the leading edge in asia’s sport aviation
TRANSCRIPT
The Leading Edge in Asia’s Sport AviationNewsletter Issue 11 April 2011
ACFC Newsletter Page 1
Facebook SiteAngelesflying Club
Angeles City Flying Clubwww.angelesflying.com/Glider Philippineswww.glidersphilippines.comYahoo Groups ACFCwww.groups.yahoo.com/group/acflyingclub/Al Malcolm’s Yankin’ and Bankin’www.yankinandbankin.com
ContentsClub News 1-3Notices from the GM 5Annual Check Ride Forms 5Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 6-9Our Aviation Heritage 9Why I Hate ACFC 10-13PWD Reach for the Sky 13-15Engine Out - Bucao River 16-20Best Rate of Climb 20New Members & Staff 21Didi Krauss - A Legend 22-23RC Corner 23Flight Safety 24-25A Beauty Reborn 26-28Bits & Pieces 28-29
Photo CreditsTonet Rivera, Terry Hockenhull, Alistair Malcolm, Brant
Shockley, Tony Willis, Monet Henson
Important InformationOffice number:..................................... (045) 8022101GM & Administration (cell):................ (0918) 9203039Office & Admin email:... [email protected]
Format, Layout & Editing Terry HockenhullBrant Shockley
Club NewsTerry Hockenhull, President
It really doesn’t seem that long sinceChristmas and I was sitting down topen the usual message at the startof this newsletter. I’d like to think that what we putout for you is a fun-filled, informative and relevantmissive bringing you all up to date with the comingsand goings at the club. We recognize that noteveryone can get to the club as regularly as some ofour more hard-core members who make the club asecond home.
It’s not just the flying; over the last couple of years,we have really seen the camaraderie of our flyingand non-flying members increase. Despite havingone of the longest bars in the Philippines, it seemsthat the four beaten up wicker chairs and glass tableoutside the office is a favorite location to collapseafter a harrowing flight, discuss war stories and sinka couple of cold ones at the end of the day.
ACFC Newsletter Page 2
We’ve had our ups anddowns this year already. Theyellow Quicksilver (RP-S1261) met its demise at theend of the runway a coupleof weeks back and has left uswoefully short of trainingaircraft.
Nonetheless, the other yellowperil (Mike Schemm and
Owen Stull’s Stearman) now has the appearance ofa ‘flying machine’ even if it is yet to leave the ground.For a while, it looked like Mike might be trying to getit airborne until we noticed the absence of wings andwere reminded, by the throaty rumble of the massiveradial, that the aircraft was wandering around ourtaxiways and airfield to test the engine. The wingsare now on and what a glorious beast she looks. ‘Anytime soon’ would appear to be the standard responseto “when will she fly?” It can’t be long now!
We kicked off the new year with the PWD Reach forthe Sky Project. John Chua (a former member)came up with a plan for us to participate in a flyingday for people (children) with disabilities (PWD).On January 7th, 2011, we hosted a co-sponsoredevent at the club with Canon Philippines, SM Clark& SM Malls, Department of Tourism (PampangaRegional Office), Philippine Army, Philippine Navyand Philippine Coastguard.
And what a success the day was! More on this laterin a separate article. Suffice to say that as a resultall of the hard work put in by Tony and the team, ourpilots, members and families, we all had a fantasticday. We would like to believe that we made a majorcontribution to the success of the event flying over
12 hours on club aircraft and double that on privatelyowned aircraft. And the club was happy to absorb aclub fuel and maintenance bill of over P45K.Individual members paid all of our own fuel andmaintenance bills out of our own pockets.
As I said right at the start of planning the event, wedid this because we felt it was the right thing to do!At the end of the day, everyone who participated feltthat disabled kids enjoyed a truly memorable day. Ialso believe we learned a lot about ourselves by givingtime and effort so generously to make the event atruly outstanding success and one which we can berightfully proud of.
I’m unfortunately in the unenviable position of havingno aircraft to fly at the moment. RP-S1457 sits at theback of hangar 1 with wings stripped, engine off andnose cone undergoing renovation. My ever forgivingpartner, Chris Parker is out of the country (sailing aboat around Australia I think) but Alan Nash (my otherpartner) who now makes more regular visits toWoodland is in the same boat as me.
If you haven’t heard, an ‘engine out’ on a trip back toWoodland from Iba left me sitting in the middle of theBucao River lahar field awaiting rescue for 12 hours.(I wrote an account of my ‘ordeal’ published on AlMalcolm’s Yankinandbankin’ website however, haveslotted in the account later in the newsletter hopefullyfor your enjoyment (and also because there are somevaluable lessons to be learned).
The one positive note from this saga is that we arefinally fitting the 100hp 912UL engine on RP-S 1457and have already ordered a replacement Rotax 582for our Drifter.
Mike & Owen’s Stearman:Testing the Engine!
Who Says Jay Cook isn’t a Softie at Heart? Jay Flies JeremyLorenzana Lapeña (Downs Syndrome) at our PWD Event
Engine out in the Bucao River Northwest of Mt. Pinatubo.
ACFC Newsletter Page 3
Now the news we have all been waiting for! We haveat last secured agreement with Gordon & Risa to buyWoodland Airpark. Hopefully, by the time thisnewsletter goes out to members, we should be wellon the way to transferring title of the property andassets.
You will appreciate that some of us have invested inour club’s future to ensure that we can continue tooperate the flying club as a viable business. For thosewho have sought to criticize our efforts, let me justsay that without the commitment and generosity ofthese members, we would likely have lost our flyingfield, our hangarage and the very real gains we havemade in the club over the last couple of years. Theidea that we could simply up sticks, find another pieceof land and move lock, stock and barrel was never arealistic option. The cost would have been prohibitiveand the loss of business we would have faced overthe 12 to 18 months it would have taken to set upbasic facilities would simply have bankrupted the club.Our options were seriously limited so I personallyextend my thanks to all of you who have shown somefaith in our future. There is still room for those of youwho would like a place in the country, an opportunityto participate in the future of the club and the chanceto be part of a bigger development over time thatmight provide a very good return on your initialinvestment.
In future newsletters, I will of course continue toupdate you on the progress of the deal and our plansfor the future. What must be said at this point in timeis that the costs associated with buying the club aremajor and our investors will be seeking to realize ourinvestment by ensuring we operate ACFC as a viablebusiness entity. Financially, we must tighten ourpurse strings, ensure our members’ accounts aresettled on time and engender greater respect forfacilities, aircraft and equipment. Further, we mustall take on board the responsibility of getting morevisitors, guests, students and pilots to the club. Thismeans introducing sports aviation to our friends andfamilies, letting people know of our experiences andactively marketing our club and facilities. I’ve said itbefore; we are a club. This means getting involvedin what we are doing.
I’m delighted to tell you that as a result of the successof last year’s November Fest, we have scheduledanother club activity for May 14th and 15th. We willkeep the format similar to last year’s highly enjoyableevent with flying competitions on Saturday (flourbombing, ribbon cutting, spot landing, treasure hunt
and balloon bursting) and a fly-in breakfast at a distantairfield (Paniqui, Iba, Nampicuan?) for our Sundayactivity. Hopefully other groups, associations andclubs will also participate in the event. If you are a
member of anotherclub or association,please extend aninvitation to them toattend.
We have quite a fewnew members to theclub with 6 studentsundergoing training.This keeps Boy busyspending long hours inaircraft trolling aroundthe pattern. Let mejust say that having
done quite a bit of instruction over the last couple ofmonths, I have the greatest admiration for Boy. Tosit in a noisy Quicksilver for hours on end, day-in,day-out while less than competent students commitall of the scary mistakes and blunders associated withtrainee pilots (and then some) shows a great deal ofpatience, forbearance and commitment. Thank youBoy!
Irrepressible AlistairMalcolm has recentlybeen appointed as anAdvanced FlyingInstructor. The scarytales he tells of pilotingan Airbus A320 aroundSouth East Asian skiesmight make onenervous aboutclimbing in a cockpitwith him. Let me justsay that Alistair hasexcellent piloting skillsand abilities as well asa common sense andresponsible approachto airmanship.
We fly together regularly and push each other toperform to the highest standards practicing everymanoeuver possible. (Al even threw a simulatedengine failure and ‘disabled pilot’ leaving me to landhis GT500 from the rear seat with no flaps orinstruments)! Yikes! Scary stuff!
