March 2018

INSIDEGREAT NORTHERN AIR RACE 2018ARRIVAL OF THE ROBINS - ORIGIN STORYLIFE ON THE CENTRE LINE

PROP TALKNORTH SHORE AERO CLUB BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Prop Talk is a bi-monthly mag-azine published by North Shore Aero Club Views expressed by contributors in Prop Talk are not necessarily that of NSAC

This edition March April 2018

EditorGeorgia MitchellGeorgiansacconz

ReporterIan Couper Cover photo Chris OppermanPage 2-3 photo Georgia Mitchell

PROP TALK

P r o P T a l k 2 3

From the Editor4North Shore Directory5CFI Report6From The President9From the Managers Desk11A Young Eagle Gains His Wings12The Arrival of the Robins14Great Northern Air Race 201818Spotlight on Safety30Student Milestones32New Members33Committee Meeting Dates33Life on the Centre Line34Labour of LovePart Two36Emergency Response Dril38Miles Messenger Update41From the Archives42

In this edition

Welcome to another edition of Prop Talk This edition has had some further improvements made to it including

an interactive contents page If you click on any of the items in the contents list the PDF will take you straight to the

page

as I am still quite new to creating interactive PDFs if there are any flaws please do let me know Further if you have any suggestions for content you would like to see in

this magazine do get in touch with me My contact details are located on page 2

This edition we have had a great number of people contribute whether it be photographs or articles So thank you Prop Talk is your magazine and it is heartening to see

the number of pages increase

as always please do get in touch if you have anything you would love to see or to contribute

Georgia

F r o M T h e e D I T o r 4 5

NORTH SHORE DIRECTORYFrom the editor President Robert van Heinengen

Vice president David Saunders Treasurer Andrew Crowhurst Secretary Nicole Harris Club captain Laurence Pope Committee Roy Crane Trevor Dance Candice Gillett Margaret Smith Adam McLeelyPatron Stan Smith

Manager (A-Cat amp Flight Examiner) John Punshon CFI (A-Cat amp Flight Examiner) Daryl Gillett

B-Cat Instructors Tim Marshall Dawson Boles Chantel Strooh

C-Cat Instructors Matthew Stephens Dominic Gundry Ming Zhang Simon Jonassen

Flight Office Manager Lynn PackerFlight Office Staff Georgia Mitchell Claudine Allen

Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall

Bar Staff Brian Clay Angela McLaggan

Groundsman Caleb Hanham

NS Helicopter Training Instructors Roy Crane Bryan Francis Ryan Trounce

027 483 1439021 115 4696

secretarynsacconzclubcaptainnsacconz021 340 654

027 224 4293

0274 775 475 vintageaircraftxtraconz

managernsacconzcfinsacconz

safetyofficernsacconz

David Pauw

Matthew WallsTim DunnBrendon Frame

PHONE 09 426 4273 | 300 POSTMAN ROAD DAIRY FLAT RD4 0794

C F I r e P o r T 6 7

In the last Prop Talk article I started off talking about how pristine the weather had been etc It appears that I may well have jinxed it ndash sorry people Since it has been precipitating lots of late it is probably a good time to review a few considerations that you must always take into account particularly at North Shore

Most know that NZNe is built on swamp land Proba-bly not the best choice for an airport but nonetheless it was surely the best piece of land that could be acquired at the time as such all of the grass areas are comple-tely unserviceable for usually more than half of the year luckily we do have a sealed runway and sealed taxiways to utilise during that time however pilots still regularly find themselves stuck in the mud having ventured off the concrete when they shouldnrsquot havehellip

If we determine that the condition of the grass is unsuitable for aircraft operations a NoTaM is issued to that effect It would normally look something like this a035618 FroM 08 FeB 2018 2242 To 15 FeB 2018 2230 eST

all GraSS MoVeMeNT areaS ClSD DUe SFC CoND

The problem is that a number of pilots donrsquot read the NoTaMs prior to flight It is a reasonably well-known fact ndash but is does still baffle me They contain information critical to flight safety and to be honest reading the NoTaMs should not be any different to putting your safety belt on

NoTaMs are accessed via the airways Internet Flight Information Service (IFIS) wwwifisairwaysconz and it couldnrsquot be simpler ndash all you have to do is register to login recently airways in collaboration with the Metservice made it possi-ble to access weather information through IFIS as well meaning that IFIS is just about a one-stop shop for planning information

additionally there is a relatively new IFIS mobile app available for download which enables you to quickly access NoTaM and weather information

But donrsquot forget aIP Supplements ndash they contain similarly critical information and it is therefore equally

Whatever SarTIMe you nominate it is important that you write it down somewhere prominent and do whatever else you need to so as to ensure you donrsquot forget it ndash setting a timer would be one example You should also take in account how you are going to amend or terminate your SarTIMe You canrsquot get Christchurch Information radio recep-tion everywhere and some places might not have cell phone reception once yoursquove landed either ndash so make sure to plan ahead to avoid busting your SarTIMe

If you would like to know anything more about the topics Irsquove written about above please donrsquot hesitate to get in touch or feel free to talk to an instructor next time yoursquore at the club

Stay safe out there

Daryl

CFI REPORTimportant that you examine them prior to flight too Usually matters promulgated via the supplements are more permanent in nature or require more detailed explanation ndash procedure changes airspace changes and event details (air shows etc) for example

although it is vital from a safety pers-pective that all pilots check the NoTaMs and aIP Supplements at the very least doing so will help you to save face by not making an embarrassing mistake that could have been easily avoided

Going back to IFIS it is also used to file flight plans with the airways National Briefing office (NBo) Some years ago airways decided that they had enough of pilots forgetting to amend of terminate their flight plan SarTIMe (Search and rescue Time) so they introduced a lsquofeersquo that is incurred if a SarTIMe is busted The fee is $38 plus GST and is supposed to be a deterrent to busting SarTIMes (by lsquobustingrsquo I mean forgetting to amend your SarTIMe for no good reason) and therefore wasting valua-ble time and resources due airways and the rescue Coordination Centre initiating their search and rescue protocols

of concern is that we have found an increa-sing number of students and members forge-tting to amend or terminate their SarTIMe and in turn they are being charged the over-due SarTIMe fee There are various ways in which you can manage your SarTIMe and a question that I am often asked is ldquowhat should my SarTIMe berdquo I tend to think about it in terms of how long I want to be floating in the water for (or sitting in the snow or laying inju-red etc) before someone comes to fetch me So you must strike a balance between not pushing your SarTIMe out too far so that Sar find you sooner and not too soon either so that you are not continually having to remem-ber to update it

Prop Talk is a bi-monthly mag-azine published by North Shore Aero Club Views expressed by contributors in Prop Talk are not necessarily that of NSAC

This edition March April 2018

EditorGeorgia MitchellGeorgiansacconz

ReporterIan Couper Cover photo Chris OppermanPage 2-3 photo Georgia Mitchell

PROP TALK

P r o P T a l k 2 3

From the Editor4North Shore Directory5CFI Report6From The President9From the Managers Desk11A Young Eagle Gains His Wings12The Arrival of the Robins14Great Northern Air Race 201818Spotlight on Safety30Student Milestones32New Members33Committee Meeting Dates33Life on the Centre Line34Labour of LovePart Two36Emergency Response Dril38Miles Messenger Update41From the Archives42

In this edition

Welcome to another edition of Prop Talk This edition has had some further improvements made to it including

an interactive contents page If you click on any of the items in the contents list the PDF will take you straight to the

page

as I am still quite new to creating interactive PDFs if there are any flaws please do let me know Further if you have any suggestions for content you would like to see in

this magazine do get in touch with me My contact details are located on page 2

This edition we have had a great number of people contribute whether it be photographs or articles So thank you Prop Talk is your magazine and it is heartening to see

the number of pages increase

as always please do get in touch if you have anything you would love to see or to contribute

Georgia

F r o M T h e e D I T o r 4 5

NORTH SHORE DIRECTORYFrom the editor President Robert van Heinengen

Vice president David Saunders Treasurer Andrew Crowhurst Secretary Nicole Harris Club captain Laurence Pope Committee Roy Crane Trevor Dance Candice Gillett Margaret Smith Adam McLeelyPatron Stan Smith

Manager (A-Cat amp Flight Examiner) John Punshon CFI (A-Cat amp Flight Examiner) Daryl Gillett

B-Cat Instructors Tim Marshall Dawson Boles Chantel Strooh

C-Cat Instructors Matthew Stephens Dominic Gundry Ming Zhang Simon Jonassen

Flight Office Manager Lynn PackerFlight Office Staff Georgia Mitchell Claudine Allen

Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall

Bar Staff Brian Clay Angela McLaggan

Groundsman Caleb Hanham

NS Helicopter Training Instructors Roy Crane Bryan Francis Ryan Trounce

027 483 1439021 115 4696

secretarynsacconzclubcaptainnsacconz021 340 654

027 224 4293

0274 775 475 vintageaircraftxtraconz

managernsacconzcfinsacconz

safetyofficernsacconz

David Pauw

Matthew WallsTim DunnBrendon Frame

PHONE 09 426 4273 | 300 POSTMAN ROAD DAIRY FLAT RD4 0794

C F I r e P o r T 6 7

In the last Prop Talk article I started off talking about how pristine the weather had been etc It appears that I may well have jinxed it ndash sorry people Since it has been precipitating lots of late it is probably a good time to review a few considerations that you must always take into account particularly at North Shore

Most know that NZNe is built on swamp land Proba-bly not the best choice for an airport but nonetheless it was surely the best piece of land that could be acquired at the time as such all of the grass areas are comple-tely unserviceable for usually more than half of the year luckily we do have a sealed runway and sealed taxiways to utilise during that time however pilots still regularly find themselves stuck in the mud having ventured off the concrete when they shouldnrsquot havehellip

If we determine that the condition of the grass is unsuitable for aircraft operations a NoTaM is issued to that effect It would normally look something like this a035618 FroM 08 FeB 2018 2242 To 15 FeB 2018 2230 eST

all GraSS MoVeMeNT areaS ClSD DUe SFC CoND

The problem is that a number of pilots donrsquot read the NoTaMs prior to flight It is a reasonably well-known fact ndash but is does still baffle me They contain information critical to flight safety and to be honest reading the NoTaMs should not be any different to putting your safety belt on

NoTaMs are accessed via the airways Internet Flight Information Service (IFIS) wwwifisairwaysconz and it couldnrsquot be simpler ndash all you have to do is register to login recently airways in collaboration with the Metservice made it possi-ble to access weather information through IFIS as well meaning that IFIS is just about a one-stop shop for planning information

additionally there is a relatively new IFIS mobile app available for download which enables you to quickly access NoTaM and weather information

But donrsquot forget aIP Supplements ndash they contain similarly critical information and it is therefore equally

Whatever SarTIMe you nominate it is important that you write it down somewhere prominent and do whatever else you need to so as to ensure you donrsquot forget it ndash setting a timer would be one example You should also take in account how you are going to amend or terminate your SarTIMe You canrsquot get Christchurch Information radio recep-tion everywhere and some places might not have cell phone reception once yoursquove landed either ndash so make sure to plan ahead to avoid busting your SarTIMe

If you would like to know anything more about the topics Irsquove written about above please donrsquot hesitate to get in touch or feel free to talk to an instructor next time yoursquore at the club

Stay safe out there

Daryl

CFI REPORTimportant that you examine them prior to flight too Usually matters promulgated via the supplements are more permanent in nature or require more detailed explanation ndash procedure changes airspace changes and event details (air shows etc) for example

although it is vital from a safety pers-pective that all pilots check the NoTaMs and aIP Supplements at the very least doing so will help you to save face by not making an embarrassing mistake that could have been easily avoided

Going back to IFIS it is also used to file flight plans with the airways National Briefing office (NBo) Some years ago airways decided that they had enough of pilots forgetting to amend of terminate their flight plan SarTIMe (Search and rescue Time) so they introduced a lsquofeersquo that is incurred if a SarTIMe is busted The fee is $38 plus GST and is supposed to be a deterrent to busting SarTIMes (by lsquobustingrsquo I mean forgetting to amend your SarTIMe for no good reason) and therefore wasting valua-ble time and resources due airways and the rescue Coordination Centre initiating their search and rescue protocols

of concern is that we have found an increa-sing number of students and members forge-tting to amend or terminate their SarTIMe and in turn they are being charged the over-due SarTIMe fee There are various ways in which you can manage your SarTIMe and a question that I am often asked is ldquowhat should my SarTIMe berdquo I tend to think about it in terms of how long I want to be floating in the water for (or sitting in the snow or laying inju-red etc) before someone comes to fetch me So you must strike a balance between not pushing your SarTIMe out too far so that Sar find you sooner and not too soon either so that you are not continually having to remem-ber to update it

Welcome to another edition of Prop Talk This edition has had some further improvements made to it including

an interactive contents page If you click on any of the items in the contents list the PDF will take you straight to the

page

as I am still quite new to creating interactive PDFs if there are any flaws please do let me know Further if you have any suggestions for content you would like to see in

this magazine do get in touch with me My contact details are located on page 2

This edition we have had a great number of people contribute whether it be photographs or articles So thank you Prop Talk is your magazine and it is heartening to see

the number of pages increase

as always please do get in touch if you have anything you would love to see or to contribute

Georgia

F r o M T h e e D I T o r 4 5

NORTH SHORE DIRECTORYFrom the editor President Robert van Heinengen

Vice president David Saunders Treasurer Andrew Crowhurst Secretary Nicole Harris Club captain Laurence Pope Committee Roy Crane Trevor Dance Candice Gillett Margaret Smith Adam McLeelyPatron Stan Smith

Manager (A-Cat amp Flight Examiner) John Punshon CFI (A-Cat amp Flight Examiner) Daryl Gillett

B-Cat Instructors Tim Marshall Dawson Boles Chantel Strooh

C-Cat Instructors Matthew Stephens Dominic Gundry Ming Zhang Simon Jonassen

Flight Office Manager Lynn PackerFlight Office Staff Georgia Mitchell Claudine Allen

Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall

Bar Staff Brian Clay Angela McLaggan

Groundsman Caleb Hanham

NS Helicopter Training Instructors Roy Crane Bryan Francis Ryan Trounce

027 483 1439021 115 4696

secretarynsacconzclubcaptainnsacconz021 340 654

027 224 4293

0274 775 475 vintageaircraftxtraconz

managernsacconzcfinsacconz

safetyofficernsacconz

David Pauw

Matthew WallsTim DunnBrendon Frame

PHONE 09 426 4273 | 300 POSTMAN ROAD DAIRY FLAT RD4 0794

C F I r e P o r T 6 7

In the last Prop Talk article I started off talking about how pristine the weather had been etc It appears that I may well have jinxed it ndash sorry people Since it has been precipitating lots of late it is probably a good time to review a few considerations that you must always take into account particularly at North Shore

Most know that NZNe is built on swamp land Proba-bly not the best choice for an airport but nonetheless it was surely the best piece of land that could be acquired at the time as such all of the grass areas are comple-tely unserviceable for usually more than half of the year luckily we do have a sealed runway and sealed taxiways to utilise during that time however pilots still regularly find themselves stuck in the mud having ventured off the concrete when they shouldnrsquot havehellip

If we determine that the condition of the grass is unsuitable for aircraft operations a NoTaM is issued to that effect It would normally look something like this a035618 FroM 08 FeB 2018 2242 To 15 FeB 2018 2230 eST

all GraSS MoVeMeNT areaS ClSD DUe SFC CoND

The problem is that a number of pilots donrsquot read the NoTaMs prior to flight It is a reasonably well-known fact ndash but is does still baffle me They contain information critical to flight safety and to be honest reading the NoTaMs should not be any different to putting your safety belt on

NoTaMs are accessed via the airways Internet Flight Information Service (IFIS) wwwifisairwaysconz and it couldnrsquot be simpler ndash all you have to do is register to login recently airways in collaboration with the Metservice made it possi-ble to access weather information through IFIS as well meaning that IFIS is just about a one-stop shop for planning information

additionally there is a relatively new IFIS mobile app available for download which enables you to quickly access NoTaM and weather information

But donrsquot forget aIP Supplements ndash they contain similarly critical information and it is therefore equally

Whatever SarTIMe you nominate it is important that you write it down somewhere prominent and do whatever else you need to so as to ensure you donrsquot forget it ndash setting a timer would be one example You should also take in account how you are going to amend or terminate your SarTIMe You canrsquot get Christchurch Information radio recep-tion everywhere and some places might not have cell phone reception once yoursquove landed either ndash so make sure to plan ahead to avoid busting your SarTIMe

If you would like to know anything more about the topics Irsquove written about above please donrsquot hesitate to get in touch or feel free to talk to an instructor next time yoursquore at the club

Stay safe out there

Daryl

CFI REPORTimportant that you examine them prior to flight too Usually matters promulgated via the supplements are more permanent in nature or require more detailed explanation ndash procedure changes airspace changes and event details (air shows etc) for example

although it is vital from a safety pers-pective that all pilots check the NoTaMs and aIP Supplements at the very least doing so will help you to save face by not making an embarrassing mistake that could have been easily avoided

Going back to IFIS it is also used to file flight plans with the airways National Briefing office (NBo) Some years ago airways decided that they had enough of pilots forgetting to amend of terminate their flight plan SarTIMe (Search and rescue Time) so they introduced a lsquofeersquo that is incurred if a SarTIMe is busted The fee is $38 plus GST and is supposed to be a deterrent to busting SarTIMes (by lsquobustingrsquo I mean forgetting to amend your SarTIMe for no good reason) and therefore wasting valua-ble time and resources due airways and the rescue Coordination Centre initiating their search and rescue protocols

of concern is that we have found an increa-sing number of students and members forge-tting to amend or terminate their SarTIMe and in turn they are being charged the over-due SarTIMe fee There are various ways in which you can manage your SarTIMe and a question that I am often asked is ldquowhat should my SarTIMe berdquo I tend to think about it in terms of how long I want to be floating in the water for (or sitting in the snow or laying inju-red etc) before someone comes to fetch me So you must strike a balance between not pushing your SarTIMe out too far so that Sar find you sooner and not too soon either so that you are not continually having to remem-ber to update it

C F I r e P o r T 6 7

In the last Prop Talk article I started off talking about how pristine the weather had been etc It appears that I may well have jinxed it ndash sorry people Since it has been precipitating lots of late it is probably a good time to review a few considerations that you must always take into account particularly at North Shore

Most know that NZNe is built on swamp land Proba-bly not the best choice for an airport but nonetheless it was surely the best piece of land that could be acquired at the time as such all of the grass areas are comple-tely unserviceable for usually more than half of the year luckily we do have a sealed runway and sealed taxiways to utilise during that time however pilots still regularly find themselves stuck in the mud having ventured off the concrete when they shouldnrsquot havehellip

If we determine that the condition of the grass is unsuitable for aircraft operations a NoTaM is issued to that effect It would normally look something like this a035618 FroM 08 FeB 2018 2242 To 15 FeB 2018 2230 eST

all GraSS MoVeMeNT areaS ClSD DUe SFC CoND

The problem is that a number of pilots donrsquot read the NoTaMs prior to flight It is a reasonably well-known fact ndash but is does still baffle me They contain information critical to flight safety and to be honest reading the NoTaMs should not be any different to putting your safety belt on

NoTaMs are accessed via the airways Internet Flight Information Service (IFIS) wwwifisairwaysconz and it couldnrsquot be simpler ndash all you have to do is register to login recently airways in collaboration with the Metservice made it possi-ble to access weather information through IFIS as well meaning that IFIS is just about a one-stop shop for planning information

additionally there is a relatively new IFIS mobile app available for download which enables you to quickly access NoTaM and weather information

But donrsquot forget aIP Supplements ndash they contain similarly critical information and it is therefore equally

Whatever SarTIMe you nominate it is important that you write it down somewhere prominent and do whatever else you need to so as to ensure you donrsquot forget it ndash setting a timer would be one example You should also take in account how you are going to amend or terminate your SarTIMe You canrsquot get Christchurch Information radio recep-tion everywhere and some places might not have cell phone reception once yoursquove landed either ndash so make sure to plan ahead to avoid busting your SarTIMe

If you would like to know anything more about the topics Irsquove written about above please donrsquot hesitate to get in touch or feel free to talk to an instructor next time yoursquore at the club

Stay safe out there

Daryl

CFI REPORTimportant that you examine them prior to flight too Usually matters promulgated via the supplements are more permanent in nature or require more detailed explanation ndash procedure changes airspace changes and event details (air shows etc) for example

although it is vital from a safety pers-pective that all pilots check the NoTaMs and aIP Supplements at the very least doing so will help you to save face by not making an embarrassing mistake that could have been easily avoided

Going back to IFIS it is also used to file flight plans with the airways National Briefing office (NBo) Some years ago airways decided that they had enough of pilots forgetting to amend of terminate their flight plan SarTIMe (Search and rescue Time) so they introduced a lsquofeersquo that is incurred if a SarTIMe is busted The fee is $38 plus GST and is supposed to be a deterrent to busting SarTIMes (by lsquobustingrsquo I mean forgetting to amend your SarTIMe for no good reason) and therefore wasting valua-ble time and resources due airways and the rescue Coordination Centre initiating their search and rescue protocols

of concern is that we have found an increa-sing number of students and members forge-tting to amend or terminate their SarTIMe and in turn they are being charged the over-due SarTIMe fee There are various ways in which you can manage your SarTIMe and a question that I am often asked is ldquowhat should my SarTIMe berdquo I tend to think about it in terms of how long I want to be floating in the water for (or sitting in the snow or laying inju-red etc) before someone comes to fetch me So you must strike a balance between not pushing your SarTIMe out too far so that Sar find you sooner and not too soon either so that you are not continually having to remem-ber to update it

Photo Georgia Mitchell

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B 8 9

We are well into the New Year now and it would have been nice if the weather was a little more seasonable than it has been - but as they say we have no control over the weather

The annual Great Northern air race has been held and from all accounts it was a massive success with everyone having an awesome time with a significant number of aircraft entered It was great to see the diversity of aircraft participating a big thanks to Tim Marshall as the race director for the running of this event and the organising of things like food shuttles and accommodation handled by the club captain laurence Pope

as no doubt you will have seen the club continues to perform well financially in particular the flight school Student numbers continue to be up as are flying hours long may this continue What this does for the club is provide us with options primarily around improvements to the clubrsquos facilities like the runway aircraft etc The committee are currently exploring options to improve the grass runway (drai-nage) and also looking at the possibilities around widening the main runway We will keep the membership posted

auckland Council Draft Silverdale West Dairy Flat Business area Structure Plan

last month a meeting was held at NSaC The meeting was arranged at the request of the committee of NSaC in response to the auckland Council Draft Silverdale West Dairy Flat Business area Structure Plan See wwwshapeaucklandconz for the report

FROM THE PRESIDENTRobert van Heinengen

Page 7 of the above report invites feedback so the committee therefore sought to engage the planners in discus-sion to ascertain if possible their inten-tions for the airport and its immediate vici-nity

The meeting at the club was atten-ded by the senior planner and three of his team plus two representatives from auckland Transport three club members and our CFI The meeting was very conge-nial and far ranging topics were explored

The general consensus from this meeting was that the powers to be now recognise the airport as a significant piece of infrastructure and all those that atten-ded the meeting came away with a view that our voices are being listened too

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Joe Smith (our past president) in particular for all the work he has done in the last few years around the unitary plan and the now ongoing work in relation to this topic with the council

Finally all of us on the committee take our role on the committee seriously we all understand that it is our job to represent the entire membership You as a member have a part to play in all this and that is to provide us with your feedback and opinions It is that which will continue to make our club a stronger and better place for our membership

Contact details are available on our website so please do not hesitate to either email or call me if you wish to discuss club matters

enjoy the good weather when you can and happy flying everyone

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B 1 0 1 1

It is a busy period for club activity around the New Year and we are right in the thick of events and general goings on

It was great to see such a good turnout for the Great Northern air race this year For those of you who donrsquot know what it is and how it works the Great Northern air race or GNar for short is an annual three day event held over auckland anniversary weekend It is a team based competition where teams consist of an aircraft and crew competing in either the racing or cruising categories In simple terms both categories are handicap based so the playing field is levelled for all aircraft of all speeds so you certainly donrsquot need a fast aeroplane to be in with a chance With lunch stops each day and overnights in interesting places and about 10 hours flying over the 3 days it is a great trip to be involved with This year saw the usual array of fancy dress and flamboyant personalities which have become such an integral part of the racersquos appeal

I would like to extend a big thank you to our sponsors air BP aSPeQ Flight Test New Zealand oceania aviation alert Taxis avsure John Verleun and laurence Pope Without the generous support of these sponsors the event would not be what it is

looking forward to events coming up we have our team off to the nationals shortly The nationals are in Timaru this year from the 28th of February to the 3rd of March Team North Shore were very strong at the regional Competitions in December and we hope to see a similar level of success at the Nationals

FROM THE MANAGERS DESKThe langley Marshall Memorial

aerobatic Competition is scheduled for Saturday 24th March this year starting at 9am with the rain day scheduled for 25th This is a very entertaining spectator event with an opportunity to see some of New Zealandrsquos best aerobatic pilots competing head to head The competition is named after Brian langley and Paul Marshall both of whom have been big influences in the club over the years with prestigious posi-tions held by both at various times but who were also very good buddies The club certainly would be a different beast to what it is today without Brian and Paul in our history books

entries for the latest round of Young eagles recruitment have just closed The Young eagles programme has been an amazing introduction to flying for some very gifted young ladies and gentlemen espe-cially in recent years It is very nice to see young people achieving their dreams and having such a wonderful opportunity to get started on their career paths We have been very fortunate to receive support from various club members towards the program especially Ian Couper who made a very generous donation to the programme in mid-2016 the benefits of which we are still seeing and to David Saunders whose tire-less efforts make the Young eagles program what it is

happy Flying

John Punshon

A YOUNG EAGLE GAINS HIS WINGS

a Y o U N G e a G l e G a I N S h I S W I N G S 1 2 1 3liam ready for another departure with keen flyer Sophie Goodall

December 2017 proved to be a very busy month for Young eagle liam Sutherland who not only passed his PPl flight test but also won first place in the five events he entered in the rNZaC regional competitions held at North Shore on the 9th of December liam will now join the team to repre-sent North Shore in the rNZaC national competitions to be held at Timaru on the 1st to 3rd of March

as a member of the North Shore Young eagles liam has always had

an obsession with aviation but it was a 13th birthday present in 2015 of a trial flight that really got him hooked he went solo in TZl on his 16th birthday and but for school exams at orewa College would have sat his PPl flight test on his 17th birthday which fell on the 19th of october 2017 as it was he passed his flight test on the 12th of December

When asked if he had any advice he would impart to other younger students liam said ldquolearning to fly can be quite a huge learning curve for the best of us with all of the checks and procedures there are to remem-ber Practicing these in your head or on a sim at home will keep you sharp and save you precious time in the planerdquo

In his spare time liam can be found busy around the airfield clea-

ning aircraft to earn the funds necessary to build his flying hours he is currently rated on the clubrsquos robin 2120 and Cessna 172 with his logbook showing 1111 hours already a career in commercial aviation is his long term goal but regrettably as North Shore is not able to provide student loans liam will later pursue his career at air hawkes Bay where he aims to gain his Commercial licence MeIr and C Cat instructor ratings before returning to North Shore a position with emirates is his choice for a long term career

We would like to wish liam and Team North Shore every success in

the rNZaC Nationals In the meantime liam is busy supporting Vice President David Saunders in running the Young eagles programme and looking out for any club members who would like their aircraft cleaned

Credits

article Photo opposite Ian Couper

Before I even started flying lessons I was constantly flying on my flight simula-tor It was a great way to get my hand eye coordi-nation sorted and I would definitely recommend a simulator to anyone who is learning to fly I have been using the simulator for the duration of my training and I would say flying on the simulator is almost as bene-ficial as flying in real life One thing I would defini-tely recommend to anyone beginning to fly is to get a class 2 medical or a class 1 if commercial piloting is your goal This way you can find out anything that may prevent you flying before you invest heavily in your training

- Liam Sutherland

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 4 1 5

Imagesabove left - CFI andrew Schooler puts TZl through its paces soon after its arrival Credit NSaC staffabove right and below - a rainy day greeted the arrival of the new robins to North Shore Wheel spats were soon to be fitted Credit Sue Campbell

