PROP TALK

NATIONALS 2018

NORTH SHORE AERO CLUB BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE / / MAY 2018

INSIDE:

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PROP TALKIn This Edition

Prop Talk is a bi-monthly magazine published by North Shore Aero Club. Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of NSAC.

Editor: Georgia Mitchell georgia@nsac.co.nz Reporter: Ian Couper

This edition’s contributors:Daryl Gillett - CFIJohn Punshon - ManagerSimon MarshallIan CouperLiam SutherlandDavid SaundersJohn BroadwellStan SmithPat SheehanNathaniel DuncanGeorgia Mitchell

Photo credits:Front cover: Liam SutherlandPage 2-3: Nathaniel DuncanRear cover: Nathaniel Duncan

From the Editor.........................................................4North Shore Directory...........................................5CFI Report......................................................................6From the Manager’s Desk.......................................8Nationals 2018.......................................................10Spotlight on Safety................................................14De Havilland Dove 8..............................................16Warbirds over Wanaka.........................................18A Flight of Fancy.....................................................24Milestones..................................................................32New Members.............................................................35Committee Dates.......................................................35A Short History of ZK-AIR...................................36RV9 Time......................................................................38North Shore’s Tecnam P2008............................42

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Welcome to the May/June edition of Prop Talk! We have an exciting array of articles for you in this edition, from the Nationals in Timaru to Warbirds over Wanaka. I hope you

enjoy, and look forward to seeing you back for the next issue.

It is with regret that we have learned of the passing of former club president Kenneth Minto Griffiths

on the 27th of February 2018. Ken was president of the club from 1971 to 1972.

North Shore Aero Club would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the Griffiths family in this difficult time.

Georgie

NORTH SHORE DIRECTORYFrom the editorPresident: Robert van Heinengen Vice president: David Saunders Treasurer: Andrew Crowhurst Secretary: Nicole Harris Club captain: Laurence Pope Committee: Roy Crane Trevor Dance Candice Gillett Margaret Smith Adam McLeelyPatron: Stan Smith

Manager (A-Cat & Flight Examiner): John Punshon CFI (A-Cat & Flight Examiner): Daryl Gillett

B-Cat Instructors: Tim Marshall Dawson Boles C-Cat Instructors: Matthew Stephens Dominic Gundry Ming Zhang Simon Jonassen

Flight Office Manager: Lynn PackerFlight Office Staff: Georgia Mitchell Claudine Allen

Safety Coordinator: Simon Marshall

Bar Staff: Brian Clay Angela McLaggan

Groundsman: Caleb Hanham

NS Helicopter Training Instructors: Roy Crane Bryan Francis Ryan Trounce

027 483 1439021 115 4696

secretary@nsac.co.nzclubcaptain@nsac.co.nz021 340 654

027 224 4293

0274 775 475 vintageaircraft@xtra.co.nz

manager@nsac.co.nzcfi@nsac.co.nz

safetyofficer@nsac.co.nz

Chantel StroohDavid Pauw

Matthew WallsTim DunnBrendon Frame

PHONE: 09 426 4273 | 300 POSTMAN ROAD, DAIRY FLAT RD4 0794

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Constructive criticism is a big part of any learning process. In most cases we rely on others to tell us what we’re doing wrong – unless it’s a really obvious mistake. And although feedback might come across as negative, i.e. you’ve done something wrong, it should be taken in a positive way. The problem is for many people taking on board negative feedback and admitting you’ve done something wrong can be a pretty hard pill to swallow.

As flight instructors we are used to deliv-ering feedback, both positive and nega-tive, and we do see all sorts of reactions to it – the worst reactions being when the feedback is perceived as negative and is not accepted as constructive. So when the reaction is completely different to that, in a positive way, it does tend to take us by surprise!

That was the case recently when we re-ceived an email from a PPL to whom an instructor had spoken to after his flight about some improvements the pilot could make. The pilot was incredibly appreciative of that fact that an instructor took the time to talk to him in order to help him become a better pilot.

We thought that was an absolutely fantastic display of the ‘right stuff’ and a brilliant atti-tude towards their participation in aviation. As I’ve mentioned time and time again, even more important than being able to fly a perfect steep turn is a pilot’s attitude towards their flying and safety in general. It is so vitally important that all pilots take learnings from all sources, both the posi-tive and negative, the good and the bad, in order to become a better and safer pilot. Remember that making excuses is just not going to help at all. We’ve all heard the say-ing before – “you’re only cheating yourself” if you are not willing to accept the truth – so take it constructively and learn from it. To the pilot that sent us the email to which I refer – good on you!

On a similar topic, it’s important that all pilots understand their role model respon-sibilities. Students and other junior pilots don’t only look up to instructors, but pilots

more experienced than them too. In this regard all pilots, not just instructors, must demonstrate the right thing – a contuma-cious attitude is just not acceptable, par-ticularly when impressionable junior pilots are observing.

Remember safety is primarily a cultural thing, and to be successful in terms of safety everybody must contribute to that culture, and in particular cultivate it amongst students and junior pilots. In that regard, I challenge you all to always operate as if you are being tested, and to always do the right thing whether someone is watch-ing you or not.

It’s also imperative to remember though that no one can ever be perfect and there will always be aspects of your flying that can be improved. What’s different about the crème de la crème of pilots? They know and understand their weaknesses and are not afraid to actively pursue improvement. That being said, the instructor team at the club are here to help, you just have to ask.