Advanced Flying InstructorMaximillian ‘Boy’ Guevarra
Advanced Flying InstructorCheekie Chappie!
Alistair ‘Al’ Malcolm
ACFC Newsletter Page 4
We have discussed having an annual check ride forall pilots prior to issuing a license to fly (as stipulatedin our Operations Manual).I have published the flighttest in the newsletter soyou all know what you arein for. Let either Alistair ormyself know when youwant to do your test andwhich aircraft you wish tobe tested in. We will thenadminister the test (about20-25 minutes flight time)and providing you don’tmake any major screw-upsand you manage to getyourself and examiningpilot safely back to the field intact, you will be deemedto have passed! Then you can fly for another year.
In line with annual checks, you will be pleased to hear(if you haven’t received it already) that we now have
Sample of your Sport Pilot Certificate
From the GM - NoticesTony Willis
A great start to the year! We are seeing many more visitors taking Trial Introductory Flights. Wehave six students undergoing training and our cashflow looks healthy with earnings above ourpredictions for the first quarter. The impending buy-out makes it much easier to plan for our futureand implement strategies to ensure our growth and survival. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news!The Club has been forced to increase the rental charges for Club aircraft by P300 per hour
effective April 2011. I’ll keep a close eye on this and if possible, remove the surcharge if fuel costs decrease.
I have also been forced into implementing a new policy relating to work conducted on private owner’s aircraft.Effective April, 2011 work may not be started on any aircraft until a work sheet has been raised by the office and theowner has agreed to the estimate. Should an aircraft owner persuade a mechanic to spend time on an aircraftwithout a worksheet (no matter how simple or quick the ‘repair’ is) he will be billed a half day’s labor charge. Let meput this in perspective for you! Our mechanics should generating in excess of P3,000,000 per year. Our actualearnings last year amounted to a little over P600,000!
I am very cognizant that we are a club and I don’t want to spoil the ‘club atmosphere’. When there are minor tasksthat need to be done you will continue to get the very best support and help from our mechanics. But mechanicalwork is a different matter altogether. If work is being done on your aircraft (and you are paying for it) it is hardly fairif the mechanic gets called away to work elsewhere. And simply put, we cannot afford to lose the revenue!
A couple of members have commented that our signage outside the club looks a bit faded.There are undoubtedly many other ‘housekeeping’ jobs that need to be looked at. I would bethe first to agree and now we are on a more secure footing, we will be tackling these issuesone by one.
At our Annual General Meeting, we tasked Chris Parker to act as the Club Safety Officer. Wemust hold the safety of other pilots, members, guests and employees in the highest regardand this means adhering to all of our club rules and regulations. (If you are unsure of whatthese rules are, there is a copy of our flight operations manual and club rules and regulationsin the Administration office.)
the equipment in place to issue you with a drivinglicense sized ‘Sport Pilot License’. These will be
provided free of charge (forthe first year) and replacedannually subject tosuccessfully passing yourflight handling test andpaying your membership infull. For pilots who add anadditional type rating to theirlicense, there will be a smalladministrative charge toreplace your license so thenew types can be reflected.
Well, that’s all from me thistime around. I’m sure I haveleft a lot unsaid but I would
like to think we have brought you some great articlesby Wolff Heinrichsdorff, Tonet Rivera and Toti Alberto.
Enjoy and Happy Landings!,
Club Safety OfficerChris Parker
ACFC Newsletter Page 5
AngelesCityFlyingClub
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AnglesCityFlyingClub,WoodlandAirpark,SitioTalimundok,Sta.Maria,Magalang,Pampanga
PRIVATE&CONFIDENTIAL
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ACFC Newsletter Page 6
As February swung around again, we were all surprised how quickly January had rumbled its way into the pastand we were once again looking forward to our participation in the 16th Philippine International Hot Air BalloonFiesta.
As a member of the organizing committee, I can relate that we were late getting started. Usually, ourorganizational meetings are in full swing by the middle of October; we met for the first time at the end ofNovember! Not to start planning but to decide if we would push ahead with the event!
Unsurprisingly, our initial discussions focused on the amount of hard work we would all have to put in to get thesite organized, arrange logistics (to get the balloons here) and find the requisite finances and sponsorship topay for the equipment, staff, overseas participants’ travel and the myriad of other costs associated with event.There was much talk about the difficulties we encountered last year.
The initial consensus was that we shouldn’t hold the event this year! Yet, comments such as, “It really wouldbe a shame not to have one!”, “The public expect and look forward to the Fiesta”, “Is there a more popular,well-attended spectacle in the Philippines bigger than our Fiesta?” were uttered by many of us who, despite allof the hard work, feel we accomplish something major each year. So after 2 hours of discussions, we all leftwith our assigned responsibilities and the general agreement that it was ‘on’!
With Christmas, New Year, our PWD - Reach for the Sky event and other factors, we ended up condensing ourplanning and organizing into half the time we usually have. But the Father of Philippine Ballooning, Joy Roasought out more balloonists, aerobatic pilots, general aviation schools, technical colleges, and other aviationenthusiasts to come and join us between February 10-13, 2011.
Early Morning on the First Day of the 16th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta
ACFC Newsletter Page 7
Tony and our team at Woodland had a new tentconstructed and again we imposed on Tony Castrilloand Mike Bradley to allow the Purple Quicksilver andthe Ridge Runner to be used as display aircraft inour tent. Much hard work went into getting the aircraftunder canvass (necessitating the temporary removalof the Quicksilver ’s king post) and banners,photographs, T-shirts and other merchandisingmaterials had to be transported to the site a coupleof days ahead of opening day. Believe you me; ahuge amount of work for all of our staff at the club!
This year, theFiesta site wasnearly double thesize of last year.We were anxiousthat we would notget hangarage forour aircraftthroughout thefour-day event butat the last minute,Joy Roa imposedon the PhilippineAir Force to allowus to squeeze intoa hangar suitablyclose to AlphaTaxiway.
Alistair Malcolm, Chris Mason, Terry Hockenhull,Brant Shockley, Peter Heilveil, Wolff Heinrichsdorff,
Stealing the Show!Shamay and Angela
Albert Mendoza, Helmut Fink, Leonard Chico, RolfDunder and Brian Pine all participated in the fly-bys,flour bombing events and the water-balloon bombingof the ‘Drift’ Racing car. We put on a thrilling showtwice each day. I’m delighted to report that we flewsafely, without incident and presented (as I like tothink we always do) the Angeles City Flying Club inits best light.
A big thank you to everyone who helped out over the4-day festival especially Chris Parker who was atbooth each day together with his lovely wife Elvieand two darling girls, Shamay and Angela. The ‘little-ones’ stole the show!
Tony & Jona were on hand each day to sell T-shirtsand caps and applying a repeat of last year’s initiative,we charged visitors P20 to sit in our Quicksilver for aPhoto ‘Op’. Wow, they were queuing up in long linesoutside the front of our tent all day Saturday andSunday making this a nice little money earner andcontributing towards some of the costs setting up inClark for a week!
Alistair drummed ups some Honeys to don our sexyflight uniforms and how cute they looked!
Thanks also to Boy Guevarra, Gary Jerome and BrantShockley (most of the time!) who forsook the BalloonFest to remain back at Woodland to fly the numerousvisitors who turned up for TIFs.
As they say, a picture paints a thousand words sohere’s a selection of many of the images capturedover the four days of the Balloon Fiesta.
ACFC Newsletter Page 8
ACFC Newsletter Page 9
Our Aviation HeritageWhat many perhaps do not know is that one of the more pressing reasons for holding the 2011 - 16th PhilippineInternational Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is that February 2011 marks the Centennial of the first powered flight in the
Philippines.
Yes, that’s right. The first airplane in the Philippines,christened "Skylark" was a Glenn H. Curtiss built biplanebrought to the country on February 11, 1911 by Capt.Thomas S. Baldwin. The aircraft was piloted by JamesC. Mars on its first flight on 13 February and again on21 February, 1911 in front of packed crowds during theopening ceremony of the Manila Carnival in Paco Park.
Here’s anotherfact about ouraviation history.
