OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INC.) HEAD OF OPERATIONS by Jarod Rowe Tarmac04TopicsJUNE-JULY2022SAFETYREPORT-LASTLIGHT12 WAAC UPDATE by Jerry Woong CLUB10 NIGHT COMPETITIONS 18 by Reece Bateman by Mick Harcourt
KimPATRONBeazley,AC Governor of Western Australia RayCOMMITTEEChallen 0408President321 ray@challen.com.au262 Bruce Rathbone Vice President 0427 004 rathbone@iinet.net.au130 Jim di Menna Treasurer0419434 Jim.diMenna@zetta.com.au283 Mick Harcourt Club Captain 0402 800 mickh@iprimus.net.au862 Andrew Eldridge Committee Member 0438 220 andrew.eldridge@bigpond.com703 Russell Philip Committee Member 0427 999 raphilip@westnet.com.au261 Stephen Pearce Committee spearce@outlook.com.auMember Vaughan Emery Committee Member 0412 923 vaughanemery@bigpond.com494 Haydn Vernon Committee haydn.vernon@gemcorail.com.auMember Welcome to our new RoryO’Hare-SearleThomasLukasCathyTimotheJohnStevenSueKeliHendrikDavidGrahamHaydenEthanHasnainChristopherDavidMitchellSamuelLachlanDarrenRohanPaulD’ArcyHolmanCraigJuliePeterJonathanRobertAshleyBabuDavidMarkYasminRobertmembersclubBunceHosseiniReynoldsVerbosscheKothalankaRiceDiceyPinardiHillSNREmerySargeantHillMilesHeathGoodingFarrandD’EsterreLinkBarnesBangashMcDermottRogersBaldisseriBiddlesDuweCrewDiamondHarlandAndersonBraimGoldieGeidansArmstrongJettColettiRussellJacksonJoabWatsonThomasSeedGregoryKarolakMitchellCullChrisJudkinsSimonBillinghamErinMalagutiShaneCurrieTomaszSobkowLouiseKempAerynWoodJosevaGanilauBenjaminPalmerRodneyMasonSteveEmeryMartinWiedemannBenBozanichMichaelGreenLukeAylmoreTariqHartleyTurnerSamuelMurphyJaceFultonDavidOwensSarbpreetKaurHunjraRyanHealyAshilRoyalMambriKapisa
Its all about winter flying at the moment. The frustration of making flying plans only to cancel them on the day due inclem ent weather. But on the upside, when the flying is good it is very good. Cold, still, clear air makes for the perfect flying outing and great photo opportunities.
Written by Ray Challen Hello Members
Turning attention back to flying, our long-haul flyaway to Kan garoo Island will be imminent when you receive this edition of Tarmac Topics (departing 5 September). It is great to see the enthusiasm for this type of flying event and many of the participating crews will be experiencing a flight across the Nul larbor for the first time. The Kangaroo Island fly-away has been fully subscribed with over 20 aircraft registered to participate. However, in the current times it is more than likely that some crews might have to pull out due to COVID or aircraft service ability. So if you are still interested in coming along, please still register your interest on the reserves list – see details in the weekly Tarmac Topics newsletter. Then as we head into spring the club calendar of flying events will gain get busy. So make sure you are current, book the aircraft and get into it. Safe and happy flying.
Due to pressing personal reasons, Bruce Rathbone resigned as Vice President in July. Bruce has been Vice President for the past three years and made a substantial contribution to the Committee. Thank you Bruce. Mick Harcourt has resigned as Club Captain effective at the end of September. This has been Mick’s second stint as Club Captain and he has been very effective in promoting and run ning the Club’s flying events. The increase in both number of events on the flying calendar and participation in these events is testament to the time and energy that Mick bought to the Club Captaincy. Thanks Mick.
In order to maintain momentum in the current initiatives to improve the Club, the Committee has exercised the ability under the Club’s constitution to immediately appoint new Committee members to the casual vacancies created by these Existingresignations.Committee member Stephen Pearce has been appoint ed as Vice President, continuing to give us the benefit of his considerable business experience and expertise.