We held a pilot’s companion evening a few weeks ago, and I hope that those who at-tended will benefit from what they learned. There is, however, a huge amount to know in this flying game and theory is just the beginning. So if you would like to gain some practical experience just give us a call and one of our instructors will be only too happy to help.

Lastly, some of you will already know that instructor Simon Jonassen is leaving us to continue his aviation adventure overseas. We’ll miss having Simon around, however we wish him all the best for his latest jour-ney!

Stay safe out there people.Daryl

Photo right: ZK-TZK departs on a sunny 21 day. Credit: Georgia Mitchell

CFI Report

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Hi everyone

April represents the start of a new financial year, and with it comes the opportunity to reflect on the year that was. The 2018 financial year has been a very good year for the club, with terrific growth in fly-ing hours. We experienced a 66% increase in flying hours on the 2017 financial year which really is a terrific achievement.

Although the end of the calen-dar year is typically the common time to reflect on achievements, I must take the opportunity now to congratulate everyone who has achieved their various qualifica-tions throughout the last financial year. The number of achievements and qualifications has also been exceptionally high in line with the flying hours.

As we head into winter, the oppor-tunity presents itself for a spot of night flying. To that end, we have done some work in recent years on the runway lighting system to improve the reliability of the sys-tem. PAL (Pilot Activated Lighting) is notoriously fickle so it is impor-tant that everyone knows how it works.

To activate the lights, make five well enunciated clicks on the transmitter spaced approximately half of a second apart. Although the variable intensity aspect is redundant, holding the fifth trans-mission will make the lights flash.

Sometimes, just explaining what to do doesn’t really provide the full picture, so we have put together a short video showing the system in action. Have a look at this video to see an example of how to operate the system. As a backup, if you cannot get the lights to work, you can send a text message to 021 074 3621 with the message ‘Turn lights on’.

The system will respond (albeit in poor English) to inform you that the lights have been turned on. Once the lights have been turned on via this method, they will stay on indefi-nitely.

A common trouble scenario is air-craft in IMC engaged on an instru-ment approach. It is difficult to ascertain if the lights are on or not until the last minute. It may there-fore be worth sending a text to the system before you depart so you know the lights will be on when you get back. However, bear in mind that we don’t have backup power at North Shore and being out in the countryside, the power can be un-reliable, so you always need to plan an alternate when arriving after ETC regardless of the forecasted weather conditions.

Photo: Nathaniel DuncanFrom the Manager’s Desk

You may have noticed recently that we have sent out a couple of surveys. Firstly, I encourage everyone to take the time to complete the surveys. We will rarely send one that takes more than about 3 minutes to complete. Secondly, you are always welcome and indeed encouraged to email us with more in-depth feed-back on the survey itself and the subject matter. Some of you have done this, and I thank you for it.

The idea of the surveys is to get a feeling for the direction we should be looking in with certain things. I appreciate that the surveys might be a bit vague some-times and don’t provide an opportunity for what maybe a ‘complete’ answer on a particular subject. This is because it’s impossible to design a survey to satisfy all angles and they would quickly become extremely complex, time consuming and arduous to complete if we tried to cover all the bases. If you feel strongly about a particular matter and the survey doesn’t provide for your thoughts, please make your feelings known. Remember, decisions won’t be made solely on the strength of a survey.

Well, that’s enough from me this month. As always, happy flying!

John Punshon

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similar to Senior Landing. Jean Batten is very similar to Junior and Senior landing, except you are not required to land on the grid, and you are marked on a pre-flight inspection of your aircraft. Airways Corporation involves flight manoeuvres ranging from medium turns, to compass turns. Junior Navigation involves flight planning a given route, factoring for winds and variation as you would in the cross-country portion of the PPL syllabus. Esti-mated times will be judged to the second, as will how precisely you fly and manage the aircraft. This year we had two aircraft trekking down to Timaru. Our competition Robin 2120U TZK and baggage + people hauler Piper Arrow RTE. Steven piloted RTE while Liam piloted the Robin with NSAC instructor Dawson Boles, who was charged with looking after the Robin

February the 27th marked an epic journey south, as team North Shore set their sights south for Timaru where the 2018 Flying NZ Nationals would be held. Only a few months prior, Northern Region competitions were held at North Shore. Those that placed first in their competitions were eligible to compete on a national scale, representing their aero club against clubs around the country. This year we had Steven Perreau competing in the Senior Landing, Paul Lister competing in Instrument Circuits, Daniel Just in PPL Low Flying and Instrument Flying, David Saunders in the Sir Francis Boys Wildcard and Liam Suther-land in the Junior Landing, Jean Batten, Airways Corporation and Junior Navigation. Senior Landing involves two circuits flown with maximum accuracy, whilst landing on a grid. Junior Landing is very similar to this, except the marking criteria is less stringent and Junior competitions are for pilots with up to 150 hours experience, whilst Senior compe-titions are 150 or more hours. Instrument circuits involve flying two circuits without any instrumentation and relies on visual flying solely. Engine settings are determined based on sound and all bank angles and speeds are flown in reference to the horizon. PPL Low Flying involves manoeuvres learned in the PPL syllabus, such as constant radius turns and coastal reversals. Instrument Flying involves flying in basic panel and full panel states whilst per-forming a range of manoeuvres from medium turns to compass turns. The Sir Francis Boys wildcard allows people who didn’t qualify in regional competitions to have another shot at entering the national competition. It involves two precise circuits on the grid, which is very

The 2018 Flying New Zealand Nationals competition was this year hosted by South Canterbury Aero Club in Timaru. Below is an account of the event by Liam

Sutherland. Photos are all taken or supplied by Liam.

