PROP TALKNORTH SHORE AERO CLUB BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE // June 2019

INSIDE:Across the Ditch: Part 1Young Eagles Visit TaurangaWhere are they now - David King

Contact the office if you would like to receive a printed copy of Prop Talk

In This EditionPROP TALKJUNE 2019

Prop Talk is a bi-monthly magazine published by North Shore Aero Club. Views expressed by contributors are

not necessarily those of NSAC.

Editor: Ian Couper proptalk@nsac.co.nzCompiled by: Jamie Davis

This editions contributors:David Saunders - PresidentJohn Punshon - ManagerDaryl Gillett - CFIBill MacGregor - Safety ManagerDon WilkinsonSue Campbell

Photo Credits:Front Cover: Levi DanielRear Cover: Jamie Davis

Front Cover: Long standing member Geoff Sheehan taxi’s his homebuilt TRI-R TECH KIS-TR1

In This EditionFrom the Editor 4North Shore Directory 5President’s Publication 7Message from the Manager 8CFI Report 10Meet Bill: The New Safety Manager 12Across the Ditch: Part 1 14Milestones 20Young Eagles Trip to Tauranga 22Where are they now? 24Meet The Team 26From the Archives Sub Committee 27Committee Meeting Dates 28A Gong For The Goose 30

Photo: Steve Matheson

From the Editor

It wasn’t just the beaming faces of the thirteen North Shore Young Eagles when they visited Tauranga Airport last weekend that said to me North Shore is back on the right track to again becoming a real CLUB in the true essence of the word. It was also the good will gesture and obvious camaraderie of the eight club members who flew them there including Club President David Saunders and three other committee members who volunteered their time and for some their aircraft to fly them. I believe it is fair to say that while some committees in the not too distant past were instrumental in putting the Club in what is a now and future strong management and financial position, this was regrettably on occasions at the expense of traditional Club related activities and member involvement. The members who flew the Young Eagles to Tauranga last weekend. The many volunteers who supported the club in running the highly successful Flying NZ Nationals earlier this year. The huge turnout of members who attended the Club organised BBQ to farewell Club stalwart Geoff Sheehan. All of these I believe point to the future direction and success of North Shore Aero Club. Ian Couper

North Shore DirectoryPresident: David Saunders Vice president: Roy Crane Treasurer: Andrew Crowhurst Secretary: Candice Gillett Club Captain: Christoph Berthoud Committee: Trevor Dance Nicole Harris Brent Hempel Steve Matheson Adam McLeelyPatron: Stan Smith

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

B-Cat Instructors: Dawson Boles Chantel Strooh Tim Dunn Paul Ryan C-Cat Instructors: Matthew Walls Jamie Davis Rob Graham Ming Zhang Brendon Frame Hamish McGill Office Manager: Lynn PackerOffice Staff: Claudine Allen Pierce Hargreaves

Bar Staff: Brian Clay Angela McLaggan

Groundsman: Caleb Hanham

NS Helicopter Training: Roy Crane

Phone: 09 426 4273 | 300 Postman Road, Dairy Flat RD4 0794

President’s PublicationHi everyone,

As I write this the weather has definitely changed and we are heading in to the cold months of the year. I hope that you all have made the most of the great summer we have had. I was able to go out to the Barrier on a lovely Saturday afternoon not so long ago and do all three aerodromes/airstrips on the island. I have been meaning to do this for a long time and have now finally got it done. The Barrier is such a beautiful place to go flying. Top tip, My Fat Puku’s carrot cake is to die for!

I hope that you have been able to achieve some personal goals also. Speaking of which, I have spoken to Daryl and we are planning to run a Night Flying evening in the not too distant future. Night flying is really cool fun, and it requires only a min of 5 hours to get a rating. My rating isn’t that far from being completed so I will definitely be there to finish it. As mentioned in the January Prop Talk, the Auckland Council released the West Silverdale/Dairy Flat structure plan and has been asking for feedback. Submissions closed earlier this month and the Club has put in a lengthy submission as well as a couple of members’ submissions.

