oil, grease, dirt and soil
with minimum effort. This special formulation
cleans steel, plastic, rubber, tile, chrome, baked
enamel objects and even glass!
CU4 – CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY
CLEANER
CU4 technology makes short work of the
toughest stains! The perfect companion for
the car and home, CU4 interior treatment
deodorises, removes stains and protects
upholstery, fabric and carpet... without wasting
time or water.
CU4 eliminates both set-in stains and stubborn
odours!
With CU4 interior treatment, you completely
remove stains.
CU4 has no sticky residue to attract more dirt,
and is designed to eliminate:
•
Messy kid stuff
•
Coffee spills
•
Food spills
•
Smoke odors
•
Pet accidents
•
Dirt and grass stains
Other products in the range include Leather
Wipes, Microfibre Cloths and Spray Gun
applicator.
To achieve that prize winning finish on your
aircraft, car, boat etc, you can’t go past the FW1
range of products. For more details on the FW1
product range go to FW1.com.au and say you
saw it in Airsport.
AIRSPORT 27
SO YOU’VE HAD
A CLOSE CALL?
Often the experience is something you’ll never forget and you have learned from it.
Why not share your story so that others can learn from it too?
If we publish it, we’ll give you $500.
Articles should be between 450 and 1000 words. If preferred, your identity
will be kept confidential. Email us at fsa@casa.gov.au. Clearly mark
your submission in the subject field as ‘SPORTAVIATION CLOSE CALL’
Please do not submit
articles regarding events
that are the subject
of a current official
investigation.
Submissions may be
edited for clarity, length
and reader focus.
28 AIRSPORT
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
AIRSPORT 29
TAKI NG AVIATION BY S TORM
What makes the Tempest oil filters tough
enough for the Australian outback?
Magnetic Secondary Filtration
Tempest is the only aviation oil filter that features an internal magnet that collects ferrous
material that can otherwise re-enter the engine and potentially result in premature engine wear.
World’s Best Aviation
Spark Plugs and Oil Filters
30 AIRSPORT
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
AIRSPORT 31
B U I L D E R S LO G
VH-VBN
B U I L D E R S LO G
VH- RAR
VH-POO
VH-XBI
BUILDER: ANSON NEEDHAM # 07334
BUILDER: BRADLEY LANGE # 07788
BUILDER: GUIDO MEENS # 06631
BUILDER: BARBRA SMITH # 07602
LOCATED:
WACHOPE, NSW
LOCATED:
CORUNBIA, QLD
LOCATED:
AUSTRALIND, WA
LOCATED:
LEETON, NSW
A/C TYPE: VANS RV-8
A/C TYPE: BEARHAWK
A/C TYPE: RV-4 CH-7BT
A/C TYPE: BJ-60 HOT AIR BALLOON
COFA issued on 23/07/14 By Darren Barnfield
COFA was issued on 17/08/2014 By Peter Lewis
VH-NIT
COFA was issued on 24/5/2014 By Peter Lewis
COFA was issued on 18/08/2014 By Peter Lewis
How to submit to Builders’ Log
VH-OHV
BUILDER: BEV HALL #07741
BUILDER: GREG VAN SCOY # 07745
LOCATED:
NARRIKUP, WA
LOCATED:
WARRANDYTE, VIC
A/C TYPE: MOSQUITO XE
A/C TYPE: RV-7A
COFA Issued on 7/06/2014 by Robert Hannington
COFA was issued on 20/08/2014 By Darren Barnfield
Email the following details to us at airsport@saaa.com – with your photos!
> First and last name
> SAAA membership number
> Chapter number and location
> Contact details (email, phone if you want others to be able to contact you)
> Details of the aircraft you are working on (name, model, manufacturer,
registration number, etc)
> Information about the building process - share your stories!
> Pictures in jpeg format (around 1 Mb in size is ideal but send whatever you have).
VH- DPC
VH- AGI
BUILDER: ANTHONY CARMODY # 7418
BUILDER: GREG NCNAB # 06420
LOCATED:
WURTULLA, QLD
LOCATED:
EARLVILLE, QLD
A/C TYPE: CICARE CH-7BT
A/C TYPE: VANS RV-8
COFA was issued on 24/5/2014 By Peter Lewis
32 AIRSPORT
AIRSPORT
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
COFA was issued on 18/08/2014 By Peter Lewis
AIRSPORT 33
11 Penisula Blvd, Seaford, Vic 3198
Phone (03) 9585 1211 Fax (03) 9585 1837
Email sales@aviaquip.com.au
NEW FROM BOB TAIT’S
AVIATION THEORY SCHOOL
www.aviaquip.com.au
ANNOUNCEMENT
Aviaquip has carried out a strategic downsizing and restructuring. As a result we will no longer be
supplying aircraft hardware and general spare parts to the General Aviation and Airline Markets.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO STOCK ALL OF YOUR
AIRCRAFT FABRIC COVERING NEEDS
FULL RANGE OF FABRICS, TAPES, ACCESORIES AND COATINGS AVAILABLE
ASIAPAC June 2013.pdf
1
12/06/13
11:03 PM
iEFIS ...the Next Generation
Home-study guides for
RA-AUS BAK and
RA-AUS Cross Country Endorsement
Available as hard-copy texts in black and white or full colour
Also as full colour e-texts
Phone: 07 3204 0965
email: bobtait@bobtait.com.au
See our web site for full details • www.bobtait.com.au
A comprehensive flight, engine & navigation instrument
designed for Experimental & LSA aircraft utilising a
custom developed, pressure sensitive, sunlight readable
touch screen. iEFIS combines the undeniable advantages
of simplified operation of a touch screen with rich,
traditional controls which are equally indispensable in
the cockpit environment. The pressure sensitive touch
screen operates like a tactile button preventing false
activation when touching the screen in turbulent
conditions. A simple and highly effective solution ...
