Solo Wings Party - Friday 8 February

Please join us on Friday the 8th of February from 6pm onwards for a Solo Wings Party! Many members are due to receive awards and it would be great for old and new members to meet in a casual environment. The bar will of course be open.

If you are a Facebook addict, the event is listed here.

State of the Fleet

KKU is having its brakes fixed, but KFV should be flying by this afternoon after some alternator trouble. treeKSS and PMY are both still having their landing gear being attended to. All the other aircraft are medically fit to fly!

ZS-PMY and General Aircraft Maintenance - Rafi Weiner

Last week PMY underwent an MPI at Aviation Business Centre which, from this year is owned and operated by Vaughan Seeger and his father, Mike.

Following a meeting with Vaughan it was agreed that MPI's would be carried out very thoroughly and the aircraft would not be returned to the Club until the job was properly done.

In the past it appears that MPI's have been rushed to meet the needs of the Club and consequently the "regulation minimum" is done.

As you known, our aircraft are older than most of our members and they are in regular service racking up significant hours every month. It is for this reason that we would rather have our aircraft spend a little more time in the garage so as to make sure that MPI's are not rushed and attention is given to detail, so your understanding in this regard is appreciated.

PMY is spending a little bit longer in the workshop than was originally anticipated. This is due to compliance with an AD relating to an inspection of the undercarriage system and also with reference to the recent undercarriage problems experienced by KSS. My sincerely apologies to those members whose bookings were cancelled as a result of maintenance for PMY but safety and proper compliance with AD's and SB's remains a priority.

There are some upgrades planned for PMY later in the year which include the following:

1. A panel mounted GPS;
2. Removal of the awful black plastic instrument panels and replacement with grey aluminium;
3. New and more substantive control yolks as found on the current 172 (if possible)

I have looked at chrome mag wheels but for some strange reason the AMO refuses to enlarge the wheel-wells to accommodate these.

Course Dates

If you would like to attend a course, please inform Beverly on (021) 934-0257. Limited space is available.

Aviation News

Airport "Schedule Adjusted" to Accommodate Race
Submitted by Tony Russel

We've all seen aircraft and various types of vehicles "race" at air shows but authorities in Auckland, New Zealand, cleared both runways at the country's largest airport, without actually closing the airport, to stage just such a spectacle. Now, the Kiwis do love their sport and the race between an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 and a racing car was to promote an international A1 Grand Prix event at Lake Taupo later this month. Car and plane roared down parallel runways not once but twice, reaching speeds of almost 200 mph before the 777 wouldn't stay on the ground any longer and the car was running out of runway. The plane won the first race and the car nosed ahead in the second race.

By all accounts it was well worth the effort to stage the race. Car driver Johnny Reid was clearly thrilled by the experience, which earned generous coverage in the local media (which is what it was all about, right?). "It was just fantastic, a mind blowing experience. We were running out of revs pretty much just on the limit all the way down the end but we managed to blow the triple seven," he said in a television interview. As for the airport, officials said it was the first time in their 42-year history that they've tweaked the schedule of arriving and departing flights to "squeeze in" something like this. Air New Zealand officials downplayed the environmental impact of the event, saying a regular test flight would have burned more fuel. The high-octane excitement at Lake Taupo goes on Jan. 18 to Jan. 2

See video.

South Africa Standardizes Pilot Training
Submitted by Tony Russel

South Africa has revised pilot training and examination standards to try and stop an upward spiral of accident rates that generally bucks the trend of other countries with active GA communities. Starting Jan. 1, flight schools had to follow a standardized training syllabus and administer standardized exams that are in line with training in other countries. Until then, it was up to individual schools to decide what was taught and what was tested. Fatalities in GA accidents doubled from 18 to 36 from 2005 to 2007 and all other accident indicators were on the rise, but there was still some lingering defense of the ad hoc training system. The Civil Aviation Authority noted that the number of GA pilots increased by at least 10 percent in that time period and suggested that mitigated the toll somehow. Despite the rather unusual training and compliance standards, the basic causes of South African GA accidents sound pretty familiar to those of us who have lived under more conventional systems. "The leading cause of accidents has been human factors. By that we don't mean just pilot error. We look at things like mechanical failure due to the cutting of corners during maintenance, operators who put profits above safety and pilots who fly without enough fuel in reserve," Gilbert Twala, the CAA's chief accident investigator, said.