This page and overleafInstructors taking the new robins out for a spin

Credit NSaC staff

For many years North Shore aero Club owned a fleet of five to seven Cessna 152 and 152a aircraft as a training fleet with several C172s and Piper Cherokees on lease from various sources The club also had a Cessna 206 which was bought new by Peter Julian (who also built the club house back in the 1980s) These Cessna aircraft were the backbone of the clubrsquos training and commercial fleet for over 30 years

By 2002 however the C152s were getting a bit tired and each

time they went for the odd surface corrosion patch to be dealt with we were finding that once opened up by the engineers there was substantial deterioration of the airframe under the skins What the committee of the day thought would be a $5000 job invariably turned out to be a major costing upwards of $15-$20000

as there had not been any C152 types built since the early

1980s and there were no Piper aircraft suitable for replacements the committee had little option but to look elsewhere The club was doing around 7000 hours per year at the time and needed a fleet of three or four aircraft to provide sufficient capacity to train with a consistent type The circumstances led the committee to consider other aircraft and the only reasonable contender were the newly imported robins which were being sold by richard Izard out of his airfield at Springhill near Warkworth

after much soul searching and many discussions with the then-CFI and many spread sheets produced by our treasurer Sue Campbell it was decided that we would begin to negotiate for the purchase of four robins two of which were new and two which were demonstrators with very low hours The spread sheets showed we could amortise the purchase price over seven years and after a great deal of thought and negotiations we entered into a contract with Mr Izard to buy four robins We fully expected that with the finance for the robins paid off after seven years there would be a new Cessna or Piper trainer on offer as it turned out neither Cessna nor Piper had a suitable two seat replacement in the time frame planned Cessna had an abortive attempt at a C152

ARRIVAL OF THE ROBINSarticle allan roberts

NSaC club president 2000 - 2004

replacement with the C162 Skycatcher but this proved unacceptable as a trai-ner and went out of production some years ago

We were aware of the corrosion issues with older robin aircraft but needed to replace our training fleet with a minimum of three or four basic trai-ners as there was no way we could conti-nue to repair the corrosion in the C152 fleet economically we were somewhat in a corner We looked at full refurbish-ment of the C152s but it would have cost upwards of $50000 per aircraft and the market price at that time would not have made this a sensible option

We were very mindful of the robinrsquos

shortcomings as far as the performance at Ne and its lack of ldquospinrdquo capability but at the time we had other aircraft in the fleet we could and did use for this purpose

after much agonising we decided to

go with the robins and to this day there does not seem to be an affordable repla-cement training aircraft Despite the robinrsquos shortcomings the fact we are still operating them not withstanding the corrosion issues appears to be testa-ment to the fact that overall they were an excellent choice I am not sure what else could be used if a replacement fleet were purchased today other than go to the C172s but a four seater would be an

expensive training option for most Club members

The only other options availa-

ble are the more modern fibreglass models and while these are very nice and very well equipped with the latest avionics and glass panels it would be expensive to buy a training fleet of three or four

overall the robins have served us

well and the next aircraft type upgrade will have to be thought about very carefully

FooTNoTe In 2015 the corro-sion problems affecting all the origi-nal club owned robins became a real issue after much soul searching and consideration the committee appro-ved the expenditure to replace and or remove all corrosion affected areas and parts and to completely refur-bish and repaint the original robin fleet The Club now has four almost as good as new robin 2120s and is confident these will serve the Club for many years to come In addition to robin UWZ purchased from a private owner in 2015 the Club is proposing to acquire yet another robin 2120 to meet the demand such is the popu-larity of this worthy successor to the venerable C152s

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 6 1 7

THE GREAT NORTHERN AIR RACE 2018

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 0 1 8 1 8 1 9

Written by Ben LeeTaleS oF a VIrGIN aIr-raCer

Thats not Mercury Bay thats the Firth of Thames

The vivid on the low-effort costume I had put on was imprinting itself on me

in the hot sun at this point it was imprinting itself quite a bit faster given we were

going in the wrong direction It certainly wasnt what one wouldve called the best

start Some plover murder meant we were flying laD instead of MBZ I only met

teammate adam on the day of departure and we were already 20 minutes late

because laDs radio decided to have a dicky frequency switch button

as the Firth opened itself before us we realised we missed the obvious bit

that setting a heading of 250 from opoutere (or anywhere for that matter) would

not have taken us north to Whitianga a careless flick of the pen rendered what

was meant to be a 3 to a 2 and thus we learned the value of double-checking our

flight plan before getting into potentially stressful situations (like departing late)

Without a doubt GNar made me a better pilot and I got to do it in a fun

safe and social environment

a long Detour leG oNe Ne-WTa handshake some introductions some grey T-shirts with vivid on it That

was how I met adam Brooker he had planned to fly with Club Captain Jamie who

decided to take his lovely wife kim I had planned to fly with albert who ended

up being rostered on the weekend at work So a flurry of texts later adam and I

decided very quickly that we were going to fly together and due to the heat we

were going to make as practical a costume as possible our laziness resulted in the

grey error 404 Costume Not Found shirts which adam painstakingly vivided and

stencilled on the night before

Pre-flight clean windscreen load up and we were away to North Shore to

fill up with gas It was a hot muggy day and we took quite a bit of runway to get

airborne lesson learned every take-off we did for the rest of the weekend was a

max performance take-off

at North Shore we got our briefing and the route we were meant to follow at

each waypoint we needed to take pictures showing the wing and the waypoint in

question easy enough - drawing lines on the map and playing with the wizz-wheel

were my favourite bits of flying We were to go to Whitianga through a long circui-

tous route along the western side of the Firth of Thames to lake Waikare through

the Waihi gap and up on the eastern side of the Coromandel to Whitianga I did the

drawing and adam did the wizz-wheel We expected to take 89 minutes at a leisu-

rely 95 knot pace We duly noted that down on our competition slip and scrambled

to laD to start the comp

adam took the left seat for this leg he started going through his checklist

Masters Fuel Pump anti-Coll lights I was on radio and camera duty and went

through my own Switch on radio radio check Change frequencies Nope I was

on North Shore 1180 but I wasnt going to any other frequency Cue the fran-

tic calls to Spud reading the (frankly rubbish) manual for the radio and mashing

the buttons at random to see what would work one by one the other 14 aircraft

in the race fired up their engines and started their own races off runway 21 The

JoT coming in to land at NZNe Photo credit Chris opperman

ON YOUR MARKS

W r I T T e N B Y B e N l e e 2 0 2 1

how the Mayor Sorted out our accommodation leG TWo WT-Wk

I took the controls this time around with adam on photonavving duties We took

off third in the sequence behind the two Stearmen with Jamie in TWr behind us laD

started acting more reasonably this time round only needing half the runway to take

off but the hot day meant the instruction climb to 600 ft agl took a lot longer than

the one and a bit minutes claimed in the Poh our first waypoint was further north at

Whangapoua Beach and we said goodbye to the Stearmen who turned a mile earlier

than where we eventually turned In a fit of genius adam (who did the line drawing this

time) had already taken this into account and marked our set heading point a few miles

away from runway 04

as we got to the waypoint (a little island by the end of the beach) we laughed

at some of other contestants (who overtook us pretty quickly) flying further ahead to

another slightly larger (wrong) island before making their turn We patted ourselves on

the back saw our next waypoint and relaxed in for the rest of the race except it wasnt

our next waypoint

The first sign that something was amiss was actually pretty quickly after we had

set our heading We were about 30 degrees off what we had planned but the island was

there clear as day We checked our plan and checked our compass heading against

the DI Nothing seemed amiss so we assumed we made another error in measuring the

track and went along our merry way

The second sign was seeing every other competitor take a track further to our

right than us That triggered another round of adam checking and looking at the plan

Meanwhile our real waypoint suddenly popped into view quite a bit further and to

the right of what we were aiming for So our line drawings and measurements had

been right all along We sheepishly corrected our heading and noting we were now

quite a bit behind (12 minutes to be exact) decided to take advantage of laDs smaller

wheels and crank up the rpm Instead of the leisurely 88kt pace we planned for we were

cracking along at 100kts - because we had some catching up to do

The waypoints passed and we began reeling in the minutes Two waypoints in

we reeled in both Stearmen at their leisurely 80kt pace By the second to last waypoint

we had been flying in pseudo-formation with Jamie in TWr for at least two waypoints

however in the excitement of the chase we arrived at the last waypoint two full

minutes earlier than planned and Te Teko racecourse was a mere seven miles away

Graciously we let Jamie pull ahead to land in Whakatane as we slowed down to a 85kts

to burn away some time alas this wasnt enough in the few miles we had left before we

crossed the finish line overhead I looked around for traffic (there was a Cessna on final)

and set laD up for slow flight My 65kt dawdle across the finish line wouldve made

Pete proud

leg Two result 40 seconds early Managed to get all the pictures learned to trust

our instruments

oh and how did the mayor get into our accommodation Well the story goes that

the hotel we were supposed to stay at ended up giving our rooms away as they didnt

ask the organisers for a deposit in spite of offers The clearly miffed organisers took

it in their stride and contacted the local aero club who in turn contacted the Mayor

of Whakatane and who between them proceeded to find us some cool baches along

ohope Beach

What happens on tour stays on tour so we will pick this up the next morning

where we try to figure out where the Whak Wharepapa South is

smell of unburned avgas from the Stearmen and Yaks wafted over us while the

radio refused to respond to our pokes prods and pleas as we contemplated using

the tomahawk at the back of the plane a kindly person brought to us by Judith

Grant who happened to be hanging out at Ne started poking at the buttons I dont

know what juju he had but lo and behold the radio was back in action again

With the Starters from North Shore gone to organise the finish at Whitianga

we took off (flaps down) amidst the usual hubbub of robin traffic and made our

lonely way along the route Waypoints came and went pictures were taken and

headings set We were feeling good about ourselves and by the final waypoint

before Whitianga we had pretty much worked out a half-decent system and were

well on our way to being a mere three minutes late

Then we set the wrong heading

Suffice to say it took us crossing the Coromandel ranges (and the wrong

harbourbay showing up in front of us) before we realised we were going in the

completely wrong direction a furtive glance at the nav plan showed a track of

352 converting to a badly-written true heading of 255 adam kept flying the plane

as I quickly calculated the new heading and we landed in Whitianga without any

further incident

Given that we ended up 25 minutes after the last slow plane had landed we

had time to fuel up grab a pie (angus and Blue Cheese if you were interested) and

it was straight into briefing and planning for leg 2 The story of how the mayor of

Whakatane sorted out our accommodation

leg one result 10 minutes late Probably DQed for late start learned to

sense-check our flight plan workings on the ground before we got stressed

I did bump into him over the past few years but it was more of a hi bye

and whats your name again basis

They put in a lot more effort into their costumes with a Peter Panrobin

hoodZelda theme

No Im not going there

anthony Gurr madly planning Photo Tracy Ware

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

A YOUNG EAGLE GAINS HIS WINGS

a Y o U N G e a G l e G a I N S h I S W I N G S 1 2 1 3liam ready for another departure with keen flyer Sophie Goodall

December 2017 proved to be a very busy month for Young eagle liam Sutherland who not only passed his PPl flight test but also won first place in the five events he entered in the rNZaC regional competitions held at North Shore on the 9th of December liam will now join the team to repre-sent North Shore in the rNZaC national competitions to be held at Timaru on the 1st to 3rd of March

as a member of the North Shore Young eagles liam has always had

an obsession with aviation but it was a 13th birthday present in 2015 of a trial flight that really got him hooked he went solo in TZl on his 16th birthday and but for school exams at orewa College would have sat his PPl flight test on his 17th birthday which fell on the 19th of october 2017 as it was he passed his flight test on the 12th of December

When asked if he had any advice he would impart to other younger students liam said ldquolearning to fly can be quite a huge learning curve for the best of us with all of the checks and procedures there are to remem-ber Practicing these in your head or on a sim at home will keep you sharp and save you precious time in the planerdquo

In his spare time liam can be found busy around the airfield clea-

ning aircraft to earn the funds necessary to build his flying hours he is currently rated on the clubrsquos robin 2120 and Cessna 172 with his logbook showing 1111 hours already a career in commercial aviation is his long term goal but regrettably as North Shore is not able to provide student loans liam will later pursue his career at air hawkes Bay where he aims to gain his Commercial licence MeIr and C Cat instructor ratings before returning to North Shore a position with emirates is his choice for a long term career

We would like to wish liam and Team North Shore every success in

the rNZaC Nationals In the meantime liam is busy supporting Vice President David Saunders in running the Young eagles programme and looking out for any club members who would like their aircraft cleaned

Credits

article Photo opposite Ian Couper

Before I even started flying lessons I was constantly flying on my flight simula-tor It was a great way to get my hand eye coordi-nation sorted and I would definitely recommend a simulator to anyone who is learning to fly I have been using the simulator for the duration of my training and I would say flying on the simulator is almost as bene-ficial as flying in real life One thing I would defini-tely recommend to anyone beginning to fly is to get a class 2 medical or a class 1 if commercial piloting is your goal This way you can find out anything that may prevent you flying before you invest heavily in your training

- Liam Sutherland

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 4 1 5

Imagesabove left - CFI andrew Schooler puts TZl through its paces soon after its arrival Credit NSaC staffabove right and below - a rainy day greeted the arrival of the new robins to North Shore Wheel spats were soon to be fitted Credit Sue Campbell

This page and overleafInstructors taking the new robins out for a spin

Credit NSaC staff

For many years North Shore aero Club owned a fleet of five to seven Cessna 152 and 152a aircraft as a training fleet with several C172s and Piper Cherokees on lease from various sources The club also had a Cessna 206 which was bought new by Peter Julian (who also built the club house back in the 1980s) These Cessna aircraft were the backbone of the clubrsquos training and commercial fleet for over 30 years

By 2002 however the C152s were getting a bit tired and each

time they went for the odd surface corrosion patch to be dealt with we were finding that once opened up by the engineers there was substantial deterioration of the airframe under the skins What the committee of the day thought would be a $5000 job invariably turned out to be a major costing upwards of $15-$20000

as there had not been any C152 types built since the early

1980s and there were no Piper aircraft suitable for replacements the committee had little option but to look elsewhere The club was doing around 7000 hours per year at the time and needed a fleet of three or four aircraft to provide sufficient capacity to train with a consistent type The circumstances led the committee to consider other aircraft and the only reasonable contender were the newly imported robins which were being sold by richard Izard out of his airfield at Springhill near Warkworth

after much soul searching and many discussions with the then-CFI and many spread sheets produced by our treasurer Sue Campbell it was decided that we would begin to negotiate for the purchase of four robins two of which were new and two which were demonstrators with very low hours The spread sheets showed we could amortise the purchase price over seven years and after a great deal of thought and negotiations we entered into a contract with Mr Izard to buy four robins We fully expected that with the finance for the robins paid off after seven years there would be a new Cessna or Piper trainer on offer as it turned out neither Cessna nor Piper had a suitable two seat replacement in the time frame planned Cessna had an abortive attempt at a C152