in 7", 8.5" & 10.4" displays.
Complete iEFIS system
(no servos) approx
2nd Generation Odyssey
Complete Odyssey-Voyager G2 systems approx
.
.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
$6,000 delivered!
Extremely powerful, flexible, simple & intuitive operation in huge 10.4” and
8.4”, high quality, high resolution, sunlight readable displays
Every conceivable function: all flight; HITS; VOR, ILS, GLS, GVOR; AOA; all
engine; ‘black box’ recording; AH/Compass; GPS (m/map); terrain (2D/3D);
integrated GPS & encoder; radio/transponder, ‘spoken voice’ alerts, integrated
autopilot & much more!
Complete range of light,
accurate, multi-function,
advanced instruments. Straight
swap out for standard 2.25” &
3.5” instruments with brilliant
one button interface & even
more innovative features.
website: www.lightflying.com.au
34 AIRSPORT
$6,000 delivered!
Including all the features of its sibling Odyssey series systems the 'touch & press' screen modular iEFIS
continues the MGL tradition of leading the industry in features, flexibility & innovation.
Delta VHF Antennas
Exclusive Australasian
distributer for the highly
regarded Delta Pop
Aviation range of VHF and
transponder antennas.
The XTreme Mini EFIS
A 4.3” colour display,
multifunction EFIS with
remarkable functionality at a
remarkable price.
All Flight and Engine
functions*; Integrated GPS &
encoder; Navigation; Flight path
(GPS based flight path/‘attitude’
indication); Artificial horizon.*
Auto pilot* coming soon (free
software upgrade); EFIS fits into
std 3.5” instrument cut-out!
*Requires additional equipment.
$1,350 delivered!
MGL VHF COM Radio
New advanced features &
design - 2.5”, large display,
230 grams. FCC approved.
$1,255 delivered
phone: (02) 6259 2002 or 0419 423 286
AIRSPORT 35
C H A P T E R C H AT T E R
C H A P T E R C H AT T E R
NEW SOUTH WALES
QUEENSLAND
CHAPTER 4 : SOUTH COAST
CHAPTER 15 : QUEENSLAND
RODGER’S WAIEX
This month we had Rodger Connelly along to tell his story of the
construction and flight testing of his V tail Sonex aircraft known as a
Waiex (pronounced “Y-X”) and registered as VH-YEX.
This aircraft was
seen with the line-up of so many other aircraft at the Gathering of
the Eagles fly-in at Watts Bridge on the 30 August and was the star of
the show for the Experimental aircraft seen on display. This build is a
perfect example of the aircraft and the glistening paintwork
and digital panel along with the V tail design sure make the aircraft
stand out in a crowd.
WATTS BRIDGE GATHERING OF THE EAGLES
The Watts Bridge Gathering of the Eagles was on Saturday 30 August.
The event was well attended with approximately 80 aircraft in for the
day and a huge crowd of flyers and drivers.
recently elected Chapter 4 secretary Michael DeFeyter with
chapter member Gordon Griffin.
Recently Chapter 4 held another workshop meeting as part of our
rigorous annual schedule, and this time it was my turn to get the
biscuits, tea and coffee, as the group were coming to look at progress
on my Rocket project. I am assembling the aircraft in John Cleary’s
hangar at Wollongong and the meeting was scheduled for a sunny
Saturday afternoon, so we had one fly-in visitor from Sydney, as well
as a couple of others driving in from the Sydney basin area, also a
good smattering of our own chapter members. The F1 Rocket aircraft is essentially a modified RV-4 fitted with an
IO-540 Lycoming and constant speed propeller, (this one has a
Harmon Rocket tipover canopy) and with the very able help of TC
Peter Bowman good progress is being made. Recent developments
have included fitting of the cowling and the air intake/filter box. This
has required a considerable amount of filling and sanding to get a
reasonable fit behind the spinner backplate. We are also now fitting
the wheel pants and gear leg fairings, requiring custom fabrication
of fixing brackets to provide adequate support and alignment, so
plenty of time is spent working out how best to solve the myriad of
problems we seem to be confronted with, but these are problems we
enjoy solving so it’s really enjoyable hard work.
