WINGOVER WINGOVER

The magazine of the Auckland Aero Club

March/April 2011 Auckland Tower Trip

RNZAC Instructor Conference

New Zealand Aerobatic championships

Who is Eric Barfoot?

Upcoming Events

Achievements

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New T-Shirts

Now

available

from the

Flightdesk

for $30 all profit goes

towards future club

events

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Club Staff & Officers Patron Merv North President Rob George Club Captain Greg Quinn Secretary Ian Holmes Committee Bill Bennett (QA Manager) Jim Fraser Ron Watson Dave Bennett Operations Manager Paddy Lozell Office Staff Kirsty Johns Emma Sinnott Bar Staff Jess Barrow Wingover Editor Emma Sinnott

Acting Chief Flying Instructor Tim Steele (B) Deputy Chief Flying Instructor Sandra Shallard (B) Instructors Jason Woodger (B) Nathan Johnston (B) Part Time Instructors Andy Lorimer (A) John Ashman (B) Dee Bond (B) Adam Eltham (B) Phil Welcome (B) Nicola Evans (B) Daisuke Kimura (C) Andrew Hope (C) John Kelly (C) T.K. Lee (C) Leo Pardon (C) Aerobatic Instructors Cam Wilson (A) Peter Beaumont (B) Wayne Ormrod (B) Safety Coordinator Tim Steele Maintenance Controller Nathan Johnston

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Club President Report Rob George

It has been a good year financially with a significant increase in hours and tight cost

management generating to a profit. We have done a lot of analysis about where our

revenue comes from and had a consistent strategy about how to maximise opportuni-

ties. We have then targeted our networking and marketing towards where we are most

likely to generate hours and revenue. We are applying some sound business analysis as

well as some common sense to the process. One of the things we are working very hard

to maximise is our non weather dependent revenue, for example the High School Gate-

way Students you may see around the club on week days is one of the strategies in the

mix. Additionally you may have noticed that we are introducing small charges to cover

the cost of putting on pilot seminars and events that may have been free in the past, this

is simply an exercise in cost recovery. By focusing on a number of these activities it has

made a substantial difference to the clubs financial health.

We have had a couple of changes on committee with Craig Pearce stepping down due to

other commitments. Craig has put in a lot of work around the competition teams and I

would like to thank him for his efforts. Greg Quinn has taken over as the Club Captain

and has brought a number of new and innovative idea's to the table so please support

his efforts. I would also like to welcome David Bennett to the committee. Dave is a past

Deputy CFI of the club and currently an Air New Zealand Captain so he brings another

unique perspective to the table.

There is also a change in the instructing staff with Sandra remaining in a part time ca-

pacity and taking on a role as the Deputy CFI. Tim Steele is stepping up as our Acting

CFI. Sandra is largely responsible for the exceptionally high standard of documentation

in our exposition and that has contributed immensely to the way the club is managed,

and from that our good relationship with CAA. To have Sandra continuing in this essen-

tial role, while she also is fully employed as a mother is great for us. You will notice

some changes around the systems that record the aircraft hours and the format of the

booking sheet, these have been collaborative efforts across the team and part of our

continuous improvement journey. We have a great team of instructors with a heap of

experience and some very promising young C Cats coming on its a great position for us

to be in. Make the most of it while we have these people here!

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The Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators (GAPAN) gave a presentation in the bar at the end

of April. GAPAN is a international organisation dedicated to aviation safety. The member-

ship encompasses Pilot, Navigations, Engineers, and any role that impacts aviation. They

have strong links to the Airline and Air Force fraternity, and are working on building better

links with the GA sector. When the GAPAN committee was in the bar their combined flying

experience was over 100,000 hours. One of the benefits they offer is a mentoring pro-

gram. If you are serious about a career in aviation or interested in finding out more please

talk to the instructors.

There are a number of activities coming up including a Mountain Flying course. We are

actively looking at how we can help pilots meet the upcoming mountain flying requirements

for new licenses and BFR's. This is one seminar that you really should attend if you can.