NATIONALS 2018

Team photo: Smile! From left to right: David Saunders, Paul Lister, Daniel Just, Steven Perreau, Dawson Boles and Liam Sutherland

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for the trip. Both aircraft made a fuel stop in Paraparaumu, which allowed the pilots to stretch their legs before another 3 hours of flying ahead. Navigating via the coast kept the workload down, but nonetheless everyone was exhausted on arriving in Timaru, and rightfully so after a solid 6.5hrs of flying! We all retired to our ac-commodation in the heart of Timaru, but before we had a chance to settle in we were all back at the airport, practicing in the Robin for our respective competitions. Wednesday the 28th saw more practice, and Timaru temporarily became the busiest airport in the country, with between 50 and 100 aircraft from around the country. After some practice, the team decided to fly up to Rangitata Island, a small grass airfield 10 min-utes north of Timaru. There they were immersed in some aviation history and met the pets of the airfield! Later that evening, David and Liam were privileged with a night flight with Steven in RTE to Ashburton, which was an exhilarating experience! Thursday the 1st marked the beginning of competitions with the New Zealand and Australian wings teams kicking it off. David competed in his Wildcard competition, and unfortunately didn’t place. That evening the team flew once again to Rangitata Island to catch up with the locals, and their three and four legged friends!Friday the 2nd saw the commencement of the main competi-tions, keeping the Robin busy all day with Team NS’s competitors. As the day came to a close, our team was confident but uncertain about their results. Leading into the evening of Saturday 3rd, the

presentation dinner commenced. Steven Perreau placed 2nd in Senior Landing and 2nd in the pre-flight of a defected aircraft. Daniel Just and Paul Lister unfortunately didn’t place in either of their competitions but displayed an awesome effort nonetheless! Liam Sutherland placed first in Junior Landing, Jean Batten, Junior Navigation and a second in the Airways Corporation, with the team placing a second in the Wigram Cup. Overall great results from the team, and a good week’s worth of flying enjoyed by all. Sunday the 3rd brought an end to the Flying NZ Nationals 2018, with the team leaving back for North Shore via Whanganui on another 6.5 hour trip home! A huge thanks must go to Dawson Boles for assisting in transport and practice in the Robin, David Saunders and Steven Perreau for organising transport and accommodation, the NSAC Committee for helping with costings, South Canterbury Aero Club for your awe-some hospitality and club spirit to make this event possible, and of course our team for an awesome week of aviation packed fun! Nationals was an incredible event, leaving our team on a high for the next few weeks! If any of the above sparks your interest, ask your instructor about flying competitions and they will point you in the right direction. You never know, you might be hiding an incredible talent for flying so why not give it a go!

Illustration by Brett Afrunti (link)

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•Heart attack/stroke or seizure. •Bird strike.•Malicious or hostile act e.g. hijacking or unruly passenger, targeting aircraft with a laser. •Motion sickness. •Heat stroke.

Solutions:

Most of the causes described above can be preempted to a degree e.g. CO2 indicators in the cockpit, correct use of cabin air and cabin heat, eating healthy and well-prepared food, drinking plenty of fluids, staying fit and regular exercise.

Motion sickness is a very real concern not only for your passenger(s) but also for the student pilot or yourself as PIC e.g. aerobat-ics. A student or passenger who suddenly becomes very quiet during flight is a sure sign that they may not be feeling the best. Personally I would limit aerobatic flights to short hops if I was not current, allowing my G tolerance to build up.

Effects:Clearly, if the single pilot of a light aircraft becomes incapacitated then the safety of the flight is liable to be severely compromised and loss of control may result.

So, what can you do? What strategies can you put in place to minimise the threat of pilot incapacitation?

Prior to any flight run through the IMSAFE checklist!!!

ILLNESS: Are you suffering from any illness or symptoms of illness that may affect your flight? Headaches, fever, earache, conges-tion, dental work (teeth are sensitive to pres-sure changes)

Pilot incapacitation is the term used to de-scribe the inability of a pilot(s) to carry out their normal duties during flight due to the effects of physiological factors.

In the airline environment pilot incapacita-tion is more common than you may think. Thankfully in the world of multi crew flight decks such an occurrence should not ad-versely affect the safety of the flight. The most important consideration is the ability to administer medical care if required to the crew member concerned (depending on the seniority list)

In my previous life we would carry out pilot incapacitation exercises in the simulator. The incapacitation was subtle at first e.g. Captain or First Officer not responding to calls during takeoff. The end result requiring the comple-tion of the pilot incapacitation checklist and single pilot operation for the approach and landing (much fun was had!).

As most recreational flying involves taking family members or friends for a fly, it is im-perative we do so in a fit and healthy state. Just as important is the medical condition of said family members and friends. Having to declare a medical emergency in flight is the last thing you want to have to deal with.

