May/June 2020

Australian Flying

Australia's premier General Aviation magazine

Australian Flying1 min read
Australian Flying
Editor: Steve Hitchen stevehitchen@yaffa.com.au Senior Contributor: Paul Southwick Test Pilot: John Absolon National Sales Manager: Andrew Murphy, 17-21 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010. Tel: (02) 9213 8272, andrewmurphy@yaffa.com.au Advertisin
Australian Flying2 min readMedical
Editor’s Pick
The aviation community has had to do a lot of head shaking at AVMED decisions in the past, often for some of the reasons laid out in this letter. We can all hope that the writer is correct in assuming that a more reasonable approach to aviation medic
Australian Flying3 min read
Putting Resilience to Work
COVID-19 is gradually causing an almost complete shut-down of general aviation as a drop in revenue deprives the industry of its life blood. This does not necessarily mean the end of us, but it does mean the beginning of a long road to survival. Dead
Australian Flying4 min read
General Aviation under Seige
General aviation began to feel the debilitating effects of coronavirus in mid March as the government applied restrictions that threatened the viability of many GA businesses. Measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 illness included a ban on fo
Australian Flying3 min read
AirMail
Dear Steve, I was intrigued to read Kriesha’s recent article “Where’s Your Head at?” [Australian Flying January-February 2020]. Despite Kreisha’s upbeat appraisal of aviation career options for those with previous mental health issues, CASA’s approac
Australian Flying1 min read
Breaking News Featured On Www.australianflying.com.au Recently
1 Rotortech rescheduled for October 2 RAAus to seek Regulatory Relief 3 Cessna runs Engines on First SkyCourier 4 Wings over Illawarra falls Victim to COVID-19 5 VoltAero tests Cassio Prototype 6 BRM hits back over CASA stall Ban 7 Gliding Leases soa
Australian Flying1 min read
CASA eases CVD Assessment
In February this year, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority proposed a new solution for assessing the impact of colour-vision deficiency (CVD) in pilots. Pilots with CVD have been subject to a three-stage testing process in the past, which organisatio
Australian Flying2 min read
Katoomba’s Future in Doubt
The future of Katoomba Airport in the Blue Mountains region of NSW is in doubt after the government elected in January not to lease the airport. Katoomba has been operated under a licence arrangement for the past two years, with licencee FlyBlue nomi
Australian Flying2 min read
CASA releases VFR ADS-B Proposal
CASA published a proposal in February this year to amend the Civil Aviation Orders (CAO) to allow VFR aircraft to fit low-cost ADS-B units. The regulator hopes the concept will encourage owners of VFR aircraft to fit ADS-B, which is now mandatory for
Australian Flying1 min read
Electric Pipistrels To Be Built In Adelaide
Adelaide company Eyre to There Aviation announced in February that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Pipistrel to build Alpha Electro aircraft in Australia. The announcement said the company would be the first electric aircraft manufac
Australian Flying2 min read
BRM Aero shows off Certified Low Wing
Czech manufacturer BRM Aero has introduced a new two-seat low-wing general aviation aeroplanes. The FAR23-certified B23 Bristell was due to be launched at AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany last April, but the event was canceled due to concerns over cor
Australian Flying9 min read
Bringing Home the Bear Part II
I had tried to get permission to land in Syria, Iraq and Iran. I was keen to retrace the trip fully, and Damascus, Baghdad and Bandar Abbas were ancient cities I’d long wanted to visit. However, flight clearances for these three countries were availa
Australian Flying10 min read
Tecnam’s Quantum Leap
Globules of rain splattered on the windscreen as I splashed my way along the Pacific Motorway towards Southport. The wipers struggled to keep up with the torrent, making my search for the exit sign nearly impossible in the blurry world outside. Cars
Australian Flying2 min read
CASA’s 2010 Explanatory Statement
The discontinuance of the former GAAP aerodrome procedures arises as part of CASA’s initiative to introduce, from 3 June 2010, at all former GAAP aerodromes, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Class D airspace procedures (as modelled on
Australian Flying8 min read
Bridging the GAAP
Ten years ago, Australian Flying published a highly-charged article about CASA’s change to the operations at six major general aviation airports. These airports had previously operated under General Aviation Aerodrome Procedures (GAAP) rules, but CAS
