OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE MARLBOROUGH AERO CLUB INC.

P.O. Box 73, Blenheim, 7240

Tel: (03) 578 5073

Email: fly@marlboroughaeroclub.co.nz

www.marlboroughaeroclub.co.nz

M.A.C. Marlborough Aero Club

THE M.A.C. FLYER

March 2019

Vol No. 53

Omaka Aerodrome looking green!

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PATRON PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT

John Sinclair Alistair Matthews Scott Madsen

Ph: 03 578 7110 Ph: 027 428 7863 Ph: 027 453 9348

HON. TREASURER SECRETARY

Corrie Pickering Raylene Wadsworth

Ph: 027 570 4881 Ph: 03 578 5073

COMMITTEE

Mike Rutherford, Grant Jolley, Marty Nicoll,

Victoria Lewis, John Hutchison, Jonathon Large

CHIEF FLYING INSTRUCTOR CLUB CAPTAIN

Sharn Davies Ben Morris

Ph: 03 578 5073 Ph: 027 940 3235

Check out our new website –

www.jemaviation.co.nz

Annual Inspections, ARA / BRA’s, repairs, modifications

and rebuilds – we can handle it all!

Ph. (03) 578 3063

Mob. 021 504 048

Email cjaviator@gmail.com

Hangar 22b, Aviation Heritage Centre Airpark,

Omaka Aerodrome,

Blenheim, NZ

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V olunteers are required for the Classic Fighters Air Show weekend to

help in the Bar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you are available

to help please email fly@marlboroughaeroclub.co.nz ASAP.

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

As we move into Autumn a bit more there will be less daylight to fly in but that

means more night time so check out the schedule with Sharn, Dan and Ben

and make the most of it.

Last things first. We had a meeting with the CAA and Airways representatives

on Wednesday night putting up the facts on ADSB as they see them. This may

effect every aircraft owner as it will be required to enter controlled airspace

after the end of 2021, no exceptions at this stage. There were 30 club

members present and a robust discussion took place over about 2 hours. My

summary at the end was that ADSB in itself is a good modern aircraft

management system, it has limited benefits to most of GA, cost to benefit

ratio is way out of kilter, the cost being about $10,000 per aircraft. There were

many good suggestions put forward but whatever happens we are saying

that we will not pay that much for it so some form of subsidy is required from

someone. That is absolutely possible in our opinion but it has to go through the

various channels. These sentiments are being echoed around the country as

the road show progresses. For those who were not there it is absolutely

imperative that we all log on to caa.govt.nz/adsb and follow the links and

voice your concern. The Aviation Federation, strongly supported by AOPA is

leading the “fight” so let us get behind them.

We thank the Rep’s who presented to us last night, not easy, and for their kind

donation of some chocolate biscuits to have with a cuppa afterwards.

The Classic Fighters Airshow is moving nearer so watch out for instructions as

the airfield will be closed completely for a few days. Your co-operation and

understanding will be appreciated as aircraft are moved from the hanger and

pickets along with restricted access. Think ahead if you want to fly over that

period and talk to Sharn. Details will come out shortly. Lots of help needed so

keep those hands up to volunteer but also take time to buy a ticket and enjoy

the show along with friends and family.

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Presidents Report Cont...

For those wondering about the NMP (Noise Management Plan) we are putting

some refining touches to it to present to the public meeting to ensure that it

does not disable us in any way. Everyone will receive the finished article

before any public meeting so there will be no surprises. It is encouraging to

note that already comments have been heard that “noise” has abated.

Thank you.

In January I mentioned Club Competitions. The committee has approved a

formal way forward with regards to subsidies for those travelling away to

Regionals and Nationals. However the catch is that if you wish to benefit then

you will need to assist in the fund raising. Why wouldn’t you! and I can assure

you that it will not be that hard. I am already looking forward to Kaikoura on

November the 2nd.