Possible Causes:

•Hypoxia: although oxygen is not required in the cabin unless operating above 10,000 ft, hypoxia could affect you below 10,000 if you were influenced by factors such as fatigue, medication, alcohol in the system. •Smoke or fumes: smoke in the cockpit is every pilot’s worst nightmare, trust me I know! Certainly, got the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Carbon Monoxide fumes are a leading contender for incapaci-tation in light aircraft. •Gastro-intestinal problems: food poisoning. The most common cause of pilot incapacita-tion in the airline world. There is a good rea-son we did not eat the same crew meal!!!!

Spotlight on SafetyPILOT INCAPACITATION

ARTICLE BY SAFETY OFFICER SIMON MARSHALL

MEDICATION: Are you currently on any prescribed or over-the-counter medica-tion? Any medication you are on must be approved by your AME if you intend to fly.

STRESS: Are there any psychological or emotional factors including stress that may affect your performance or con-centration? Money worries? Family/relationship problems? Work related is-sues? Personal health concerns or family member’s health? Bereavement? All can cause significant stress.

ALCOHOL: Alcohol can have a serious impact on your ability to perform the simplest of tasks. Even if you have not consumed alcohol within the country of jurisdictions recommended limit, you may still have alcohol in your blood system. NZ CAA does not specify a rule for bottle to throttle. In short, do not operate as PIC if under the influence of alcohol or drugs!

FATIGUE: Ensure you have had sufficient sleep and rest. Fatigue can be accumu-lative i.e. several late nights in a row followed by early starts. Jetlag is another factor to consider. Ask yourself “am I running on adrenalin instead of a good night’s sleep”? Studies amongst airline crews have shown fatigue can produce

the same effects of alcohol on pilot per-formance.

EATING/DRINKING: Ensure you are prop-erly nourished. Eat healthy meals not snacks from vending machines. Ensure your energy levels are maintained for the duration of the flight.

Talking from personal experience not taking in enough fluids can and did lead to me succumbing to heat stroke during a long days flying in the tropics. With the end result of me becoming incapaci-tated. (Good thing it was multi crew MR Webb?)

Remember incapacitation can be subtle or sudden. Before every flight ask yourself the question “am I fit to fly”? Run through the I’M SAFE checklist. If in doubt leave it out!!!!

Fly Safe

Simon

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DE HAVILLAND DOVE 8After many years hibernation in a North Shore hangar, De Havilland Dove 8, ZK-DHW is on the move in two containers to a new home in Ashburton.

Powered by two Gipsy Queen 70-4, 400hp engines the Dove was originally based in the UK where it was operated as an executive aircraft by British Aero Space, before being sold to Rudge Air in Melbourne, Australia.

It was later acquired by NSAC member Ray Tarubovich before being on sold to the Devon 21 syndicate as a replacement for Devon 1821 which was written off after a crash landing at RNZAF Ohakea.

Unfortunately after several years of success-ful flying at North Shore DHW was grounded due to perceived problems with corrosion and never flew again.

Ian CouperPhotos Ian Couper

Loading a 400hp Gipsy Queen engine is hard work!

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I had been to Warbirds in 2012 and 2014, but I missed 2016. I got the chance to return this year as part of the Flying NZ team pro-moting Young Eagles.

We arrived on the Thursday to set up our display in Greg Doran’s hangar which was just behind the silver pass stand at the west-ern end of the Wanaka airfield campus. The airport was officially handed over to the air show organisers in the morning and the airfield was a hive of activity as the display and catering vendors were well into their setting up. Aircraft practice was already in full swing, with the RNZAF’s NH-90, Texan and Hercules aircraft all getting some airtime when we arrived. As we worked setting up the FNZ stand, the various warbirds were all using the runway and it was great to hear the unmistakable roar as they took off to practice and go for photoshoots. It was great to be back in aviation heaven.

After we had set up, we went and had our volunteers briefing and collected our hard passes to allow us entry into the grounds. The volunteers were very well looked after, with their own marquee and facilities with lunch and drinks provided each show day. Being early in April, the weather was warm and it was enjoyable working in t-shirts to the sound of the “heavy metal”. By 1800 we were all done and we headed into Wanaka to our rented house with beautiful views of the Southern Alps and delicious meal cooked by our camp Mum.

Friday, we were up early to get out and man the Young Eagles stand. By 8am the crowds were already piling in for the practice day, and were checking out the display areas before heading to the flight line and the grandstands to stake a position to watch the aircraft for the rest of the day. The 4 Young Eagles, including North Shore’s Liam, were kept busy with lots of questions about Young Eagles and the SCAC’s C150 that we had on display. Throughout the day we took turns on the stand and the others got to go and visit the rest of the show, do coffee runs, and watch the action. Over the three days we had plenty of visits from aero club members visiting the show. Donning our Wanaka vol-unteer “official” hi-vis vests we were able to go places paying guests couldn’t and we got to see the aircraft up close.

Warbirds over Wanaka 2018

Photos by David Saunders

About mid-afternoon there was this almighty deafening boom and roar. Everyone ran. The two F-16’s had just done a low pass at 100’ down the runway and were gone into the west-ern sun before we knew what had happened. A precursor to their low passes elsewhere in the South Island, that we now all know about. We felt extremely lucky that we were able to access our very own balcony in Greg’s hangar to watch the displays. The day passed quickly with the constant roar of aircraft passing up and down the flightline and the loads of interest in the Young Eagles programme.

Late in the day, we helped Des Barry and Ste-phen Jones push their RV’s out onto the apron in preparation for their display over Roy’s Bay and the Wanaka waterfront as a precursor to the Catalina display. We left at 1630 and fought with the traffic back into Wanaka and only got there just in time to just catch the Catalina land-ing on the lake. After a 10 minute taxi around the waterfront , Brett Emeny powered up the twin Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Wasp engines and the Catalina disappeared up the lake and into the air.