One of the issues we noted in the plan is that the proposed transport infrastructure appears to completely ignore the airport. We are unsure if this is by design or not. We have made serious comment about this in the Club’s submission and we will also be following this up with Auckland Council and Auckland Transport as to why this has happened. As it stands, the transport infrastructure as proposed, will have big implications for the Club and its members.

David Saunders

President’s Publication The review of the constitution is progressing to plan and we will be holding more meetings in late May and early June so that members can come and discuss the feedback we have received over the past 6 months. This is the first time in over 20 years that the constitution has been reviewed and it does need some serious modernisation to bring it up to the current era. As an aside, the internet didn’t exist when the last review took place. Please make time to come and give us your ideas, as these changes are to be made by the members, for the members. The next meeting is Wed 5th June at 1915hrs.

It was really pleasing to see the huge turnout to say farewell to club stalwart Geoff Sheehan who is moving to Rangiora. The Club organised an excellent BBQ and there was much hilarity over some of the stories told about Geoff’s long association with the club. Thank you Geoff, for your many years of passion and effort for the NSAC.

With my other hat on, the Young Eagles programme is in full swing and the kids that we have this year are really top notch. Many had already come to the club and been for a trial flight, some of them have done two, such is their keenness. So if you see a young person in their sky blue shirt, have a chat with them, and make them welcome to the club. Young Eagles is a great way to introduce young people to aviation and build new members for the club. The trip to NZTG was on the 25th May with 8 pilots volunteering their time to fly the YEs. The YEs visited the museum and the Tower and had a BBQ lunch hosted by the TAC YEs. Club members are welcome to come along on these trips if they would like too. Let the front desk know if you are interested and I can add you to my email list.

Happy flying,

Cheers David

David Saunders

Message from the ManagerThis month, I thought that instead of talking about the traditional topics like how lovely or how terrible the weather has been, what events are coming up or when the South Island trip is, I’d leave those topics to the rest of my colleagues and talk about something much more important… Health & Safety!

Over the last couple of months, you may have noticed me talking more and more about Health & Safety and the ever mysterious SMS (Safety Management Systems) topic. Our SMS is designed to surpass the requirements of both the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 in one cohesive and easy to use package.

What does it mean to me as a Club Member?

Let’s keep things simple and answer this question by giving a bit of background information first.

North Shore Aero Club is in a somewhat unique situation in that we are not only an Aero Club but also an Airport operator and Flying School. This presented a very unique challenge to us in our quest to implement a robust SMS because we had three areas to cover whereas the vast majority of organisations only have to worry about being a Club, Airport or Flying School, not all three. However, I am pleased to say that despite the complexity of the organisation, we are seen by CAA as a leader in the simplicity and quality of our system.

All this said, I personally feel that we have a long way to go. The system works very well across the Flying School but there is much room for improvement on the Club and Airport fronts. Over the coming months, we will be making a big push to bring everyone more up to speed with SMS so that all Club Members are aware of their responsibilities, specifically tailored to how each Member uses and interacts with the Club. For example, if you hire a C172 once a month, you don’t need to know about how to get visitors through Gate 1 to your hangar because you don’t have a hangar, similarly, if you don’t hire a Club aircraft, you don’t need to know about the hazards in the Club hangar as you won’t be going there.

I still don’t know what SMS is!

SMS is a very simple system built around two important elements:

1. Just Culture,2. Reporting.

Just Culture is a concept whereby people making genuine mistakes and errors of judgement are not punished for their actions provided they are upfront about it. The idea is that in being human, we all make mistakes and it is highly beneficial for those who make a mistake to share their experience so that others can benefit from it and hopefully not fall into the same trap. However, it must be noted that the just culture concept is not a get out of jail card for negligent actions. If you want to

know more about just culture, have a look here https://www.caa.govt.nz/policy-ops/just-culture-what-it-means-to-caa/. So how do we get to learn? Reporting!

Reporting an occurrence or a hazard is the mechanism by which we can look into what happened and in the case of an occurrence, determine either the causal factors and share the information so that others can learn from it. Reporting can be done anonymously through the My NSAC interface at http://user.nsac.co.nz/Hazards/Create. It is also important to report hazards so the associated risks can be assessed and mechanisms put in place to either mitigate or eliminate the risks.