Part of the assembled group Photos John deBattista
WEIGHT AND BALANCE TALK
Around 15 SAAA members turned up to have a look at the project, to
share some time together and much discussion ensued over the finer
points of firewall forward installations, which I must admit I never seem
to tire of. Since we had such a good roll up, we also asked Ken Garland
to give us all an update on proceedings at Headquarters, followed by
Phil Ayrton
the Chapter AGM so it was quite a busy afternoon.
36 AIRSPORT
The weight and balance talk was a great success at the chapter 19
meeting on the 19 August. The talk was put on following the Chapter
19 AGM and there was a great turnout for the talk. We will look into
this topic in greater detail over the next few issues as it is a subject
that deserves a bit of time and a lot of detail.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
AIRSPORT 37
CLASSIFIEDS
C H A P T E R CO N TAC T S
NEW SOUTH WALES
FOR SALE
NEW SOUTH WALES
ONE ACK30 ALTITUDE DIGITIZER Mod
5 Grey Code output up to 30750 feet.
C/W manual and installation kit. Very
good condition $150.00.
Contact Mike Nolan Member 07016.
Mobile 0428 358 333 or
email atomike.nolan@ozemail.com.au
ONE COMANT C121 VHF ANTANAE
118-137 mhz. New still in box. Spruce price
$ 175 US dollars plus shipping to Australia.
Will sell for $ 150 Australian dollars plus
Australia post charges.
Contact Mike Nolan 0428358333 or at
kermik@ozemail.com.au
BARRACUDA PROJECT FOR SALE
Jeffair Barracuda project in advanced
state for sale. Includes Engine,
Instruments and avionics.
For full details go to: http://planesale.
blogspot.com.au. Aircraft expected to be
relocated to Rylstone later this year but
currently in home storage. Contact Gary
at gary@modelfxs.com or 02-9622-1916
AH for more details.
HANGAR RYLSTON Two slots available
in late August at Hangar 49 located on
the all new Rylstone Airpark. All new,
insulated, painted floors, kitchenette for
a casual stay over. Rylstone Airpark is
located 2.5 hours from central Sydney.
The township is 5km from the airport
with a large selection of eateries and
accommodation - perfect for that all
flying weekend away. Not just a hangar
space it a lifestyle. Full details at
tucano-replica.blogspot.com.au - Click on Rental Hangar
DRDT- 2 DIMPLING FRAMES
DRDT-2 frames per OEM
plans available ex-Canberra. AUD$250
plus shipping if required. Fabricated with
a fully enclosed spine for a professional
look. Allow three weeks if not already
in stock. By comparison, the Front-End
Kit (FEK) is US$170 ex-USA or US$370
including the frame plus a minimum
of US$200 for shipping.
RV12 25HRS TT, all new
components,build by multiple RV builder
and SAAA technical counsellor. Based in
Mittagong YMIG NSW Asking $98 500.no GST. For questions please contact:
Karl Ahamer 0411 290 472
TEXAS TAILDRAGGER, C150G, Xpdr,
ADF, Intercom, Eng. 480 TBO, Prop. 1690
TBO $40,000 Incl. GST. Temora area.
Clinton Ashton-Martin 0429 021 097,
02 6976 4280.
38 AIRSPORT
Chapter 1
Sydney North
President: Rob Lawrie
Mob 0421 618 920
chapter01@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Third Wednesday
of each month at
7:30pm - rotates amongst
members’ projects.
QUEENSLAND
RANS S-7S COURIER.
Built 2010 270.00 Hrs TT. Twice 2011,2012
Natfly (Australia) Con Course deElegance
winner plus best fabric-covered aircraft.
Rotax 912ULS 100 Hp with Airmaster
AP332 C/S three bladed prop with square
tip Warp Drive blades and polished
spinner. Fully optioned, far exceeds
factory build in standard and equipment,
interior superbly upholstered. Built by
LAME,3 1/2 Hr range plus Turtle Pac,ferry
tank available(extra to A/C price ) A/C
plumbed and wired with QDs to accept.
Aerodynanically balanced ailerons.
Whelan strobes/Nav,custom made
seats, Garmin SL40 VHF and ICS,Garmin
GTX 327 Transponder..Mode “C” plus
encoder, Garmin 296 GPS, electric trim,
UMA quality aircraft instrumentation,
Super baby Lakes VH-AVV
Tundra tyres and 8” tail wheel, custom
dashboard and glaresheild. Electronics
International FP5 fuel computer, Steves
aircraft Gascolator and 10 micron
stainless steel cleanable fuel filter. A great
short field performer, any inspection
welcomed. Best Rans in Australia. Making
room for new Carbon Cub project
$85000.00 Firm. Contact Ken Edwards
kenedwardsqld@gmail.com. Or phone.