Look at any map of Makati City and your will notice Ayala Avenue, Paseode Roxas and Makati Avenue crisscross each other in a typical ‘runway/airfield’ pattern. That’s because these three roads used to be therunways of Neilsen Airport. Built in 1937 during the American colonialperiod, it quickly became the primary gateway between Manila, thePhilippines and the rest of the world. In the 1960s, the vast tract of landin Makati of which the airport was a part, became a premier commercialand financial hub. Although Neilson Field ceased operations as an airport,the terminal building (Neilsen Tower) remains to this day. Neilsen Tower at the corner of Ayala
Avenue and Makati Avenue.
100 Years Ago. Bud C Mars at the Controls of a Curtiss Skylarkfor its First Flight in Paco Park, Manila Philippines
Just in caseyou think thesun shoneevery day, wehad a verywet Friday.By midday,after one anda half hours oftorrential rain,the area infront of ourtent was under 4 foot of water. ‘Every cloud’ as they say; the weatherwas generally kind to us throughout the Fiesta without the searing heatwe have normally come to associate with February. Overcast skies(but a high cloudbase) kept temperatures down to a balmy 2200 Cmaking our ‘close formation’ flights considerably easier!
Parachutists, aerobatics, parasails,ultralights and microlights, hot-airballoons, helicopters, displayteams, flight schools; We had it allat this highly successful eventgaining many admirers and friends.
Thanks again to everyone whoparticipated.
ACFC Newsletter Page 10
Grass! After I joined the Club, I used to exclaim at cocktail parties that I fly from grass. Yuppies would sip theirChardonnays and look at me like I was a 1970’s hippie.“Grass? Uh, isn’t that illegal?”“No, no. Grass runways. Takeoffs are challenging because the surface tension is higher than concrete.” But theireyes have already glazed over, and they want to rant about Willing Willie or Fukushima Dai-ichi, which are in thesame category of current catastrophic events.I fly from the Angeles City Flying Club’s Woodland Airpark. We have a grass runway that is between 50 and 600meters long, depending on where on the runway the resident hangar dog decides to lie down.The problem with grass is that when you touch down, no matter how miniscule your descent rate and forwardspeed, you don’t get that sweet little “chirp-chirp” of tires on concrete that announces your awesomeness as a pilot-god. Since I am convinced my landings rate 12 on a scale of 1 to 10, I feel cheated.Grass is also too forgiving. A pilot could thump down like Godzilla, leaving craters on the turf, and still claim in theclubhouse bar, “Did you see that greaser of a landing? The wheels just started rolling!” The wing spar droops intrauma and the bowlegged landing gear still shivers from fright, but the butt that can’t tell a slip from a skid wascushioned by the soft grass.Since my son Carlo and I moved here in October, we’ve had to duck and weave through the hangars like Lara Croftin the catacombs. Wings overlap propellers, tails poke into cockpits. We look like the hangar deck of the carrierHornet with the Doolittle Raiders.I realize it means more membership and hangar rental business, but soon we may have to hang airplanes from theceiling!
ACFC Newsletter Page 11
Then there are the busybody members. The moment you unscrew your cowling, they are all over you. Lendingtools, offering advice, pointing out that your #3 intake valve pushrod looks like the McDonalds logo. If they do thatto me I’ll hide in the bathroom and hammer the pushrod straight with my fire extinguisher. What’s one stuck valve?The engine has eight of those anyway.They all have the right tools, whereas my rubber mallet fixes all my mechanical issues. I had to buy a ratchetwrench handle, just to look manly. I didn’t bother to get socket wrenches for my ratchet, but if I twist it back and forththe ratcheting racket sounds busy and purposeful.I finally got camouflage netting for my airplane. The whole airplane disappeared, warts and all.
Then there’s the swimming pool. I’m here to fly, right?Why would I sunbathe or swim on a perfect day? Nuts.Now, if a torrential typhoon did ground me, why would Igo swimming in a pool during a typhoon? Ridiculous. Isay put the amphibian ultralights in the pool – that’s away to unclog the hangars!I realize every clubhouse needs a restaurant. But thelong bar at our upstairs restaurant overlooks the approachend of the runway. You can land, but you can’t hide!“Hey, Tonet, make sure you log all three of those landings
on that last approach, hahaha! You were so low on downwind, even the carabaos are scared of you! Har, har, har!”There just isn’t any privacy here. In my old flying school, if you make the same mistake on your approach path, youcould stop unseen on a remote taxiway, furtively pluck thetwigs and leaves from your tires and tail, then taxi innocentlyback to the ramp.We don’t strut around calling ourselves “Captain”. Insteadwe use irreverent nicknames like “Herr Hauptmann” or“Sheepdog” or “Tony-you-miserable-lout-when-are-you-going-to-fill-in-the-craters-on-the-runway”. You half expectto see ‘Kommodore’ Galland or ‘Pappy’ Boyington smokingcigars in the clubhouse. It’s all too relaxed! You can’teven tell we’re pilots. I always wear “I’m a Pilot” T-shirts, toprove my god-like qualities.I’m a general aviation pilot. A magnet would stick to mostparts of my airplane. But the other airplanes here are not
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even made out of airplane stuff! Nylon fabric, titanium, carbon-fiberhoneycomb sandwiches, and that slick polymer that coats JamesBond’s guns or the inside of frying pans. It’s all very strange.The other day, one of our members landed with no engine. He didn’tlose his engine – he neverhad one to begin with.How many pilots fly 50kilometers cross-countryin a wood and fabricairplane with long, slim
wings sexier than Heidi Klum’s legs? He spiraled gracefully in totalsilence above us to lose altitude (an airplane with no engine got toohigh?!), then slipped in with impeccable precision, stopping right in frontof a small admiring crowd. A German glider. Comparing that to myCessna is like stacking a Chardonnay against a Budweiser.No engine, dead stick, zero fuel. A “genav” pilot would consider that afull-blown emergency!It’s depraved, this Woodland fairy tale. They fly on pixie dust and happy thoughts. I need to get out. I don’t seemyself staying more than 40 or 50 years here. Yesterday I waxed myairplane again, for the fifth or sixth time this year. I’m turning intoone of them!
It’s theIt’s theIt’s theIt’s theIt’s thegrass!grass!grass!grass!grass!
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Terry Hockenhull
Words alone will not do justice to this event. Held inearly January, ACFC willingly participated in a dayset aside for over 30 disabled children. I’ll let a sampleof the many photographs taken throughout the daypictures do most of the talking!
It really is difficult to express my gratitude to everyonewho made the event such a resounding success. Thepeople involved are too numerous to all get anindividual mention; but then I think that was one ofthe highlights of the day. To see so many people cometogether to achieve what was done for these ‘special’kids was truly fantastic.
Of course, we all owe a big debtof gratitude to John Chua who’svision and commitment allowedus to pull off a great event in sucha short time. (Just over 3 weeksfrom our initial meeting withChristmas and New Year inbetween!). I know John haspulled off similar events in thepast but I think we would all agreethat the scale and scope of thisone was really magnificent.
To both Canon and SM under the leadership of MargieEscueta and Bien Mateo, another big thank you. Wehave a beautiful facility at Woodland Airpark whichwe were more than happy to share. But both Canonand SM stepped up with site decoration, preparationand generous sponsorship. Their people were trulyprofessional and really did a great job.
Let’s not forget the Air Force, Navy and Coastguard.I know how difficult it is to get resources allocated forthese types of events. To bring in six aircraft plus amedical team who patiently waited around all day and
generously devoted time andaircraft hours to fly kids,parents and media wasfantastic and again all donein the spirit of cooperation. Ialso thought the Air ForceBand did a brilliant job ofproviding music.
Visiting pilots in the R44helicopters and Albert in hismicrolight also generouslygave of their time andengine/airframe hours.
Movie Stars, Santa Claus, the Jolibee Mascot, manymany photographers all added their unique flavor to
the event.
Our flightoperations havenever beenbusier; weestimate that wehad over 200landings andt a k e o f f s
throughout the day. My thanks to Tonet Rivera whomanned a radio all day to keep our skies, pilots andpassengers safe. Tony Willis, our ever enthusiasticGeneral Manager managed to turn a few moreshades of nut brown after an all day exposure in thesun marshalling our aircraft.