It's always good to recognise peoples achievements. I am currently working towards a CPL

and it has reminded me how much personal effort and commitment is required. Congratu-

lations to the following people on what they have achieved. First Solo – Andy Nicholls,

Andy Roberts, Jeremy Illes, Abhishek Reddy, Suk Jun Hong, Tim Capill, PPL – James

Phillips, David Mellow, B Cat - Nicola Evans and SEIR – Tom O‘Brien.

Fly often, fly safe

Rob

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CFI REPORT

Tim Steele

Hi all,

Recently some changes around the Aero Club have meant a change in the

flying leadership team. I have been appointed Acting CFI with Sandra, who

has chosen to continue on in a part time capacity, in the role of Deputy CFI.

I have done all my flight training at Ardmore, being based with the two other

training organisations prior to moving to the AAC in March last year. I enjoy the

flight training environment and look forward to continuing in this role.

The last financial year was a huge improvement on the year before, with nearly

3600 flying hours in total. This represents some pretty amazing growth for the

Aero Club and I hope to see this continue for the years ahead.

To help with growing the flying hours, some minor changes will be put in place

to help us use our aircraft more efficiently. You can help by ensuring you run on

time with any flying that you have booked, and if you need to cancel, letting us

know well in advance means we can re-book the aircraft.

Our team continues to grow in experience and congratulations need to be

passed to Nicola who recently achieved her B-Category instructor rating. This

now means we have 5 B-Cats who are available throughout the week, and this

high level of experience is fantastic to have.

If you have any suggestions or comments as to how we can improve the flying,

and flight training please feel free to contact me directly.

Keep the blue above and the green below.

Regards

Tim

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Recently I had the opportunity to join a Warbirds Harvard formation flight as the

―backseater‖ in Harvard 57, flown by the Aero Club instructor JK. Also flying in the

formation was Andrew Hope in number 78, Gavin Trethewey in 57 and Brett Nicholls in

52. After a briefing in the Warbirds hangar we made our way to the aircraft – the objective

for today a fly past of the Buckland‘s Beach Yacht Club. My first impression of the Har-

vard is it is not a small aircraft – you lower yourself down into it and the floor is a long way

below! After the usual run-ups and checks we took off in formation and headed towards

Howick. While we waited for the right moment to commence the fly past we flew around

several of the gulf islands, and circled one of the harbour ferries briefly. Down to 500 feet

over the waterfront as we passed in front of the yacht club, and after a second pass in the

other direction it was back to Ardmore for a military style formation overhead join. Back

on the ground at Ardmore, we refueled the aircraft (JK informs me the Havards burn two

litres of AVGAS a minute!) before putting them back in the hangar. A fantastic experience,

and one which has certainly given me a new interest in perhaps learning to fly these air-

craft myself at some point in future!

Breaking formation at Ardmore

In formation over Brookby

Over MacLeans College

Over Howick Over Brookby

Over Motuihe Island In formation over Howick

Harvard Formation with

Leo Pardon

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The Albatros L-39 with Glenn McCready

Glen McCready, a long time member of the Auckland Aero Club, has recently purchased a Albatros L-39. The Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer, there are 2800 of these air-craft still in service with various air forces around the world today.— Below some questions from AAC students Why did you buy the L-39? - I have always wanted to own and fly a jet. 2) What is it like to fly? - Extremely exciting. It is well balanced, lots of speed and power, and very well engineered. 3) What is the performance of the L-39? - The cruise speed is between 200-300 knots de-pending on the power setting. The ceiling is 30000 feet but it can go higher with oxygen and the fuel consumption is 10 litres per minute at economic cruise. 4) How does the maintenance compare to a normal light aircraft? - Not a lot of difference. Turbines need less maintenance than a piston engine. The airframe has a lot more systems such as pressurised cockpit, aircon, APU, ram air turbine for emergency electrics, and dual hydraulics. Fortunately all these systems are well built and don't need much maintenance. 5) What did you have to do to get the conversion from a light aircraft rating? - I had to pass an exam on turbines, and then 25 hours of training. Fortunately I have been flying high per-formance piston powered Warbirds for some years and this made the transition a lot quicker. I will still be under the supervision of the Warbirds CFI for some time.