So in a nutshell, that is SMS. Our internal systems to process and deal with this information are the complex bit but thankfully you don’t need to know about this. What you do need to know is that the Hazard Register on the My NSAC site http://user.nsac.co.nz/Hazards/Active, the

Safety Update emails and various notices and publications we have are the generic feedback systems we use to keep you abreast of what is going on. If something directly involves you, you will be kept up to speed on a more personalised level.

What next?

We will be contacting all persons associated with the Club over the next number of months to be fully inducted into our SMS. Don’t worry, it’ll be short and simple and you’ll be able to review the information at any time through the My NSAC site. However, we welcome people to voluntarily get ahead of the game so if you would like to be one of the first, please contact Matt Walls matt.walls@nsac.co.nz, your Safety Officer and he will be only too happy to run you through it ahead of time.

Until then, happy flying!

John Punshon

CFI ReportNow winter is here it’s time to consider the effect of seasonal change, specifically those things that will impact your flying. One key area is aircraft performance, and although it is usually better during the colder months, there are factors that can significantly reduce it, like icing and runway contamination for example.

If an aircraft is left outside on a cold, clear night, you may well arrive in the morning to find a layer of hoar frost coating it. It’s imperative that any ice deposited on the aircraft, the wings in particular, is fully removed before flight (using a plastic scraper normally works best). Ice adhering to the aircraft, especially the wings, will disrupt airflow causing reduced aerodynamic lift and a higher stall speed. Furthermore, all that ice adds up, and as a result the aircraft will weigh significantly more than normal, reducing its performance.

It won’t be long now until the grass areas will be too soft for aircraft ops. Once the grass is closed it usually remains that way until November or December – depending on how wet or dry the winter was. Please always check the NOTAMs prior to flight and certainly before using the grass areas. After heavy rain the concrete runway can become contaminated with excess water and aquaplaning should be considered. Although we have significantly improved drainage in this area, water can sometimes pool at the lowest point at the intersection of the runways. Background: Steve Matheson

Sign outs

The process of signing pilots out to fly our aircraft is really an authorisation and a confirmation that whenever our aircraft fly they meet the requirements of our insurer. It means that every time a pilot flies our aircraft we need to check they are legally entitled to do so. Typically we need to assess the following:

Your licence – firstly, that you have one! But also that it is a lifetime licence. Student pilots will need to meet other criteria for the flight.

Your BFR – this is what keeps your licence current. We’ll look for your latest BFR sticker to check it has not expired, or your PPL/CPL issue sticker (if you passed your licence flight test within the immediately preceding 2 years). If it’s expired, you can only exercise the privileges of a student pilot.

Type rating and currency – we’ll need to assess your logbook to check that you have a type rating and that you’re current (3 take-offs and landings with 90 days). If you’re not current we may or may not allow you to perform 3 take-offs and landing by yourself (to get current), at the authorising instructors discretion. To make that call we’ll look at your general currency, time on type and overall experience. If a dual check is required use it as an opportunity to hone your skills.

Your medical – we need to see your actual certificate, bearing in mind

that your medical certificate is valid only in you are medically fit to hold it. We’ll also ensure that you will comply with any restrictions on the back of the certificate i.e. you carry spare spectacles if required etc.

Even if we have a copy of your licence or medical on file, we will need to view the original, as with all the documents above. Remember we have hundreds of active pilot members and students, and it’s just impossible for us to remember individual details. It is crucial that we check, because on a more regular basis than one might think we do find concerns that prevent the pilot from acting as pilot in command – most commonly an expired BFR, or medical, or the pilot not complying with the restriction or limitations of their medical.

The sign out is a bit more than that though, because we may also seek to ensure that the pilot has considered other operational factors too. This might include a completed weight & balance, and performance charts, as well as evidence that an appropriate level of pre-flight planning and weather/NOTAM assessment has been conducted. These are all aspects of proper preparation and decision making, and ultimately help to keep you and your passengers safe.

Stay safe out there people.