Our sponsors providedenough food for anarmy are richlydeserving of ourappreciation. I alsoextend my thanks toOrly Onkingco of the
Event OrganizerJohn Chua
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Kite Association of the Philippines for coming (at very short notice) toorganize an impromptu kite building and flying workshop.
Parents, friends and members of the various advocacy groups andassociations were all on hand to help their kids fit seamlessly into theday’s activities.
I’m sure there are many others whodeserve an ‘honorable mention indispatches’! I thank you all for yourkeen and enthusiastic involvement and participation.
As I said at the start of the day, it was truly an honor for us to host thisevent with an expectation only that the kids leave with smiles on theirfaces! I think we achieved that and more with parents, helpers,organizers and participants all sharing in the spirit of the day!
Thank You, Thank you, Thank You!
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Photo Credits: Peth Salvador, TonetRivera, Agnes Lorenzana Lapena, Aly
ACFC Newsletter Page 16
Yes, well, it all looked pretty good in the morning!!! Adinner party on Saturday evening had left me worsefor wear at 5 a.m.on Sunday 16thJanuary butentreaties fromYankin’ & Bankin’s‘Cheeky Chappie’and Yellow Peril,‘Crash Mason’forced me to trollmy way northwardsalong NLEX to arrive at ACFC at a very respectable8 in the morning. (Not for Al! I called him to say Iwas on my way and he berated me for waking himup!!!)
So, it was off to Iba for a late breakfast/early lunch. A 45 minute hop for the best of us! Three S-12s anda GT500 with assembled pilots, Chris Mason, Alistair,Brant (Shockley) and Gangolf. I had everything readyfor the off when Chris Parker turned up and decidedto take a short hop around the field with a friend. Shit! More delays made even worse by hiscomplaints to mechanic Chris Tulabot (there seems
to be a lot of people called Chris in this story!) thatsomething didn’t sound quite right. Chris’s inspectiondidn’t turn up anything untoward and 1257 was flyingjust fine when Chris P returned.
So after a cursory preflight and after checking I hadplenty of fuel on board, it was off to Capas, CrowValley, Bucao River and in to Iba for Breakkies!
Not the smoothest of flights but plenty of power anda good climb rate had me over the ridge anddescending to the Lahar Field and Bucao River aftera short 25 minutes of flight time. Mind you, I’m ratherhappy we were saving breakfast for later. Bumpy orwhat? I’ve reckon a quick tumble with one of themore enthusiastic lassies from Fields would havebeen a more sedate experience! In fact, it got sobad on approach to Iba, I couldn’t switch frequencieson my radio! Nonetheless, contact with ex ACFCinstructor, Isa had us all wobbling downwind to landRunway 14 (while avoiding a contingent from
Curryland who were flapping around the field in somebeaten up Cessnas.
We parked up on the ramp with three aircraftbeautifully aligned. (Brant and Gangolf certainly didn’tpass muster with 1291 cocked at an alarming 20degrees and 3' in front of the rest of us!)
We walked over to a small resort in front of the airfield
Parked on the Ramp at Iba
Breakfast!
Al Malcolm & Chris Mason
ACFC Newsletter Page 17
for a very respectable (and quite tasty) fried egg (x2),garlic rice and ‘porksilog’ with juice and coffee for atad over US$2.50. We wandered back replete andafter borrowing the requisite monobloc chairs, climbedover our wings to dump whatever fuel stocks we hadbought with us into our tanks.
No one was around to witness our orderly taxi out,backtrack along the runway and departure at 12:30. Now it’s a funny thing! The engine sounded fine; theflight over had been uneventful (apart from theturbulence) and all instruments were telling meeverything was good. But a nagging feeling thatsomething would go wrong on the flight had me
constantly straining tohear any hiccups fromthe engine and adesperation to get asmuch space betweenme and the ground aspossible!
Everything looked andsounded normal as I
commenced a climb to 3,000 feet. Shit, the groundbelow me didn’t seem to be moving too fast but thenwith an indicated airspeed of 60 mph and a headwindof half that, hardly surprising that the trip eastwardsback along the Bucao River Lahar Field seemed totake forever. Couple this with twice the turbulencewe had on the way to Iba and a feeling of completeabandonment from my fellow flight members (whohad either buggered off ahead of me or were yankin’and wankin’ behind me) and my trepidation increasedexponentially. Reaching 3,000 feet (more thanenough to clear the ridge into Crow Valley) the
Gremlins wereworking fulltime telling meI was on theverge of adisaster. Soanother 1,500
feet seemed to be the order of the day!
So there I am at 4,400 feet backing off the throttleand leveling out for the turn to the north east and theflight over the ridge. All instruments looking goodbut l seemed to be losing a little power. “Guys; I mighthave a problem with my engine. Where are you? Keep your eyes on me”. Turn on fuel boost pump,retard and advance the power and there goes another500 rpm. Try again! Retard the throttle to idle andgently advance it to allow the power to come backin. Trouble is; it didn’t! Bang! The engine stoppedand a quick glance out of the cabin showed the propstationary! One in the afternoon and I’m heading tomy death on the lahar!!!!! Actually, this was the lastthing on my mind as I entered a 60 mph glide to theremnants of Pinutubo’s violence!
Here are my thoughts (in no particular order) on theway down:
“So, for all those students I have flown withand practiced forced landings; now I’m goingto have to do it for real!”
“Better not f**k it up! I’ll be the laughing stockif I bugger my plane up!”
“Sure sounds quiet without an engine!”
“Oh for Christ sake, just concentrate on whatyou are doing!”
“Well Bugger me! Just look at all that flat whitesand over there. Easy! No problem! I’ll popher down right over there!”
“Where did all that altitude go all of a sudden? Land on that sand! - Not a chance of makingit! Right, what’s the alternative?
Oh look, there’s a track over there and I canmake it! Yippee!!!! Uh oh! Its got a bend rightin the middle and that’s where I will be touchingdown - and it isn’t very wide. Too bad, youain’t got a choice any more!!!”
Now I practice and I practice and I practice puttingmy gear on the numbers. And smooth touchdownsare always the order of the day. Apart from keepingChris Mason’s instrument panel around the
same time I flamed out! (Note the altimeter at 4,400’)
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the speed up on final approach (close to 70 mph (butwith a 20 mph headwind)), I executed the round-outand flare and greased 1257 on to the sandy trackholding the nosewheel off for as long as possible. Uh oh! Here comes the bend in the track. Judicioususe of the rudder helped me steer around the kinkand come to standstill on the deserted lahar. A quickcall on the radio to let the guys know I had made itjust fine with no damage to self or aircraft and Iclimbed out onto very soft sand.
Within 3 minutes a crowd of Ieta people popped upfrom behind the grass to take a look what was goingon. None spoke English but here were lots of happysmiling faces to keep me company!
“Now if I can just make sure the rest of the flightknow where I am!” After about 5 minutes, I saw oneof our planes flying east/west about 3 miles away. Icalled Chris Mason and asked him to execute an
immediate right turn. The great thing about Chris isthat he doesn’t ask why; he just gets on and does it! So now I knew who it was, I was able to direct Christowards me and let him know when he was overhead.
“Gotcha mate!” called Chris as he started his descent. “Can I land?” Discussions followed as Chris surveyedthe terrain and the Ieta increased in number to over 40!
Finally Chris started his approach about 2 milesbehind me and gently sank to our ‘improvised’runway! Hoots of elation and joy came from ourtribes-people as they realized they now had twoforeigners to liven up their day!
Poor Chris looked a tad rattled by his descent,approach and landing but he had water, chips and
bikkies on board (which were to prove very usefullater on). We discussed his departure and mobilizedour chums to remove the bigger chunks of pumicelittering the track that Chris would depart from.
A taxi back to his takeoff point had his prop workingdouble time as a weed whacker as it neatly trimmeda swathe of cogon grass! We manually turned hisplane around and determined his best options for asmooth takeoff. By now, I suspected Chris wasbeginning to regret his ‘daring-do’ in landing to rescueme from the savage natives! So with a roar of histrusty 582, I watched his big fat tundra tires initiallybog down in the soft sand. However, seconds later,he was accelerating towards me and within 250 feet,he was hurtling over our heads and off back toWoodland!
Alistair had obviously got through to Woodland onthe radio to let them know what was going on and Imanaged to get a cell call from Monette asking me if
This is the track I landed on! And Chris also followed me downto hand over much needed survival supplies!