Don’t forget the Warbirds Open Day on the 5th June

where these planes and more will be displayed along with

flying displays. See the back cover for more information.

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Safety Matters

Tim Steele

Hi All,

A new change is coming in the next few months from the CAA as to how

they view the safety systems at flight training organisations. We are moving

towards using a new SMS (Safety Management System). This will require

the constant reporting of hazards and potential problems from everyone

who uses our facilities.

It is important to note that this is a no blame system. Any reports of safety

defects, incidents or accidents is recorded and then investigated in house

initially. If required by law we will contact CAA but this is a very rare occur-

rence.

I encourage all of you to participate in this system using our current event

reporting forms, and if you are unsure as to what is required, speak to one

of the staff who can help you.

As winter approaches the grass taxiways have become muddy with some

of them being unusable. Please keep an eye out for the caution tape mark-

ing these closed off areas.

Safe Flying

Tim

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TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE? How many reasons can you give for an accident occurring? A lot but there‘s one

cause of an accident which tends to be overlooked by a lot of pilots. A DIRTY WIND-

SCREEN! Most pilots think it‘s a minor inconvenience in having a dirty windscreen and in

most circumstances it is just that. But in certain instances this minor inconvenience can

become a major disaster.

Lets look at the scenario of coming back to Ardmore after a days cross-country

flying. You‘ve picked up bugs and dirt on the windscreen and everything seems fine. You

join downwind for runway 21 and you hope the bar is still open! You turn onto finals and

the sun is almost directly ahead of you. It causes a minor inconvenience but nothing too

bad. As you approach the runway you start your flare and bingo! The sun is glaring

through the windscreen and being scattered by all the dust and scratches on it. You are

totally without forward vision and you land exceptionally hard and come to rest in the

Aero club‘s only retractable Grumman!

In this instance you survived but not all are so lucky. This could occur at any time

of the day, but normally in the morning or afternoon, when the sun is getting low on the

horizon. This can also occur when you have a perfectly clean windscreen and the sun is

shining very strongly straight into your eyes,

but it is far worse with a dirty windscreen.

I‘ve been caught ouy a couple of times and

it‘s not an exercise I wish to repeat again. It

is not a nice experience.

When flying anywhere at all, think

about the effects of the sun on your for-

ward vision. There‘s a few of us at the club

who could tell you of near misses when

flying into the sun. Always keep your wind-

screen clean and polished. How many

times has your peripheral vision fooled you into thinking there was an aircraft approach-

ing from your left and when you turn your head to look for it, there is a lump of bird drop-

ping on the side window. It can be quite unnerving at times.

Also think ahead about the runway in use. Just remember that if you can‘t see

properly due to glare on finals, the situation will probably get worse when you rotate the

aircraft into the landing attitude. If you experience difficulties with your forward vision due

to glare, go-around and try again. You may have to hold for a short time until the sun‘s

position changes.

If you don‘t know where the cleaning equipment is kept, there should now be

pledge and a cloth in every plane. Please ask next time you come out to the club. It

should be part of every preflight to make sure the windscreen is clean, so please ensure

this is done for the safety of yourself, your passengers and all other aviators.

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Maintenance Bits

Nathan Johnston

It is getting cooler and the weather is deteriorating, winter must be around the

corner. With winter comes a boggy apron and ice! Now is a great time to prac-

tice gently turning in the grass to avoid deteriorating the grass surface to the

point we need to close it down. Please do not taxi faster than needed as the

faster you go the bigger the mess.

Airframe icing is an issue in Winter, pilots are reminded to remove all ice from

the aircraft before starting the engine to go flying. We are in the process of or-

ganising a long enough hose to reach the Grummans on their concrete pads.

This should minimise the time it takes to de-ice the aircraft in the morning.

With the cold weather batteries will not have as much oomph as they do during

summer so please only use the master just before starting, once you have

completed your prestart checks. This will limit the stress on the electrical sys-

tem. If you are having trouble starting an aircraft it is much easier to ask for

help than explain why we have to replace a starter or a battery. During very

cold mornings, when ice is present, an extra prime may help with starting the

aircraft on the first start of the day.