0438 178 869
SUPER BABY LAKES VH-AVV. (SEE
IMAGE ABOVE) C of A issued NOV
2013. Project was undertaken mainly
for its long term construction
challenge during my retirement
. It is constructed to same high
standard as my Concourse winning
Thorp S -18 and is now surplus to
requirement . Engine LYC 0-235 L2C
of 115 HP . Airframe and engine time
in service 50 hours . Stressed + and
- 9 G . Cruise 100 kt at 75 % power
. Basic mandatory VFR instruments
and hand start . Stitts Poly Fibre
fabric system . Great for cruise or
aerobatics . Hangared Redcliffe, QLD
. asking $38000. Call: Peter Ashley
07-38224240, 0438 749 213 prashley@
ozemail.com.au
VICTORIA
1998 RV6A TT 1090HR. ENG
450hrs since new. Sensenich wood
prop. 0- 330 160hp Lycoming .Navaid
autopilot.Airmap 500 GPS. JPI EDM 700
eng monitor. JPI Fuelscan flow meter..
PS Engineering PMA1200 intercom. 2
VHF Terra radios. Terra Txp. MP gauge.
Cabin heat. Very good condition.
Nearly finished building RV7a.
$87,000. Mansfield Vic . Ph 0417 335 799.
Email : jkrowlands@gmail.com
WANTED
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
RIGHT HAND RV6 ELEVATOR
I’m seeking a right hand RV6 elevator. I
would also be interested in the whole
tailplane assembly (horizontal stabiliser
plus elevators) should anyone have one.
Member: Trevor Fernihough
Classifieds Members’ non-business classifieds are
free for two issues. Classifieds may be resubmitted.
Non-members paid classifieds – no limit.
Send to SAAA PO Box 99 Narromine NSW 2821
fax 02 6889 7788email enquiries@saaa.com
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
Chapter 2
Camden
President: Graham Johnston
Mob 0417 985 200
chapter02@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Second
Wednesday of each
month, rotates amongst
members’ projects.
Chapter 4
South Coast
President: Peter Bowman
Tel 02 4229 5350
Secretary: Philip Ayrton
chapter04@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Last Monday
night of each month
Chapter 5
Central Coast
President: Dean Nesbitt
Mob 0418 757 383
chapter05@saaa.com.au
Chapter 6
Coffs Harbour
President: Dr Paul Foster
Tel 02 6569 9484 (ah)
chapter06@saaa.com.au
Chapter 7
Mid-North Coast
President: Bill Coote
Tel 02 6559 9953
chapter07@saaa.com.au
Meetings: First Friday of
each month, Hasting’s
District Flying Club
Chapter 11
North-West Sydney
President: Ian Woodhead
Tel 02 9856 2703
M 0404 830 634
chapter11@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Second Tuesday
of each month, rotates
amongst members.
Chapter 23
Frogs Hollow NSW
President: Drew Done
Tel 02 6495 9484
chapter23@saaa.com.au
Chapter 37
Southern NSW
President: Jarrod Clowes
Mob 0428 811 884
chapter37@saaa.com.au
Chapter 38
Western Plains
President: Daniel Compton
Tel 02 6884 8887
Mob 0409 944 619
chapter38@saaa.com.au
Chapter 40
Wagga & District
President: Malcolm Bennett
Tel 02 6922 4917
Mob 0423 101 855
Secretary: Tony Middleton
Tel 02 6922 4990
chapter40@saaa.com.au
ACT
Chapter 26
Monaro
President: John Morrissey
Mob 0419 260 740
chapter26@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Third Sunday
afternoon each month,
rotates amongst
members’ projects.
VICTORIA
Chapter 18
Melbourne
President: David Zemel
Mob 0412 778 120
chapter18@saaa.com.au
Chapter 20
Kyneton District
President & Secretary:
Mark Davis
Secretary: Rodney Ashdowne
Mob 0438 399 163
chapter20@saaa.com.au
Chapter 16
Serpentine
President: Bo Hannington
Tel 08 9524 2000
Mob 0427 044 156
chapter16@saaa.com.au
Chapter 24
Jandakot
Secretary/Treasurer:
Peter Mulhern
Mob 0418 923 837
chapter24@saaa.com.au
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Chapter 21
Moorabbin
President: Stuart Trist
Mob 0410 561 371
chapter21@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Fourth Wednesday
of the month at 7.30 pm,
South Oakleigh Club, 1
Victor Rd (Cnr Clifton
St) East Bentleigh.
Chapter 27
Tyabb Victoria
President: Darren Barnfield
Tel 03 5979 1501
Mob 0408 351 309
chapter27@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Third Sunday
each month
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Chapter 10
South West WA
President: Peter Bairstow
Mob 0419 048 832
chapter10@saaa.com.au
Chapter 13
Albany District
President: Ralph Burnett
Mob 0427 200 673
Secretary: Ian Coombe
Mob 0428 957 829
chapter13@saaa.com.au
Chapter 25
Port Lincoln SA
President: Michael Hart
Tel 08 8682 1977
chapter25@saaa.com.au
Chapter 39
Adelaide
President: Paul Holaj
Secretary: Patrick Pulis
Mob 0408 008 379
chapter39@saaa.com.au
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Chapter 35
Northern Australia
President: Vern Taylor
Mob 0418 898 899
Secretary: Christopher McKay
Mob 0418 799 469
chapter35@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Last Saturday of
the month, venues vary.