Cessna Ramping Up SkyCatcher
Submitted by Tony Russel

With all its manufacturing and assembly agreements in place, Cessna says it's ready to get down to the nuts and bolts of delivering its 162 Skycatcher to the more than 900 dealers, flight schools and individuals who have ordered them since its production was formally announced last July. At the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., Cessna announced Friday that the first three aircraft, a prototype, first production and test article for standards testing, are under construction and first flight of the type-conforming aircraft is expected before the end of June. Deliveries are expected by late 2009. Although it's taken some flak for the decision to have the aircraft built in China (from American-made components) the company is standing by the decision and promising Cessna-level quality in all aspects of the program. The aircraft will be built in Shenyang, where many subassemblies of Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier aircraft are built, and Cessna Communications Director Bob Stangarone said the company has absolute confidence in the build quality that will result. "When you fly over the Shenyang facility it's like you're flying over Boeing," he said. Though the aircraft will be built in China, plenty of the work will be done in the U.S., according to Cessna press materials.

Cessna also announced the build program, including the final assembly sites. Components and materials will be shipped to Shenyang and the aircraft will be fully assembled, under the supervision of Cessna staff. Each airplane will be test flown and disassembled and returned to the U.S. to be reassembled in one of three contract facilities: Eagle Aviation, of West Columbia, S.C.; Yingling Aviation in Wichita; and Southwest Platinum Aviation in North Las Vegas.

The Student Pilot

Contributed by Steve Davies

Steve Davies is busy with his PPL at CTFC with Tony Russel. After every lesson, he writes his impressions and thoughts on the flight. Although initially just for his facebook profile, they make excellent and highly entertaining reading. Every week we will present one of Steve's "Facebook notes"

Entry 8: Back in the air - and back at FAFK

Its been a few weeks since I managed to get in the air. Weather and a week away has kept my feet on the ground. So I was really looking forward to some flying this weekend!

First thing to do today was to write the SPL (student pilot licence) test. Last week the weather didn’t allow flying - or at least we decided not to go at the last minute. So instead Tony briefed me on what I needed to know for the SPL test. You need an SPL before you can fly solo as part of your training. And in order to get an SPL you need both a medical (which I did a while back already), and you need to pass a written test on the basic rules of the air etc. The idea was to do the written test today before we went flying today.

I had a non-stop work week, a trip to Joburg, and lots of evening stuff, so I only managed to get to the books on Friday night. I spend the evening learning frequencies (“About time”, Tony would probably say), the part 91 law, Cape Town airfield layout, D200, etc.

I arrived at the club around 12. Once Tony had finished sending Justin on his solo way to the D200, he gave me the test to do. And it turned out to be no problem. Got one wrong - apologies to the club, but I would have still done a carb-heat check even when on gravel. But passed it fine (can’t imagine that many people don’t), so now its time to harass the CAA till they send my officials student pilot’s licence.

By the way, what’s with the 25mm x 25mm photos? That’s not the normal passport size, is it?

But on to flying: KKC was to be our aircraft, and she was standing outside. So I went off to pre-flight her. All parts present and correct; even the clock was right! The wind had come up to pretty stiff - 16 knots or so - 30km/h. The direction was 330º. That’s a “true” bearing. The direction of the Cape Town runway is “01” - which means about 10º magnetic, or 346º true. All of which works out as a 4.4 knot crosswind component if I did the calculation right: (16*sin(346-330)?)

So given that it was windy and a bit crosswind, taxiing involved holding the elevator and ailerons to minimise the impact of the wind - “dive away from the wind, climb towards”. The take-off with the cross-wind went quite well, though my takeoffs are always accompanied by Tony saying “more right rudder”. I think next time I’m going to have to really stand on it and see if he can also say “less right rudder”. Do the cross-wind takeoff right and the aircraft seems to “pop” into the necessary crab as you lift off. That’s cool!

We headed off towards Fisantekraal. The air was quite bumpy, especially in the lee of the Tygerberg hills. I’m still not doing a good job of “attitude” flying - that’s holding the nose at a consistent angle to the horizon. Not to mention picking a landmark and holding the same heading. Because of the inertia of the aircraft, chasing a particular altitude with reference to the altimeter really doesn’t work that well. Instead I’m supposed to place the nose in an attitude that feels right, wait a little bit for the aircraft to settle and then make slight adjustments until you’ve achieved the desired level flight (or best-rate-of-climb angle or whatever).

