prop talk May 2017

North Shore Aero Club

Phone 0800 4 WINGS or 09 426 4273 Email office@nsac.co.nz

Want to learn to fly? If you’re considering flight training, North Shore Aero Club in Auckland is the place to start. Students receive top level training as well as help and encouragement from staff and other members. There are many different social occasions, competitions and club trips for members to take part in. If you like the idea of flying family and friends to an exciting destination like Pauanui, Raglan or Great Barrier Island for lunch, then book a trial flight today, and begin your journey to a flying career. We can help you with private and commercial pilots licences, as well as multi engine ratings, instrument ratings, aerobatic ratings, night ratings, aircraft type ratings and conversions. We also handle foreign pilot license validations and provide a range of ground courses for licences and ratings.

Hours of Operation The club is open for flying 7 days per week from 8 am until dark and after

dark for night flying by appointment. Office hours are 8 am until 5 pm.

We are closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The bar is open from 5pm Friday until Sunday

Neither the editor nor North Shore Aero Club are responsible for opinions expressed by

contributors to Proptalk magazine.

President Joe Smith 027 252 5216

Vice President Robert van Heiningen 027 483 1439

Treasurer Andrew Crowhurst

Secretary Nicole Harris secretary@nsac.co.nz

Club Captain Laurence Pope clubcaptain@nsac.co.nz

Committee Roy Crane

Trevor Dance

Candice Gillett

David Saunders

Margaret Smith

021 340 654

021 115 4696

027 224 4293

Patron Stan Smith

Manager (A-Cat & Flight Examiner) John Punshon manager@nsac.co.nz

CFI (A-Cat & Flight Examiner) Daryl Gillett cfi@nsac.co.nz

B-Cat Instructors Tim Marshall

Dawson Boles

Chantel Strooh

David Pauw

C-Cat Instructors Nicole Harris

Laurence Pope

Matthew Stephens

Dominic Gundry

Ming Zhang

Simon Jonassen

Adam McLeely

Matthew Walls

Flight Office Manager Lynn Packer Sunday—Wednesday

Flight Office Staff Georgia Mitchell Thursday—Saturday

Safety Coordinator Simon Marshall

Bar Staff Brian Clay

Nicole Harris

Angela McLaggan

Groundsman Caleb Hanham

NS Helicopter Training Instructors Roy Crane

Scott Snellex

Bryan Francis

CFI

Daryl Gillett

Another few months have passed and everyone has been pretty much heads down

bums up at the club, with little opportunity to come up for a breath. Here’s some

stuff to know…

The Tecnam is well and truly online and available for hire. The aircraft was bought

to cater to the microlight market, so if you have a microlight certificate, it’s ready

and waiting. We have also got Part 149 certification in place so we are now able to

offer instruction towards microlight certificates and microlight flight testing.

We attempted to hold a microlight day on the 29th April, however the poor weather

ensured it was a washout. A fair number of members and visitors did turn out for

the BBQ though. Thanks to Phil Southerden for stepping up to the plate and provid-

ing invaluable assistance. We will look at holding another microlight day soon.

Some may have noticed a few new instructors at the club. As most of our current

students will know, it is difficult to get bookings at times due to being so busy. We

now have further C-Cat instructor capacity to ease the load, so I hope students will

find it easier to make bookings. In addition to this, David Pauw attained his B-Cat

instructor rating late last month – fantastic work David, a fine achievement.

The night flying season is in full swing so make sure you get amongst it. Please

don’t hesitate to give us a call if you want to find out more. If you’re keen to get

stated email Tim – tim@nsac.co.nz

As is usual at this time of year, the grass areas are closed due to boggy surface con-

ditions. Gravel runway 09/27 is also currently closed due to surface conditions.

Please remain on paved areas and always check the NOTAMs prior to flight.

About two months ago we started the Fortnightly Updates email via Tim Marshall,

to ensure all pilots at North Shore Aerodrome are aware of critical operational in-

formation and any other important issues. It only takes few minutes to read it and

stay up to speed.