Happy and safe flying everyone

Nathan

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RNZAC Instructor Conference

with Nicola Evans

In March the RNZAC held a two day instructing conference

hosted by the Air Force at Ohakea. Just over twenty instructors from all over

the country attended and the Auckland Aero Club was well represented by

both myself and Tim Steele. The conference began at 10am on a Saturday

morning and ran until 3pm the next day with a number of presentations and

other activities.

Presentations were given by ASL, the CAA, Metservice, Rescue Coordination

Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) and senior instructors from within the RNZAC

and Air Force. There was much to be learned – for example RCCNZ ex-

plained to us the process they go through when an ELT is activated, and the

difficulty of locating it. The Metservice showed us some features of Metflight

that most private pilots (and instructors as it turned out) don‘t know exist, as

well as explaining the uses and limitations of satellite images and rain radar,

while the CAA took the opportunity to clarify common areas of confusion in

their legislation. There was also plenty of discussion on training standards

and the importance of good situational awareness. The Air Force were

wonderful hosts, allowing us to sit in on a Red Checkers pre-flight briefing,

tour through the hangars and aircraft at Ohakea and providing superb accom-

modation and food. We were also allowed into the Officers bar for after dinner

drinks – a great opportunity to catch up with people we already knew, and

meet many more we didn‘t.

But it was all over far too quickly! No sooner had we got there then it seemed

like we were jumping on a plane back to Auckland. Overall the conference

was a fantastic learning experience and great opportunity to network with

other clubs around the country, something I hope will be continued when we

attend the CAA instructing conference in Auckland in a few months‘ time!

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Club Captain’s Report

Greg Quinn

Time seems to be flying by for me in 2011 and what a year it has been thus far,

we are not even half way through with many more exciting times lying ahead.

Now there have recently been a few changes within the club one of which be-

ing that Craig Pierce has passed over the reigns of Club Captain to me, a role

that I do not take lightly. I would like to thank Craig for his 3 years of service

and all he has done for the club and I am assured it is not the last we will see of

him.

There‘s a lot to get through so I‘ll keep it short.

I have written up a timetable (over page), for this year‘s Club Competition‘s

along with the all-important information regarding the RNZAC Regional and

Nationals. As you will see we have adjusted the format somewhat and are very

pleased to be joined by The Airline Flying Club and fingers crossed, the

Whenuapai team, which will definitely call for a large social BBQ or 3. So be

sure to get involved and bring one and all out to the club for competition days.

Please read the emails that will be sent out and put your name down for one if

not all events as there is most certainly something quiet special about having a

historical and beautiful piece of silverware on the mantelpiece at home.

I‘m really looking forward to my role as your Club Captain and welcome any

input, suggestions, wishes and ideas you may have to move the club forward.

Remember, the door of opportunity won‘t open unless you do some pushing.

Until next time,

Greg.

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Auckland Tower Trip with

Greg Quinn

I want to thank Jason Woodger for his organisation of a club trip to Auckland

International Control Tower and the Oceanic Rooms on Thursday 28th April.

We were 8 in number and given a great brief from Garry Hood, on the facili-

ties staffing and equipment before being split into two groups and shown the

inner working of Oceanic control and the Control Tower.

We were shown the new system developed in New Zealand to manage air

traffic, as well as the various roles that each person performs. Being able to

see the operation of our busiest international airport was a very worthwhile

trip I must say, so put your hands up if you‘d like to have a nosey and

missed it this time around.

The computer system on the left is fully automated which has gotten rid of the white strips commonly used in the control towers in New Zealand.

Auckland International at night

Auckland International at night

Auckland International at night

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With memories of the 2011 National Competitions still fresh in the mind it‘s time to

start thinking ahead to the 2012 RNZAC events. I am very excited to say that this

years hosts for the Nationals will be the North Shore Aero Club, only a short hop over

the water from our hallowed turf. I, along with all the instructors will be working to-

gether to encourage as many club members as possible to get involved this year and

so have devised a plan that will be a little different to the normal club competition lay-

out.