My attitude stuff is especially bad if I get distracted by something that needs to be done - checks, radio calls or whatever. I look up and we’re 100ft higher or lower, or off course. Really going to have to concentrate on getting that sorted. (Probably we should take a break from circuits sometime soon and go practice the straight and level and basic manoeuvres again).

Runway 32 was being used at Fisantekraal, and plenty of people were in the circuit. I remember PIA was there with us, together with an RV with Peter Erasmus on board with a student, a Jabiru from CTFTC, My circuits were still rather blehh. First couple of times around my flying in the circuit was all over the place - that problem with distractions. I did shape that up as we went along by paying better attention. Actual landings were kind of OK but none gave me the “that’s how it should be done feeling”. Its getting a bit frustrating. Tony is hoping for a nice still day to remove the wind and bumps as a factor.

After four circuits or so I was feeling ‘n bietjie naar, and progress wasn’t great. So we stopped on the next landing and parked for 10 minutes or so. My first real visit to Fisantekraal. A lovely little Piper Pacer was parked there. Was the Pacer / Tri-pacer Piper’s only highwing? Nice looking in red.

Tony and I chatted a bit and watched the others doing their circuits, then started up again for another try. We did two more circuits if I remember. On the last, Tony let me get on with it in silence. On final I felt it was going well - and I still remember it that way. I felt I was a bit low, and added some power. Maybe that was a mistake. Anyway, at the threshold I flared OK, avoided a balloon. But we ended floating a few feet off the ground, and not really descending. Until we ran out of flying speed and came down with a thump.

I think the basic problem was a bit too much speed (energy). I felt that I couldn’t flare properly or we would have ballooned. But without flaring, how to bleed off the speed? Its all quite a tangle of interacting factors!

Practice makes perfect, but I do feel frustrated that landings haven’t really come together for me yet. So hold thumbs for nice calm weather for next time and we’ll try to get them right.

In the meantime, happy flying for those who partake. For those who don’t - what an amazing challenge, give it a try!

Aviation Incidents

British Airways Boeing 777 Crash Lands at Heathrow
Submitted by John Nicholas

On the 17th of January, a British Airways Boeing 777 ran out of oomph as it was approaching Heathrow airport in London. The aircraft managed to narrowly avoid a freeway and crash landed well short of the runway, eventually coming to rest on the threshold. Note the landing gear strut poking through the wing in the picture, above right. Happily there were no major injuries.

The accident is still under investigation, with everything from fuel contamination to auto throttle failure being blamed by amateur crash investigators.

Single-engine planes collide, killing at least five
Submitted by Alexia Michaelides

A midair collision between two single-engine planes over suburban Los Angeles left at least five people dead, including one killed by the falling wreckage, police and federal officials reported.

The collision occurred about 3:35 p.m. Sunday (6:35 p.m. ET) in Corona, California, about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.

The pilot of each aircraft was killed, along with one passenger in each plane and another person inside a car dealership below, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Wayne Pollack said.

The final death toll will not be known until Monday when one of the planes is opened and bodies are removed, Pollack said.

The aircraft involved were both single-engine Cessnas, a two-seat Cessna 150 and a four-seat Cessna 172, the NTSB investigator said.

The engine and part of the cockpit of the Cessna 150 fell through the roof of a Chevrolet dealership killing one person inside the building, he said.

Eyewitness Jeff Hardin said the smaller plane "just disintegrated into pieces" in the collision, while the larger plane "pretty much stayed intact and started spiraling down."

"There were maybe 50 pieces coming down," he said.

Pollack estimated that the debris fell over an area about 300 yards wide and 500 yards long.

The crash left wreckage strewn along a commercial strip, including several car dealerships, near the Riverside Freeway.

Weather is not believed to have been a factor since it was clear and winds were calm at the time, Pollack said.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/01/20/planes.collide/index.html?eref=edition

Famous CTFC Member!

Submitted by Alexia Michaelides

Congratulations to Karl Thaning for appearing in the new MNET series, "Feat of the Uninvited"! We all want autographed pin-ups now that we have such a celebrity training at our club.

Videos

Spectacular Landing at Lukla
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq_S_vAsiuo
Submitted by John Nicholas

CAT II ILS Approach into Birmingham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B5v8UOKAso&NR=1
Submitted by John Nicholas