Some of the Ieta visitors who spent time with me. Youcan see the ‘baon’ in the pots to the right of the aircraft
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I was okay! That would prove to be a miracle in itselfas I tried to call my dear beloved wife and could getno signal. My Ieta friends suggested that I head forthe island (That green spot north of my touchdown
point about 500 m away) where i could probably geta signal. No luck however! With more than a hint ofjoy, I was quickly informed that the island is not agood place to go as it is riddled with cobras!
Mental calculations worked out that if the boys leftthe club at about 2 pm, I better prepare myself for agood 4 hour wait on the lahar. The locals also figuredthis out and turned up 30 minutes later with pot ofsteaming rice and camote tops (for me)! Jeez, theseguys were all poorer than church mice and yet thefirst thing on their minds was my well being. I knewat that moment I was in good hands with a groupwho were charming and chatty (albeit I couldn’tunderstand a word they were saying - not evenTagalog! They all spoke Zambalenos dialect!)
Finally, one of the men (Diosdato) started talking tome in broken English and he proved to be a godsendthroughout the afternoon while he (and his family ofeight kids and an assorted collection of relatives) keptme company on the Lahar.
Now I don’t want to complain too much but it waschilly out there. I reckon the temperature was about17 degrees and as soon as the sun started to sinktowards the horizon, we lost another couple ofdegrees (made even colder by the brisk 20 mphwind!) Dato, after donning a second and third T shirtwas obviously feeling uncomfortable and decided tosend his wife back to the village again to get moregarments. But this needed an excuse to send her.
Pastor, Diosdato (‘Dado’) and family
“Do you like coffee?” he asked and promptlydespatched his missus to get a flask of boiling water,cups, sugar and coffee. And as an ‘apparent’afterthought, told her to bring his fishing clothes aswell!!
Apart from the cold, I was looking at a diminishingsupply of fags (cigarettes) but again, our localsseemed intent on securing my admission to a cancerward with the roughest smokes I have ever tasted. But they were better than nothing!
As we approached sundown at 6.30 pm I was hopingthat the boys would turn up. The night descendedand despite the odd occasional call (when I couldget a signal) to check on their progress, it reallyseemed unlikely my rescue would come any timesoon.
“Oh well! Six hours already; a few more hours won’thurt, I guess!” .
Finally at nine in the evening, lights appeared wayoff on the horizon. Rescue!!! Yeah! Alright!
Chris had kindly left me an LED strobe light forsignaling after dark. (I nearly didn’t take it knowingmy rescue would occur well before sunset!) One ofDato’s sons volunteered to climb up the tree you cansee in the picture to signal the rescuers. I thoughthe meant about 10 feet up. No, the wily lad was rightat the very top being flung violently from left to rightas the wind blew the tree top around!
The vehicle that finally crawled its way along the trackwas filled to the brim with over 20 PNP militia in fullcamouflage gear and all with hefty looking Armaliterifles. Seriously scary! I honestly think this was thefirst time I realized my predicament and preparedmyself for the usual money grabbing, opportunisticrun around one has come to expect. But no! Inspector Chavez, the second in command, inexcellent English, inquired after my health andpromptly produced biscuits and bottled water. Mostwelcome.
After giving a statement to one of the policemen, wesettled in to wait for Chris T and crew to arrive todismantle the plane. There was some suggestion Ishould leave my baby on the lahar and come backand fetch it the following morning. Not a chance! So the PNP managed to hire a 4WD truck to pick meand the plane up.
About an hour after they arrived, everyone settleddown to nap. Now I was really cold (only wearing a
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thin T shirt) so I huddled down in a dip in the sand with the rest of the ‘boys’. My Ieta friends had finallydeparted the scene once they knew I was in good hands. It was touching that despite my entreaties that theyshould all head for their village, they refused to go until they knew I was safe!)
The night was spookily quiet. Other than the snores of a few policemen and the whistling of the wind, the nightclosed around us and left us all to our own thoughts. Suddenly, a whispered conversation had all 16 cops leapto their feet, arm and cock their weapons and head out into the darkness at a run. “Oh shit”, I thought. “NowI’m going to be caught in the crossfire of a firefight between the PNP and the NPA.” As it turns out, some illegalwoodcutters were taking a cartload of lumber across the lahar. All were promptly arrested and the woodconfiscated.
Good job as well. The truck to rescue the plane finally arrived on scene at one in the morning and the woodproved very useful as a support for the landing gear as we lifted the fuselage onto the back of the truck. Theclub boys did a great job of dismantling 1257 by torchlight and getting everything safely battened down on thetruck.
Now we had a two hour drive ahead of us just to get the plane off the lahar as far as Botolan Police stationwhere our club vehicles were parked. We off-loaded the fuselage and wings and strapped everything to theclub vehicles, completed a bit of administration to satisfy the local cops, paid for hire of the vehicles andprovided a generous ‘contribution’ to the Police ‘welfare’ fund before setting out at 4.30am for Woodland viaOlongapo and Subic. No SCTEX for us as both vehicles had overhanging loads. However, both Chris Tulabotand Arnel did a great job of getting us all safely back to Woodland arriving at 8:30am.
Footnote:From all appearances, it would appear the main bearing in the engine (overhauled 25 hoursago) blew itself apart. Curious that there were no early indications that the engine was failing(other than my premonition).
Giving some thought to the incident (after the fact) is a sobering reminder that what started outas a 45 minute flight to and from Iba turned into over 14 hours on the lahar. My failure entirelythat I had no water, food, basic survival tools or equipment.
I comment to many of our pilots at Angeles City Flying Club that no matter how often wepractice ‘engine-outs and forced landings, choices are limited by both time and altitude. Iwalked away from this one safely with no more than a broken engine (an expensive repair!)But then I had over 4,400 feet to play with on my descent and I was over an area which wasrelatively flat. Had the engine blown going over the ridge behind Mt. Pinatubo, the outcomewould have been very different.
Thanks to Chris Mason and all at Angeles City Flying Club who worked so hard to ensure mysafety and recovery.
Best Angle Of Climb Vx: Best Rate of Climb VyThere are a number of designated airspeeds relating to optimum rates of ascent. Vx is the indicated airspeedfor best angle of climb. Vy is the indicated airspeed for best rate of climb. Vx is slower than Vy.Climbing at Vx allows pilots to maximize the altitude gain per unit ground distance. That is, Vx allows pilots tomaximize their climb while sacrificing the least amount of ground distance. This occurs at the speed for whichthe difference between thrust and drag is the greatest (maximum excess thrust).Climbing at Vy allows pilots to maximize the altitude gain per unit time. That is, Vy, allows pilots to maximizetheir climb while sacrificing the least amount of time. This occurs at the speed for which the difference betweenengine power and the power required to overcome the aircraft's drag is the greatest (maximum excess power).Climb rate is proportional to excess power.
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New MembersWe are getting a lot of new members joining the cluband they are certainly lending a real ‘international’flavor. We welcome you all to the club and hope to
get to know you all better inthe coming months.
Charlie Case joined the clubon January 9, 2011. Charlieis an American UAV(unmanned aerial vehicle)pilot. It seems that hisbosses think knowing howto fly real airplanes might be
a bonus! Charlie met his fiancé last time he was inAngeles and hopes to return to the club in May tocomplete his basic flight training.
Alberto Moncaglieri is an experienced private pilotwith over 350 logged hours. Originally hailing fromItaly, Alberto lives in Subic. He is in the process oftaking delivery of a Czechoslovakian Sirius which hewant to keep in ACFC. He’s been flying with Boy justto get his hand back in and become familiar with ourlocal landmarks.
Pawan Pratap Singh joined us in February. He hadtaken a few G.A. lessons (7 hours) but after taking aTIF at ACFC, decided ultralight flying is the way togo. He is currently working for a call center in Manilahowever, hopes to return to India and set up his ownultralight flight school.
Capt. Guttierez-Flores known to his friends as Kenis a Ship’s Captain. Ken Joined in February and ishoping to match his command of the seas withmastery of the airs!