Chapter 19
Gold Coast
President: Robert Fraser
Mob 0429 200 098
Secretary: Stanley Lewis
Mob 0414 960 872
chapter19@saaa.com.au
Meetings: Notified to
members via email
Chapter 22
Sunshine Coast
President: Jamie Lee
Mob 0401 770 230
Secretary:
Conor McCarthy
Mob 0439 518 777
chapter22@saaa.com.au
Meetings: 3rd Sunday May,
Jul, Sept, Nov, Jan, Mar
Chapter 34
Far North QLD
President: John Martin
Mob 0419 536 668
chapter34@saaa.com.au
Chapter 36
Central QLD
Contact: John Gordon
Mob 0418 458 095
chapter36@saaa.com.au
Chapter 17
Pallamana Murray Bridge
President: Don Fraser
Tel 08 8363 3920 (ah)
chapter17@saaa.com.au
QUEENSLAND
Chapter 15
Queensland
President: Paul Smith
Tel 0419 641 853
chapter15@saaa.com.au
Meetings: 7:30pm at
Royal Queensland Aero
Club, Hangar 1, Beattie
Rd Archerfield first
Thursday of the month
For any changes
to Chapter details,
contacts or to notify
of errors, please email
enquiries@saaa.com
AIRSPORT 39
S A A A CO N TAC T S
National Technical Manager
Geoffrey Danes
Mindarie
Mob 0428 992 399​
gdanes@iinet.net.au​
MPC/Training Coordinators
24 Colin Morrow​
Como WA​
Tel 08 9450 2130
colinmorrow@optusnet.com.au
26 Lou Szabolics
Hawker
Mob 0411 850 383
szabolics@bigpond.com
24 William Keehner​
Mt Pleasant WA​
Mob 0417 972 090
Barrie Bishton​
Kempsey​
Mob 0439 864 023​
39 Walter Ogilvie
Kingston
Mob 0427 689 031
wogilvie@live.com.au
26 Kim Jones
Monash
Tel 02 6291 9377
kim_jones@optusnet.com.au
39 Paul Holaj
Nairne
Mob 0408 008 379
pn-holaj@bigpond.com
7 William Coote
Laurieton
Tel 02 6559 9953
bill@becominghealthy.com.au
25 Mick Hart
Port Lincoln
Mob 0407 424 607
mcdkhart@gmail.com
23 Drew Done​
Merimbula​
Mob 0409 833 646​
dj.done@bigpond.net.au
39 Bruce Deslandes
Whyalla
Mob 0414 263 180
b.des@bigpond.com
wkeehner@bigpond.net.au
TECHNICAL COUNSELLORS
NSW AND SA
Ken Garland
nswstatecoordinator@saaa.
com.au
Mob 0417 244 059
VICTORIA
Brian Ham
vicstatecoordinator@saaa.
com.au
Mob 0417 464 866
QUEENSLAND
Peter Leonard
qldstatecoordinator@saaa.
com.au
Mob 0417 758 272
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Fred Moreno
wastatecoordinator@saaa.
com.au
Mob 0488 336 905
AP Coordinator
24 Geoffrey Danes
Mindarie WA
Mob 0428 992 399
gdanes@iinet.net.au
CASA Authorised Persons
37 Jim Williams​
Albury NSW
Mob 0408 480 445
11 Martin Ongley​
Colebee NSW​
Mob 0438 014 877
05 David Tennant​
Warnervale NSW​
Mob 0410 491 866​
dltenno@hotmail.com
19 Peter Lewis​
Brinsmead QLD​
Mob 0439 714 617
skyworthy2@bigpond.com
19 Howard Mason​
Elanora QLD​
Mob 0417 621 655
14 Brian Turner​
Boolarra South VIC​
Mob 0429 172 740​
btvair@wideband.net.au
27 Darren Barnfield​
Hastings VIC
Mob 0408 351 309
13 Robert Hannington​
Albany WA​
Mob 0409 090 493
rhh@albanyis.com.au
40 AIRSPORT
S A A A CO N TAC T S
New South Wales & ACT
5 John Griffin​
Bangor
Tel 02 9543 8404
Mob 0409 654 298
jreggriffin25@optusnet.com.au
1 Rick Harper​
Bohnock
Mob 0416 041 007​
rjwh@skymesh.com.au
Karl Ahamer​
Bowral​
Mob 0411 290 472​
kahamer@bigpond.net.au​
4 Chris Byrne​
Bowral​
Mob 0414 603 644​
jack.byrne@bigpond.com
4 Ken Garland​
Camden​
Mob 0417 244 059​
ken@garlandaerospace.com.au
5 Grant Piper​
Coolah​
Mob 0438 890 242​
grant.piper@wideband.net.au
11 Martin Ongley​
Colebee
Mob 0438 014 877
martin.ongley@saaa.com
38 Philip Goard​
Cowra
Tel 02 6342 9300​
Tel 02 6341 1635