Talking of dates, the Committee has set the AGM for Wednesday 26th June. If

you fancy serving your club as a committee member in some capacity,

please give it some serious thought. Elections are a healthy thing, no matter if

people are seeking re-election or coming forward for the first time. We do

need you.

A couple of ways you can help the club. We have a few wine and beer

glasses left over from the 90th celebrations. If everyone bought one (until they

run out) it would clear the decks so to speak. Nice logo on each one and only

$10. Available at the flight office or the bar.

Also with EFTPOS available it is the way transactions are made. However it

does come at a cost to the club which is not inconsiderable. If it is possible to

reduce the number of times you swipe the credit card in particular that would

help. Perhaps you could just credit your account with so much once a month.

Your credit card bill will be the same but ours will be lower. You can do the

same at the bar. Just ask, and help if you can.

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Have you briefed yourself on the AED? That is the green box on the wall in

the flight office which is the gadget which could save a life following a heart

attack. There are quite a few around the community and they have proved

their worth. It may be me or it may be you who needs it so do take time to

get familiar with it, just in case!

I think those are the major and minor things for the month. Last but not least,

welcome to new members which must be close to a record number this

month. That is great to see and I know that you are going to love being a

member of the Marlborough Aero Club. Great activities, Great flying and

Great camaraderie.

Welcome

Virginia Mathieson

Joshua Gregory

Thomas Ashton

Sheryl Jones

Benjamin Shaw

Allen House

Duncan Sharp

Jesse Jaques

Olivia Ward

Blake Madsen

Leander Bahlsen

Lets be careful out there, fly well.

Alistair

Presidents Report Cont...

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CFI REPORT

Not much has changed on the flying side in the last month. The club is still

busy, in fact we have 50 students currently learning to fly! This is keeping

Daniel and myself very busy. We are lucky to have had the help of Alistair,

Bianca and Tom on occasional dayS to help cover leave over the last couple

of months. Ben will be aboard mid-April which will relieve a bit of pressure and

should allow us to really capitalise on our student numbers and get some of

our students through cross countries.

Last month Craig Anderson put on a G.U.E.S.T and brief SMS course for Aero

Club staff. Craig runs these courses for Sounds Air and they are great. Craig

being a past president who understands how the club operates was able to

adapt the course for the Aero Club rather than it being a generic course. I

found the most interesting part of the evening was the Health and Safety/SMS

discussion. It made me realise the Aero Club could be doing a bit better

when it comes to SMS.

There is no legal requirement for SMS for flight training under part 91 but that

doesn’t mean we can’t take some of the good bits of a good SMS system

and apply them to the club. In that regard we are currently writing a

standard operating procedures manual for the club. You may have noticed

that we now have a ramp into the hangar (rather than the stair we used to

have), this is to prevent people falling or tripping. Believe it or not we have

had a few people do this recently. We also have some bollards and flags that

now block the entrance/exit of the open hangar doors. This is not to prevent

people entering the hangar but to deter the public (who sometimes come

out with kids) exiting the hangar onto the flight line without an escort.

Previously when members of the public wanted to have a look around the

hangar and take pictures they were briefed and then left to walk around

alone, and we caught a few walking out of the hangar onto the flight line to

check out the Tomahawks or C-172 without realising that other aircraft were

taxing in or about to start.

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Also, of note is the fact that the Aero Club is in the process of entering a

formal lease arrangement with the Piper Cherokee EBH. With EBH coming

online officially in the next couple of weeks. Bookings are to be made

through the club as with any of our aircraft and EBH will now live in our

hangar for ease of access to those wanting to hire the aircraft. The rates are

the same as for the 172 or Piper Pacer ($286 dual, $252 solo/hire). This is great

for the club as now we will have two four seat aircraft available and should a

member want to take a plane away for a weekend or a few days this will

become easier to facilitate.

Sharn

Presidents Report Cont...