Saturday, we woke up to rain and cold. It was dark and miserable when we arrived at 0700 for the first day of the show. Luckily the rain stopped and the weather started to clear. Jim Rankin (chief safety officer) passed by and stopped to tell us the F16 would not be open-ing due to the safety pilots not being able to get in from CH. This change of plan, meant the Yak 3’s would now open the show and we know how that ended. Being behind the stands, we didn’t see the accident but I can still distinctly hear the commentator’s voice saying “ooohhhh, that’s not looking good”. We knew straight away that an aircraft had had a whoopsie. The show was held up for half an hour while the Yak 3 was loaded on a trailer and towed off the runway. Eventually it was towed past us, look-ing rather forlorn, to be put away in a hangar to await its future. The weather improved quickly through the morning and the aerial displays continued without delay.

Early afternoon and the almighty roar returned. The F16 snuck up the Clutha valley from Tarras and burst onto the airfield with a very low pass at supersonic speed and noise, and got into its display. An amazing piece of aircraft, it nipped and turned and climbed and rolled all over the clear blue Wanaka sky. It was like watching an F1 race car compared to a V8 supercar. It was another step up again from the WW2 aircraft, and it must take one very talented pilot to stay

ahead of it and control it. After 10 minutes of low passes, rolls, vertical climbs and ear split-ting turns with full afterburners on, it climbed away into the afternoon sun and vanished off to Harewood to have a rest. The audience was awestruck and took a few moments afterwards to digest what they had just seen. Bring on Sunday’s display! Of course, a Wanaka air show isn’t complete without a crazy gravity defying display of aerobatics by Jurgis Kairys. This year Jurgis brought his self-designed and built air-craft and wowed the crowd with his awesome skills.

The rest of the afternoon’s displays were the dedicated to the heavy metallers. Spitfire chasing Messerschmitt chasing Mustang chasing Yak 3. Nine Yak 52s and eleven Harvards filled the gaps with their usual preci-sion displays. The Dakota, Catalina, Avro Anson and Devon added to the compliment of WW2 aircraft.

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As always, the day ended with the attack on the airfield and the destruction of the bad guys’ base. With all the Yaks and Harvards taking part they didn’t stand a chance as wave after wave of aircraft roared in to give ‘em heaps! Huge explosions, lots of smoke and noise and wall to wall aircraft, it was as spec-tacular as ever.

Sunday, with the clocks set back to NZST, dawned bright and beautiful. Back out to the airfield for the final day. This time the morning show went without a hitch. After displays by helicopters and the Yaks and Harvards display teams, the RNZAF displayed all their aircraft except the Orion. The giant USAF C17 ar-rived late in the morning to show off its capabilities. A huge aircraft, it hung in the sky for all to look at, as it did several slow low passes and power-aways. The Armee de L’air showed their Casa CN235 and the RAAF showed their BAE Hawk 127s and had a static display of the C-27J Spartan.

The afternoon display saw the return of the F16s to burn up the Wanaka skies for another 10 minutes and the rest of the display followed the same as Saturday.

After the crowds had gone, the volunteers went to the Gold Marquee for a scrumptious dinner. We got to meet the US Air force guys and other personnel involved in making the air show happen. As always, it was a marvellous spectacle and this year was even better as we got see a bit of the inside workings.

Article and photos by David Saunders

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It all began many years ago when I lived in Hornsea, East Yorkshire, in the north east of England. We were constantly under attack from the USA Warthog A10 (Thunderbolt) aircraft at the nearby firing range of Cowden. They used to come over from Germany to practise their skills firing cannon and bombs at targets in the North Sea. There were also Tornadoes and other aircraft using this range. Just occa-sionally, however, our skies would host the Battle of Britain Memorial flight, in preparation for, or after returning, from their official duties. The flight comprised a Lancaster a Hurricane and a Spitfire.

The sound of those Merlin engines always signified something spe-cial happening and got me racing outdoors to watch them fly past whilst I wondered what it would be like to be the pilot and fly one of those lovely old machines.

Fast forward to my flight training at the NSAC and subsequent con-tact with historic aircraft enthusiasts and owners. My first taste of flying in an historic aircraft was four years ago with a flight in Bruce Lynch’s Tiger Moth ASM at an NSAC organised members vintage aircraft flying day. Bruce gave me a superb twenty minute flight in his beautiful restored aircraft and put her through her paces with tight turns and some very impressive flying out in the Gulf beyond Orewa. I remember looking up at the top wings and noting the fabric cover-ing quivering away as we sped along – quite unnerving for the first time!

I was absolutely hooked and couldn’t wipe the grin off my face for a whole week. Then later that same day came the opportunity to take a flight in the Moth Junior AKM. I had got the bug and the taste for going up in these wonderful old aircraft. 1. That’s Bruce on the left with his

spaniel....with the author on the right.

2. The Moth Minor at North Shore

Photos by John Broadwell

A Flight of FancyBy John Broadwell

“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,And danced the skies on laughter silvered wings.”

From High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, JNR

EN ROUTE...

Mal approaching the Coromandel Ranges and heading towards Pauanui in the Nanchang.

Above: The Catalina at Ardmore, note the “observation bubble” behind the wing.