Daryl

I first climbed into a Piper Cub for my first flying lesson in March 1969 at Thames airfield. In 1971 I joined the RNZAF gaining my wings in March 1972. I completed a helicopter conversion course in June 1972 then flew Iroquois and Sioux helicopters until 1979 when I completed an instructors course followed by a helicopter instructor course in 1980. I returned to operational helicopter flying in 1981 and flew on and off until 1999 when I left the RNZAF for greener pastures. During that 18 year period from 1981 to 1999, I filled a number of positions in Singapore, Iran and the USA in addition to NZ. My time in the USA was spent with a standardisation organisation which introduced me to the basics of safety management through standard operating procedures and technical specifications. The RNZAF also dabbled in processes like total quality management and quality assurance processes allied to regular restructures and equipment change. The RNZAF I left was not the one I had joined 28 years earlier. My civilian career spans a wide range of activity from managing an airport maintenance company to selling ships and writing tender proposals for civil works contracting companies. In 2005 I stumbled into the aviation regulatory sphere by becoming the Director of Civil Aviation (DCA) in the Solomon Islands following the ‘ethnic tension’ and intervention by RAMSI (the regional assistance mission to the Solomon Islands). I filled that role for three years

Meet Bill:the New Safety manager

full time then did five years month on month off supporting the CAASI after localising the Directors position. During this period I provided mentoring support to the Tonga CAD and became the DCA for Niue, a position I continue to fill. I joined CAA as the principal aviation examiner (PAE) in 2014. This coincided with CAA ramping up training for the introduction of SMS and the consequent training in the basics of SMS from a regulatory viewpoint. I never envisaged becoming a Safety Manager in industry or I would have taken a greater interest in the training! I retired from CAA in 2017 and now fill a number of roles in industry with Aviation NZ as well as my DCA Niue role. Despite my career in aviation spanning 50 years I never held a civil licence so I decided to join the NSAC and obtain a fixed wing RPL. My introduction to the club included the words ‘you could fill in as Safety Manager (SM) as Tim is off to Aus!’ Yes I could until we can find a permanent SM. Trapped. I guess there aren’t a lot of volunteers for SM so you may well be stuck with me for some time. I am writing this introduction while attending a meeting of the Safety Management -International Collaboration Group (SM-ICG) in Brisbane. See the short report later in this Safety Letter. I may look grim but I don’t bite and I’m keen to meet my fellow club members and talk about all things aviation. Fly safe.

Bill

Meet Bill:the New Safety manager

Bill MacGregor

Across the Ditch: Part 1An adventure by four plane nuts in Home Built planes into the Aussie outbackBy Don Wilkinson - Auckland

For many years I have dreamed of flying my wee VW powered Corby Starlet to Australia someday.After starting calculations and overload fuel tanks I dropped the idea in the name of sanity

The forgotten dream was rekindled when my son David, having built and successfully flown a much more advanced RV8 aircraft, met Bill Luther and Peter Merwood who both had a similar dream. Bill, Peter and David met on several occasions and as the planning developed so did my original dream. When David suggested I come too, it was painful to contempt staying at home just to watch.

THE FIRST BASE

Quite naturally the most significant obstacle at this early stage was apprehension on my part and downright denial by David’s mother and my beloved wife, Brenda. “Don, you’re NOT going” was her continuous chorus for weeks and I became resigned to disappointment. Brenda’s response was, I concede, totally understandable. Anyone can see that and everyone sympathised totally.

After many weeks I gingerly re-approached the issue and after resistance got a reply to the effect that Brenda just did not want to discuss it anymore.I took this as a “Yes”. We didn’t discuss it. The planning continued. I was included.I understood completely. Her two closest men, together launching out across the Tasman, totally dependent on a single engine, was concerning and I felt very sorry but the challenge, the excitement was too much.To be honest, I was confident. The preparation by Peter, Bill and David were very thorough and there was a lot of it to do.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM HOME

Departure was only three days away when we talked about it again.It was when I drew Aussie cash from the bank and also came home from the supermarket with muesli bars that acknowledgement actually happened.In the end, it was Brenda’s courage with which I was impressed.I started to feel like the Bull Fighter. All brave ‘till the bull appears.