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Find us on Facebook

M.A.C Marlborough Aero Club

MAC Accommodation

Pilot / RNZAC Member

$120 / night

Email: john@soundsaero.co.nz

HOLIDAY HOURS

We will be closed from 1200 hrs

on Monday 24th December 2018

and will re-open at 0800 hrs on

Thursday 3rd January 2019.

FIRST SOLO

Joe Slape 1st Solo Sunday 9th March

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OFFICE NEWS

It’s that time of the year again…

Memberships are due… I will be sending them out the first week of April.

If you do not receive them please firstly check your junk mail or clutter. If not

there then please email or call me in the Flight Office.

fly@marlboroughaeroclub.co.nz

03 578 5073

Remember if you are a member and own your aircraft you can pay $100

Annual Landing fees for each aircraft you own.

If you know longer want to be a member of MAC please also let me know so

we can take you off the books and not incur extra costs.

If you have vehicles parked in the “long term carpark” also please let me

know. We would like to keep track of who is there and there is a small fee to

be paid to cover the costs of having this carpark.

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“Never heard of parrot gliding??”

Paragliding was developed in France in the early

1980’s. It involves foot-launching a fabric wing with

no rigid primary structure, with the pilot suspended

below in a harness. The wing shape is maintained

by a combination of the suspension lines; the

pressure of air entering vents in the front of the

wing; and the aerodynamic forces of the air

flowing over the outside. Air turbulence can

collapse a paraglider.

MARLBOROUGH PARAGLIDING AND HANGLIDING CLUB

Using just thermals and soaring the wind, paragliders have flown 564kms in a

single day. The New Zealand distance record is 236kms. Paragliders have

even flown above the summit of Everest. The beauty of paragliding is in it’s

free flight, not relying on anything but the forces of nature. The feeling of the

first three steps into the air during take off is sensational.

In Marlborough we are blessed with several very good paragliding and

hangliding sites both for coastal soaring and inland thermalling.

Coastal soaring sites

The Marlborough coastline provides us

with fantastic opportunities to soar large

stretches of cliffs, including the White

Bluffs, The Yealands cliffs (which stretch

from the Awatere River mouth to the salt

works), Cape Campbell and north and

south of Ward. We use the updraft from

onshore breezes to fly along the cliffs and

typically fly up to three times the height of the cliff and up to 1km horizontally

out to sea. The majority of these sites are flown when there are easterly or

northerly onshore breezes ranging from 15kms to 30kms per hour.

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Inland thermalling sites

Inland sites provide us with the opportunity to catch thermals and fly to

cloud base. Once at cloud base we can glide from one thermal to another

covering vast distances. Our favourite launch sites include Blackbirch, Foots

Farm (Havelock), Picton and Canvastown.

We respect air space and have maps on our instruments to warn us when

we are entering these zones. Like small aircraft we fly using the visual flight

rules as set out by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.

Marlborough Paragliding and Hangliding Club update...

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Marlborough Paragliding and Hangliding Club update...

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Some updates on the Bristol Freighter for you.

We had a great turn out for our working bee on Sunday the 17th March. Big

thanks to all who turned up.

During the previous week we let off bug bombs to kill any spiders and other

creepy crawlies which may have been lurking inside. The interior was

emptied out, front and rear, dewebbed and cleaned. Unwanted parts and

equipment were moved to our hangar.

Control locks were taken away for sanding and paint refurbishment.

Power was connected and lights checked. Bulbs were replaced where

required and fittings checked. Luckily JEM Aviation let us rustle through their

stock of English light bulbs and I’m pleased to say we were rewarded with the

correct bulbs. Additionally if anyone has screw in 24V 60W light bulbs ( like a

household standard light bulb) we would be love to have them.

Prop tips have started to be stripped of paint and will be primed and

painted. The badly worn Captains seat and Jump seat were removed and

will be replaced from stock. Cockpit fabric lining was removed and will either

be cleaned or replaced. We have some in stock but not all.

A plate on the rear bulkhead was drilled off to accommodate the Battery

Cart NATO plug.....much safer than a hot plug floating about in the cabin!