ARRIVAL OF THE ROBINSarticle allan roberts

NSaC club president 2000 - 2004

replacement with the C162 Skycatcher but this proved unacceptable as a trai-ner and went out of production some years ago

We were aware of the corrosion issues with older robin aircraft but needed to replace our training fleet with a minimum of three or four basic trai-ners as there was no way we could conti-nue to repair the corrosion in the C152 fleet economically we were somewhat in a corner We looked at full refurbish-ment of the C152s but it would have cost upwards of $50000 per aircraft and the market price at that time would not have made this a sensible option

We were very mindful of the robinrsquos

shortcomings as far as the performance at Ne and its lack of ldquospinrdquo capability but at the time we had other aircraft in the fleet we could and did use for this purpose

after much agonising we decided to

go with the robins and to this day there does not seem to be an affordable repla-cement training aircraft Despite the robinrsquos shortcomings the fact we are still operating them not withstanding the corrosion issues appears to be testa-ment to the fact that overall they were an excellent choice I am not sure what else could be used if a replacement fleet were purchased today other than go to the C172s but a four seater would be an

expensive training option for most Club members

The only other options availa-

ble are the more modern fibreglass models and while these are very nice and very well equipped with the latest avionics and glass panels it would be expensive to buy a training fleet of three or four

overall the robins have served us

well and the next aircraft type upgrade will have to be thought about very carefully

FooTNoTe In 2015 the corro-sion problems affecting all the origi-nal club owned robins became a real issue after much soul searching and consideration the committee appro-ved the expenditure to replace and or remove all corrosion affected areas and parts and to completely refur-bish and repaint the original robin fleet The Club now has four almost as good as new robin 2120s and is confident these will serve the Club for many years to come In addition to robin UWZ purchased from a private owner in 2015 the Club is proposing to acquire yet another robin 2120 to meet the demand such is the popu-larity of this worthy successor to the venerable C152s

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 6 1 7

THE GREAT NORTHERN AIR RACE 2018

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 0 1 8 1 8 1 9

Written by Ben LeeTaleS oF a VIrGIN aIr-raCer

Thats not Mercury Bay thats the Firth of Thames

The vivid on the low-effort costume I had put on was imprinting itself on me

in the hot sun at this point it was imprinting itself quite a bit faster given we were

going in the wrong direction It certainly wasnt what one wouldve called the best

start Some plover murder meant we were flying laD instead of MBZ I only met

teammate adam on the day of departure and we were already 20 minutes late

because laDs radio decided to have a dicky frequency switch button

as the Firth opened itself before us we realised we missed the obvious bit

that setting a heading of 250 from opoutere (or anywhere for that matter) would

not have taken us north to Whitianga a careless flick of the pen rendered what

was meant to be a 3 to a 2 and thus we learned the value of double-checking our

flight plan before getting into potentially stressful situations (like departing late)

Without a doubt GNar made me a better pilot and I got to do it in a fun

safe and social environment

a long Detour leG oNe Ne-WTa handshake some introductions some grey T-shirts with vivid on it That

was how I met adam Brooker he had planned to fly with Club Captain Jamie who

decided to take his lovely wife kim I had planned to fly with albert who ended

up being rostered on the weekend at work So a flurry of texts later adam and I

decided very quickly that we were going to fly together and due to the heat we

were going to make as practical a costume as possible our laziness resulted in the

grey error 404 Costume Not Found shirts which adam painstakingly vivided and

stencilled on the night before

Pre-flight clean windscreen load up and we were away to North Shore to

fill up with gas It was a hot muggy day and we took quite a bit of runway to get

airborne lesson learned every take-off we did for the rest of the weekend was a

max performance take-off

at North Shore we got our briefing and the route we were meant to follow at

each waypoint we needed to take pictures showing the wing and the waypoint in

question easy enough - drawing lines on the map and playing with the wizz-wheel

were my favourite bits of flying We were to go to Whitianga through a long circui-

tous route along the western side of the Firth of Thames to lake Waikare through

the Waihi gap and up on the eastern side of the Coromandel to Whitianga I did the

drawing and adam did the wizz-wheel We expected to take 89 minutes at a leisu-

rely 95 knot pace We duly noted that down on our competition slip and scrambled

to laD to start the comp

adam took the left seat for this leg he started going through his checklist

Masters Fuel Pump anti-Coll lights I was on radio and camera duty and went

through my own Switch on radio radio check Change frequencies Nope I was

on North Shore 1180 but I wasnt going to any other frequency Cue the fran-

tic calls to Spud reading the (frankly rubbish) manual for the radio and mashing

the buttons at random to see what would work one by one the other 14 aircraft

in the race fired up their engines and started their own races off runway 21 The

JoT coming in to land at NZNe Photo credit Chris opperman

ON YOUR MARKS

W r I T T e N B Y B e N l e e 2 0 2 1

how the Mayor Sorted out our accommodation leG TWo WT-Wk

I took the controls this time around with adam on photonavving duties We took

off third in the sequence behind the two Stearmen with Jamie in TWr behind us laD

started acting more reasonably this time round only needing half the runway to take

off but the hot day meant the instruction climb to 600 ft agl took a lot longer than

the one and a bit minutes claimed in the Poh our first waypoint was further north at

Whangapoua Beach and we said goodbye to the Stearmen who turned a mile earlier

than where we eventually turned In a fit of genius adam (who did the line drawing this

time) had already taken this into account and marked our set heading point a few miles

away from runway 04

as we got to the waypoint (a little island by the end of the beach) we laughed

at some of other contestants (who overtook us pretty quickly) flying further ahead to

another slightly larger (wrong) island before making their turn We patted ourselves on

the back saw our next waypoint and relaxed in for the rest of the race except it wasnt

our next waypoint

The first sign that something was amiss was actually pretty quickly after we had

set our heading We were about 30 degrees off what we had planned but the island was

there clear as day We checked our plan and checked our compass heading against

the DI Nothing seemed amiss so we assumed we made another error in measuring the

track and went along our merry way

The second sign was seeing every other competitor take a track further to our

right than us That triggered another round of adam checking and looking at the plan

Meanwhile our real waypoint suddenly popped into view quite a bit further and to

the right of what we were aiming for So our line drawings and measurements had

been right all along We sheepishly corrected our heading and noting we were now

quite a bit behind (12 minutes to be exact) decided to take advantage of laDs smaller

wheels and crank up the rpm Instead of the leisurely 88kt pace we planned for we were

cracking along at 100kts - because we had some catching up to do

The waypoints passed and we began reeling in the minutes Two waypoints in

we reeled in both Stearmen at their leisurely 80kt pace By the second to last waypoint

we had been flying in pseudo-formation with Jamie in TWr for at least two waypoints

however in the excitement of the chase we arrived at the last waypoint two full

minutes earlier than planned and Te Teko racecourse was a mere seven miles away

Graciously we let Jamie pull ahead to land in Whakatane as we slowed down to a 85kts

to burn away some time alas this wasnt enough in the few miles we had left before we

crossed the finish line overhead I looked around for traffic (there was a Cessna on final)

and set laD up for slow flight My 65kt dawdle across the finish line wouldve made

Pete proud

leg Two result 40 seconds early Managed to get all the pictures learned to trust

our instruments

oh and how did the mayor get into our accommodation Well the story goes that

the hotel we were supposed to stay at ended up giving our rooms away as they didnt

ask the organisers for a deposit in spite of offers The clearly miffed organisers took

it in their stride and contacted the local aero club who in turn contacted the Mayor

of Whakatane and who between them proceeded to find us some cool baches along

ohope Beach

What happens on tour stays on tour so we will pick this up the next morning

where we try to figure out where the Whak Wharepapa South is

smell of unburned avgas from the Stearmen and Yaks wafted over us while the

radio refused to respond to our pokes prods and pleas as we contemplated using

the tomahawk at the back of the plane a kindly person brought to us by Judith

Grant who happened to be hanging out at Ne started poking at the buttons I dont

know what juju he had but lo and behold the radio was back in action again

With the Starters from North Shore gone to organise the finish at Whitianga

we took off (flaps down) amidst the usual hubbub of robin traffic and made our

lonely way along the route Waypoints came and went pictures were taken and

headings set We were feeling good about ourselves and by the final waypoint

before Whitianga we had pretty much worked out a half-decent system and were

well on our way to being a mere three minutes late

Then we set the wrong heading

Suffice to say it took us crossing the Coromandel ranges (and the wrong

harbourbay showing up in front of us) before we realised we were going in the

completely wrong direction a furtive glance at the nav plan showed a track of

352 converting to a badly-written true heading of 255 adam kept flying the plane

as I quickly calculated the new heading and we landed in Whitianga without any

further incident

Given that we ended up 25 minutes after the last slow plane had landed we

had time to fuel up grab a pie (angus and Blue Cheese if you were interested) and

it was straight into briefing and planning for leg 2 The story of how the mayor of

Whakatane sorted out our accommodation

leg one result 10 minutes late Probably DQed for late start learned to

sense-check our flight plan workings on the ground before we got stressed

I did bump into him over the past few years but it was more of a hi bye

and whats your name again basis

They put in a lot more effort into their costumes with a Peter Panrobin

hoodZelda theme

No Im not going there

anthony Gurr madly planning Photo Tracy Ware

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 4 1 5

Imagesabove left - CFI andrew Schooler puts TZl through its paces soon after its arrival Credit NSaC staffabove right and below - a rainy day greeted the arrival of the new robins to North Shore Wheel spats were soon to be fitted Credit Sue Campbell

This page and overleafInstructors taking the new robins out for a spin

Credit NSaC staff

For many years North Shore aero Club owned a fleet of five to seven Cessna 152 and 152a aircraft as a training fleet with several C172s and Piper Cherokees on lease from various sources The club also had a Cessna 206 which was bought new by Peter Julian (who also built the club house back in the 1980s) These Cessna aircraft were the backbone of the clubrsquos training and commercial fleet for over 30 years

By 2002 however the C152s were getting a bit tired and each

time they went for the odd surface corrosion patch to be dealt with we were finding that once opened up by the engineers there was substantial deterioration of the airframe under the skins What the committee of the day thought would be a $5000 job invariably turned out to be a major costing upwards of $15-$20000

as there had not been any C152 types built since the early

1980s and there were no Piper aircraft suitable for replacements the committee had little option but to look elsewhere The club was doing around 7000 hours per year at the time and needed a fleet of three or four aircraft to provide sufficient capacity to train with a consistent type The circumstances led the committee to consider other aircraft and the only reasonable contender were the newly imported robins which were being sold by richard Izard out of his airfield at Springhill near Warkworth

after much soul searching and many discussions with the then-CFI and many spread sheets produced by our treasurer Sue Campbell it was decided that we would begin to negotiate for the purchase of four robins two of which were new and two which were demonstrators with very low hours The spread sheets showed we could amortise the purchase price over seven years and after a great deal of thought and negotiations we entered into a contract with Mr Izard to buy four robins We fully expected that with the finance for the robins paid off after seven years there would be a new Cessna or Piper trainer on offer as it turned out neither Cessna nor Piper had a suitable two seat replacement in the time frame planned Cessna had an abortive attempt at a C152

ARRIVAL OF THE ROBINSarticle allan roberts

NSaC club president 2000 - 2004

replacement with the C162 Skycatcher but this proved unacceptable as a trai-ner and went out of production some years ago

We were aware of the corrosion issues with older robin aircraft but needed to replace our training fleet with a minimum of three or four basic trai-ners as there was no way we could conti-nue to repair the corrosion in the C152 fleet economically we were somewhat in a corner We looked at full refurbish-ment of the C152s but it would have cost upwards of $50000 per aircraft and the market price at that time would not have made this a sensible option

We were very mindful of the robinrsquos

shortcomings as far as the performance at Ne and its lack of ldquospinrdquo capability but at the time we had other aircraft in the fleet we could and did use for this purpose

after much agonising we decided to

go with the robins and to this day there does not seem to be an affordable repla-cement training aircraft Despite the robinrsquos shortcomings the fact we are still operating them not withstanding the corrosion issues appears to be testa-ment to the fact that overall they were an excellent choice I am not sure what else could be used if a replacement fleet were purchased today other than go to the C172s but a four seater would be an

expensive training option for most Club members

The only other options availa-

ble are the more modern fibreglass models and while these are very nice and very well equipped with the latest avionics and glass panels it would be expensive to buy a training fleet of three or four

overall the robins have served us

well and the next aircraft type upgrade will have to be thought about very carefully

FooTNoTe In 2015 the corro-sion problems affecting all the origi-nal club owned robins became a real issue after much soul searching and consideration the committee appro-ved the expenditure to replace and or remove all corrosion affected areas and parts and to completely refur-bish and repaint the original robin fleet The Club now has four almost as good as new robin 2120s and is confident these will serve the Club for many years to come In addition to robin UWZ purchased from a private owner in 2015 the Club is proposing to acquire yet another robin 2120 to meet the demand such is the popu-larity of this worthy successor to the venerable C152s

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 6 1 7

THE GREAT NORTHERN AIR RACE 2018

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 0 1 8 1 8 1 9

Written by Ben LeeTaleS oF a VIrGIN aIr-raCer

Thats not Mercury Bay thats the Firth of Thames

The vivid on the low-effort costume I had put on was imprinting itself on me

in the hot sun at this point it was imprinting itself quite a bit faster given we were

going in the wrong direction It certainly wasnt what one wouldve called the best

start Some plover murder meant we were flying laD instead of MBZ I only met

teammate adam on the day of departure and we were already 20 minutes late

because laDs radio decided to have a dicky frequency switch button

as the Firth opened itself before us we realised we missed the obvious bit

that setting a heading of 250 from opoutere (or anywhere for that matter) would

not have taken us north to Whitianga a careless flick of the pen rendered what

was meant to be a 3 to a 2 and thus we learned the value of double-checking our

flight plan before getting into potentially stressful situations (like departing late)