A few months later, I took a flight in the Douglas DC3, ZK DAK. This aircraft is operated on a commercial basis and holds an “Airline Operating Certificate”. It was also rather stately in flight, but nonetheless the flight was most enjoyable taking in most of the gulf, passing over Waiheke and other Gulf islands before a sedate return to Ardmore.

At this particular air show, I came across a couple of members of the NZ Warbirds organisation, Graeme Wood (colloquially and universally known as “Woodsy”) and Mal Forsyth from North Shore. Invitations were forth-coming, and duly accepted, from Graeme to fly in the Warbirds

Tiger Moth and later from Mal to go up in his Nan-chang.Graeme took me as a passenger on a flight from Ard-more and out into the gulf. Before taking to the skies, the plane was thoroughly prepared for flight with all the usual pre-flight checks, eventually taking off on the grass runway 03. With the wind in your face and that unique combined smell of Avgas and engine oil (you are much closer to the coalface in these old aircraft) the experience was so evocative and trans-ported me back to an earlier and simpler aviation

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On a recent trip to Ardmore, to the NZ Warbirds D Day open day, I had the privi-lege of taking a flight in the PBY Catalina. This was a memorable flight and the last one for the aircraft before the end of the flying season and the onset of her winter restoration programme. We flew very slowly over the whole of Auckland and the harbour. This was a most enjoyable flight as we cruised along looking out from the very distinctive observation bubbles or “blisters” as they were commonly referred to, at the rear of the aircraft. I could take in the views for a change rather than focus on the flying.

era. Graeme worked the aircraft through some manoeuvres include steep turns. I have flown steep turns in the Robins but believe me, these were extremely tight steep turns. It seemed as though the aircraft was pivoting on its own wingtip, quite a remarkable performance. After an hours flying, it all came to an end much too soon with a gentle return to earth and its accompanying realities. It took me a whole week to come down from that high!

Then, more recently, came the pleasure of flying with Mal from North Shore in his Nanchang CJ-6. This is a lovely trainer aircraft built in 1983. The Nanchang is generally viewed as a wholly Chinese designed aircraft with some Russian Yak 18 DNA. They do look rather similar. We hatched a plan to fly out over the gulf towards the Coromandel, hop over the ranges and drop into Pauanui for a break and a coffee. We took off on runway 21 and the big nine cylinder radial kicked in, pushing me well back into my seat. There is some serious pulling power there. We had an excellent flight and landed at a sunny and very warm Pauanui. After paying our landing fees we headed off to find that much appreciated coffee and a sticky bun. The return flight was uneventful with little turbulence. This was truly great morning out.

On a final note, I would encourage everyone who flies at NSAC to consider having a flight in a vintage aircraft, it’s a very different experience and gives you a broader per-spective and experience of a different style of flying. I am sure Mal would be very happy to take others up for a flight in his Nanchang if requested.For me, there will be more such vintage plane flights to look forward to, I can’t wait to get up there again.

Photos:Opposite left: The DC3, ZK-DAK at ArdmoreAbove: Mal’s Nanchang CJ-6 at North Shore

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PUZZLE TIME

Can you guess the three types of aircraft

shown here?

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Answers: 1. Mk IX Supermarine Spitfire 2. Harvard T-6 3. Pitt Special

Photos: John Broadwell

Tyler Bond - PPL 9th March 2018

Akinyemi Koyi - Solo15th March 2018

Peter Mathis - MEIR21st March 2018

Hamish McGill - PPL21st March 2018

Marcus Kavermann - Solo25th March 2018

Hugh Douglas - Solo25th March 2018 Exequiel Mignani - Solo

27th March 2018

Julius Fox - Solo5th April 2018

Dominic Gundry - MEIR9th April 2018

Emily McIsaac - Solo19th April 2018

Georgie Mitchell - Solo22nd April 2018

Photo: Dominic Gundry

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Tuesday 29th of May 1900 hoursTuesday 26th of June 1900 hours

North Shore Aero Club wishes to extend a warm welcome to the following new members:

Committee Dates

New Members

Jack Mead - Solo22nd April 2018

Mehdi Aissaoui - Solo24th April 2018

Darren Xi - Solo26th April 2018 Khan Kirkpatrick - Solo

5th May 2018

Marcus Bedford - Solo5th May 2018

Ian ButchartTony Beuth

Zhu LinPaul Stent

Jack SemenoffSteve Munro

Richard ThomsonStephen FieldingMurray Miskelly

Jim BraunerJack Stevens

Masood KhadaiedDavid Plowman

David CorrickEmily Hinde

Duncan ErasmusBarbara Thomsom

Joey ZhouJessica Power

Jonty HorrocksMatthew Steyn

Allan Liu

Patrick CrosiaMatthew Skilton

Darrell HargreavesMichael Walker

Adi KhanJosh Jensen

Johnnie HussonaSanjay Singh

Clinton FernandesWill Brightwell

Russel ThompsonRoy WilfordAdam Lynch

Stan BloxhamPearl Milligan

Karim HussonaGemma Douglas

Arturo Salazar

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My involvement with this particular aircraft began when I was doing dual training with Ron McCauleys wife and he commented that “What we need is a little yellow Cub for her to go plopping around the paddocks in”. I knew of a derelict Cub project hang-ing in the roof of Bob Carneys hangar in Honolulu. So next duty flight there I asked Bob if he would be in-terested in selling it. He responded rather rapidly in the affirmative. This should have been a warning to me that all may not be as well as it seemed. But en-thusiasm overcomes good sense at times, so a deal was stuck. I already had a Citabria, two Tomahawks and a Warrior lined up to bring back to NZ, so the freight cost could be shared and so not too high. Bob asked me if I wanted the fuselage frame dropped down to the floor but, being the crafty devil I am, I declined, as steel tubing fuselages rust out along the bottom longeron, and Cubs are prone to go at the strut attachment fittings. Hanging in the roof, I had a good view of what appeared to be a somewhat pris-tine bottom. Another warning to me that all may not be as well as it seemed. Anyhoo, five airframes and seven engines were squeezed into a high cube 40 foot container and made their way to New Zealand.