UNDERWAY

The rest is from my daily diary written in an A4 book with a pencil as we used to. (Remember when Cut ‘N Paste implied scissors?)

Don Wilkinson strapped in and ready to go

THE DIARYSaturday 21 May 2016

Sitting at home at 8.00 PM watching windy weather, MetService and MetVUW.Weather has been very rough over last night with a deep low over Northern NZ. Quite complex. Expecting a clearance Monday with strong South Westerlies and partly cloudy. So tomorrow we plan to be at Kerikeri by 3.00 PM

Peter still has to get up from Wellington which looks possible, windy but mostly clear. Fingers crossed for him. Peter, Bill and David have done a tremendous amount of planning and Bill, with his experience will most likely be our best advisor on Go /No Go decisions.

Most of our gear is already with ZK WLK waiting for us. David has assembled every possible safety device, immersion/floatation suits, brand new four-man inflatable raft, beacons Spot Trackers emergency rations and even un- entanglement knives. Everything is connected with cords and lanyards to keep us with it. Nothing is tied to the plane.

All planes have 406 Beacons, Spider track senders, Spot Trackers in the plane and on person. We have four totally independent GPS navigation systems and a Satellite phone each. HF radio, required by law, was not included as the more modern communication systems have long superseded it.

David Campbell- Morrison has been appointed our safety and contact manager and Gavin Magill, Administrator of Sport Aircraft Association, the general information centre.

So, ready to go. David is to pick me up from home at 11.00 AM tomorrow

77

Dave Campbell-Morrison (DCM) was Safety Watch on spidertracks and Spot Track at all times.(The Tasman never looked like this.)

The Pilots – The Right Stuff

Pages 02-19.indd 7 5/07/2016 9:56:57 a.m.

The Pilots - Bill Luther, Peter Merwood and David Wilkinson

Sunday 22 May 2016

Sitting in David’s hangar while he goes over it all again, “Do we need this, Na, oh yeah” and back in it goes. David had called in about 10.30 and finally with all the goodbyes and hugs done we felt relieved to be on our way. A departure tinged with foreboding and apprehension.

Have heard Peter is battling weather off New Plymouth, due Kerikeri 12.30 and Bill will be out of Ardmore at about 12.00After packing ZK-WLK with all the bits and pieces, I was strapped in and David taxied to the pump and filled it up. Just as we taxied to the hold for takeoff we heard Bill in ZK-WLL going past Whangaparoa. Looks like perfect timing. David and I made Kerikeri at 1.30 PM, within 10 mins of Bill and Peter who was in RV 6 ZK-VRV.

We were a little hungry but it just happened that a group of Air NZ retirees, pilots and hosties were having a reunion luncheon at the field. We were well fed. Good start, thank you. After a ride to town, we walked into town for dinner and a stock up of inflight tucker and hit the sack.

Monday 23 May 2016

Following an early breakfast by David in our rooms, the motelier drove us to the Airport.

Though the weather was still showery we could see signs of improvement as we prepared, fuelled and went through the customs process. After I was installed in the back of WLK, complete with immersion floatation suit, life jacket, life raft, emergency grab bag Peter found a problem with water in his radio. I wasn’t getting out unless it was insurmountable so I just sat for 45 minutes while David

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ZK-WLK , ZK-VRV, ZK-WLL

Dad & Dave

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and Bill helped Peter sort things out. By using the passenger’s radio jack points the problem seemed to be fixed.

Finally at 10.30, all sorted and fully loaded we departed, next stop Norfolk, hopefully. The showers persisted for the next hour by which time we were well past the Three Kings.

The sea did not look at all inviting as we watched a container ship heading west round Cape Reinga. It told us a bit about the size of the sea.

Keeping between 1500 and 3000 ft we passed reporting points, MUGAN and ELNOS, Peter relaying our reports by Sat phone to Oceanic control as required.

All went smoothly and as we approached our 30 mile out calling point, Bill discerned a distant smudge on the vast flat horizon. His call back to us was reassuring music to our ears. Land was dead ahead. Great things these GPS navigation systems.