Gordon Shaw arrived in the Philippines a few monthsback. Originally, he planned to open a flight schoolin China for ultralights, autogyros and other weightshift aircraft. It seems we have been able to convincehim that his options are better here in the Philippines.Gordon has UK Instructor ratings and is a vastlyexperienced pilot. He’s hoping to bring keen ultralightpilots from the UK and Hong Kong and get themcertified under British Microlight Aircraft Association(BMAA) regulations. In the meantime, Gordon willbe helping out at the club flying TIFs and doing somebasic instruction.
Reto Schlumpe is Swissauditor and a commercialpilot. Reto has over 10,000hours of flight time. He’sbeen toying with the idea ofpurchasing the yellow (MikeLorza’s) X-Air. Before joiningACFC, Reto had alreadytaken 5 hours of ultralightflight training at JazirahAviation Club, UAE.
Oisten Aanenesen already features elsewhere in thenewsletter as a pilot of considerable ability with Radio-control jet-turbine models. Oisten is a Norwegianand works as a technical manager.
Mike Albrecht is a buddy and fellow Tiger Air Pilotwith Al Malcolm. He’s been to the club on plenty ofoccasions but the need to fly a club aircraft on hisown made him forsake Al’s hospitality and join usin March. Mike has been flying for more than 20years and has logged over 20,000 hours.
Tim Wall is an Americanwho heard about ACFC anddecided to undertake thestudent pilot program inMarch. Very keen, Timworked hard and completeda first solo flight in earlyApril.
Roger Owen is an Americanliving in Mabiga, Mabalacat.He joined the club last April.
Roger works as a commercial/restaurant/swimmingpool contractor. Roger comes to us with over 150hours on single engine aircraft but is keen to getstarted on his ultralight flight experience.
Rolf Anthony King is a Filipino businessman and akeen member of the ACFC RC group. He joinedon March 27.
Francisco Gozon III and Gerby Sohu are bothFilipino businessmen who both joined the club inApril. They are keen members of the RC modelersgroup.
ACFC Newsletter Page 22
Article by Wolff Heinrichsdorff
Didi is one of the remaining few whohave flown piston engine planes likethe Super Constellation. He finishedhis professional flying career as aCaptain on Boeing 747s.
Even after retirement he couldn’tstop flying. He has since addedanother couple of hundred hoursflying a beautifully restored JunkersJu52 owned and operated by theLufthansa Foundation in Germany.
Together with a friend, Didi boughta Fokke Wulf Stieglitz (built in 1936;the year of his birth), a marvellousfully aerobatic biplane, perfectlyrestored and a rare vintage piece.
Fabulous to fly but as a tail dragger,not so easy to land!
To add to his massive flyingexperience, Didi also takes thecontrols of a Catalina (a nine seatmaritime reconnaissance flyingboat) which is located in southernEngland. The American Catalinawas manufactured in the 1930s byConsolidated with over 650 aircraftdelivered to the Royal Air ForceCoastal Command for use inmaritime rescue missionsthroughout the Second World War.
Over 4,000 units were eventuallydelivered and were widely used ascoastal patrol aircraft, search andrescue and for fire-fighting.
Didi holds several licences andratings for all sorts of planes. Hecurrently serves as a rating instructorin his Hamburg Aviation Club.
Despite Didi’s wealth of experience,it transpired he had never flown anultralight. His visit to ACFC sooncorrected that and he now has a
Didi Krauss and his wife Babs visitedtheir friends Wolff and JulieHeinrichsdorff in the Philippines for4 weeks in Jan/Feb this year. (Wolffowns the Petrel 100 currentlyhangared at the club.)
Didi is a passionate aviationaficionado from Germany. So on hisvisit here, he couldn’t resist theopportunity of visiting us at theAngeles City Flying Club.
His aviation career started 50 yearsago as an air traffic controller in thetower of Frankfurt Airport. However,after 3 years in the tower, he becamefed up seeing others flying. So hejoined Lufthansa Airlines as a pilot.
Junkers Ju52 - Owned and Operated bythe Lufthansa Foundation
Didi’s Own Fokke Wulf Stieglitz - Built in1936 - The Year of his Birth
Consolidated Catalina CurrentlyResiding in South East England
Didi Krauss in the Cockpit of HisFokke Wulf Stieglitz
ACFC Newsletter Page 23
number of hours of flight time added to his already impressive logbooks. He particularly enjoyed his flight(with Terry) in the Quicksilver, sitting out in the open like one of the Wright brothers. Hence the grin of delightafter landing!
And of course, he managed a fair bit of stick time in my Petrel 100 yankin’ and bankin’ down the Chico river;something strictly ‘verboten’ in Germany!
Now back in Germany, Didi will be helping me ferry my Yak18T from Lithuania to Hamburg in the nextcouple of weeks.
Goings-On- ACFC RC Modelers GroupToti Alberto
Hi. I’m Toti Alberto. Many of you will have seen us camped outsidehangar 3 with a number of beautifully crafted radio control models invarious states of disassembly. We’re a mad-keen group and very activeflying everything from helicopters to very large scale aerobatic planesand turbine jets.
We were most fortunate to have our good friend, Oistein Aanenesenfrom Norway visit us at the end of last year. Oistein is not only an expertflyer of turbine jets himself but has also done much to teach the rest ofus how to pilot these intimidating meter-long aircraft in the skies aboveWoodland.
After a brief departure overseas, Oistein returned to the Philippines just before the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Hewas more than willing to fly my own F22 Raptor equipped with a Jet Cat P80 turbine during the Fiesta. Iwould like to think we put on a great display for the 40,000 plus visitors to the event.
Certainly, our jets have generated a lot of interest in radio-control models all the more so because we featuredin a recent episode of Asian Air Safari T.V. program. We have had numerous visitors to Woodland makinginquiries about the latest planes and equipment. It seems we now have a reputation of having the hottest RCplanes around.
Next month, a couple of our flyers fromthe ACFC RC group will be participatingin the Bacolod Nationals flying IMACsequences. They will also beperforming a jet turbine demonstration.
We love being part of the Angeles CityFlying Club community and eventhrough there are times when we haveto land quickly and give way to anaircraft with a real person in the cockpit,the field affords us plenty of opportunityfor practice, fun and a get together with other interested RC enthusiasts.We hope to grow our group significantly in the coming year. And comeand talk to us if you want information on how to get into this thrillingsport!Camping-out in Front of Hangar III
Oistein Flying a Couple ofWarbirds Back in Norway
Editor’s note: What a great pleasure it was having Didi at the club. His sharing of his experiences and hisgenuine delight at being with a bunch of string and rag pilots was an absolute delight. We look forward to Didipaying us another visit in the future.
ACFC Newsletter Page 24
Rotax 503/582 OperatingProceduresPaul Norrie & Terry Hockenhull
A couple of years back, Paul Norrie providedinformation about starting cold engines. I still hearpilots turn the key and immediately rev the engine toover 4,000rpm. Even worse are those who taxi outon a cold engine and effect a take off before theengine has warmed up. The following information isprovided to give our members further guidance onrecommended operating procedures for the Rotax503 and 582 two stroke engines, both of which theClub operates. Please consider using this informationwhen starting the Club planes; it may give you a betterprobability of a successful start and safer operationof the aircraft in flight.
Engine Start
WARNING: Do not attempt to start the engine if anyperson is near the aircraft.
For cold engines, apply full choke and prime theengine (either by pumping the choke or by squeezingthe fuel bulb). Ensure the throttle is set to minimum.(An open throttle will greatly reduce the effect of thechoke and make the engine difficult to start.)
Before starting the engine, conduct a visual inspectionof the area around the engine. When you are surethe area is clear, shout ‘CLEAR PROP’. Remember,‘CLEAR PROP’ is not only a command made to tellpeople you are about to start the engine and theyshould stay back; it is a verbal reminder to yourselfthat you have checked that no-one will be injured byyour actions starting the engine. If there are otherpersons on the ground or in the aircraft, enlist theirhelp in checking the area is clear. Remember, it isthe pilot’s responsibility to ensure no one is injuredduring engine start.
Make sure ignition switches are on and that you canswitch them off instantly if necessary. Pull starter‘rope’ until firmly engaged and then pull smartlythrough. If the aircraft is fitted with an electric starter,activate this for a maximum of 5 seconds only (without
interruption), followed by a cooling period of 2minutes. (Prolonged use of the electric start will burnout the solenoid!)