Without a doubt GNar made me a better pilot and I got to do it in a fun

safe and social environment

a long Detour leG oNe Ne-WTa handshake some introductions some grey T-shirts with vivid on it That

was how I met adam Brooker he had planned to fly with Club Captain Jamie who

decided to take his lovely wife kim I had planned to fly with albert who ended

up being rostered on the weekend at work So a flurry of texts later adam and I

decided very quickly that we were going to fly together and due to the heat we

were going to make as practical a costume as possible our laziness resulted in the

grey error 404 Costume Not Found shirts which adam painstakingly vivided and

stencilled on the night before

Pre-flight clean windscreen load up and we were away to North Shore to

fill up with gas It was a hot muggy day and we took quite a bit of runway to get

airborne lesson learned every take-off we did for the rest of the weekend was a

max performance take-off

at North Shore we got our briefing and the route we were meant to follow at

each waypoint we needed to take pictures showing the wing and the waypoint in

question easy enough - drawing lines on the map and playing with the wizz-wheel

were my favourite bits of flying We were to go to Whitianga through a long circui-

tous route along the western side of the Firth of Thames to lake Waikare through

the Waihi gap and up on the eastern side of the Coromandel to Whitianga I did the

drawing and adam did the wizz-wheel We expected to take 89 minutes at a leisu-

rely 95 knot pace We duly noted that down on our competition slip and scrambled

to laD to start the comp

adam took the left seat for this leg he started going through his checklist

Masters Fuel Pump anti-Coll lights I was on radio and camera duty and went

through my own Switch on radio radio check Change frequencies Nope I was

on North Shore 1180 but I wasnt going to any other frequency Cue the fran-

tic calls to Spud reading the (frankly rubbish) manual for the radio and mashing

the buttons at random to see what would work one by one the other 14 aircraft

in the race fired up their engines and started their own races off runway 21 The

JoT coming in to land at NZNe Photo credit Chris opperman

ON YOUR MARKS

W r I T T e N B Y B e N l e e 2 0 2 1

how the Mayor Sorted out our accommodation leG TWo WT-Wk

I took the controls this time around with adam on photonavving duties We took

off third in the sequence behind the two Stearmen with Jamie in TWr behind us laD

started acting more reasonably this time round only needing half the runway to take

off but the hot day meant the instruction climb to 600 ft agl took a lot longer than

the one and a bit minutes claimed in the Poh our first waypoint was further north at

Whangapoua Beach and we said goodbye to the Stearmen who turned a mile earlier

than where we eventually turned In a fit of genius adam (who did the line drawing this

time) had already taken this into account and marked our set heading point a few miles

away from runway 04

as we got to the waypoint (a little island by the end of the beach) we laughed

at some of other contestants (who overtook us pretty quickly) flying further ahead to

another slightly larger (wrong) island before making their turn We patted ourselves on

the back saw our next waypoint and relaxed in for the rest of the race except it wasnt

our next waypoint

The first sign that something was amiss was actually pretty quickly after we had

set our heading We were about 30 degrees off what we had planned but the island was

there clear as day We checked our plan and checked our compass heading against

the DI Nothing seemed amiss so we assumed we made another error in measuring the

track and went along our merry way

The second sign was seeing every other competitor take a track further to our

right than us That triggered another round of adam checking and looking at the plan

Meanwhile our real waypoint suddenly popped into view quite a bit further and to

the right of what we were aiming for So our line drawings and measurements had

been right all along We sheepishly corrected our heading and noting we were now

quite a bit behind (12 minutes to be exact) decided to take advantage of laDs smaller

wheels and crank up the rpm Instead of the leisurely 88kt pace we planned for we were

cracking along at 100kts - because we had some catching up to do

The waypoints passed and we began reeling in the minutes Two waypoints in

we reeled in both Stearmen at their leisurely 80kt pace By the second to last waypoint

we had been flying in pseudo-formation with Jamie in TWr for at least two waypoints

however in the excitement of the chase we arrived at the last waypoint two full

minutes earlier than planned and Te Teko racecourse was a mere seven miles away

Graciously we let Jamie pull ahead to land in Whakatane as we slowed down to a 85kts

to burn away some time alas this wasnt enough in the few miles we had left before we

crossed the finish line overhead I looked around for traffic (there was a Cessna on final)

and set laD up for slow flight My 65kt dawdle across the finish line wouldve made

Pete proud

leg Two result 40 seconds early Managed to get all the pictures learned to trust

our instruments

oh and how did the mayor get into our accommodation Well the story goes that

the hotel we were supposed to stay at ended up giving our rooms away as they didnt

ask the organisers for a deposit in spite of offers The clearly miffed organisers took

it in their stride and contacted the local aero club who in turn contacted the Mayor

of Whakatane and who between them proceeded to find us some cool baches along

ohope Beach

What happens on tour stays on tour so we will pick this up the next morning

where we try to figure out where the Whak Wharepapa South is

smell of unburned avgas from the Stearmen and Yaks wafted over us while the

radio refused to respond to our pokes prods and pleas as we contemplated using

the tomahawk at the back of the plane a kindly person brought to us by Judith

Grant who happened to be hanging out at Ne started poking at the buttons I dont

know what juju he had but lo and behold the radio was back in action again

With the Starters from North Shore gone to organise the finish at Whitianga

we took off (flaps down) amidst the usual hubbub of robin traffic and made our

lonely way along the route Waypoints came and went pictures were taken and

headings set We were feeling good about ourselves and by the final waypoint

before Whitianga we had pretty much worked out a half-decent system and were

well on our way to being a mere three minutes late

Then we set the wrong heading

Suffice to say it took us crossing the Coromandel ranges (and the wrong

harbourbay showing up in front of us) before we realised we were going in the

completely wrong direction a furtive glance at the nav plan showed a track of

352 converting to a badly-written true heading of 255 adam kept flying the plane

as I quickly calculated the new heading and we landed in Whitianga without any

further incident

Given that we ended up 25 minutes after the last slow plane had landed we

had time to fuel up grab a pie (angus and Blue Cheese if you were interested) and

it was straight into briefing and planning for leg 2 The story of how the mayor of

Whakatane sorted out our accommodation

leg one result 10 minutes late Probably DQed for late start learned to

sense-check our flight plan workings on the ground before we got stressed

I did bump into him over the past few years but it was more of a hi bye

and whats your name again basis

They put in a lot more effort into their costumes with a Peter Panrobin

hoodZelda theme

No Im not going there

anthony Gurr madly planning Photo Tracy Ware

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

replacement with the C162 Skycatcher but this proved unacceptable as a trai-ner and went out of production some years ago

We were aware of the corrosion issues with older robin aircraft but needed to replace our training fleet with a minimum of three or four basic trai-ners as there was no way we could conti-nue to repair the corrosion in the C152 fleet economically we were somewhat in a corner We looked at full refurbish-ment of the C152s but it would have cost upwards of $50000 per aircraft and the market price at that time would not have made this a sensible option

We were very mindful of the robinrsquos

shortcomings as far as the performance at Ne and its lack of ldquospinrdquo capability but at the time we had other aircraft in the fleet we could and did use for this purpose

after much agonising we decided to

go with the robins and to this day there does not seem to be an affordable repla-cement training aircraft Despite the robinrsquos shortcomings the fact we are still operating them not withstanding the corrosion issues appears to be testa-ment to the fact that overall they were an excellent choice I am not sure what else could be used if a replacement fleet were purchased today other than go to the C172s but a four seater would be an

expensive training option for most Club members

The only other options availa-

ble are the more modern fibreglass models and while these are very nice and very well equipped with the latest avionics and glass panels it would be expensive to buy a training fleet of three or four

overall the robins have served us

well and the next aircraft type upgrade will have to be thought about very carefully

FooTNoTe In 2015 the corro-sion problems affecting all the origi-nal club owned robins became a real issue after much soul searching and consideration the committee appro-ved the expenditure to replace and or remove all corrosion affected areas and parts and to completely refur-bish and repaint the original robin fleet The Club now has four almost as good as new robin 2120s and is confident these will serve the Club for many years to come In addition to robin UWZ purchased from a private owner in 2015 the Club is proposing to acquire yet another robin 2120 to meet the demand such is the popu-larity of this worthy successor to the venerable C152s

a r r I V a l o F T h e r o B I N S 1 6 1 7

THE GREAT NORTHERN AIR RACE 2018

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 0 1 8 1 8 1 9

Written by Ben LeeTaleS oF a VIrGIN aIr-raCer

Thats not Mercury Bay thats the Firth of Thames

The vivid on the low-effort costume I had put on was imprinting itself on me

in the hot sun at this point it was imprinting itself quite a bit faster given we were

going in the wrong direction It certainly wasnt what one wouldve called the best

start Some plover murder meant we were flying laD instead of MBZ I only met

teammate adam on the day of departure and we were already 20 minutes late

because laDs radio decided to have a dicky frequency switch button

as the Firth opened itself before us we realised we missed the obvious bit

that setting a heading of 250 from opoutere (or anywhere for that matter) would

not have taken us north to Whitianga a careless flick of the pen rendered what

was meant to be a 3 to a 2 and thus we learned the value of double-checking our

flight plan before getting into potentially stressful situations (like departing late)

Without a doubt GNar made me a better pilot and I got to do it in a fun

safe and social environment

a long Detour leG oNe Ne-WTa handshake some introductions some grey T-shirts with vivid on it That

was how I met adam Brooker he had planned to fly with Club Captain Jamie who

decided to take his lovely wife kim I had planned to fly with albert who ended

up being rostered on the weekend at work So a flurry of texts later adam and I

decided very quickly that we were going to fly together and due to the heat we

were going to make as practical a costume as possible our laziness resulted in the

grey error 404 Costume Not Found shirts which adam painstakingly vivided and

stencilled on the night before

Pre-flight clean windscreen load up and we were away to North Shore to

fill up with gas It was a hot muggy day and we took quite a bit of runway to get

airborne lesson learned every take-off we did for the rest of the weekend was a

max performance take-off

at North Shore we got our briefing and the route we were meant to follow at

each waypoint we needed to take pictures showing the wing and the waypoint in

question easy enough - drawing lines on the map and playing with the wizz-wheel

were my favourite bits of flying We were to go to Whitianga through a long circui-

tous route along the western side of the Firth of Thames to lake Waikare through

the Waihi gap and up on the eastern side of the Coromandel to Whitianga I did the

drawing and adam did the wizz-wheel We expected to take 89 minutes at a leisu-

rely 95 knot pace We duly noted that down on our competition slip and scrambled

to laD to start the comp

adam took the left seat for this leg he started going through his checklist

Masters Fuel Pump anti-Coll lights I was on radio and camera duty and went

through my own Switch on radio radio check Change frequencies Nope I was

on North Shore 1180 but I wasnt going to any other frequency Cue the fran-

tic calls to Spud reading the (frankly rubbish) manual for the radio and mashing

the buttons at random to see what would work one by one the other 14 aircraft

in the race fired up their engines and started their own races off runway 21 The

JoT coming in to land at NZNe Photo credit Chris opperman

ON YOUR MARKS

W r I T T e N B Y B e N l e e 2 0 2 1

how the Mayor Sorted out our accommodation leG TWo WT-Wk

I took the controls this time around with adam on photonavving duties We took

off third in the sequence behind the two Stearmen with Jamie in TWr behind us laD

started acting more reasonably this time round only needing half the runway to take

off but the hot day meant the instruction climb to 600 ft agl took a lot longer than

the one and a bit minutes claimed in the Poh our first waypoint was further north at

Whangapoua Beach and we said goodbye to the Stearmen who turned a mile earlier

than where we eventually turned In a fit of genius adam (who did the line drawing this

time) had already taken this into account and marked our set heading point a few miles

away from runway 04

as we got to the waypoint (a little island by the end of the beach) we laughed

at some of other contestants (who overtook us pretty quickly) flying further ahead to

another slightly larger (wrong) island before making their turn We patted ourselves on

the back saw our next waypoint and relaxed in for the rest of the race except it wasnt

our next waypoint

The first sign that something was amiss was actually pretty quickly after we had

set our heading We were about 30 degrees off what we had planned but the island was

there clear as day We checked our plan and checked our compass heading against

the DI Nothing seemed amiss so we assumed we made another error in measuring the

track and went along our merry way

The second sign was seeing every other competitor take a track further to our

right than us That triggered another round of adam checking and looking at the plan

Meanwhile our real waypoint suddenly popped into view quite a bit further and to

the right of what we were aiming for So our line drawings and measurements had

been right all along We sheepishly corrected our heading and noting we were now

quite a bit behind (12 minutes to be exact) decided to take advantage of laDs smaller

wheels and crank up the rpm Instead of the leisurely 88kt pace we planned for we were

cracking along at 100kts - because we had some catching up to do

The waypoints passed and we began reeling in the minutes Two waypoints in

we reeled in both Stearmen at their leisurely 80kt pace By the second to last waypoint

we had been flying in pseudo-formation with Jamie in TWr for at least two waypoints

however in the excitement of the chase we arrived at the last waypoint two full

minutes earlier than planned and Te Teko racecourse was a mere seven miles away

Graciously we let Jamie pull ahead to land in Whakatane as we slowed down to a 85kts

to burn away some time alas this wasnt enough in the few miles we had left before we

crossed the finish line overhead I looked around for traffic (there was a Cessna on final)

and set laD up for slow flight My 65kt dawdle across the finish line wouldve made

Pete proud

leg Two result 40 seconds early Managed to get all the pictures learned to trust

our instruments

oh and how did the mayor get into our accommodation Well the story goes that

the hotel we were supposed to stay at ended up giving our rooms away as they didnt

ask the organisers for a deposit in spite of offers The clearly miffed organisers took

it in their stride and contacted the local aero club who in turn contacted the Mayor

of Whakatane and who between them proceeded to find us some cool baches along

ohope Beach

What happens on tour stays on tour so we will pick this up the next morning

where we try to figure out where the Whak Wharepapa South is

smell of unburned avgas from the Stearmen and Yaks wafted over us while the

radio refused to respond to our pokes prods and pleas as we contemplated using

the tomahawk at the back of the plane a kindly person brought to us by Judith

Grant who happened to be hanging out at Ne started poking at the buttons I dont

know what juju he had but lo and behold the radio was back in action again

With the Starters from North Shore gone to organise the finish at Whitianga

we took off (flaps down) amidst the usual hubbub of robin traffic and made our

lonely way along the route Waypoints came and went pictures were taken and

headings set We were feeling good about ourselves and by the final waypoint

before Whitianga we had pretty much worked out a half-decent system and were

well on our way to being a mere three minutes late

Then we set the wrong heading

Suffice to say it took us crossing the Coromandel ranges (and the wrong

harbourbay showing up in front of us) before we realised we were going in the

completely wrong direction a furtive glance at the nav plan showed a track of

352 converting to a badly-written true heading of 255 adam kept flying the plane

as I quickly calculated the new heading and we landed in Whitianga without any

further incident

Given that we ended up 25 minutes after the last slow plane had landed we

had time to fuel up grab a pie (angus and Blue Cheese if you were interested) and

it was straight into briefing and planning for leg 2 The story of how the mayor of