We all arrived and circled overhead while an Australian airliner joined below us into Runway 29. This gave us a look round the island, just a bit of forced sightseeing.

It was a very happy arrival with no problems other than Peter’s radio again for a short time. He used a handheld for a while ‘till it all dried out eventually.

Norfolk Customs processed us and we were in.

Peter’s, David’s and Bill’s preparation, organising and rechecking all paid off with no complications at all. Totally professional and aided by very obliging Airport personnel. With the craft tied down and unpacked, we were happy. A beer and dinner at the Bowling Club topped the day off nicely.

Tuesday 24 May

We were accommodated at the Hibiscus Apartments Aloha in Burnt Pine, the village centre.We will happily stay for two days waiting for the weather ahead to settle.

Bill has a wee problem in that his flaps won’t retract. David Bill and Peter managed to get them up with temporary power to the flap motor and that’s how they will stay for the duration. It was decided not to try any harder for fear of making things worse. It is workable as it is.

David picked up a rental car and we did an un-conducted tour of discovery.Mt Pitt, Cook’s Lookout, Slaughter Bay, the Penal facility and the wharf. We had a good general look over. Nice views, rough roads.A visit to the Norfolk Met Office near the airport confirmed Thursday was the best window to get to Lord Howe and on the Port Macquarie. Exactly as we had expected three days ago after studying the weather while in AucklandAdam and his mate at the met office were very competent and discussed at some length the best plan. We were obliged and confident.

Dinner was at the RSL where at 7.00 PM exactly we were all called to attention to remember the dead. Very dignified and sobering.

Across the Ditch will continue in the next Prop Talk

Allan Liu - First Solo7 April 2019

Milestones

Dave Colborn - PPL7 April 2019

Hamish McGill - MEIR19 Aptil 2019

Matt Grant- MEIR19 April 2019

Sam Hoult- PPL27 April 2019

Alan Thompson- First Solo12 May 2019

Gemma Douglas - First Solo8 May 2019

Johnson Lam - PPL8 May 2019

Young Eagles Trip to Tauranga

Saturday 25th May saw 8 aircraft take the Young Eagles to NZTG.

Autumn weather can be very fickle, but the weather from a week out looked promising, as a huge high pressure system of over 9000km settled over Australia and NZ. The forecasting showed that by Saturday it would be leaving NZ shores and the dreaded Nor Easters would bring low cloud and clag to the ranges. But the day turned out to be perfect for flying. Despite a bit of fog at NE we were able to get away on time at 0930. An hour later, after a smooooth as flight, we arrived on masse and Matt the controller had his work cut out to land the 6 C172s, and with the faster Archer and C182 arriving too, it was all on. Just as well we had phoned ahead, cos Matt took it in his stride, and with very little “how’s ya Father”, we were swiftly given clearances on first contact, to fly straight into the circuit for grass 07.

We parked up outside the Tauranga Aero Club rooms, making a sizeable dent in their parking capacity. After disembarking and being greeted by Laurie, we wandered off to the museum. The YEs got an hour to check out the aircraft and exhibits at the museum with kids young and old climbing into the aircraft.

Then it was a short walk across to the Tower to meet the controllers and check out their excellent viewpoint, and how they managed the aircraft around the Tauranga airspace.

Back to the clubrooms, we had an excellent lunch put on by Laurie and his wife. With lunch finished ahead of schedule, it was suggested that we head to Pauanui for an ice cream. This was meet with plenty of approval by the YEs, so off we went to UN. By this stage the easterly clag had set in and the trip up the coast was the perfect solution to deal with the 1200’ ceiling. The locals at UN certainly got a good dose of aviating with heaps of planes coming and going during the half an hour we were there.

Then it was back to NE and arrival at 1600hrs.

A huge thanks to Christoph, Brent, Brendon, Rob, S-Cat Perreau, Nicole and Grierson for volunteering to take the YEs to TG. A superb day, superb flying conditions, and superb company. What more could you ask for?

The next YE trip is to Dargaville for their world famous Saturday lunch, on Saturday the 3rd August. If anyone would like to come with the YEs, let the front desk know.