Parachute Landing Areas

I can’t imagine it myself, but some people do seem to like heaving themselves out of aeroplanes! And as such when we’re flying and they’re fallin’ we do need to give them enough space. Late last year an incident occurred where one of our aircraft flew through an active parachute landing area. That incident occurred at Parakai Aerodrome, and serves as a timely reminder to all pilots of the danger of conflict between aircraft and skydivers. A Parachute Landing Area, or PLA, is established to warn pilots of an area where intensive parachuting may take place. The AIP says that “Pilots should treat the airspace near and above active parachute landing areas as a danger area, particu-larly airspace upwind of the PLA”. PLA’s are usually permanent locations that are depicted on the aerodrome chart in red using a parachute symbol and the designa-tion P… Other temporary locations might be activated via AIP supplement or NO-TAM. Parakai’s PLA is permanent. It should be obvious that aircraft and skydivers don’t mix very well. Skydivers have very limited ability to manoeuvre, and are generally not able to ‘get out of the way’ – certainly not to the extent that aircraft can anyway. It is therefore the responsibil-ity of aircraft to avoid skydivers, by avoiding active PLA’s, or complying with promul-gated procedures. As the AIP says, active PLA’s should be treated as danger areas – pilots should avoid them unless they are satisfied that no danger or undue risk ex-ists. In other words, pilots should avoid PLA’s unless they can be sure that no para-chuting activity is currently being conducted and won’t be for the duration of flight within the PLA. The relevant radio frequency is normally used to attain whether or not a PLA is in use. However often it can be difficult to confirm if a PLA is in use and in such cir-cumstances where you cannot confirm this, the PLA should be avoided. Parachute drop aircraft will normally make radio calls at regular intervals during the climb to the drop altitude. The drop aircraft will also provide a countdown until the drop i.e. “Parakai Traffic, SDF, 2 minutes to parachute drop from overhead the field, 13,000 feet”. As a word of caution, pilots should however be extremely wary of advice giv-en by parachute drop aircraft. You should not feel obligated to comply with advice or instructions given, and furthermore drop aircraft should not give instructions. BUT, you should be feel very free to call the drop aircraft to confirm their intentions if necessary, and this may well be appropriate if you are ever in doubt. Remember you are the Pilot in Command of your aircraft, and you are responsible for making safe and appropriate decisions.

Often when a PLA is collocated or very close to an aerodrome it is acceptable for simultaneous aircraft and skydiving operations if the prescribed procedures are carefully followed. In this instance standard overhead joining procedures should not be conducted if parachuting activities are in progress. At aerodromes where extensive skydiving is conducted it may be necessary to avoid joining overhead en-tirely. Usually alternative and preferred arrival procedures are promulgated accord-ingly. Given that Parakai is potentially a viable alternate aerodrome to North Shore I suggest that all North Shore based pilots sufficiently familiarise themselves with the procedures promulgated in the AIP for Parakai. Pilots are asked to avoid using overhead joining procedures at Parakai. Also, in so far as simultaneous operations are concerned, aircraft taking off or going-around must maintain the runway centreline and not exceed 500ft AGL until beyond the runway end. In turn parachutists must cross the runway at an altitude of not less than 1,000ft AGL. Compliance with these procedures ensures that at least 500ft of vertical separation exists between aircraft and skydivers at all times. I have been told that these procedures are also used at some other aerodromes that have collo-cated PLA’s. I would however warn that the use of these simultaneous operations procedures may not be appropriate for unfamiliar pilots and as such I would tend to steer clear of the aerodrome as a preference until the skydivers are on the ground. In situations where an overhead join cannot be conducted aircraft must join directly into the circuit pattern. If the aerodrome is equipped with an AWIB, the runway in use can be simply identified by the reported wind direction. If an aerodrome is not equipped with an AWIB other methods will need to be employed to ascertain the wind direction and therefore runway in use, such as: the aerodrome forecast, re-ports available via FISCOM, reports from other aircraft, and actual indications of wind direction i.e. smoke, dust, pollen, trees, wind lanes etc. It is important that you are satisfied with the joining procedure for the appropriate runway prior to arriving at the aerodrome. With this in mind it may be necessary to hold away from the aerodrome circuit pattern whilst you figure things out. It is vitally important that all pilots refer to the NZAIP and ensure they are fully con-versant with the prescribed procedures for aerodromes they intend to visit, espe-cially in relation to parachuting operations. There is also no substitute for good situ-ational awareness. Skydivers don’t have radios so see and avoid principles are as always extremely important. And lastly – if in doubt, avoid the Parachute Landing Area.

Mobile Phones As mobile phone and headset technology continues to improve,

the opportunity for pilots to utilise that technology also increases – and probably

the tendency to use it also. Most new aviation headsets now have Bluetooth capa-

bility which allows telephone calls to be made through the headset when connect-

ed. This functionality is potentially both good and bad…

It could of course be extremely valuable if for example you had a radio failure. Be-

ing able to communicate via your headset (and mobile phone) to the relevant ATS

unit could be a huge advantage, especially if you are in controlled airspace.