A note to add is that we will be running our competitions alongside the Airline Flying

Club and fingers crossed the Whenuapai team, so that will involve some friendly ri-

valry but also a good excuse for a good old social BBQ or 3.

We have divided the normal 1-day into a number of days each set aside for the varied

disciplines.

Those dates are as follows:-

DATE TIMES COMPETITION

Sunday 26th

June, 2011

0900 Arrival

0930 Briefing

1000 Wheels

Up

Rotorua Trophy – Bombing

Ivan Warmington Trophy – Life Raft Drop

Air Work Cup – PPL Low Flying

Wanganui Trophy – CPL Low Flying

Sunday 10th

July, 2011

0900 Arrival

0930 Briefing

1000 Wheels

Up

NZ Herald Challenge Trophy – Navigation +150hrs

Bledisloe Trophy – Navigation -150hrs

Airways Corporation Trophy – Flight Manoeuvres

Sunday 17th

July, 2011

Back up Day

Sunday 11th

September,

2011

0900 Arrival

0930 Briefing

1000 Wheels

Up

Sir Frances Boys Cup – Precision circuits and landings

Newman Cup – Female Precision circuits and landings

Jean Batten Trophy - Precision circuits and landings &

Preflight

Wigram Challenge Cup – Non-Instrument Circuits

Wigram Challenge Cup – Senior & Junior Landing

G M Spence Trophy—Forced Landings

As and when. Aerobatics Competitions TBA with Pebo.

The Flying New Zealand

RNZAC Competitions 2011

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If there is any conflict with a competition time or day that you would love to be

a part of then please get in touch with either Tim or I as we are really hoping

for a huge club turnout this year.

Now down to the business of Regional competitions, which this year will be

held in sunny Kaitaia one of the oldest towns in New Zealand. They will be

held on Saturday 12th November starting at around 0730, so the club will be

making a weekend of it and will be departing from Ardmore on Friday 11th

November at some point in the afternoon and returning on Sunday 13th No-

vember in the morning. It promises to be a great trip. The club has been very

understanding with regards to the costs, what with the location for the region-

als being in Kaitaia and so have agreed to hire out the aircraft at cost which is

fantastic and will enable the weekend to be as cheap as possible.

So down to the stipulations to commitment:-

1st and 2

nd places at our club competitions are to show a commitment to at-

tend the regionals and all going to plan and you make it through to Nationals

hosted by the North Shore Aero Club you are expected to put in at least 2

practice days at North Shore Aerodrome shortly before the Nationals competi-

tion day.

As a club we will more than likely be organizing a couple of days where all

finalists will be taken to the North Shore for practice in their events.

So all said and done it‘s time to get excited and involved in bringing back

many more Trophy‘s this year.

We look forward to seeing you at the field.

Greg Quinn.

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Waipukurau NZ Aerobatic Club

2011 Nationals with Cam Wilson The NZ Aerobatic Club annual competition was held between 17th-19th March in Waipu-

kurau. XRA did XFlight and the club proud, competing against a great mix of aircraft and

pilots coming from all corners of the country, including a good contingent from Ardmore-

Dave Cranna, Richard Hood, Grant Benns as well as Wayne and Cam. For 4 days, the

skies over Waipukurau were being torn apart by a vast range of high-performance aero-

batic aircraft- each trying to stake their claim as champion of their category. Although

there was no-one keen enough to compete in the Unlimited Category this year (though

Wayne says he will enter in this next year…) there was some stiff competition in the Ad-

vanced Category (won by the calm and collected Richard Hood in ZK-NUT), Intermediate

Category (Ivan Krippner, ZK-PIT), Sportsman Category (John Luff, ZK-PEG), and Pri-

mary Category (Kylie Wakelin ZK-FLH). It would be great to see some of the Auckland

Aero Club members taking part in this, seeing as there was only one entrant in Primary

this year! Fluffy would be the perfect machine for this! Contact Wayne/Cam if you are

interested in next year‘s comps. It‘s not too hard….take a look at the sequence for next

year if you are interested:

There was a good turn-out of Pitts Specials this year as well as a couple of Giles, Zlin,

CT4, trusty old Aerobat, etc. The Central Hawkes Bay Aero Club were great hosts and

provided the facilities, hangarage and necessary refreshments at the end of each day‘s

flying! The locals were patient as usual, with lots of people from the town coming down to

visit and see what all the noise was about.