Whakatane sorted out our accommodation

leg one result 10 minutes late Probably DQed for late start learned to

sense-check our flight plan workings on the ground before we got stressed

I did bump into him over the past few years but it was more of a hi bye

and whats your name again basis

They put in a lot more effort into their costumes with a Peter Panrobin

hoodZelda theme

No Im not going there

anthony Gurr madly planning Photo Tracy Ware

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

THE GREAT NORTHERN AIR RACE 2018

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 0 1 8 1 8 1 9

Written by Ben LeeTaleS oF a VIrGIN aIr-raCer

Thats not Mercury Bay thats the Firth of Thames

The vivid on the low-effort costume I had put on was imprinting itself on me

in the hot sun at this point it was imprinting itself quite a bit faster given we were

going in the wrong direction It certainly wasnt what one wouldve called the best

start Some plover murder meant we were flying laD instead of MBZ I only met

teammate adam on the day of departure and we were already 20 minutes late

because laDs radio decided to have a dicky frequency switch button

as the Firth opened itself before us we realised we missed the obvious bit

that setting a heading of 250 from opoutere (or anywhere for that matter) would

not have taken us north to Whitianga a careless flick of the pen rendered what

was meant to be a 3 to a 2 and thus we learned the value of double-checking our

flight plan before getting into potentially stressful situations (like departing late)

Without a doubt GNar made me a better pilot and I got to do it in a fun

safe and social environment

a long Detour leG oNe Ne-WTa handshake some introductions some grey T-shirts with vivid on it That

was how I met adam Brooker he had planned to fly with Club Captain Jamie who

decided to take his lovely wife kim I had planned to fly with albert who ended

up being rostered on the weekend at work So a flurry of texts later adam and I

decided very quickly that we were going to fly together and due to the heat we

were going to make as practical a costume as possible our laziness resulted in the

grey error 404 Costume Not Found shirts which adam painstakingly vivided and

stencilled on the night before

Pre-flight clean windscreen load up and we were away to North Shore to

fill up with gas It was a hot muggy day and we took quite a bit of runway to get

airborne lesson learned every take-off we did for the rest of the weekend was a

max performance take-off

at North Shore we got our briefing and the route we were meant to follow at

each waypoint we needed to take pictures showing the wing and the waypoint in

question easy enough - drawing lines on the map and playing with the wizz-wheel

were my favourite bits of flying We were to go to Whitianga through a long circui-

tous route along the western side of the Firth of Thames to lake Waikare through

the Waihi gap and up on the eastern side of the Coromandel to Whitianga I did the

drawing and adam did the wizz-wheel We expected to take 89 minutes at a leisu-

rely 95 knot pace We duly noted that down on our competition slip and scrambled

to laD to start the comp

adam took the left seat for this leg he started going through his checklist

Masters Fuel Pump anti-Coll lights I was on radio and camera duty and went

through my own Switch on radio radio check Change frequencies Nope I was

on North Shore 1180 but I wasnt going to any other frequency Cue the fran-

tic calls to Spud reading the (frankly rubbish) manual for the radio and mashing

the buttons at random to see what would work one by one the other 14 aircraft

in the race fired up their engines and started their own races off runway 21 The

JoT coming in to land at NZNe Photo credit Chris opperman

ON YOUR MARKS

W r I T T e N B Y B e N l e e 2 0 2 1

how the Mayor Sorted out our accommodation leG TWo WT-Wk

I took the controls this time around with adam on photonavving duties We took

off third in the sequence behind the two Stearmen with Jamie in TWr behind us laD

started acting more reasonably this time round only needing half the runway to take

off but the hot day meant the instruction climb to 600 ft agl took a lot longer than

the one and a bit minutes claimed in the Poh our first waypoint was further north at

Whangapoua Beach and we said goodbye to the Stearmen who turned a mile earlier

than where we eventually turned In a fit of genius adam (who did the line drawing this

time) had already taken this into account and marked our set heading point a few miles

away from runway 04

as we got to the waypoint (a little island by the end of the beach) we laughed

at some of other contestants (who overtook us pretty quickly) flying further ahead to

another slightly larger (wrong) island before making their turn We patted ourselves on

the back saw our next waypoint and relaxed in for the rest of the race except it wasnt

our next waypoint

The first sign that something was amiss was actually pretty quickly after we had

set our heading We were about 30 degrees off what we had planned but the island was

there clear as day We checked our plan and checked our compass heading against

the DI Nothing seemed amiss so we assumed we made another error in measuring the

track and went along our merry way

The second sign was seeing every other competitor take a track further to our

right than us That triggered another round of adam checking and looking at the plan

Meanwhile our real waypoint suddenly popped into view quite a bit further and to

the right of what we were aiming for So our line drawings and measurements had

been right all along We sheepishly corrected our heading and noting we were now

quite a bit behind (12 minutes to be exact) decided to take advantage of laDs smaller

wheels and crank up the rpm Instead of the leisurely 88kt pace we planned for we were

cracking along at 100kts - because we had some catching up to do

The waypoints passed and we began reeling in the minutes Two waypoints in

we reeled in both Stearmen at their leisurely 80kt pace By the second to last waypoint

we had been flying in pseudo-formation with Jamie in TWr for at least two waypoints

however in the excitement of the chase we arrived at the last waypoint two full

minutes earlier than planned and Te Teko racecourse was a mere seven miles away

Graciously we let Jamie pull ahead to land in Whakatane as we slowed down to a 85kts

to burn away some time alas this wasnt enough in the few miles we had left before we

crossed the finish line overhead I looked around for traffic (there was a Cessna on final)

and set laD up for slow flight My 65kt dawdle across the finish line wouldve made

Pete proud

leg Two result 40 seconds early Managed to get all the pictures learned to trust

our instruments

oh and how did the mayor get into our accommodation Well the story goes that

the hotel we were supposed to stay at ended up giving our rooms away as they didnt

ask the organisers for a deposit in spite of offers The clearly miffed organisers took

it in their stride and contacted the local aero club who in turn contacted the Mayor

of Whakatane and who between them proceeded to find us some cool baches along

ohope Beach

What happens on tour stays on tour so we will pick this up the next morning

where we try to figure out where the Whak Wharepapa South is

smell of unburned avgas from the Stearmen and Yaks wafted over us while the

radio refused to respond to our pokes prods and pleas as we contemplated using

the tomahawk at the back of the plane a kindly person brought to us by Judith

Grant who happened to be hanging out at Ne started poking at the buttons I dont

know what juju he had but lo and behold the radio was back in action again

With the Starters from North Shore gone to organise the finish at Whitianga

we took off (flaps down) amidst the usual hubbub of robin traffic and made our

lonely way along the route Waypoints came and went pictures were taken and

headings set We were feeling good about ourselves and by the final waypoint

before Whitianga we had pretty much worked out a half-decent system and were

well on our way to being a mere three minutes late

Then we set the wrong heading

Suffice to say it took us crossing the Coromandel ranges (and the wrong

harbourbay showing up in front of us) before we realised we were going in the

completely wrong direction a furtive glance at the nav plan showed a track of

352 converting to a badly-written true heading of 255 adam kept flying the plane

as I quickly calculated the new heading and we landed in Whitianga without any

further incident

Given that we ended up 25 minutes after the last slow plane had landed we

had time to fuel up grab a pie (angus and Blue Cheese if you were interested) and

it was straight into briefing and planning for leg 2 The story of how the mayor of

Whakatane sorted out our accommodation

leg one result 10 minutes late Probably DQed for late start learned to

sense-check our flight plan workings on the ground before we got stressed

I did bump into him over the past few years but it was more of a hi bye

and whats your name again basis

They put in a lot more effort into their costumes with a Peter Panrobin

hoodZelda theme

No Im not going there

anthony Gurr madly planning Photo Tracy Ware

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

W r I T T e N B Y B e N l e e 2 0 2 1

how the Mayor Sorted out our accommodation leG TWo WT-Wk

I took the controls this time around with adam on photonavving duties We took

off third in the sequence behind the two Stearmen with Jamie in TWr behind us laD

started acting more reasonably this time round only needing half the runway to take

off but the hot day meant the instruction climb to 600 ft agl took a lot longer than

the one and a bit minutes claimed in the Poh our first waypoint was further north at

Whangapoua Beach and we said goodbye to the Stearmen who turned a mile earlier

than where we eventually turned In a fit of genius adam (who did the line drawing this

time) had already taken this into account and marked our set heading point a few miles

away from runway 04

as we got to the waypoint (a little island by the end of the beach) we laughed

at some of other contestants (who overtook us pretty quickly) flying further ahead to

another slightly larger (wrong) island before making their turn We patted ourselves on

the back saw our next waypoint and relaxed in for the rest of the race except it wasnt

our next waypoint

The first sign that something was amiss was actually pretty quickly after we had

set our heading We were about 30 degrees off what we had planned but the island was

there clear as day We checked our plan and checked our compass heading against

the DI Nothing seemed amiss so we assumed we made another error in measuring the

track and went along our merry way

The second sign was seeing every other competitor take a track further to our

right than us That triggered another round of adam checking and looking at the plan

Meanwhile our real waypoint suddenly popped into view quite a bit further and to

the right of what we were aiming for So our line drawings and measurements had

been right all along We sheepishly corrected our heading and noting we were now

quite a bit behind (12 minutes to be exact) decided to take advantage of laDs smaller

wheels and crank up the rpm Instead of the leisurely 88kt pace we planned for we were

cracking along at 100kts - because we had some catching up to do

The waypoints passed and we began reeling in the minutes Two waypoints in

we reeled in both Stearmen at their leisurely 80kt pace By the second to last waypoint

we had been flying in pseudo-formation with Jamie in TWr for at least two waypoints

however in the excitement of the chase we arrived at the last waypoint two full

minutes earlier than planned and Te Teko racecourse was a mere seven miles away

Graciously we let Jamie pull ahead to land in Whakatane as we slowed down to a 85kts

to burn away some time alas this wasnt enough in the few miles we had left before we

crossed the finish line overhead I looked around for traffic (there was a Cessna on final)

and set laD up for slow flight My 65kt dawdle across the finish line wouldve made

Pete proud

leg Two result 40 seconds early Managed to get all the pictures learned to trust

our instruments

oh and how did the mayor get into our accommodation Well the story goes that

the hotel we were supposed to stay at ended up giving our rooms away as they didnt

ask the organisers for a deposit in spite of offers The clearly miffed organisers took

it in their stride and contacted the local aero club who in turn contacted the Mayor

of Whakatane and who between them proceeded to find us some cool baches along

ohope Beach

What happens on tour stays on tour so we will pick this up the next morning

where we try to figure out where the Whak Wharepapa South is

smell of unburned avgas from the Stearmen and Yaks wafted over us while the

radio refused to respond to our pokes prods and pleas as we contemplated using

the tomahawk at the back of the plane a kindly person brought to us by Judith

Grant who happened to be hanging out at Ne started poking at the buttons I dont

know what juju he had but lo and behold the radio was back in action again

With the Starters from North Shore gone to organise the finish at Whitianga

we took off (flaps down) amidst the usual hubbub of robin traffic and made our

lonely way along the route Waypoints came and went pictures were taken and

headings set We were feeling good about ourselves and by the final waypoint

before Whitianga we had pretty much worked out a half-decent system and were

well on our way to being a mere three minutes late

Then we set the wrong heading

Suffice to say it took us crossing the Coromandel ranges (and the wrong

harbourbay showing up in front of us) before we realised we were going in the

completely wrong direction a furtive glance at the nav plan showed a track of

352 converting to a badly-written true heading of 255 adam kept flying the plane

as I quickly calculated the new heading and we landed in Whitianga without any

further incident

Given that we ended up 25 minutes after the last slow plane had landed we

had time to fuel up grab a pie (angus and Blue Cheese if you were interested) and

it was straight into briefing and planning for leg 2 The story of how the mayor of

Whakatane sorted out our accommodation

leg one result 10 minutes late Probably DQed for late start learned to

sense-check our flight plan workings on the ground before we got stressed

I did bump into him over the past few years but it was more of a hi bye

and whats your name again basis

They put in a lot more effort into their costumes with a Peter Panrobin

hoodZelda theme

No Im not going there

anthony Gurr madly planning Photo Tracy Ware

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

DMW lining up rWY 03 Photos Chris oppermann

Cosmo after landing at WT Photo David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 2 2 3

leG Three Wk-Tk

Cut lake arapuni in half hold heading and it should be over the hill adam

had been there before in a failed attempt to find Wharapapa South last GNar and

it seemed we were well on our way to failing in our attempt again

Before this we were feeling good We had worked out a reasonable technique

to get some good pictures and were starting to get cheeky by flying overhead and

making steep turns to take our pictures our route took us out of Whakatane and

into the lake District Going overhead the ex-Pink and White Terraces (not much to

see there but a lake) we were tasked with hunting down a tiny little blink-and-you-