Article: David SaundersPhotos: Levi Daniel

Where are they now?

There can’t be many, if any other students at North Shore who have flown their first solo off the crosswind runway 27, but that is exactly what budding pilot David King did on the day of his 16th birthday. Having waited most of the day for the inclement wind and weather to improve, and with time running out, his instructor Dawson Boles authorised David to fly his first solo off R/W 27, notwithstanding the setting sun in his face and possible wind shear sometimes experienced on short finals. Today with over 4000 hours in his logbook David is in his dream job, based at Alice Springs flying the Pilatus PC-12 with the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service fulfilling their mission to bring medical care to those in need. With mum, Liz King, the Competition

Coordinator at North Shore Aero Club and a very young son in tow David was often found helping the Devon 21 syndicate by cleaning their aircraft at weekends. His efforts were duly rewarded by flights with Alistair Blake in his C-150, ZK-MTM culminating in David achieving his PPL in 2008. The same year he represented the Club in the flying NZ National Competitions held at Timaru where he gained first place in the Basic Panel Instrument flying competition. As with many North Shore budding career pilots experiencing a lack of student loan funding, David sought to progress his flying at the Waikato Aero Club where he gained his CPL, Instructor, Multi, IFR and Aerobatic ratings. A period of instructing at the Hamilton club and a part-time job as a ground handler with Air New Zealand and other operators helped him service his student loan. This was followed by a not so happy period in Tauranga with Sunair instructing in their C-152/C-172 and charter work in a Piper Aztec.

2019, David ready to fly the PC-12 to home base

2013 saw a move to Great Barrier Airlines flying the Islander, Partenavia and the ubiquitous Trislander which, even on a good day, using R/W 03 with a heavy load caution required a left turn when airborne to avoid crossing the ridge ahead. The final scheduled flight of a Trislander in New Zealand was flown by David before these three-engined workhorses found a new home overseas many months later. If the Trislander was David’s most

unusual stead his move to Sounds Air introduced him to the Cessna C-208 Caravan which he termed a dream to fly. Initially based in Wanganui flying the Wanganui-Wellington route he opted to move to the company’s home base in Blenheim where in 2013 he commenced flying their new high-performance Pilatus PC-12. Bored with flying passengers from A to B and back again and with no desire to join a major airline David applied for a job with the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service and in October 2017 accepted a position based in Alice Springs, again flying the PC-12. Despite a maximum cruising speed of 265tas the PC-12 takes over three hours to reach either Darwin or Adelaide from Alice Springs though most flights are shorter with Kings Canyon and Uluru-Ayers Rock being visited on a regular basis. Article: Ian CouperPhotos: David King & Ian Couper

2008, farewelled by Instructors Daryl Gillet & Tim Hawkes a young David King (centre) is in for a long day flying C-152

ZK-SSG to Timaru where he gained a 1st place in the Flying NZ Nationals

Meet The Team

Daryl Gillett - CFIJohn Punshon - Manager

Management

Ground Staff

Lynn Packer, Claudine Allen, Pierce Hargreaves, Caleb Hanham

B- Cats

Dawson Boles, Chantel Strooh, Tim Dunn, Paul Ryan

C- Cats

Matt Walls, Brendon Frame, Jamie Davis

Rob Graham, Ming Zhang, Hamish McGill

From the Archives Sub CommitteeYou won’t hear much about the work of the NSAC Archives subcommittee, as most of it goes on unobtrusively in the background. Our purpose is to preserve the records, stories, articles and photos of the club. The records include newsletters, Minutes, financial records and more. We started as a loose group of members called the “History Group”, whose initial project was to organise and hold a 50th Anniversary Reunion for all members, past and present, in November 2014. This followed a successful 50th Anniversary Dinner held in the Club hangar in 2013. In 2015 a formal sub committee was formed to ensure that there was on-going impetus for and focus on preservation projects. In 2019 the subcommittee consists of Sue Campbell, Allan Roberts, Ivan Prince, Jack Norton and Earle Young, with a committee member invited to attend all meetings.

