July/August 2021

Australian Flying

Australia's premier General Aviation magazine

Australian Flying1 min read
Australian Flying
Editor: Steve Hitchen stevehitchen@yaffa.com.au Senior Contributor: Paul Southwick Test Pilot: John Absolon WWW.GREATMAGAZINES.COM.AU CALL 1800 807 760 SUBSCRIPTIONS@YAFFA.COM.AU Subscription Rates Customer Service Manager: Martin Phillipott Subscrib
Australian Flying4 min read
Lost In The Ether
Got something to get off your chest? Australian Flying welcomes your input. Send your AirMail, with your name and contacts (which can be withheld from publishing upon request) to: stevehitchen@yaffa.com.au or write to: Australian Flying, GPO Box 606
Australian Flying3 min read
CASA moves to National Oversight Model
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority will abandon the regional oversight model and move to a national structure in an attempt to combat inconsistencies within the regulator. The changes, which are expected to be implemented on 1 July this year, will r
Australian Flying2 min readTechnology & Engineering
Government plans for Future Airspace Needs
The Federal Government in late May announced a program to develop a strategic airspace policy to account for the changing nature of aviation and the advent of new users such as remotely-piloted aerial systems (RPAS) and urban mobility vehicles. Deput
Australian Flying1 min read
Pacific Aerospace finds New Owners
Liquidators Khov Jones announced in April that they have sold Pacific Aerospace Limited to a local company, meaning the aircraft manufacturer will once again be 100% New Zealand owned. The new owners are Neil Young and Dee Bond, operators of Mercer a
Australian Flying2 min read
Dassault announces Falcon 10X
French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation in May launched a program to develop a wide-body executive jet: the Falcon 10X. Designed with a cabin wider than some regional jets, the Falcon 10X will have a range of 7500 nm and a top speed over Mach
Australian Flying9 min read
Flying The Cadet
At first, it’s a strange notion to grasp. Take the world’s bestselling helicopter, every year since 1999, the four-seat Robinson R44, and remove the rear seats. De-rate the engine, reduce the maximum take-off weight. Oh, and one more important point:
Australian Flying11 min read
Tecnam’s Dynamic Diesel
I Avgas may be in the twilight of its career. The fuel that most GA aircraft burn is under pressure from environmental lobbies and dwindling interest from producers. In some regions of the world avgas is so hard to find it is labeled with the epithet
Australian Flying9 min read
Dealing With Your Hang-ups
Landing gear failure and consequent gear-up landings still happen despite system reliability. When the wheels are hung-up, there are several things a pilot can do to encourage them to extend, and one of them is to go for the emergency gear extension
Australian Flying8 min read
Outstanding in its Field
In the immediate aftermath of the First World War, 1919-20, several privately owned and operated aerodromes were established in and around Melbourne. They were at Fisherman’s Bend, under what is now the Westgate Bridge, and at Glenhuntly, Glenroy and
Australian Flying1 min readComputers
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Australian Flying2 min read
Draft Master Plan Flags More Loss Of Apron
A Preliminary Draft Master Plan (PDMP) published for comment in April has flagged further loss of main apron space at Moorabbin Airport. Tenants were shocked last year as Moorabbin Airport Corporation (MAC) issued six-month eviction notices ahead of
Australian Flying1 min read
Checking Your Levels
Oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) is an insidious condition that stalks pilots at high altitudes. Despite the availability of pressurisation and oxygen systems, they can fail, or pilots simply neglect to use them properly. As the consequence of hypoxia can
Australian Flying3 min read
More Work To Be Done
Results from the latest CASA survey of the aviation community were recently released. This survey is conducted regularly to assess satisfaction within the aviation community to CASA’s activities. The latest survey, conducted in late 2020, found a sma
Australian Flying6 min read
Into the Brewing Storm
Jim Davis has 15,000 hours of immensely varied flying experience, including 10,000 hours civil and military flying instruction. He is an established author, his current projects being an instructors’ manual and a collection of Air Accident analyses,
Australian Flying6 min read
Kestrel Adds Firehawk To Fleet
Mangalore-based Kestrel Aviation has added a 1979 model UH-60 Blackhawk converted to Firehawk status to their air attack fleet. The aircraft, N125FH– originally operated by the US Army as 79-23307–arrived by sea from the USA earlier this year. With t
Australian Flying3 min read
The Potential of Remote Digital Control Towers
Set in the heart of London’s Docklands business district, London City Airport (LCA) is a favourite for business aviation. A very extensive list of approved operators and aircraft, is available on LCA's website. These include a wide range business jet
Australian Flying2 min readPolitics
The Mouse must Roar
Doing things by bureaucracy is the only way that governments know how to work. If they have an issue that needs dealing with, they scramble the bureaucrats until a solution precipitates that is at least capable of being justified. Inquiries are condu
Australian Flying2 min readTechnology & Engineering
A Bag for All Tablets
It's been said enough: iPads and EFIS have changed GA cockpits forever. Their versatility and capability means the information and tools we need to navigate safely are now presented in a more compact manner. For those that have totally embraced the d
Australian Flying3 min readCrime & Violence
Arrest the Development
Moorabbin Airport is the second busiest airport in Australia, covering approximately 294 hectares within Kingston City Council’s Green Wedge. The land is owned by the Commonwealth Government. Like all airports within Australia, it was leased to a pri
Australian Flying2 min read
Answers from The Left Seat
Aviation can be a little like astrophysics or cricket: unless we are infused with the enthusiasm at birth it can be bewildering and maybe a touch nonsensical. Consequently, poor souls trying to fathom the aviation culture from a zero base can be easi
Australian Flying1 min read
Breaking News Featured On Www.australianflying.com.au Recently
1 Honda launches Upgraded Elite S 2 Garmin acquires AeroData 3 Hypoxia suspected in Caravan Incident 4 BRM turbo-charges the B23 5 CASA forecasts $12,000 Surplus for 2020-21 6 Piper offer RVSM Option on Turbo-props 7 Federal Court rules for CASA in A
Australian Flying9 min read
Styles Ahead of the Rest
There are many aeronautical canard variations, meaning it is thoroughly difficult to proffer an exact definition. The term canard can be used to describe both a smaller wing placed forward of the main wing that usually replaces the empennage (tail as
Australian Flying5 min read
The Red, Red Soil of Home
Kreisha Ballantyne is one of the most recognisable aviation writers in Australia. With experience writing for several aviation titles, Kreisha has a broad base of experience, an ability to tap into important general aviation issues and a talent for e
Australian Flying9 min read
Strange Business in Swellendam
Jim Davis has a passion for instructing. He has been training civil and military pilots, in the air and on the ground for 50 years. His other passion is writing, which he studied at Curtin University in Perth. You can see, and buy, his two pilot text
Australian Flying9 min readEarth Sciences
In Search of Shangri-La
It was starting to sound like something straight out of James Hilton's Lost Horizon. Here was my flying instructor calmly telling me about a pass through the Great Dividing Range that linked Mansfield in Victoria to the Latrobe Valley in the east of
Australian Flying2 min read
New Leadership Team At CASA
Experienced government administrator Pip Spence has assumed the role of Director of Aviation Safety after being appointed to the position by Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael McCormack in mid May. Spence held the role of Deputy Secret
Australian Flying4 min read
Training in Transition
In late 2011, I drove from Sydney to Melbourne to pick up an RV-8 kit. I loaded the car with the empennage kit and tools and arranged for the wing kit to be freighted. Thus began my journey to build an RV-8 from scratch. Over the next nine years, I p

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