We were lucky to have Spin guru Rich Stowell (from Santa Paula, California) follow us

down and he led an airshow-oriented seminar for us, some locals and even some RNZAF

visitors. Rich was seen coming and going in a Stearman, Cub, Extra, Aerobat and gave

us some help critiquing as well. Rich gave an entertaining speech at the prize giving on

the Saturday night, as the mantle of Club President was handed from Paul Marshall to

Grant Benns.

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For my first competition, I was impressed at how well organised and safely everything is

run, and the (mostly) clinical running of flight schedules throughout the day. The judges

line-up was lead by Marinka Hood and supplemented by a few others who ‗call it as they

see it‘. They certainly don‘t let you get away with anything…vertical line not quite vertical,

45º line not quite 45º etc.

Highlight would have been the unknown sequence where everyone is given a sequence

the night before they have to fly it, with no practice in the plane allowed! Only walking

around your hotel room/the bar doing the rain-dance allowed! On the last day when the

stress of competition was over, Grant, Richard, Dave and Ivan put on their 4-minute free-

style routines with the other competitors only allowed to judge it. Dave Cranna impressed

us all with his variety of Lomceváks (Czech for ‗headache‘) though Grant Benns stole the

show with his routine.

All in all, a good few days flying and I would encourage club members with aerobatic rat-

ings to consider doing some training and giving it a go!

Photos courtesy of Kylie Wakelin, Graeme Claridge and Cam Wilson.

Grant and Wayne checking out the competition Line-up of aircraft

Dave Cranna practicing for the

unknown sequence eyes closed!

Cam with the XRA Aircraft line-up

The 4 minute Freestyle Judging Line

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Who is Eric Barfoot? Emma Sinnott

Since I started working on the Wingovers, I needed to find information about the history of the club

and was told that all of our old documents and information are held at the Manukau library. Looking

through the archives I came across these news articles about Mr Eric Barfoot, the first person to fly

under the Auckland Harbour Bridge in an Auckland Aero Club Piper Cub registration BKV on the 2nd

June 1959. Among the articles and pictures I found his logbook. Shown below the entry he made on

the 2nd June to commemorate his achievement. The articles written below were extracts from news-

papers found with the logbook.

―Mr Eric Barfoot, the man who flew a Piper Cub aircraft back and forth three times under the 142ft

high main navigation span of the Auckland Harbour Bridge yesterday, said today that ever since the

arch had been there he had wanted to fly under it. ‗Somebody had to do it, so I thought I‘d be the

first,‘ he said. He said he flew for a while when the opening procession was passing, and then

‗thought I‘d liven it up a bit. The air was calm and everything favourable. I couldn‘t resist it… As I

approached I thought this‘ll rock ‗em‘‘. Mr Barfoot said he went under at between 90 and 95 miles an

hour. On the second run he said he could see the bridge officials staring at him—‘they looked a little

startled.‘ On the third run a large launch went under the span with him. He waved and the people

aboard waved back. ‗It was quite a thrill. I can‘t really explain what it felt like.‘ The Auckland Aero

Club has suspended Mr Barfoot from flying club aircraft but he can still fly privately until the CAA

decide what action to take. ‗I knew I couldn't get away with it,‘ Mr Barfoot said, ‗but it was worth it,

ever bit of it. I‘d do it again tomorrow. I‘ve no regrets. I quite agree with the suspension.‖

Another article explained a little more on why he did it…

―Auckland pilot Frederick Denton Barfoot flew under the Harbour bridge on procession day in mem-

ory of the late ―Mad Mac‖- Squadron Leader M.C. McGregor, who flew beneath the Hamilton railway

bridge before World War 2, Mr D.S. Beattie said in the Magistrate‘s Court today. Mr Beattie ap-

peared for Barfoot, who admitted a charge under the Civil Aviation Regulations of flying an aircraft

over the Auckland Harbour at a lower height than 500 feet. He was fined £50. ―Mad Mac‖ was a

legendary figure in aviation and had told Barfoot that his ambition—if ever the Auckland Harbour