Current projects that the team is working on are:1. Finalisation of “the book” – a history of NSAC (the first 50 years: 1963-2013) 2. Scanning and labelling photos, slides and news clippings 3. Oral history interviews of long-standing members The major focus at present is the pulling together of all parts of the book – this work has been going on for some years and has been a spare-time project for member Ivan Prince. Ivan has completed the writing and is now working on the appendices and photos for the book. We hope to hold a book launch at the club when the book is printed. Any member who has historical photos or newspaper/magazine clippings they would like to donate to the Archives please contact Sue Campbell. Ph 021 972895 or email: suecam@xtra.co.nz

Article: Sue Campbell

Committee Meeting Dates

New Members

Ilana GreefTheo Bell

Tianqi DouCallum BellRobert Meili

Cameron HealdShane Moready

Sam RyanJoshua Durney

Karen FosterGreg BroadbeltAron Enstrom

Oliver BradshawPaolo Cousens

Blake BradyDavid SignalPeter May

North Shore Aero Club wishes to extend a warm welcome to the following new members:

25 June

Please Note dates are subject to changeCommittee Meetings commence at 7:15pm in the clubhouse.

Club members are welcome to atted meetings and invited to address the

committee by giving the Secretary at least 48 hours notice in advance of the meeting

A stock take has been taken of all the Club trophies and we have found that there are two missing. They are:1. The Cadillac Cup (Life Raft Dropping) and 2. The Pre-Flight Competition Tray If anyone is holding either of these trophies or knows who is please contact Jamie Davis at the Club: jamie@nsac.co.nz

Notices:

South Island Trip 201924th August - 31st August

There will be a breifing one week prior on Friday 16th August in the evening A rough itinerary is below, this is subject to change with weather: Day 1 North Shore – lunch stop (Whanganui/Paraparaumu) – overnight (Kaikoura/Hanmer Springs/Lake Station/Karamea)Day 2 Overnight location – lunch stop (Omarama or other) – overnight (Wanaka)Day 3 Wanaka – day trip – WanakaDay 4 Day offDay 5 Wanaka – day trip – WanakaDay 6 Wanaka – lunch stop – overnight (Mount Cook or other)Day 7 Mount Cook (or overnight location) – lunch stop – overnight (Kaikoura/Omaka/Nelson/Karamea)Day 8 Overnight location – lunch stop – home!

Day trips may include places like Stewart Island and Milford Sound. Destinations will be selected during the trip based on the weather and other factors. We do the best we can to provide different accommodation options to cater for varying budgets, where it is possible. Bus transfers when required will be facilitated by the trip organises, but paid for individually. Make sure you book quickly as aircraft are running out. If you have not flown in the South Island before you may require an instructor if you are flying a club aircraft. Student pilots are more than welcome, just let us know you are interested and we’ll endeavour to accommodate you. If you’re keen join us, but don’t want to fly the whole trip yourself, we may be able to arrange a seat for you so please let us know. For more information or to register interest please email Daryl cfi@nsac.co.nz

A Gong For The Goose

Former long-serving club member and Competition Coordinator Liz King – affectionately known as Mother Goose – was in the illustrious company of sporting greats Dan Carter, Lydia Ko and Barbara Kendall this month when she was honoured at an investiture ceremony at Government House in Auckland. Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy presented Liz with the MNZM (Member of the NZ Order of Merit) in recognition of her services to aviation. Liz’s citation included her time at North Shore where she volunteered to be Competition Coordinator and reignited interest in competition flying by organising instructors, generating competition interest, finding sponsors for team uniforms and organising trips to regional and national competitions. As Northern Regional Representative on the National Executive of Flying NZ, she played a key role in the organisation of Air Safaris in 2010 and 2013 and since 2012 has been the New Zealand Federation Aeronautique International Representative. Congratulations Liz.

Article: Ian CouperPhoto: Government House

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Daniel Gregory - Account Brokert 09 362 9145 e daniel.gregory@aon.com

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NORTH SHORE AERO CLUBPostman Road, Dairy Flat RD4 | Phone: 09 426 4273 | Email: office@nsac.co.nz