However if the Bluetooth capability is used to communicate for inappropriate pur-

poses (such as catching up with a mate, or talking to your wife about what’s for din-

ner) then it will be a significant distraction. On the road it is proven that mobile

phone use causes a considerable number of accidents, even when hands-free sys-

tems are utilised. In the air the effect of using a mobile phone will be no different,

and could have an even more pronounced effect on your performance due to the

fact that for most people flying does require more mental energy than driving.

Inappropriate mobile phone calls whilst flying have been a matter of concern re-

cently. We have become aware of several circumstances recently where pilots fly-

ing club aircraft have been communicating with each other (both in different air-

craft) or to their mates on the ground, sometimes even during the circuit, take-off,

and landing phases!

In our aircraft it is not acceptable to make or take inappropriate telephone calls

whilst flying, and I would discourage all other pilots to do them same. Our flight

orders will be amended to reflect this.

AED The club has purchased an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), which is

the only AED at the aerodrome that we are aware of. In 99% of cases of cardiac

arrest CPR alone is not enough to resuscitate the patient. It is proven that AEDs

save lives and we are very pleased to be able to have an AED onsite should the re-

quirement for it ever arise.

The AED is located in the flight office, to the left of the door onto the apron, and Tim

Marshall will be writing a piece for the next fortnightly email update regarding its

operation. Thanks to Committee Member Candice for arranging its procurement.

Daryl

Blue Light New Zealand

Since 2013, Blue Light New Zealand have run the Kids Go Flying event and this year NSAC were invited to take part. Seven of our generous club members gave up time, aircraft and money so that lucky youngsters of all ages, could fly to Raglan in a light aircraft and a few even got to fly from NSAC in the very smart red R44 helicopter piloted by Simon Tompkins – very cool.

The day began with a briefing from Laurence Pope and a big thank you from our Police coordinator Sergeant Steve Perris, then we were off with Trevor Dance taking the lead in our new club Tecnam 2008 Light Sport, followed in convoy by a flight of aircraft including Christoph Berthoud in the Cessna 177B, Alan Hull in the trusty Piper PA-32-260, Radio Show host Vaughn Davis in a Piper Arrow, Craig Vause in the PA18 and Martin Farrand more famous for designing the Shearwater Amphibian making up the flock.

The weather was not bad at all with some bumps at lower altitude, but much smoother for those of us who chose to fly above 3000 ft. We all made up our own routes, but still managed to converge on Raglan at what seemed to be exactly the same time, together with aircraft from all over the North Island. What initially seemed to be quiet at first, suddenly became a buzz of aircraft all around Raglan, slotting-in nicely all using the new correct frequency (ahem) and lining up alongside the runway.

Busy day at Raglan, with over 27 aircraft from Ardmore, Te Kowhai and North Shore.

Once in Raglan, Blue Light had arranged a whole host of activities to keep the chil-dren busy, whilst most of the pilots made for a local café, a good lunch and a chance to talk about flying with people who are actually interested.

With the children suitably worn out, we loaded up and headed back to our respec-tive corners of the North Island. From the radio calls, it sounded like most of the pilots could not avoid going around the Sky Tower at least once on the way back.

Finbar McCormack and Trevor Dance in the NSAC Tecnam P2008, doing the sky tower tour and the “spot where you live” game over the east coast.

After another big thank you from our Blue Light organisers, it was a cheery goodbye knowing we had given some children a fine day to remember.

This event is now being run annually, and it would be great if next year we can have double the number of aircraft from North Shore – Many thanks to Laurence Pope and Blue Light for making this happen.

Trevor Dance

Upcoming Events

Flight Radio (Night school) 23 May

Human Factors (Night School) 13 June

CPL Ground Course (6 Weeks) 3 July

PPL Ground Course (2 Weeks) 10 July

Meeting Dates

Committee Meeting:

TBC

From the Manager

May already! Goodness, we’re nearly half way back to Christmas again.

I thought this month I’d talk about Health & Safety a little bit. Now, please don’t roll

your eyes (I know I typically would) but I promise I’ll keep it interesting.