-miss-it lake followed by the you-cant-miss-the-damn-thing kinleith Paper Mill

our cheeky steep turns meant we got some good-looking pictures however our

cheeky steep turns meant very little tolerance for framing errors Nonetheless we

were feeling on top of the world with the cockiness of fresh debutants with adam

confidently going I missed Wharepapa South last time but I know where to look

now

how wrong we were

at this point we were making slight zigzags to scoot south and west in a

vain attempt to find the airfield I was taking pictures at any piece of paddock that

had a passing resemblance to a cross runway but eventually we gave up and set

a course for our next waypoint at Waitomo Township It was disappointing but we

later found out Wharepapa South was not an easy airfield to find so heres hoping

everyone else had missed it too

The remainder of the flight went without much incident although we spent a

lot of time swapping positions with the eoX crew from ardmore Flying School on

our way to our next stop Te kowhai via kawhia harbour We let the eoXers overtake

us as we took a (very) slight detour to the Te Uku wind farm to burn the two minu-

tes we had gained and landed to an amazing BBQ lunch served by the folks at Te

kowhai aerodrome

leg Three result 20 seconds early Was advised we had the best time in

Cruising Class for that leg

Bears and hotels leG FoUr Tk-aP

The hotel we stayed at had a laundry room

In the laundry room there was a dryer that took tokens

The dryer took bear-shaped tokens

But you probably dont care about how I came by this pointless piece of

knowledge So lets go to the flying It turned out that adam had been providing

progress updates to rob Weavers who authorised our flight and at this point was

goading us on to make better time than 20 seconds off our eTa What could we

do but do our best to fly over our finishing line at on-timeness that would make

Gandalf proud

as per usual I was on the controls for this leg and we were third off the line

after the Stearmen Unlike the departure from Whakatane where we ended up

queuing along the runway we were flagged off from the start of the runway We

definitely needed it in the stinking hot weather and soon we were experiencing

the deacutejagrave vu of the Stearmen peeling off towards the first waypoint while we clim-

bed to 600 like a coconut-laden swallow No matter we had chosen a much slower

cruising airspeed (a mere dawdly 88 knots) because we expected a lot of climbing

as our route took us back onto the Central Plateau so we were comfortable with the

torturous climb

our first waypoint was 20 miles away from Te kowhai so we set heading and

watched the Stearmen play in formation ahead of us The Yak formation plus Super-

mans rV7 soon screamed by as we approached our first waypoints and had to

start looking for Ngutunuis tennis courts the disadvantage of choosing a dawdly

airspeed became quite apparent Turns out it takes about 20 miles for a swarm of

Cessnas to overhaul a Tomahawk doing 88 knots In our efforts to keep a lookout

for other planes and to keep it flying safely the navigate bit may have fallen

slightly by the wayside By the time we got our bearings again we were almost of

top of the waypoint with the bit we had to photograph out the wrong window

Bugger

The mood was a little down after that inauspicious start but we started

getting our shit together again pretty soon adam knew where to get the next

landmark and unlike Wharepapa South his direction of straight to the end of

the lake got us a sweet image of the arapuni dam swing bridge This win resto-

red quite a bit of our confidence and we happily went through the rest of the route

with only Jamie for company it was fascinating to see that his all-out max speed in

the Mk 2 Tomahawk was just a tiny bit faster than our Mk 1s 88-knot dawdle Who

wouldve thought an inch made all the difference

eight waypoints later the northern edge of lake Taupo hove into view Just

as we crossed the shore the engine gave us the only scare of the whole trip It may

have just been little cough but was probably amplified quite significantly while we

were over water with no paddocks in sight Without thinking carb heat and the fuel

pump came on the mix went full rich and we switched our tanks as laD beha-

ved itself again we slowly took off the pump and carb heat and watched our TampPs

everything was normal - and this will be our excuse for forgetting to switch our

frequency to 1191 as we headed to the finish line

overhead Turangi airfield

rob wouldve been proud - if we had actually

technically finished

leg Four result right on time Technically did not

finish due incorrect frequency

Mk2s have 6-inch wheels to the Mk1s 5 inches

race Marshall Tim Marshall posing seriously Photo

David Saunders

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 4 2 5

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 6 2 7

home Free leG FIVe amp CoNClUSIoN aP-Ne-WP

our second night I was told had a more GNar vibe compared to

Whakatane This time we were all in the same location which allowed all sorts

of shenanigans to happen The usual occurrences of people being pulled into

swimming pools drinking more than they should and raving to the late hours

of the night greatly added to the vibe of the night This meant adam was at the

controls for the final leg of our race

This time round (as is tradition I was told) the slowpokes got a 15-20

minute head start to ensure a dramatic finish at North Shore With a continuous

downwards trajectory out of Taupo we set ourselves a princely airspeed of 95

knots and took off 10 minutes after the Stearmen

our first waypoint was huka Falls I had never seen it from the air before

so it was a fun sight especially from 1700 overhead It was one of those this is

why Im a pilot moments We went back past Tokoroa (again) and turned west

close to hobbiton Being more distracted how busy the Shires rest car park

was I nearly missed catching the required picture of Bag end by the lake Then

it was huntly Power Station before getting back into familiar ground of Port

Waikato and Muriwai Beach

The Cessnas had started catching up with us at this point and adam and

I entertained ourselves with Cessnas turning too early or too late at a 500ish

foot hill by the Muriwai Golf Course If there were Cessnas behind us though

they wouldve been entertained in turn by adam and myself looking for our

final waypoint Wainui at this point I need to confess that Wainui was some-

thing that Ive heard often on 11800 but never seen luckily adam again had

experience of Wainui and pointed out the little cluster of houses that represen-

ted the waypoint Thus englightened we turned towards North Shore bang on

time We set our heading in our comfortable cruise and settled in for the final

few minutes of the race

I started reflecting on the race that had gone by and the expe-we were

interrupted by the booming rumble of a Vedeneyev and o-360 accompanied

by the fast Yak and rV7 which appeared to be overtaking us at 83 bajillion

knots This meant that once again we crossed the finish line at close to last

place again But once again we were right on time and on the right frequency

Thats a win in my book

We skipped landing at North Shore and putted along back home to

Whenuapai to put our Tomahawk to bed The only encounter of note on the

short flight back was a quick hi bye to the Finishers in VaX who had to divert

to pick up a crew of pilots whose aircraft had broken before coming back

home Safe sound and definitely keen for another long fly trip So if anyone

wants to try a $1000 crayfish with me this summer

leg Five result right on time

In my other line of work I sell an ungodly amount of tickets to this place

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

T h e G r e a T N o r T h e r N a I r r a C e 2 8 2 9

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYI personally know three pilots who survived

ditching a Twin otter in the North Pacific two of them flew right here at North Shore aero Club What made it even more incredible was the ditching being carried out at night To say they had lady luck on their side and a fair bit of skill to execute the manoeuvre would be an understatement

Thankfully it has never happened to me There was however many a time in a former life flying around the remote outpost that is the Marshall Islands flying 200 plus nautical mile legs across the North Pacific from one remote atoll to another that the very thought of having to ditch sent shivers down my spine have a look at an atlas and yoursquoll see what I mean we operated in the middle of nowhere with no radar coverage and the only radio communication was via hF any rescue attempt would be a long time coming courtesy of the United States Coast Guard Needless to say the life raft was secured just aft of the centre instrument aisle as close to the crew as possible one of the only failings of the Dornier 228 was that you exited via the aft cabin door or through the Captainrsquos door My personal brief to the First officer was ldquoIn the event we get wet we both exit via my door with the life raft once the raft is inflated we then aid the passengers via the rear cabin door livestock will be rescued lastrdquo as you can see there was a fair bit of self-preservation involved with my policy

Floatplanes flying boats and amphibians excluded the majority of aircraft are not designed for ditching The statistical chances of surviving a ditching make for encouraging reading Data from the Uk and USa estima-tes that 88 of controlled ditchings result in few inju-ries to crew or passengers The main cause of death in a ditching is drowning usually hastened by hypothermia and exhaustion The importance of wearing a life jacket cannot be stressed enough as this will help to prolong your chances of survival There was a disturbing inci-dent off the north coast of Christchurch involving a CPl student on a cross country he diligently filled out the fuel log which upon inspection indicated he would run out of fuel exactly where the aircraft was found sitting on its undercarriage submerged at a healthy depth how did they find the fuel log Simple he executed a perfect

DITCHINGexample of ditching then with the knowledge he and his friend were doomed as neither could swim and no life jackets were on board he prolonged the inevitable by placing all the documents pertaining to the flight into his bag before leaving the aircraft to his certain death lIFe JaCkeTS

The causes of ditching may be due to fuel starvation or fuel feed problems engine failure in a single uncon-trollable fire or hijacking eg ethiopian airlines ditching due to fuel starvation as a result of a hijacking Bird strike eg US air 1549 The pilot in command must ditch the aircraft while he or she still has control eg yoursquore over an hour from land you can only fly for another 40 minu-tes due to a fuel problem You need to ditch the aircraft prior to fuel starvation Your chances of survival will be greatly improved if you can plan and execute the manoeuvre while the aircraft is still controllable Certain systems might start failing due to the pilot pushing on and delaying the inevitable which in turn could compro-mise controllability Uncontrollable fire would be the most time critical situation in which you must get the aircraft down as soon as possible (whether on land or sea) Uncontrollable cargo fire was always in the back of my mind flying from hong kong across to the states The pacific looks nice and calm from flight level 360 the reality was far different The Boeing boffins sugges-ted yoursquove probably got 15 minutes to get a 777 either landed or ditched in such a scenario after that you will lose control

In ideal conditions you should ditch into wind as this will allow the lowest speed over the water and there-fore the lowest impact damage This is the most effec-tive method providing the surface of the water is flat or long swells with smooth water in between If the swell is more sever it is advisable to ditch parallel to the swell and accept a cross wind In extremely windy conditions greater than 20kts it may be worth ditching into wind to make use of the large reduction in ground speed in this instance you should aim to touchdown on the backrece-ding face of the swell

The aircraft flight manual or pilots operating handbook should be your first port of call for ditching procedures The manual should contain detailed information

Some general informationbull If flying across a body of water wear a life jacket Do not inflate until clear of the aircraftbull If your aircraft has a ditching checklist use itbull If time permits reduce the aircraft weight as this will reduce your stalling speed and therefore your impact speedbull retract the undercarriage if not fixed gear and pull the CBbull Secure or dispose of any loose articles in the cabinbull open a door or escape hatch prior to impact as it is possible there will be airframe distortion upon impactbull If possible fly the approach with power as a powered approach provides greater potential to execute a successfulflare and hold off thereby minimising rate of descent on impactbull at night set the cockpit lights as low as possible to optimise your night vision Careful consideration should be givento the use of landing and taxi lights If misty or blowing spray the glare from external lights could upset your night visionbull Judging height over water can be difficult especially in calm or very dark conditions If fitted a radio altimeter is avery useful instrument Your rate of descent needs to be as low as possible most flight manuals will indicate 200 feet perminute or less This is another good reason to fly a powered approach bull Be prepared for a violent impact More than one impact is likelybull Ditching into the face of a swell or into the waves should be avoided as the impact forces will be similar to hitting awall

aircraft design has a significant impact on how an aircraft behaves during ditching Fixed gear aircraft will impact the water undercarriage first likely resul-ting in a violent nose down pitch low wing aircraft will usually keep the cabin above the water for a short time while the opposite will occur for a high wing aircraft Get out quick regardless The importance of a briefing prior to ditching cannot be underestimated at this point

Survival aspects of ditchingbull If at all possible consider where you are

going to ditch and ease of rescue Ditch near an area of benign coastline head for boats or ships who could lend a hand

bull overall issues related to survival in order of importance are o Protection o location o Water o Food

Some final thoughts airlines invest a lot of time and resources into wet drill training unfortunately the same cannot be said for the general aviation sector unless yoursquore willing to go to some expense one thing I did take away from my training was 999 of survi-ving such a traumatic event is down to your prepara-tion What survival equipment do you have Did you file a flight plan have you got life jackets Do you

have a personal survival beacon Can you swim have you completed any form of first aid training

although the statistics for initial survival are high the statistics on post ditching survival are not as positive with only 50 of those that survive the ditching survive to be rescued Ditching should be given just as much thou-ght as any other emergency you might be faced with US airways flight 1549 and its successful ditching on the hudson river demonstrated what a well-trained crew can achieve

I urge you all to review the ditching procedures of the relevant aircraft types you operate and be as prepared as you can possibly be

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

Inbound to Majuro atoll with the expanse of the Pacific ocean

clearly evident (photo by Simon Marshall)

S P o T l I G h T o N S a F e T Y 3 0 3 1

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

M I l e S T o N e S 3 2 3 3

NEW

MEM

BER

S

Ben Lawton - Solo 25th January 2018 Lasse Holopainen - PPL

26th January 2018

Ahmed Hassan - CPL6th February 2018

Stephen Urlich - CPL6th February 2018

Sam Wildman - CPL7th February 2018

Tegan KnightbridgeCameron Harverye

Steve PirieSimon MoenRob ClarkJessie LiuPaul DaviesAlex McLean

Henry LiHugh DouglasZhi Cheng LuiOisin FouereSteve Spence

Jacy ZhaiJames Hay

Phil WilliamsBlake Noble

Regan AndrewsChammy Precious

Andrew LobbMelissa Yarrow

Phill Kidd - PPL14th February 2018

Phil Turner - Solo15th February 2018

COMMITTEE DATESTuesday 27th March 1900hrs

Jason Alexander - CPL21st February 2018

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

l I F e o N T h e C e N T r e l I N e 3 4 3 5

having passed my PPl Flight Test on Christ-mas eve (thanks John) and obtained my licence earlier this year (yes I did learn the subtle difference for that pesky law exam) I thought I would answer young Georgiarsquos request for Prop Talk content and say something about shifting my training experience from YPJT (Perth Jandakot) to dear old NZNe

as I drifted away from the big 50 at far too quick a pace this stupid idea popped into my head that I might try my hand at flying a little plane living over in Perth Western australia (Wa) at the time I arri-ved at the grandly titled royal aero Club of Western australia (raCWa) to see what was what No sooner had I walked through the door an expertly drilled receptionist lured me in with the trial flight deal and off I went not really expecting to actually fly there and then

Instructor amy lined us up in what indeed was a lsquolittle planersquo ndash our Cessna aerobat 152 ndash and off we hurtled down the runway with me pulling back as duly instructed without even knowing the difference between my r and my S and a V being simply some-thing Churchill did back in the war The flight was over before I knew it but the problem was I couldnrsquot decide whether I was st scared or exhilarated as I wandered off with a little certificate giving testimony to my 05 hrs

No time to ponder though as the same recep-tionist was on the phone two days later enquiring as to whether I might be interested in the lsquointroduc-tory lesson packrsquo at a substantially discounted price So began the extraction of significant funds from my bank account as I slowly progressed along the conti-nuum of the undetermined state mentioned above