info@brumbyaircraft.com.au
37 James Ball​
Deniliquin
Tel 03 5812 0079
Mob 0428 743 450​
jtball@iinet.net.au
23 Rex Koerbin
Pambula​
Tel 02 6495 1296
Mob 0408 138 409​
rexavia@merimbulaaircraft.com​
11 Ian Goldie
Port Macquarie
Tel 02 6582 4343
irgoldie@optusnet.com.au
40 Tony Middleton​
Springvale Heights
Tel 02 6922 4990​
a.middo@bigpond.net.au​
38 Paul O’Connor
Temora
Mob 0427 090 087​
vhpoc@hotmail.com
1 Keith Bridge​
Terrey Hills
Mob 0417 290 814
Tel 02 9486 3034
kbaero@iinet.com.au
40 Malcolm Bennett​
Wagga Wagga​
Tel 02 6922 4917
Mob 0423 101 855​
bennettbuilt@internode.on.net
40 Peter Middleton
Wagga Wagga
Tel 02 6922 4815
Mob 0407 016 429
p.middleton2@bigpond.com
p.middleton2@bigpond.com​
Queensland
4 Peter Bowman ​
Figtree​
Mob 0429 130 340​
pean.bow@bigpond.net​.au
36 Daryl Grove​
Aitkenvale​
Tel 07 4775 1604​
grovedj@bigpond.net.au​
5 Robert Redman
Floraville
Mob 0418 570 768
rlredman@bigpond.com
15 Mike Roselt​
Applethorpe​
Mob 0417 706 827​
fay.roselt@bigpond.com​
1 Geoff Shrimski​
Frenchs Forest​
Mob 0414 400 304​
scuba@bigpond.net.au​
15 Peter Karanges​
Sunnybank Hills​
Mob 0407 453 933​
designt@bigpond.net.au​
Andrew Sieczkowski
Grafton​
Mob 0408 573 130
andyski@exemail.com.au
34 Tony Ilyes
Tully Heads
Mob 0408 797 228
ilyesent@bigpond.com
South Australia
Tasmania
Mob 0417 409 996​
bernice.dan@bigpond.com​
21 Stuart Trist ​
Mordialloc​
Mob 0410 561 371
stuart.trist@esa.edu.au​
20 Len Dyson​
Newport​
Tel 03 9391 2193​
p51mustang@optushome.
com.au​
Peter Austin
Oak Park
Tel 03 9306 1090​
21 Robert Barrow​
Oakleigh South​
Tel 03 9558 0598​
bobbarrow@bigpond.com​
20 Peter Pendergast​
Ocean Grove​
Mob 0418 129 222​
ppen@live.com.au​
13 Fred Moreno​
Denmark​
Tel 08 9848 1431​
frederickmoreno@bigpond.com​
10 Terry Doe​
Eaton​
Mob 0437 256 229​
terrdoe@gmail.com​
24 Tony White
Guildford
Mob 0419 421 632
twhite@westnet.com.au
24 Andy George
Kalgoorlie
Mob 0418 920 404
andy.george@rapallo.com.au
24 Paul Blackney
Leeming
Mob 0417 091 763
pblackny@bigpond.com
21 Arthur Stubbs​
Port Fairy
Mob 0419 357 648​
vhxsi@aussiebb.com.au
24 William Keehner​
Mount Pleasant​
Mob 0417 972 090​
wkeehner@bigpond.net.au​
Peter Schafer​
21 Graeme Coates​
Richmond​
Mob 0417 108 427
coatbeam@melbpc.org.au​
24 Geoffrey Danes
Mindarie
Mob 0428 992 399​
gdanes@iinet.net.au
Brian Turner​
21 Brian Ham​
Templestowe​
Mob 0417 464 866​
brian.ham@bigpond.com
16 Shirley Harding
Mundijong
Mob 0459 555 025
shirley.harding@saaa.com
Mick Cuppari​
West Hobart​
Mob 0400 183 711​
cuppari@netspace.net.au​
Victoria
Balwyn​
Mob 0425 837 055​
schaferpj@gmail.com​
Boolarra South​
Mob 0429 172 740​
btvair@gmail.com​
21 Bruce Towns​
Braeside​
Mob 0408 326 260​
brucetowns@bigpond.com​
21 Robert Taylor​
Ferny Creek​
Mob 0428 324 731​
rwtaylor@bigpond.com​
21 John Stephenson​
Hampton East​
Tel 03 9553 5075​
JFS2@bigpond.com​
20 Frank Deeth ​
Heathmont​
Mob 0408 559 866​
​
tr.9@westnet.com.au​
Rod Shearer​
Huntly
Tel 03 5448 8669
Mob 0419 717 212
rybuck@iinet.net.au
20 Norm Edmunds​
Kyneton​
Mob 0407 098 242​
idgara.aviation@bigpond.com​
20 Rodney Thynne​
Melton​
Mob 0402 277 607​
rodneythynne@yahoo.com.au
20 Daniel O’Sullivan​
Monegeetta​
​Rob McAnally​
Templestowe​
Mob 0418 172 150​
rsmcanallyrv6@gmail.com​
Western Australia
13 Brian Holman​
Albany​
Mob 0429 844 419​
bmholman@australiaonline.