The above procedure should be repeated until enginebegins to “fire”. As soon as engine starts, adjust thethrottle to ensure the engine runs smoothly withoutvibration. This may be 300-500rpm above minimumthrottle setting. Remove the choke as soon aspossible. Prolonged use of choke may cause engineto flood resulting in a stopped engine and a difficultrestart.
Warming Up Period:
Start the warming up period at 2000 rpm forapproximately 2 minutes, continue at 2500 rpm untiloperating temperatures are reached.
Verify temperatures and pressures are in operationalrange during pre-take off checks and immediatelyprior to take off.
Mag Check
As part of the pre-take-off checks a magneto checkshould be performed. The reason this check isdone is because all of our aircraft are equippedwith ‘dual ignition’ systems. Switching off oneignition switch allows us to confirm the other ignitionsystem is working correctly. (If it wasn’t the enginewould stop!)
The engine power should be slowly increased to3,500-4,000rpm while the aircraft is held on thebrakes. (You may also need to place your feet onthe ground in the Quicksilver!) Both switches shouldbe quickly switched off and back on again together.This is an ‘engine kill’ check. The engine shoulddie and pick up again as soon as the switches areback on. This will confirm there is no short/groundin the system and the engine can be shut down.Thereafter, the left hand mag switch should beswitched off. There should be a perceptible changein engine note and the rpm may drop about 150rpm. Do not flick the switch quickly on and off;allow the engine rpm to settle (this may take 5-10seconds) before turning the mag switch back on.
ACFC Newsletter Page 25
A ‘mag drop’ of over 150rpm is in excess of operatingparameters for the engine and ignition system. Theaircraft must be taxied back for the mechanics tocheck. When the mag switch is turned back on, therpm should recover to pre-mag check levels. Theprocedure should then be repeated for the right handmag switch.
Some of our aircraft are equipped with 3-wayswitches. The up position denotes ignition ‘off’. Thecenter position denotes ‘on’. The down position isfor testing the mag. It also isolates the ignition systemhowever, this switch position is spring-loaded and willautomatically return to the ‘on’ position on release. Ifusing the test (down) position, the switch will have tobe held down until the mag check has beencompleted.
Some aircraft are started with a key switch which ismarked ‘OFF’, ‘R’, ‘L’, ‘BOTH’ and ‘START’. Enginestart will be accomplished turning the switch through
‘R’, ‘L’, ‘and BOTH’ to ‘START’. Oncethe engine has fired, the key switch
will be turned back to‘BOTH’. Mag checks areaccomplished by turning themag selector switch back to ‘L’and then ‘R’ before returning theswitch to ‘BOTH’ and ensuring pre-check rpm isregained.
Engine Shutdown
There is always the temptation when returning froma flight to pull up on the ramp, close the throttle andswitch off. Consider that the aircraft engine has beenworking hard throughout the flight. Therefore, aftertaxiing in, you should switch the master switch off(which will stop the Hobbs meter from running) andallow the engine to idle at about 2,000 rpm for 60-90seconds. Remember to turn all equipment off (radio,intercom, etc.) before leaving the plane. And don’tforget to take the Hobbs reading and log the aircraftback in!
While we are on the subject of engine starting, ourgood friend Leonard Chico set off for a flight a weekor so ago. Having taxied to Runway 08 extension,
Leonard opened the throttle to take-off power. Anengine fire ensued (fortunately before completing histake off run). A bird’s nest constructed next to theexhaust manifold was the culprit. Chico’s Kitfox hadbeen sitting idle for a couple of months. Here’s avaluable lesson to be learned. We can’t do anythingabout birds at the club (other than despatching JayCook with his air rifle) and at this time (and othertimes) of the year, avian romance is going to lead toa spate of nest building. Whether this is holes in therunway, inside wings (often on the bell crankoperating the ailerons) or inside the enginecompartment, checks need to be made especially ifthe aircraft has not been flown for a couple of months.
As we all know, radios are an essential part of flying.As the skies over Woodland get busier and busier,it is important to know where others are in thepattern and surrounding area. It also helps to havea radio when things go wrong (see my article onmy engine out!)
POAs all have their own working communicationsin their aircraft. (Well, most do!) We have thebenefit of radios fixed permanently in our aircraftand know that when switch on, we will be able tocommunicate clearly.
The club aircraft are a different matter. Jay Cookhas spent a lot of time setting up radios andintercoms in club aircraft only to find that thedelicate settings are quickly changed by some ham-fisted pilot.
We will, in coming months, try to resolve the issueby installing better (and permanent) radios in ourclub aircraft. However, it is essential that pilotstake care of the equipment we are currently using.I have seen pilots leaving gear in the aircraft (whenit should be removed) or trailing headset leads anddropping radios and intercom packs on the ground.
We don’t want to have to undergo a sign out/signin process for radios but if this is what it takes toinstill a sense of responsibility towards clubequipment, then we will do so.
Some pi lots have now acquired their ownequipment to use in club planes; I applaud this.However, they should remember that there areothers who will fly the aircraft after they are donewith it. Leaving their own equipment on board mayrestrict others from using the club equipmentproperly (due to incompatibility) or allow others touse private equipment possibly damaging it.
ACFC Newsletter Page 26
A Beauty Reborn - Renovationand Overhaul of My Yak 18TWolff Heinrichsdorff
To buy a second aircraft in Germany was an idea notshared with my dear wife. Don´t misunderstand me!It wasn’t that my wife said “no”; I just neglected to tellher and went ahead and bought the plane.
In 2009 I spent sometime in the USA gainingmy PPL on a Cessna 172Skyhawk. It’s a greatplane; very forgiving androbust. However, I reallywanted to own an aircraftwhich is both special andchallenging and wouldpush me to become abetter pilot.
By chance, I met a pilotwho owned a YAK52. Hewas kind enough todemonstrate theaerobatic abilities of thisformer Soviet Unionmilitary trainer and evenallowed me to do my firstrolls and loops in his aircraft. I told him I wasabsolutely delighted by the handling characteristicsand the direct and precise response to control inputs.However, as a tandem-seater, I had my doubts that itwould get my dear wife’s seal of approval resulting ina refusal to climb aboard and fly with me.
The pilot then described the Yakovlev Yak-18T; a four-place, fully aerobatic utility aircraft. Introduced to trainAeroflot pilots in the late 60’s, it has recently gained
some popularity as a sportplane both inside andoutside the former USSR. The Yak-18T sharessystems with the Yak-50/52 family sporting a 265 KW(355 hp) Vedneyev M14 nine cylinder, 10 liter, radialengine. With a maximum operational loading of+6.4g and -3.2g (which is more than enough foraerobatics) the plane also has a useful load of over430 kg. (Tests in Russia show the aircraft will actuallycope with twice this weight!) The large luggagecompartment, very spacious cabin and a range ofover 4 hours flight time made the idea of owning onevery sexy!
I started my search on the internet and finallynarrowed the choice to a totally overhauled aircraftin U.K. with only 240 hours flown and a still airworthyold ‘warrior’ built 1973 which had spent a number ofyears standing around, exposed to the elements!After comparing costs, I finally decided to bite thebullet and buy the older of the two planes. Sure thiswould mean major costs associated with a totaloverhaul but at least I would have the confidence ofknowing everything necessary would be done tomake the plane trouble free; if that is actually possible!
So I flew the plane for anhour with a RussianFlight Instructor and Iwas convinced enoughto make an offer. TheRussian owner flew overto Germany from Austriain his beautiful Cirrusplane; a mistakebecause I was able topush for a further 10%discount on the price!!!
While undergoing 6hours of flight trainingwith my Russianinstructor (which wasdifficult at times becausehis communications
skills left much to be desired!) the aircraft was putthrough a 100 hour inspection and secured itsairworthiness certificate. Now all there was left to dowas to plan the trip through Poland into Lithuaniawhere the aircraft would undergo a completeoverhaul, refit and paint job. I made contact with thecompany Termikas who would conduct his work forme. Termikas is a EU certified repair company andhas vast experience.