Bridge was built—would be to repeat his Hamilton feat under it, said Mr Beattie. But McGregor was

now dead. ( He died after crashing into a mast while landing at Rongotai on February 19, 1936. He

was 40) Barfott ‗an experienced pilot and certainly not irresponsible‘ decided to make the flight on his

behalf.‖

The end result was a £50 fine from the Auckland Aero Club. The club also grounded him for 10

years and suspended him from club privileges for six months for bringing it into disrepute. However a

few days later another article, found in favour of Barfoot and had this to say…

―The CAA in permitting planes to fly at 400ft, on Wellington Airport Day, evidently believes in the old

axiom that the ‗king is always right.‘ Recently it heavily fined an Auckland aviator for the harmless

escapade of flying under a bridge. He wasn't even flying over land! The fact that there were two

mishaps is just a sample of what could have happened in a crowded area. In view of this, the least

the CAA can do is refund the fine to the Aucklander.‖

From his logbook Mr Barfoot continued to fly for a few years after his flight underneath the harbour bridge, but it was clear to see he was proud to have been the first to fly underneath noting the event in his logbook with two lines underneath in red.

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Above, a photograph from a newspaper taken on the day and Mr barfoot’s logbook below.

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An Alphabetical tale

ALPHA is the beginning of this story, BRAVO! CHARLIE was out on the DELTA,

the ECHO of the last night‘s FOXTROT running through his mind as he played a

round of GOLF outside the HOTEL where he‘s holidaying in INDIA.

JULIET, his wife, is back in their room, worrying about that extra KILO

she‘s carrying-because she‘s developed a fondness fro LIMA beans-a fad she

shares with MIKE, their son.

It‘s NOVEMBER and she‘s just had a letter from OSCAR, her PAPA,

who lives in QUEBEC. He‘s a real ROMEO, the old fellow, spending much of

his time as high as a SIERRA on booze. He loves dancing the TANGO and

quite often can be found wearing his World War 2 Uniform in which he was a

VICTOR. He‘s always getting stuck into the WHISKEY (since his last XRAY

was negative). Next thing you know he‘ll be whooping like a fan at YANKEE

Stadium and jumping up and

down, forever like a young

Fun Page

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The Aero Club was approached by the ATTTO (Aviation Travel Tourism

Training Organisation) to run a Aviation Gateway program for students

who were interested in an career in Aviation. This is a 10 week program

and the first term started in March with students from Aorere College, Ma-

nurewa High, Papatoetoe High School, Onewhero Aera School, Tuakau

College, Mangere College, Papakura High School, Ormiston Senior

School and Southern Cross Campus. The students attend the course one

day a week during school hours to complete some basic flight training

along with theory workbooks that once completed are assessed for NCEA

Level 2 credits.

The participating students are given 4 flight lessons, effects of controls,

straight and level, climbing and descending and medium turns with the

club instructors. This flight experience can be logged toward their PPL

licence, it is a useful course for the students who want to become pilots.

We visited hangers and facilities on the airfield to give the students some

idea about real-life aviation jobs. The Warbird‘s hanger gave them a good

education about history of aircraft and technical development. We were

allowed to browse the Warbirds library, which has huge collection includ-

ing a 1930's flight manuals and Navigation Aids through to the modern era.

It was a stunning chance to get to go through historical books.

Flightline Aviation were also kind enough to allow a visit. This gave the

students the opportunity to look at a aircraft maintenance hanger and the

daily operations of a maintenance provider. We had a chance to see an

aircraft engine without its cowl and their chief engineer gave the students

a briefing about how they actually fix and release to service an aircraft.

If the weather was not flyable the students were kept entertained with

educational videos and use of the flight simulator, which allowed the stu-

dents to experience a jet airliner cockpit.