Ron had decided on a Shell yellow (instead of the much darker and richer “Cub” yellow) colour with a light grey interior complemented with deerskin (complete with hair) seat upholstery. He was at the time running a deer farm near Paeroa. Closer inspection of the fuselage in daylight in-stead of hanging in a dark hangar revealed a certain amount of light rusting which had been over-sprayed with a silver paint. Another warning. So a sandblast-ing was now called for. Old paint and light rust quick-ly disappeared from upper surfaces but suddenly a whole lot of white dots appeared along the bottom and these also quickly disappeared and revealed more rust holes in the longerons than a demented piccolo would have been proud of. Some crafty sod had bondofilled the holes, sanded it back and hid the whole mess with a goodly coat of paint. To use the colloquial term “B****r”.

Never to mind. I had recently replaced the bottom of a Pawnee top-dresser so had a suitable jig to hold the inverted fuselage so that the whole mess could be cut and ground out and replaced with new

A short history of L4A ZK-AIR tubing welded in. Ron was not too well pleased with this turn of events. The rebuild proceeded, and soon we had a good fuselage done and re-fabriced with a nice yellow finish. New undercarriage legs were needed as the old ones were beyond redemp-tion. New Perspex windscreen and side windows, control cables, instru-ments, etc. all added to the cost. Ron had recently changed the wheels and brakes on his PA18 Super Cub to a larger size so the old ones were do-nated to the project. The engine was also overhauled at this stage and fit-ted with a metal Sensenich propeller. With the wings still to do, Ron decid-ed it was all getting too expensive and also Claudia decide that piloting was not for her so the decision was made to sell off the whole shebang. Gilly and I discussed this turn of events and decided to buy out Ron’s interest. Best thing I ever did.

Not being at all keen on the Shell yellow and deerskin idea we opted to return it to the original wartime finish it would have left the Piper works in in 1942. This involved an olive drab top surface with medium sea grey under surface with blotches of medium green around the edges, stars and bars insignia and application of all the correct stencilling and USAAC serial number.

With everything finally finished, I applied to CAA for the requested “period” registration of ZK-AIR and the inspection for issue of a standard category C of A. This turned up a totally unexpected hurdle. When applying to the American FAA for cancellation of the US registration, they came back with the fact that the aircraft did not actually belong to my “good friend” Mr Carney but to the Honolulu Historic Aviation Museum to whom it had been donated by Thomas

Hauptman many years before. A substantial donation to said museums fighting fund finally allowed us to take legal possession. I now was well aware of the reason for the rapidity with which the “sale” was made.

The test flight amounted to one circuit of North Shore and another short flight to check VNE, stalling etc. the day before Trevor Jellie of CAA appeared for the C of A issue, another circuit with him, and that was that .Next day, fully fuelled and oiled with all my gear aboard, I set off for Warbirds Over Wanaka. As the Cub has a tank of only 12 US gallons and it burns 4 ½ an hour with a cruise speed of 55 Kts an absolute range of less than 130 miles is called for. The route south was NE, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Paraparaumu, Omaka, Kaikoura, West Melton, Oamaru, Omarama and over the Lindis to Wanaka. 12 ½ hours flight time. The trip back was a bit quicker at 11 ¾ hours. So half a PPL to get to Wanaka and back.

So, “Warbird”?? Certainly! Built as Piper L4A, constructor’s serial No 9042, US Army Air Corps Serial No 42-38455, it was the third to last of the third batch in 1942. A total of 6,971 L4s were produced and served in all war theatres that the US forces were involved in. They were mainly used for Liaison work involving target spotting for artillery batteries, forward observation, Officer transportation, casevac , mail and orders delivery to name but a few.

Since its first post restoration flight on 26/3/94, Grasshopper 455 has accumulated 926 hours flying and has been flown by 86 North Shore club members over the years, some for experi-ence flights and others for type ratings and tailwheel endorsements. It has been around Cape Reinga and as far south as Mandeville, west to New Plymouth and east to Hawkes Bay.Statistics:-Span 35ft 2 ins, length 22ft 3 ins, empty weight 785 lbs, Max AUW 1220 lbs, Power Plant Continental A65-8 (65 hp @2300 rpm) cruise speed 72-75 mph, vne 120 mph, stall speed 35 mph, T/O distance approx. 100 yds.

Article and photo by Stan Smith

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RV9 Time...

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A trial flight at North Shore in 2009 got Patrick Sheehan hooked on flying. Now after gaining his PPL under former CFI Tim Maynard’s tuition he is building his own RV9 in a new hangar built for that purpose.