Australian Flying9 min read
The Light Sport Effect
In the beginning, the Wright Brothers invented a flying machine … then very quickly, bureaucracy decided these machines had to be certified to be safe. Things stayed more or less like that for many years, albeit with ever growing complexity. Then, wi
Australian Flying11 min read
The Instructor’s Nightmare
Jim Davis has a passion for instructing. He has been training civil and military pilots, in the air and on the ground for 50 years. His other passion is writing, which he studied at Curtin University in Perth. You can see, and buy, his two pilot text
Australian Flying8 min read
The Winged Workhorse
On 19 March 1973, the author had his first flight in an aeroplane, from Brisbane to Toowoomba. The aircraft was VH-TGW, a TAA DHC-6 Twin Otter. It had already been in TAA service for close to five years. Masling Airlines of Cootamundra acquired the a
Australian Flying10 min read
Rutan’s Magnificent Flying Machines
When someone mentions Picasso, it is natural to think of an odd man who painted odd-shaped art. His before-their-time cubist works, to the untrained eye, are unnatural, occasionally irritating; like a crooked picture on a wall, you almost want to go
Australian Flying9 min read
Ground-Level Skills
Qualifying for a commercial helicopter pilot’s licence is not an ending; it’s a beginning. As a CPL(H), pilots are entitled to fly and get paid for doing so, but helicopters are far more versatile than a simple commercial licence allows. For a pilot
Australian Flying3 min read
In the New Millenium
The catastrophic attack of 11 September 2001 on the World Trade Centre in New York led to a significant increase in security awareness throughout the world. A new era was ushered in with crews, passengers and baggage being subjected to security check
Australian Flying3 min read
A Career At The Controls
If you have a long and successful career in commercial aviation you're bound to exit it with a enough yarns to fill an entire book. Along with movie stars, sports people and self-help gurus, being a pilot is one of the few professions that lend thems
Australian Flying2 min read
Securing your Tablets
Pilots are taught the importance of cockpit organisation from almost the first flying hour. Folding charts, securing notepads, juggling spare pens and pencils, storing the whiz-wheel. For decades we came up with all sorts of tips and tricks to keep e
Australian Flying4 min read
Bell unveils EDAT Concept
Bell Helicopter recently revealed a novel electric anti-torque system for its commercial helicopter line. Known as the Electrically Distributed Anti-Torque (EDAT)system, the system is composed of four small fans within a tail rotor shroud in an offse
Australian Flying3 min readLeadership
Battening the Hatches
As we all process changes to our lives, our livelihoods, our social circles and the world around us, one thing remains intact: leadership. Crisis can be a time when leaders miss the opportunity to lead, while others will thrive and embrace the comple
Australian Flying3 min read
Getting A Handle On Drones
Over recent years the drone sector of aviation has been growing and evolving rapidly. There are now more than 1800 organisations holding a remote operator’s certificate and nearly 16,000 holders of remote pilot licences. Drones are being used commerc
Australian Flying2 min read
A Tomahawk too Heavy
This discussion contains extracts from the SACAA’s accident report. It is compiled in the interest of promoting aviation and not to establish legal liability. Aircraft Registration: ZS-KFU Date of Accident: 19 February 2007 Time of Accident: 1250Z Ty
Australian Flying6 min read
Time To Look On The Bright Side
Kreisha Ballantyne is one of the most recognisable aviation writers in Australia. With experience writing for several aviation titles, Kreisha has a broad base of experience, an ability to tap into important general aviation issues and a talent for e
Australian Flying3 min read
What Value the MECIR?
The main problem with change is that most of us see change as a threat, plus there is a natural bias towards maintaining the status quo when something is already working. Changing is even harder when many individuals and businesses are still making a
Australian Flying4 min read
What Can We Learn?
Jim Davis has 15,000 hours of immensely varied flying experience, including 10,000 hours civil and military flying instruction. He is an established author, his current projects being an instructors’ manual and a collection of Air Accident analyses,

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