The cockpit was dewebbed and dead bugs, flies, birds, wallet and spiders

were removed. Control column Boot was removed and will be remade. The

radio/intercom/PA system was looked at and will be ongoing work until it can

be used.

Wing walks at the tail were repainted and some of the wing walks on the

wings were also done. The tail wheel was looked at, our jack is being freed

up and a tail wheel from stock was delivered and will be fitted.

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Some nose door locks were oiled, some to go and hinges to Oil/Grease. We

have seat rails being made for the passenger capsule so seats can be

installed and the capsule installed in the fuselage. Life jacket sign is being

refurbished.

Al Marshall’s starboard engine was tarped up after a successful run on the

16th. Great to have both engines going. Red paint and primer arrived on

Wednesday 20th so prep and paint can now start. Side windows for the

fuselage have been made and will be installed in the next couple of Sundays.

These are the windows that match the passenger capsule windows.

We have had our new fire extinguishers arrive and they will be distributed on

the battery cart and in the cabin. We have a battery cart being built,

cunningly designed to suit our needs as our old battery cart is very heavy and

difficult to install and it has been used elsewhere for some years. We have had

new Exide batteries generously supplied along with leads for our new cart. We

will purchase a new battery charger capable of charging the 24v supply. We

now have 2 crash axes to install. 20 litres of Aircraft Cleaning concentrate has

generously been supplied....always in demand!

From now until the Airshow at Easter, we will be working on the Bristol every

Sunday. There is always some wee job to do so if you feel you would like to

contribute come along from 10:30 any Sunday.

Bristol news update...

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I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge some fine people and

organisations for their generous help and donations:

Auto Electric City Battery Mart .... 2 Exide Batteries and lead cables.

Gordy Mitchell for arranging the Exide Batteries and supplying the 11

windows.

Gordon Mitchell Construction also installed the easy access gates in the

fence to the airfield.

Spraystore Christchurch .... Red paint and Primer.

Chris Hagen .... 20 litres of Aircraft Cleaning concentrate.

Mike Nicholls .... British Aluminium of various grades for Battery Cart and

Hangar to construct it.

Trevor Collins .... Crash Axe

Jay McIntyre JEM Aviation .... English aircraft light bulbs and loan of an Air

Compressor

Chris Boyce .... Sign writing and stencil masks

Peter Wells …. Arranging Fire Extinguishers

Aaron Patchett …. Seat Rails

The Old Boys in the Main Hangar …. Passenger capsule strip and fix

I am sure there will be others in the future, if you feel you can help out please

contact Marty on 0211 276 230.

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Additionally we would like to acquire any of the following:

Safe Air Uniforms.

Hostess Uniforms....Union Airways, NAC, Air New Zealand.

Pilots Notes.

Navigation equipment.

Manuals.

Equipment and parts.

Engines.

Passenger seats.

Galley equipment.

Once again if you have any of these items you would like to donate to the

Bristol please contact Marty on 0211 276 230

Bristol news update...

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MEMBERS NEWS

New Hangar 500 sqm currently under construction in the

Omaka Airpark, south of AHC.

Phone Trevor at TC Engineering, 0272497670.

HANGAR SPACE AVAILABLE

Share 25 x 14m hanger with glider and

LSA low wing plane. Suit small low wing or

slightly larger high wing plane.

Western end of the airfield.

$50/week

Call Brian on 021 972713

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MAC MERCHANDISE

MAC has a range of Polo shirts and T-Shirts, new style caps and other

apparel. We have ladies and men's sizes and even a few that will fit a

child.

The high vis shirts are fantastic to wear at events especially if you are

helping out at the Airshow or HBBBC or just flying into a different airfield.

Call into the Flight Office to purchase.

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Also available to buy at the MAC Flight Office…

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FLYING HOURS

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SUNDAY NIGHT ANECTDOTES

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TRUE STORY…. :)

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