Patrick’s previous experience in building race cars and messing around in boats has qualified him well and given him the ability to build the RV9 from a kitset imported from USA. Now after 2000 hours of loving labour he is only six months away from first flight.

Powered by a Lycoming 320 engine, developing 160hp, and a fixed pitch propeller the RV9 cruises at 160 knots with a stall speed of 43 knots.

The aircraft is being built and finished to an immaculate standard with modifications incorporated by Patrick that include a P Mags electronic system, Dynon management system and Garmin 650 GPS, making it fully IFR capable.

With just over 200 hours in his logbook Patrick already has a rating on the RV9 and describes it as a beautiful and easy aeroplane to fly, although compared to the Club Robins it takes a lot longer to slow down. All going to plan he is confident of doing his own flight testing later this year.Article and photos: Ian Couper and Patrick Sheehan

North Shore’s Tecnam P2008What is it like to fly, and why would you?

Ask any NZ GA pilot who has not flown one of the new breed of LSA/microlights what they think of them and they will probably tell you that they are too light, too fragile (“Nah, stick with GA”). Now ask someone who owns or flies one regularly, and you get a completely different viewpoint. “Strong and stable in the air, roomy, power-to-weight ratio is excellent, fast, modern, love the modern panel and does not need refuel-ling every 5 minutes”.

The truth is that something designed 50 years later than some of the GA aircraft we fly has good reason to be better than many older aircraft. Tecnam is one company that have carved out a solid reputation for producing nice modern aircraft with good resale value and cheap to operate – The P2008 was first delivered in the US December 2009. But why would that interest the average pilot?

Well, for many of us money is a consideration, and because the P2008 is cheaper to run, burn-ing less fuel, it hires at $149 per hour solo. For some, however, it is how it feels to fly which is the clincher. Asking around, pilots will give you their personal favourite things – we have found a few. “It is like a 172 smooth and slow in roll and glides forever”… “Add power and it leaps off

the ground compared to the heavy stuff” … “love the huge moving map with charts” … “Really easy to get in and out of with the wide doors” … “very spacious for my long legs”. Some just like the sleek carbon fibre fuselage.

So there has to be a downside, surely? Well, we have found a few…

It is said by the wizened oracles that the “nose wheels on microlights can’t take the hammering of training and are always fall-ing off”. Well with quite a track record now, it seems that if you are a pilot who flies the way you drive your old pickup truck, I guess you can break anything with effort. What the stats show is that pilots trained on LSA/Microlights have no worse nose wheel events than GA pilots trained on GA aircraft. So if you like to parallel-park by hitting the car each side, please do not hire WIP.

For the club Tecnam P2008 the huge range is actually a problem, with 110 litres it can fly for nearly 600NM, so instead of refuel-ling once or twice each day, like some other aircraft, pilots do not need to refuel WIP so often; so for lazy bums it becomes a habit to leave it for the next guy ….

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Taxiing – it is actually impossible to taxi an aircraft with differential braking like the P2008; it is like a shopping trolley with a hangover. A “black art” only passed-on after you have stood on one leg and recited the national anthem backwards… Truthfully though, it will take you once around the taxiways and you are done… tail draggers on the other hand “thems is speshawl aye” (followed by loud wrinkly-lip-sucking-in noise).

What else, ah yes – you have to burp the engine before start – keys out, open cowl, remove oil reservoir lid and turn prop a few times (the right way) until you hear “surplug-lingbloop” which tells you the crankcase pres-sure has now returned the oil to the reservoir so you can check the level – lid back on, two cowl catches (check you have them hooked-in) … done.

So what’s left – ahh yes, landing. Unlike the streamlined cars of the same era, aircraft designers back in the day shaped aircraft like bricks. You can blame the shape of the en-gines, but the effect was “pull the power and she slows up real quick”. Nowadays, the Rotax powered Tecnams are more like the 1960’s cars, aerodynamic and shapely and do not slow down so quickly. In fact the opposite is true. If you are not paying attention (who,

me?) and put the nose down without pulling some power, you can get quite fast, quite quickly. So a nice landing is easy just not like Howard Hughes in the H1.

So to summarise the good bits:

Frugal - $149 per hour soloFast – 108kts at 75% power (S/L)Stalls slower than granny on a Zimmer frame at 40 kts.Nearly flies to Europe on one tank – range almost 600NM under the right conditions

Bad bits:Will take a good 10 minutes to master differential brake steering Open the cowl and burp the engine - takes at least 30 seconds every single flight Ugly:You decide – looks pretty to me

Ian Couper with input from NSAC WIP pilots

Former North Shore Young Eagle Liam Sutherland did the Club proud by gaining three First Places and one Second Place in the annual RNZAC National

Competitions held at Timaru last month.

Achieving a 50 and a 40 on the landing grid Liam comfortably won the Junior landing as well as

gaining First Place in the Junior Navigation and Jean Batten competitions.

Whilst a career in commercial aviation is Liam’s long term goal, he is still a student at Orewa College and most weekends can be found at the Club cleaning

aircraft to earn the funds necessary to build his flying hours.

Liam is looking out for more work and can be contacted at phone 0274 134 239 if you have an

aircraft in need of a good clean.

Article and photo: Ian Couper

Aeroplane cleaning service

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‘Throw-back’ to the 2011 airshow held at NSAC!

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NORTH SHORE AERO CLUBPostman Road, Dairy Flat RD4 | Phone: 09 426 4273 | Email: office@nsac.co.nz