Whether we are talking about the Health and Safety at Work Act or CAA Safety

Management Systems, it is very easy to feel like we are proverbially drowning in

cotton wool policy. However, it isn’t really like that anymore, in fact, the closer we

get to each topic, the more we realise that it’s actually just common sense.

That said, it is important to understand that even though this is a place of leisure,

we all have obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Over the coming

months, we will be corresponding with all members further on the matter, but in

the interim I’d like to give everyone a bit of a reminder / understanding of what we

need to know and what our obligations are.

It really boils down to a little bit of foresight and common sense.

That’s it. Foresight and common sense! Nothing more.

So, what do I mean? Well, if we recognise that there is potential for something to go

wrong (the foresight component), we should do something about it (the common

sense component).

We teach this as a general concept in aviation these days and we call it Threat and

Error Management. Threats are something we have no control over. The weather,

terrain, other aircraft, etc. I’m saying this to relate it to general health and safety

around the airfield. So what are the threats? Aircraft, tail rotors, vehicles, pets, chil-

dren, uneducated visitors, etc. Some of these threats we have been dealing with for

years and years. Taxiing aircraft, for example; all trained pilots know the dangers

and know what to do to stay safe around a taxiing aircraft and we’d assume that all

pilots would brief their passengers, visitors & guests etc.

But what should we do when something differ-

ent crops up? Here is a situation that cropped

up a few months back.

One evening an instructor and a student were

preparing for a night flight. It was dusk but not

completely dark. The instructor notices some

shadows moving around up near the Runway

21 threshold. Upon investigation, it turned out

that two black Labradors that had managed to

make their way onto the airfield. Obviously,

two black Labradors running around in the

dark on a runway are a massive risk but thank-

fully they had collars and tags on so we could

contact their owners but looking beyond that,

how did they get onto the runway in the first

place? It turns out that someone was walking

the dogs around the aero park, letting them off

the leash and assuming all would be fine. A 1.2

metre fence is no match for two inquisitive Labradors.

How do we prevent the same vulnerability from being exploited by a cunning black

dog again? Well, we must make the problem known.

So immediate actions aside, we need to fill out an Occurrence form. ‘Why?’, might

you ask… well:

We have first-hand information from the person who observed the problem.

We are not relying on someone’s memory to recall the specific details and if

the incident is documented in a timely fashion, it will be much more accurate

than a relayed story.

We can review all the circumstances and seen if there are any other similar

weaknesses that need fixing.

We have the incident documented and can record our actions against it.

If / when we are audited by Work Safe or CAA, we have a wealth of data to

show how effective we are at observing and mitigating risks and problems.

Our occurrence forms can be downloads from http://downloads.nsac.co.nz and emailed to safety@nsac.co.nz . You may remain anonymous if you wish, but I would encourage everyone to use them and help improve everyone’s safety around the club. In other news, we have recently acquired a MOGAS tank to supply fuel for WIP.

We’re going to offer all members the ability to buy MOGAS from the club for their

aircraft shortly. We’re just sourcing a new meter for it so we can accurately record

quantities. An email will go out when it is available.

Our new Tecnam WIP is going great. We’ve had terrific feedback from everyone

that has flown it, it’s comfortable, fast, quiet and beautiful to fly. As I mentioned

last month, I’m very taken with it myself. So, if you haven’t flown it yet or got your

type rating, we’ve got an eager bunch of instructors raring to go.

As Daryl mentions in his article, we can now offer all of the training and testing

required to go from zero to Microlight certificate holder at the club also.

John

Safety Matters

BIRDSTRIKES

As winter spreads its icy fingers over the airfield, and with it an increase in bird ac-

tivity, a timely review of the threat of bird strikes, and what we as pilots can do to

mitigate/minimise the threat , is required

Bird strikes have had significant consequences for aircraft over the years the most

recent being the A320 ditching in the Hudson River caused by a flock of Canadian

Geese. There has been worse outcomes with the loss of life as a direct result of

birds bringing down aircraft.

In the Airline world most international airports have bird warnings published in the

procedures for that port if it was deemed a problem. The airport authorities would

have a bird control plan in place be it Cannons or Pyrotechnics etc. North shores

AIP Vol. 4 does include such a warning. But how many of you include the threat of

birds in your departure / arrival brief? Do you include it in your decision making

process as to whether you land or go around, execute a rejected take off? Or are

you only thinking about other aircraft being the cause of executing a go around?

30 minute Intro flight $295 60 minute Intro flight $590

Student Loans available!