My YAK 18T Before Departure to Lithuania - Note the 2-bladePropeller now replaced with a 3-Blade Propeller
ACFC Newsletter Page 27
In fall 2010, I was at the controls with my Russianinstructor at my side and Didi Krauss in the rear seatsdeparting Hamburg for Lithuania. The clouds werelow and it was wet and cold in a cabin where theheating had failed miserably! Fortunately, we wereall wearing long-johns to stay warm. After a refuellingstop in Heringsdorf (EDAH) we headed for Gdansk(EPGD) in Poland. Not that we saw any improvementin the weather; rain, low cloud and worseningconditions! As we skimmed across the countrysideat about 1,700ft AGL (2,000ft MSL) we heard a fewcoughs and splutters from the engine. This had mefeverishly looking for somewhere to land in case oftotal engine failure however, good old Boris in theright hand seat seemed relatively unconcerned! Inhis heavily accented English he grunted, “JegelevM14P never quits!” In the rear, Didi looked a bitsqueamish as well but we made it into Gdansk inone piece
The following morning, we refuelled the plane(AVGAS is dramatically expensive at •2.10/liter(P130/liter) however, we then received notice that thePolish Air Force had imposed a restricted flight areaalong our easterly course to our IFR waypoint (Boksu)which would have us pass along the small corridorfrom Poland to Lithuania. To the east and west ofthis corridor is Russian territory and you don’t wantto stray into areas controlled by a trigger happyRussian Army!
Fortunately, the cooperative flight information officein Gdansk requested for special permission to crossthe active restricted area. Finally, we received a ‘go’but we were committed to stay below 2000ft.
As we flew towards our waypoint (Boksu) the motoragain started to play up! Flying low over the Polishcountryside looking into farm windows, we feared myRussian instructor´s belief in Russian technology
might be misplaced!
With the restricted area behind us, I radioed that wereout of the area on a north-easterly course. Afterreceiving cheery ‘good flight wishes’, we commenceda steady climb to 7,500 ft MSL above the clouds,informed Kaunas Airport of our approach to TermikasAirport Pocanai (EYPRE) and finally receivedclearance to land there without any further controlprocedures. (Shengen in Europe has somesignificant benefits to the private pilot as well!).
At this higher altitude in dryer air, the engine soundedsmooth and healthy. This was perhaps an earlyindication that the 35 year old high voltage ignitioncables had no proper insulation anymore. A goodthing that the upcoming overhaul would include a
YAK 18T Cockpit
Vedneyev M14 9-Cylinder Radial with Replacement US StandardIgnition Cables and Champion Spark Plugs
After Paint & Overhaul
ACFC Newsletter Page 28
Bits & PiecesTerry Hockenhull
On February 25, StevenClemenson, one of ourrecently soloed Britishmembers from HongKong suffered an enginefailure a couple of milesnorth of Woodland. Noinjury however, theaircraft sustained minordamage to the nosewheel on touchdown. Tohis credit, it was a goodrecovery in difficultcircumstances. With noradio on board (See flight
safety tips) and no cell phone, Steve hailed a jeepneyturning up at the office 30 minutes later announcingthe demise of the aircraft. Our crew were quick toimplement recovery efforts and the airframe (andbuggered engine) arrived back at Woodland a coupleof hours later.
The club has recently ordered a couple of ‘zero-hour’Rotax 582 Blue Heads. One will replace the engineon Quicksilver RP-S1457.
On April 2, Rolf Dundertook to the skies in hisglider over his home fieldof Nampicuan. After aflight time of over 90minutes, Rolf radioed theclub to say he was overhead Woodland. Withdelight we watched hisaircraft skillfully side sliponto Runway 08. Thefirst landing of a glider atWoodland Airpark andfrom all accounts, the longest flight Rolf has done todate! We’ll be bringing you more news of Rolf’sexploits in the next newsletter.
Hideki has finally received his S-12. The aircraft wasshipped from West Germany in late December afterWolff Heinrichsdorff inspected and flew it. Wolff wasalso generous enough with his time to go to theaircraft’s home field and supervise its loading into a20’ container. The weather was, by all accounts wetand freezing cold. The plane was reassembled by
change to US standard ignition cable trees andChampion spark plugs!
As we approached Termikas Airport I broke out intoa sweat again! Despite over 20 landings in theYak, the paved 500 meter strip of concrete in frontof me looked more like a bicycle track than arunway. Discretion being the better part of valor, Ihanded the controls over to Boris to avoid morerepairs than necessary.
We met with the Termikas technicians and handedover the aircraft to them. After a bried discussionof thall of the work to be done, we fetched ourluggage and headed off to board a commercialflight back to Hamburg.
I gave Termikas a deadline of March 1, 2011 toperform a total overhaul of engine and airframe.They kept me well informed about every step oftheir progress by photo documentation. It seemsthat they stripped the aircraft into virtually all of itscomponent parts informing me along the way whennon-standard parts were identified or new partsfitted to zero both engine and airframe. The latestupdate from the company is that engine run-upsand flight testing are complete and the aircraft isready for collection after Easter.
I have 20 hours on the Yak 18T but I intend to domore training to make myself completelycomfortable with this challenging and complexplane. Just check out the aircraft handbook throughthe internet; as I say, very complicated and detailed.But I’m sure as time passes, I will become more athome in this venerable old bird.
My Yak 18 - A Russian Plane with a Russian Star and a RussianRegistration - RA3025K
Steve Clemenson Shortly AfterHis Off-Field Landing
Rolf Dunder and his Ka-8Glider After Landing at
Woodland
ACFC Newsletter Page 29
our mechanics and within a couple of weeks, Terrydid the taxi and the initial flight testing. Although theaircraft looks strange (with a very different side profile
due to an elongatednose), the airplanehandles like most otherS-12s. Perhaps rudderauthority is not quite asgood as it is on otheraircraft of this type. Theaircraft was deliveredwith a horizontalstabilizer from a RansS6 Coyote! This wasreplaced with a unit
loaned from RP-S1257 prior to the flight tests. Theengine sounded smooth and general flightperformance was good. We now await Hideki’s returnto the Philippines to give him a chance to fly it anddecide what paint scheme he ultimately wants.
The Annual General Meeting was held on 30thJanuary and was well attended. Matters underdiscussion included the club buyout and re-electionof the Board of Directors. Currently, Terry Hockenhullis President, Tonet Rivera - Vice-President, BoyGuevarra - Treasurer. Chris Mason and MikeSchemm make up our full complement of 5 Boardmembers.
An Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 13thMarch to discuss the Club Buyout and to put additionalinformation about proposed buyout schemes on thetable. This meeting was well-attended.
Copies of minutes of both the AGM and EGM maybe obtained from our administration Office.
The Club Rans S6 Coyote is taking shape. Settledin the back of Hangar 1 with a mighty fine paint job, itawaits an engine, instruments and some other parts(all of which are on order) This will be a fun aircraft
to fly and we look forwardto its introduction to theclub fleet in comingmonths. Once theCoyote is complete, workcan start on refurbishingthe CGS Hawk whichcurrently resides at theback of Hangar 2.
It seems it is not onlyultralights which suffer
airborne incidents. After flying to Manila, AdrianRathmells’ Cessna 172 barely made it off the groundat NAIA for the trip back to Woodland. Adrianexperienced a loss of power shortly after takeoff. Itseems the problem was an ignition fault. Fortunately,the aircraft safely landed and his mechanics arecurrently looking into rectifying the problem.
Our pool has been repainted and Dolfho is taskedwith keeping it clear of leaves and other debris. Inthese coming summer months, a splash in the poolat the end of the day is a welcome relief from thesearing heat!
Our café on the second floor has excellent food andHarold, our resident chef is constantly adding new
dishes to our alreadyimpressive Internationalmenu. Tony Willis hasalso found a ‘pie-man’ todeliver apple, pineapple,chocolate and pecan pieswhich are proving to bevery popular.
If you have not alreadydone so, please make surethe office has a current,quality picture of you foryour membership card orpilot licence. Remember,these pictures have to be
scanned into our system to and we can re-size them.We do not however, want to be fiddling around withpassport sized images of less than 2”x2”.Finally, the hangar dog is called Jenny.She’s an intelligent, goat chasing mutt withan adorable personality. She has beenadopted by the club; she is not a stray!Please be nice to her; she’s smart enoughto clear the runway of varmints for you!!!!
Hideki Noguchi’s Rans S-12
The Club Rans S-6 Coyote inher New Paint Job
A Fun Afternoon in Our Recently Painted Pool
Harold & Angel - Devoted toBringing You Great Food