net.au​
16 Bo Hannington​
Baldivis​
Tel 08 9524 2000​
Bo@elbo.com.au​
Robert (Bob) Redman​
Floraville NSW​
Tel 02 4947 0768​
Mob 0418 570 768​
rlredman@bigpond.com​
Andy Ski
(Andrew Sieczkowski)​
Grafton Area NSW​
Tel 02 6642 1104​
Mob 0408 573 130​
andyski@exemail.com.au
Gary Spicer​
Hope Island QLD​
Tel 07 5514 2196​
Mob 0402 822 907​
gary.spicer@saaa.com​
Peter McDougall​
(Helicopters)
Haliday Bay QLD​
Mob 0408 345 507​
qiepl@bigpond.com
Jon Johanson​
Grovedale VIC​
Tel 03 5241 1605​
24 Lindsay Danes​
Success​
Tel 08 9414 1122​
lindsayd@primus.com.au​
Northern Territory
35 Albert Poon
Casuarina
Mob 0417 562 069
albertpoon@y7mail.com
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
SAAA Pilot Advisors​Coordinator​
24 Peter Cash
Riverton​
Mob 0447 560 928​
bee@bee-engineering.com​
24 Peter Nelson​
Baldivis​
Mob 0418 949 943​
peternelson666@gmail.com​
24 Colin Morrow​
Como​
Mob 0412 069 490​
colinmorrow@optusnet.com.au
Grenfell NSW​
Tel 02 6343 3292​
Mob 0409 076 277​
xtp@activ8.net.au​
Goolwa SA​
Mob 0419 554 656
info@flymore.com.au​
Baldivis​
Mob 0419 043 161​
gordon-jane@telstra.com
24 Mike Fletcher​
Bunbury​
Mob 0408 090 438​
mikefletcher@dodo.com.au​
Keith Engelsman​
13 Noel Stoney​
Redmond​
Mob 0447 453 242​
nrstoney@bigpond.com
35 Bill Markey
Acacia Hills
Mob 0400 782 313
bdtsmarkey@bordernet.com.au
Gordon Johanson​
Geoffrey Hook ​
Flight Advisor & Test Pilot
Coordinator​
Qatar
Shirley Harding
Doha
Tel +974 660 99265
shirley.harding@saaa.com
Aub Coote​
Ralph Burnett​
Albany WA​
Tel 08 9842 8963​
Mob 0427 200 673​
burnett@comswest.net.au​
Gordon Johanson​
Baldivis​WA
Mob 0419 043 161​
gordon-jane@telstra.com
34 Laurie Wincen
Atherton
Mob 0408 725 050
lauremal@aanet.com.au
Robert Veale
Bokarina
Tel 07 5493 5221​
raveale@optusnet.com.au
Bundaberg (North)
Mob 0428 652 165
annieinport@hotmail.com
34 John Atkinson​
Cairns​
Mob 0427 534 806​
long_lej@tpg.com.au
34 John Martin
Cairns
Mob 0419 536 668
j-martin@bigpond.net.au
ERINGER
THE WORLD’S LIGHTEST
4” BRAKE AND WHEEL
Lance Sandford
Dundowran
Tel 07 4128 6015
Mob 0425 715 781
sandford@melbpc.org.au
34 Darren Jones
Edmonton
Mob 0432 575 824
cbar@aol.com.au
15 Paul Smith​
Ferny Hills​
Mob 0419 641 853​
pk.smith@bigpond.net.au​
21 Martin Unger
Gatton Airpark
Mob 0419 368 696
aerobiz1@gmail.com
BERINGER HAS BEEN MANUFACTURING
Peter McDougall
PERFORMANCE, SINCE 1985.
Haliday Bay​
Mob 0408 345 507
qiepl@bigpond.com
WHEEL AND BRAKING SYSTEMS FOR THE
AUTOMOTIVE AND AVIATION INDUSTRIES,
IN THE SAME SPIRIT OF QUALITY AND
CERTIFICATION
AND
STRICT
QUALITY
PROCESSES ENSURE TOTAL RELIABILITY
19 Brian Hunter​
Maudsland
Mob 0416 069 151
brian.hunter@saaa.com​
OF BRAKE PRODUCTS.
19 Gary Spicer​
Hope Island​
Mob 0402 822 907​
dreamtime99@ngvemail.com​
GLIDER, OR HOME BUILT AIRCRAFT.
