Week in brief September 2 2011

CASA is inviting flying schools and people involved in flying training to provide feedback on an important proposed new advisory publication regarding aeroplane flight instructor training. CASA is hoping the advisory publication, which includes information on competencies, principles and methods of instruction, theory lessons and the flight test, will provide practical guidance to assist flying schools to develop flight instructor training courses which satisfy regulatory requirements. Currently, there is little advice available on the conduct of flight instructor training, the final standards that instructors must achieve and how to develop training plans. The draft advisory document identifies the regulatory matters flying schools should consider when either applying for approval to undertake instructor training or for the review and ongoing development of existing approved courses. You can read the draft advisory publication by clicking here. CASA will take comments up until September 30.


Defence has released a Request for Tender (RFT) for the sale of the Navy’s remaining Sea King helicopters, which will be withdrawn from service in December. The RFT includes five complete helicopters; three airframes; a simulator; and associated unique equipment and parts. “This is a really versatile helicopter and a proven capability,” Minister for Defence Materiel, Jason Clare, said. “The Sea Kings could be used for a range of things like fire fighting, disaster relief, search and rescue, by another Navy or commercially.” The sale of the Sea Kings will be marketed across the world including major Defence expos in the UK and Canada in September. If you’d like to see the aircraft, which have been the workhorse of the Australian Navy and have flown in excess of 60,000 hours in operations, remain on Aussie soil, register on the AUSTENDER website (www.tenders.gov.au), where RFT documentation is available for download. Submissions close November 1; for further information email disposals@defence.gov.au.


Late last week paraplegic British pilot Dave Sykes completed an epic four-month flight from York, England to Sydney in his British-built, Rotax 912S-powered P&M Aviation Quik microlight. You probably saw the footage of Sykes flying the Victor 1 VFR Route and then up Sydney Harbour to Bankstown Airport, with Dick Smith close by in his helicopter. Sykes made the flight to celebrate 80 years since Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo to Australia, while also to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity. To read more about Sykes’ wild adventure, click here.


How’s this for fortuitous timing? The NBC reports that Arkansas resident Steven Lynn went for a flight in a mate’s Cessna – his first flight in any aircraft ever – to check out fishing conditions on a nearby river, and while flying over his house on the way back he saw two people robbing it. He called the Fuzz from the cockpit, and while the burglars had already bailed by the time the sheriff's deputies arrived, Lynn and the Cessna owner tailed them from the air. Giving the deputies turn by turn directions, they tracked the suspects for two miles until police eventually cornered. “It was wild,” Lynn said. “One of the most wild things I’ve ever experienced, seeing someone rob my house and the whole chase, it was like being on Cops!”


Decorated British WWII fighter pilot Billy Drake passed away on Sunday August 28 at the age of 93. Drake, who was a descendant of Vice Admiral Sir Francis Drake and whose mother was Australian, was said to be one of the most colourful and successful Allied ‘flying aces’ of WWII. After joining the Royal Air Force just shy of his 18th birthday, Drake saw his first enemy action in 1940 and actively participated in operational attacks until 1944, when he was sent to the US Command School in Kansas before joining the staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. Drake continued to fly and train other pilots until he retired from the RAF in 1963.


The ATSB is urging operators of BAC 167 Strikemaster aircraft to check the safety of their aircraft following a Coronial inquest into a fatal Strikemaster accident. On October 5, 2006 a BAC 167 Strikemaster aircraft broke up in flight and crashed into the Turon State Forest (near Bathurst, NSW) during an adventure flight. The pilot and passenger died in the accident. Earlier this year, the Office of the NSW State Coroner began a Coronial Inquest into the accident, during which details of the calculation of Fatigue Index (FI) penalties applicable to Strikemaster aircraft were provided. As a result of this evidence, CASA recently issued an Airworthiness Bulletin (AB) recommending registered operators and maintenance organisations review the FI records for BAC Strikemaster 167 aircraft and determine if a FI penalty should be applied. To read the AB click here. The read the ATSB’s investigation report into the accident that sparked this inquest, click here. The inquest is continuing.


Basair Aviaiton College is hosting three career information sessions over the next three months at its Bankstown Airport base. Running from 1900-2030, the sessions are happening on Tuesday September 20, Wednesday October 26 and Thursday November 24. Registration is compulsory as there is fixed capacity available for each session. For more info and to register, click here.


Parafield-based  Flight Training Adelaide (FTA) has signed a new contract with the China Rescue Service (CRS) to train another course of CRS cadets. This signing marks the fourth course of CRS cadets at FTA, who train towards a CASA Commercial Pilots License CPL(H) under FTA’s Chinese Civil Aviation Approval. Says FTA CEO Pine Pienaar, “FTA is extremely proud having signed the 4th contract to train CRS students during the 60th birthday celebrations of the CRS. Our training relationship, which started in 2008, has now transcended into a true training partnership, which will soon include an instructor training program as part of the training arrangement. The CRS are fast becoming one of the world’s biggest and most successful search and rescue organisations and to be part of this evolution is a privilege.”


Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) has temporarily grounded its fleet of three AgustaWestland AW139 rescue helicopters following recent incidents in South America and China. The move comes after issues were identified with the AW139’s tail rotor blades. AgustaWestland has issued a service bulletin on the matter, and until the AW139s are cleared for flight EMQ will employ two Bell 412s in their place.


Archerfield Airport has appointed Alan Cook as Airport Planning and Policy Manager. Cook’s career has included senior postings with the RAAF, CASA and more recently as COO of Aviation Management, a division of the Paspaley Group.


Jean-Marc Badan, previously FAI Sports Director and Deputy to the Secretary General, has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the FAI after serving the FAI for nearly a decade.47-year-old Badan is a former commercial pilot with Swissair Airlines and has been an active member of the Aero Club of Switzerland. He will formally take up his appointment in Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 1.