ATTTO with

T.K. Lee

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Most of the students confirmed their enthusiasm towards being a pilot or a LAME,

and got an idea of how to plan ahead to achieve their aviation career goal. They

said real life flying was much more fun and amounted to a lot more study than they

thought. Most of them successfully finished the course and some of them want to

carry on training at the Auckland Aero Club.

Next term, starting in early May we have students from Tuakau College, Macleans

College, Sancta Maria, Western Springs College, Onehunga High School, Otahuhu

College, Howick College, Long Bay College, Mt Albert Grammer, Pakuranga High

School, Glenfield College and James Cook High School, we look forward to their

arrival.

Students from Ormiston Senior School with Leo and T.K.

Students from Papakura High School with Nicola and Tim

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Alter your flight path and drop into the Waitemata Bar for a quiet tipple.

We’ve got a great selection of tap and

bottled beer, wine and spirits, and a deck in the sun that overlooks all the action on the runway.

The bar is also available for your next

company or personal function. Drop in anytime, give us a call or look us up on facebook.

p. 09 299 8590 Ext 206 : f. 09 299 8592

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Club Achievements

March/April 2011

Abhisek Reddy—First Solo achieved 15/4/11

Suk Jun Hong—First Solo achieved 1/4/11

Jeremy Illes—First Solo achieved 9/4/11

Andy Roberts—First Solo achieved 20/4/11

Tim Capill—First Solo achieved 20/3/11

Andy Nicholls—First Solo achieved 30/4/11

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Nicola Evans—B-Cat Instructor achieved 12/4/11 Tom O‘Brien—SEIR

achieved 12/4/11

James Phillips—PPL achieved 11/3/11 David Mellow—PPL

achieved 9/3/11

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Upcoming Events

DATE TIMES COMPETITION

Sunday 26th

June, 2011

0900 Arrival

0930 Briefing

1000 Wheels

Up

Rotorua Trophy – Bombing

Ivan Warmington Trophy – Life Raft Drop

Air Work Cup – PPL Low Flying

Wanganui Trophy – CPL Low Flying

Sunday 10th

July, 2011

0900 Arrival

0930 Briefing

1000 Wheels

Up

NZ Herald Challenge Trophy – Navigation +150hrs

Bledisloe Trophy – Navigation -150hrs

Airways Corporation Trophy – Flight Manoeuvres

Sunday 17th

July, 2011

Back up Day

Sunday 11th

September,

2011

0900 Arrival

0930 Briefing

1000 Wheels

Up

Sir Frances Boys Cup – Precision circuits and landings

Newman Cup – Female Precision circuits and landings

Jean Batten Trophy - Precision circuits and landings &

Preflight

Wigram Challenge Cup – Non-Instrument Circuits

Wigram Challenge Cup – Senior & Junior Landing

G M Spence Trophy—Forced Landings

As and when. Aerobatics Competitions TBA with Pebo.

Our yearly competitions are coming up so don’t miss your chance to win a tro-

phy or two! Just think the shiny trophies in the cabinet could end up displayed

in your home! All the information regarding each of the competitions are on

display at the club. It will possibly be the only chance you will get to throw

something out of a plane along with meeting some keen aviators from Aero

Clubs around the country. Don’t worry the instructors will be around for prac-

tice days to get you ready for the bid day. If you would like further information

don’t hesitate to get in contact with the instructors or the Flightdesk.

Auckland Aero Club Competitions

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Our Mission Statement Auckland Aero Club is committed to developing our member’s

flying skills at all levels. We strive for high levels of flying

competence by providing access to well qualified instructors

and to a wide range of aircraft. From our unique facilities at

Ardmore Airfield, we promote the ongoing development of a

range of initiatives to enhance the flying experience and the

sharing of aviation interest. In undertaking this we aim to

increase the membership of the club, and enhance its profile

in the wider community through numerous aviation related

events and activities.

www.aac.org.nz Auckland Aero Club,

500 Harvard Lane,

Ardmore Airport,

Ardmore P.D.C. 14,

Papakura.

Phone: +64 9 299 8590 Fax: +64 9 299 8592 Email:

flightdesk@aac.org.nz

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