BE R I NG E R
BRAKE
SYSTEMS
OFFERS
THE TOTAL BRAKING SYSTEM FOR YOUR
CIRRUS SR20/22/22T, ROBIN DR400,
After
developing
their
innovative
braking
15 Terry Grace​
Kenmore​
Tel 07 3878 6447
Mob 0488 141 415
terry.grace@bigpond.com
technologies in automotive racing, Beringer are
36 Benjamin Bowden​
Longreach
Tel 07 4658 3193
Mob 0427 682 211
blbowden@tpgi.com.au​
made of high strength CNC machined aluminium
15 John Gross​
Mt Cotton​
Tel 07 3206 6151​
johnandjude@bigpond.com​
now applying their world class Brake Systems to
the world of Aviation. Offering the world’s lightest
4” brake and wheel set, Beringer have developed
a tubeless system weighing only 1.1kgs and
alloy. Not only will Beringer’s braking system
provide you with reduced rolling distances on
touch down and weight savings on take-off, their
Braking System will deliver more stopping power
than any other braking system on the market
– increasing your ability to land safely every time!
Craig Aitken​
Boonah​
Tel 07 5463 4037​
mcaitken1@bigpond.com​
Contact your Beringer representative today:
GARY WILLIAMS E: GARY.WILLIAMS@AEROMOTIVE.CO.NZ
PHONE: + 64 9 295 0883
LEESTON LAMING E: LESTON.LAMING@FLIGHTLINE.CO.NZ
PHONE: + 64 9 295 0883
AIRSPORT 41
Have you flown one yet?
S H O RT F I N A L
A BAD DAY AT THE
WORKSHOP
the open, in a burn over, by yourself and Dead
Man’s Zone meant from my training. The mantra
is out of the green into the black and I just kept
repeating it.
As I watched my house and my old gal VH-LAG
vaporize, I realised it was time to make a move
myself. The transition through the fire zone was
a bit surreal; it started to hurt quite a bit but I
kept moving. I made it out alright and got picked
up off the side of the road, a sorry smoky soggy
pile. I evacuated in one of our light tankers and
got treated for minor burns and shock.
First sight of flames
I thought that was the end of it - but it wasn’t.
Once the fight and the adrenaline go out of
your body and your conscious mind, there is
more to come. It takes your subconscious about
a fortnight to call a special AGM in the middle
of the night to demand an answer from the
committee, “What the hell just happened? You
nearly got me killed!”
From there on in relations degenerate and it
becomes impossible to make decisions without
murmurings of distrust from the rank and file
general membership.
I could smell the smoke
By Mark Bolton
The first sight was of the flames. I had smelt
the smoke when my pager went off with the
message “stay and defend or leave now” about
ten minutes before.
Time to bug out - but where to go? I am the last
house on the street - after me only bush - so I
couldn’t even think about trying to scoot across
the creek bed, lush and green as it may have
seemed.
I had already burned off a safe patch at the
front of the house: the Hail Mary option. I had
my PPE from the Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, so
I knew what the expressions being caught in
42 AIRSPORT
People: if / when your blood stream feels like it
is comprised of microscopic razor blades - pop
a flare!! Don’t feel you are being weak or self
indulgent - the process isn’t working at a level
accessible to reason, or even consciousness. Like
fires, PTSD modes can happen quite fast, so you
don’t have time to muck around.
Call time out and head off to Canada. Spend
some time with family (or strangers - when
you get there you won’t be able to tell the
difference) and choose a Stetson.
Chill and heal.
So what have we learned from this?
- Have a Bushfire Preparedness Plan.
- Go see the guys at your local Volunteer
Bushfire Brigade and they will set you up.
- Have a Stress Breakdown Plan for members of
your family and close friends.
SAAA – THE HOME OF AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT
Australian Distributor: Global Aviation Products | Errol van Rensburg | 0415 072 498 | evrensburg@gmail.com
www.slingaircraft.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland
THE NEW ENGINE REVOLUTION HAS ARRIVED
Based on the proven concept of the Rotax 912
S/ULS engine the new 912 iS engine offeres
all well known advantages of the Rotax 4-stroke
engine series complemented by additional
features, eg: engine management system.
The complete package presents the latest
technology in the aircraft engine industry and
will enhance the flying and ownership
experience of pilots.
914 F/UL I 115hp
The turbo charged Rotax 914 series offers
more performance at altitudes while
keeping the weight at a low level.
912 S/ULS I 100hp
In comparison to the 80hp version of the
Rotax 912 series the 100hp product
outline offers more power while keeping
the weight.
582 MOD. 99 I 65hp
ENGINES YOU CAN RELY ON
More than 170.000 units of Rotax aircraft engines have been sold in
total. Since 1986 BRP-Powertrain has manufactured more than
40.000 units of the Rotax 912/914 engine family.
912 A/F/UL I 80hp
Distributed in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and Tiawan by:
Bert Flood Imports Pty Ltd. 17-18 Chris Drive Lilydale Victoria 3140 Australia
Email: gary@bertfloodimports.com.au • Visit www.bertfloodimports.com.au
TEL 03 9735 5655
FAX: 03 9735 569