Come and join our 2017

intake. Contact us

on info@helitraining.co.nz

09 426 8748

helitraining.co.nz

Aircraft engines are obviously the most at risk component when it comes to bird

strikes. Jet engines in particular need an uninterrupted flow of air to prevent what's

known as compressor surge or stall. Taking a few medium sized birds down the in-

take should not pose a problem. In fact frozen chickens are fired into test bed en-

gines at various thrust settings with no real issues, the engine will happily keep run-

ning. The problem magnifies itself when we encounter flocks of birds. Enough birds

down the intake and you could very well have a flameout to deal with. The main

issue with engines of the reciprocating piston variety is ingesting the bird into the

intake and blocking the cooling air needed. No cooling and you could be faced with

a rapidly over temping engine which could lead to fire / failure. Birds hitting the

prop could lead to Vibration due to the prop being out of balance ending with the

engine trying to remove itself from its mounts.

Birds can also cause significant damage to other components. Windscreens especial-

ly those in light aircraft can be damaged or shattered causing vision problems or

worse case significant injury due to Perspex fragments or the bird itself. The shock

of a sudden increase in airflow and noise with shrapnel and bird remains in your

face would be very unsettling indeed. With little or no forward vision and the luxury

of auto land not available you will have your hands full.

Birds can also damage wing leading edges, pitot probes, de-icing boots, tail planes,

undercarriage legs and doors. If you’re operating a retractable the damage may

cause retraction or extension problems. Radio and Nav aid aerials can be damaged.

As you can see, birds can and do cause significant problems. What can we do to

mitigate / minimise the threat?

Know the threat exists in the first place, refer to Vol 4. Local knowledge, the majori-

ty of bird activity at North Shore is within the threshold of 21 extending towards the

middle where 09/27 crosses 21/03. The birds seem to spend most of their time in

the grass areas either side of the concrete. Seek information; has there been any

reports of more than usual bird activity? Situational awareness, during taxi scan the

area for bird activity. The holding point runway 21 affords a good area to observe

from, as does the parallel taxiway. Use of landing lights to increase your visual pres-

ence. Assess the situation once lined up, if in doubt due to large numbers of birds

delay your departure. Be prepared to execute a rejected take off. As the majority of

bird activity is found within the middle of the field, it will have more of an effect on

take-off; the engine is under a load at take-off power and as you lift off you will be

passing through the middle section regardless of the runway in use.

The arrival and landing will again place you in the path of birds; be prepared to go

around if large numbers of birds are active in the touch down zone. If you have

briefed yourself accordingly then in the event of going around you will not be sur-

prised.

In the event of a bird strike at a safe altitude and under control notify North Shore

base with the approximate position that the strike occurred this will enable the run-

way to be checked and cleared of any remains. If any doubt exists as to whether

you should continue your flight return for a landing to enable an inspection of your

aircraft to be carried out. Likewise if the strike occurred on approach, once landed

and you are able to taxi clear notify the base radio. If any damage has caused con-

trol issues or gear, flap issues etc., guidance from the Flight manual, checklist and

an instructor via radio which could lead to engineers advise being sought would be

the best course of action prior to landing.

Be it a minor or major bird strike, you must complete an occurrence report. Think

how you would feel if during your pre-flight you found the remains of a bird in the

flap track and there had been no report submitted. Is the aircraft safe to fly? What

other damage might have been caused? All of these questions could have been re-

solved if the previous pilot had done the right thing and submitted an occurrence

report.

Fly safe.

Simon Marshall

Lesson Cancellation Policy:

Over the last few months, there has been a significant increase in late notice lesson

cancellations. While we understand there are always legitimate reasons for cancel-

lations, the massive upturn in volume recently suggests that some cancellations

are being left to the last minute without good reason.

Please be mindful that we do have a cancellation policy and you may be charged

for bookings cancelled at short notice unless you have legitimate reason for the

late notice cancellation.

Bookings of 2 hours duration or less require a minimum of 24 hours’ notice

to cancel.

Bookings of duration greater than 2 hours require a minimum of 48 hours’

notice to cancel.

Proptalk Puzzle

Aerodrome

Aileron

Altimeter

Attitude

Briefing

Camber

Ceiling

Climb

Compass

Flap

Horizon

Instrument

Knot

Lift

Logbook

METAR

Overshoot

Pressure

Tarmac

Tecnam

Yaw

0800 4 WINGS

www.nsac.co.nz

office@nsac.co.nz

Postman Road, Albany, Auckland