Now flying at YPJT was a little different than it is at NZNe First off it was a controlled aerodrome and a pretty busy place with two tower frequencies depen-ding on departing direction plus ground movement control Bottom line you needed clearance to fart (pardon the pun) let alone take off First up having completed pre-flight and gassed up from the fuel truck you radioed in earlier permission was needed to fire up and if intending to stay in the circuit permission needed from lsquogroundrsquo to take your alloca-ted slot before even commencing taxi from the club apron

If this wasnrsquot enough of a pain Jandakot also

bigger plane on a smaller runway but it was great to have the extra room Plus the fact that David is as skinny as 2103 whereas dear amy washellipwell letrsquos just sayhellipwith me and her flogging the wee aerobat off the ground on a 45 degree summerrsquos day some serious thought had to be given to those fuel loading calcula-tions

Pretty weird getting to toddle off with a mere radio check and to begin with ultra-scary to be relying on the whims of other pilots so far as radio calls are concerned During my first solo at Ne I had a moment of abject panic when my broadcast position information was met with something like lsquohellipjust over Mikersquos farm and looking out for yoursquo Where the heck between here and wherever was Mikersquos farm I calmed down a bit after that and got way more used to looking out of the window than relying on aTC

Just going back to the early days at Ne there was another rude awakening so far as this thing called lsquoterrainrsquo is concerned For those that donrsquot know Perth and its environs apart from the scarp of the Darling range that barely drags itself up to 1000 feet along its 200 miles length everything else is pancake flat with paddocks stretching off into the distance without a fence to be seen This kind of makes practicing engine failure on take--off without power and precautionary pretty straightforward So when I first popped up in Wicket with David only to be asked where I would land in such situation well bugger that came readily to mind I understood pretty quickly why the TWa part of the syllabus not contained in the aussie version was kind of important like everyone else I imagine I soon found the magic diamond near Waitoki even though John made me do my forced landing over in lT65 instead

I also learned how to fuel my own aircraft having been spoilt with a quick call to 1299 air BP having a nice man in a truck trun-dling over quick sticks to slosh the avgas Still have the habit of dipping the tanks first off so I can make that radio call and get the rest of pre-flight done before the tanker shows up ah well

Yes ah well PPl in the bag and I dare say more training at Ne from hereon in a plane has been purchased and currently languishes just north of Sydney but thatrsquos another story

Definite pros and cons between YPJT and NZNe Freedom from overbearing aTC is pretty good and makes VFr what it really should be I donrsquot miss the dash to the circuit only to find all slots are full then half an hour after sitting in a baking cockpit get to be number 10 to a United Nations of fellow students in singles and twins with four helicopters coming in from all directions robins Wicket sister DMW the grand Duchess fear-some Piper that carbon fibre thing and the occasional whirling robinson are just fine and dandy and Barrier air is pretty easy to see

We may not have a lsquoroyalrsquo in our aero Club of the North Shore but it is a pretty cool place (well not in the sub-tro-pical conditions of late obviously) with everyone taking things easy with just the right level of professionalism to faci-litate great flying and keep us all safe I have to say though the bar at raCWa was open everyday and the Sunday roast lunch was to die for No matter I canrsquot see Georgia getting her pinny on nor Claudine pulling pints anytime soon although saying that may well have lynn sharpening her carving knife or at best doubling my subs See ya over Mikersquos farm

LIFE ON THE CENTRE LINEWRITTEN BY DR MARK JONES

above Pre-flights in progress before the China Southern boys come running (supplied)

above YPJT in all its 3 runway glory (supplied)

played host to the China Southern Flying College with its fleet of Grobs and Piper Senecas The first circuit allocation was open at 8am and Battle of Britain pilots would have been proud at how we scrambled to beat the Chinese off the ground and into the circuit Sadly for them some of the traffic controllers were a stickler for pronunciation around minor things such as taxiing to the holding point for 24 right as opposed to the runway light Not really fair but it did raise a chuckle on occasion as did I have to say my occasionally broad Yorkshire accent requesting permission lsquoT start er oop for taxi T circuit likersquo (though I never actually said like)

all of this two tower and ground control didnrsquot necessarily make everything 100 safe though and there was many a near miss between a Grob Cessna or a robin (from the other flying school) due to an overreliance on the controllersrsquo instructions and not your own Mk 1 eyeballs having said that getting clearance from Whenuapai Tower was a walk in the park after YPJT although horror of horrors I failed my flight radio exam first time around as following my controlled airspace experience I was too cocky and didnrsquot study hard enough for the kiwi version

anyhow coming to live over in Coatesville a wander through Google led me up the road to the one and only North Shore aero Club (shame about the missing royal) I have to say that having been used to YPJTrsquos 1392m by 30m 06l24r 1150m by 18m 06r24l and the chubbier 990m by 30m 1230 I was rather gob-smacked when presented with the skinniest runway I had ever seen Not only was 2103 half the width of the narrowest runway at Jandakot let alone way shorter but it had a great big dip in the middle My new instructor David soon but my mind at rest with his somewhat sardonic quip that lsquothe centreline is in the same placersquo yeah right I have to say though it was a bit of a relief to get away from using three runways of different shapes and sizes and all the optical illusions that entails to having a general idea of something like a pretty fixed profile perspective at North Shore

and so it began again more training different country having become used to the little 152 I deci-ded to forgo the fleet of robins and go for the stret-ched version in the shape of the 172 Skyhawk fondly known as Wicket a bit weird perhaps going for a

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

a l a B o U r o F l o V e 3 6 3 7

A LABOUR OF LOVEPART TWOARTICLE BY IAN COUPER

PHOTOS BY LISA MADGWICK

With a gathering of VIPs (Very Important Pilots) in attendance rodger Colecloughrsquos Zk- MUS T51 Titan Mustang was started up for the first time in 12 years with a satisfying puff of smoke just like the real thing

With MUS securely tethered to a car (as the brakes had not been bled) the start-up went well and after two five minute runs the governor and prop were cycled to circulate the engine oil through it and test the prop itself all went exceptionally well and after shutdown and checking for leaks it was time for a celebratory beer

rodgerrsquos next job is to go through the rotax aDs for the engine which was purcha-sed new 12 years ago so there will be quite a few items to check or replace radio stren-gth tested five and there remains some minor wiring to finish plus the complicated job of fitting the fairings to complete Finally there is the testing of the undercarriage before checking the weight and balance and final inspection by Caa

Because the engine is a proven type the test flying phase will only require 25 hours and will be done by an approved test pilot by which time rodger will have gained his own tail dragger rating on another aircraft all going to plan rodger is hoping for the first flight within six months

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 3 8 3 9

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DRILL

an aircraft on fire beside the club hangar threatens to spread and engulf

the hangar and its volatile mix of aircraft avgas and oil Unless it is contai-

ned urgently a strong Northerly wind poses a serious risk of the fire sprea-

ding and endangering the clubhouse itself

This was the scenario on the 12th of February for a fire drill planned by

the North Shore aero Clubrsquos Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall in conjunc-

tion with the New Zealand Fire Service The exercise involved all flight

instructors and office staff who in the course of the exercise were made

acutely aware of their role and responsibilities should a real situation arise

So realistic was the exercise that on being made aware of the fire CFI

Daryl Gillet instructed Claudine allen who was manning the front desk to

dial 111 to report the fire and request urgent assistance a genuine 111 call

was made and the emergency relayed to the nearest fire station at Silverdale

who of course were aware in advance that this was only an exercise

In short notice four fire engines arrived on scene from Silverdale east

Coast Bays and kaukapakapa and with a strong contingent of twenty plus

fire fighters the fire was promptly dealt with and the injured attended to

The exercise proved a great success and concluded with a review of both

partiesrsquo involvement and a final briefing by Simon along with the Fire Depart-

mentrsquos Senior Station officer Shaun Pilgrim and Senior Fire Fighter T liavaa

from Devonport who coordinated the exercise with Simon a further exer-

cise is planned for next year possibly simulating an incident on the runway

article and photos by Ian Couper (editors note flames surrounding

Caleb are purely decorative)

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

e M e r G e N C Y r e S P o N S e D r I l l 4 0 4 1

Bruce Lynchrsquos rebuild of his Miles Messenger is making steady progress and has had its first engine run We hope to bring you more news of this

historic aircraft in a later edition of Prop Talk

THE MILES MESSENGER

ABOVE L - R T LIAVAA SIMON MARSHALL DAVID PAUW AND SHAUN PILGRIM

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

F r o M T h e a r C h I V e S 4 2 4 3

FROM THE ArchivesArticle by Ivan Prince

as the final year of the 1960rsquos dawned there would have been few if any members of the Club who had any idea of the upheaval that was about to hit the Club once again work was underway using lime from the airfield itself to upgrade the airstrip and Club members were assisting with machinery and manpower to complete the job others were busy working inside the clubhouse and a new kitchen and small canteen had appeared a call went out in February for more pilots to man the Beach Safety Shark Patrol Flights These flights were subsidised by both the east Coast Bays Borough Council and the rothmanrsquos Foundation but the Club was struggling to find enough pilots to operate the contracted number of flights The flights operated three times a day over the summer holiday period and utilised Piper Super Cub Zk-BTV (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 2) and the Cessna 172 Zk-ChT (rothmans Safety Patrol Number 3) The good weather continued from February into March and was reflected in the flying hours and the difficulty faced in booking an aircraft at the weekends

another flying scholarship had been launched this time in conjunction with the local newspa-per the North Shore Times advertiser To generate publicity for the event three Super Cubs piloted by Instructors Jack Norton Peter rushton and Bob le Grice landed in the grounds of the North Shore Teachers Training College with the appropriate photos and story featuring in the newspaper

Subscriptions set for the financial year commencing april 1969 were $10 per annum for Pilot Members and $6 per annum for associate Members Meanwhile as a result of some gene-rous donations and still favourable weather heavy work had once again commenced on the airfield The surface of the runway had been rolled to flat-ten bumps and pack down the soft patches hollows were filled with lime and a layer of metal was spread and then rolled with heavy rollers

on the social side the Wings Dinner was held

at the Milford Marina hotel on Saturday 26 april and the trophies were presented by Don Clark the famous all Black The presentations were followed by a dine and dance which carried on until around one orsquoclock the following morning

In april the Super Cub Zk-BQQ was sold after spending 3 years flying from Dairy Flat and this reduced the fleet to four aircraft Super Cubs Zk-BkU and Zk-BTV Cessna 150 Zk-CCk and Cessna 172 Zk-ChT With the arrival of the winter weather pilots were once again cautioned regarding the dangers of a wet airfield the CFI warning about longer take-off runs less effective braking and taxiing on the soft grass areas

aviation Training ltd ceased to have any association with the Clubrsquos flying on the 25 June 1969 and flying recommenced on Thursday 27 June with the arrival at Dairy Flat of Piper Super Cub Zk-BkW Victa airtourer 100 Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-BZS which were made available by the auckland aero Club Jack Norton was appointed CFI with Bob le Grice as his assistant The hourly flying fees set for the new fleet were

Super Cub $1000 solo $1180 dual Victa airtourer 100 $1060 solo $1180 dual Cessna 172 $1360 solo $1360 dual

The annual General Meeting was held on 8 July and a total of 73 members attended North Shore aero Club now had almost 200 members and it was proposed to hold a series of working bees before the summer flying began in earnest an appeal was also made for Club members to volunteer to operate the Flight office during the weekends due to the increa-sed activity which meant that the instructors were flying most of the time as part of the general clean up the clubhouse had received a new coat of paint courtesy of ron Cooper who supplied the paint and a willing band of helpers who helped him with the work Club Captain Buddy kille had been busy designing a winged emblem for the Club and a plaque bearing the North Shore aero Club insignia now graced the north eastern wall of the inside of the clubhouse on 24 august an escort of six aircraft was airborne from the field over the east Coast Bays to welcome Ian Bennie and his newly rebuilt Tiger Moth Zk-CZX to the airfield

The wet winter weather had taken its toll on the airfield and the grass areas were once again almost unusable especially for the nose wheel aircraft on the plus side the sheep had now been removed from the field although the Social Committee were no doubt somewhat disappointed to find that their cheap source of barbeque chops had disappeared

as the winter slowly blossomed into spring the whole field began to take on a new look The recently painted clubhouse was complemented by a newly erected fence thanks to George Jones and les Wild-man had donated and planted a set of shrubs around the entrance Buddy kille had been wearing his thinking cap again and a Club motto had now been added to the NSaC emblem The wings design now incorporated the words ldquoex agris ad astrardquo which loosely translated in the local vernacular as ldquofrom the paddocks to the skiesrdquo The field itself had gone from one extreme to the other the mud problems of a few months earlier were now becoming dust problems By September even the cross-wind runway was useable again although because of its short length authorisa-tion to use it was still required from an instructor The extra air traffic had also heightened the need for the Club to operate a base radio set and this was installed in the later part of the year operating on the general unattended airfield frequency of 1191

In october the Club employed Mrs alice Ball as a full time Monday to Friday Flight office Manager with the weekends still being covered by volunteers as part of her duties and because there was no security at the airfield Mrs Ball took the dayrsquos takings home with her each night for safekeeping a deed that would be completely unacceptable from all points of view in todayrsquos world a swap around of aircraft by the auckland aero Club had resulted in Victa airtourer 100 Zk-CMe replacing Zk-Cle and Cessna 172 Zk-CeY had replaced Zk-BZS Flying hours had shown a steady climb with 97 in July 208 in august 184 in September and 193 in october and as a result over $7000 had been paid into the bank account since 16 July

ongoing negotiations with a neighbouring farmer arthur Dunn had come to a successful conclusion and he had agreed to sell the Club enough land for it to be able to extend the main runway northward for another 300ft allowing it to be classed as a group 5 rating once the legal formalities had been completed and the land had been paid for it was hoped that work would begin immediately on removing fences and general preparation of the ground

as the decade drew to a close members were able to reflect on a year that had seen massive progress made on the field with improved drainage and a good runway surface meaning that the field should now be available all year a start had also been made on the hangar site area at the northern end of the field and there was optimism that once the area was improved it would become attractive to private owners With the opening of the runway extensions planned for early in 1970 there was a general feeling of optimism beginning to emerge During the year the clubhouse had also been extended and greatly improved which drew much appreciation from the recreational members and canteen users a field plan drawn up by Murray Smith had been adopted by the committee and the scene was set for the Club to progress from strength to strength during the new decade

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4

Phone 09 426 4273 | Email officensacconzPostman Road Dairy Flat RD4

N o r T h S h o r e a e r o C l U B4 4