Stephen, Haydn and Michelle will hold these Committee posi tions for the remainder of terms of the Committee Members they replace, which for all is until the 2023 Annual General Meeting. Please offer them every support.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Club member Michelle Yeates has been appointed as an ordi nary Committee member. Michelle brings a wealth of execu tive experience and capability to the Committee at a time that will be of great benefit as we endeavour to improve business systems and commence a programme of investment in the club and fleet.
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Existing Committee member Haydn Vernon has been appoint ed as Club Captain. Haydn is already on the Flying Committee and a stalwart of club competitions and flying events.
It’s also a season that tests our decision making and judgment in those go or no-go decisions. Particularly for low-hours pilots it can be difficult to decide whether to head out for a fly up the beaches when the cloud base is somewhere around 1500 to 2000 feet. But it can often be undertaken quite safely and can be a great skills builder in coping with marginal conditions. If in doubt, consider going out with an instructor or other expe rienced club member in the right hand seat. Just get down to the club and ask around if you’d like some help. As most of you are already aware, our new CEO Alan Wilson moved into the corner office in June, but this is the first oppor tunity I have in this publication to welcome him to the Club. Alan brings a wealth of executive experience to the role as well as familiarity with the aviation sector from a career with Air BP. Welcome Alan! Other change in personnel have occurred on the Committee, with some changes in roles that created casual vacancies on the Committee in roles that are not otherwise up for re-elec tion until 2023.
Written by Jarod Rowe
HEAD OF OPERATIONS
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Oils ain’t oils Hi everybody, quite often a question asked prior to a flight is, “How much oil does the aircraft have in it?”. Without much thought, most people will read the number directly from the dip stick and quote that number, this isn’t actually the quantity of oil in the engine but what is currently in the sump at the bottom of the engine. Most of the fleet has IO-360 engines (172, M20J, 8KCAB, P68) so I’ll use these as an example. You’ve all heard that the aircraft needs between 6 and 8 quarts before flight but what exactly are you looking for?
One of the most common errors I see is people dipping after the aircraft has just flown and assessing what they see on the dipstick as the oil in the engine. Oil is designed to be viscous, so while it might be a liquid and flow so it can lubricate the engine it also requires sticking proper ties. Think about if the engine in your plane or your car hadn’t been started for a few days, if the oil didn’t have its sticking properties, then effectively every time you start ed your engine, you’d be causing metal on metal fatigue as the engine first cycles with no lubrication between its moving parts.
So, when you first dip a hot aircraft engine there may be up to 1 quart worth of oil in the block itself that hasn’t yet drained down to the sump. The issue here is that if
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Cessna 152 being worked on in the Hangar someone dips at 6.5 and thinks “I’ll add another quart” that effectively can take the engine up to 8.5, now over the max. So, what can come from this? Best case scenario it blows out the overflow, leaving nothing more than a dirty air craft. But the problems can be much worse than this, due to the increased pressure in the crank case this can lead to it blowing out the seal of the crank case which could then flow out the cowl and onto the windscreen in flight. Or another problem is the oil can then foam up inside the system, when it does this the oil cooler no longer becomes effective at cooling the oil in the system lead ing to an engine overheat in flight, neither being a great outcome.
On the flip side, whilst aircraft engines are designed to consume a little oil, too much will indicate to engineers there is potentially a problem and require maintenance. This is a double-edged sword, not only do aircraft costs go up due to increased oil consumption but then addition al maintenance costs drive the price up too.
In conclusion, next time you pre-flight your aircraft and pull the dip stick out, give some thought to what the num ber is you’re reading on the stick and what that currently represents. As always, if in doubt, feel free to ask an instructor or one of our engineers.
April
Congratulations
Eric
to all of our achievers for the months of April and May. We are very proud to see so many people reaching new heights in their flight training with us.
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Emma Downsborough - First Solo - JulyChloe Stead - First Solo - June Hibbett - First Solo - Hana Moosajee - First Solo - Harman Gill Solo Pye Solo
- First
- July Jetjin Nardmanee - First Solo - July Karen
- April Luke Aylmore - First Solo - June
June
First
ACHIEVERSFIRSTSOLO
TARMAC TOPICS JUNE - JULY 2022(RPL)LICENCEPILOTRECREATIONAL7William Evans - First Solo - May Thomas O’Hare-Searle - First Solo - JulySimon Dec - First Solo - JulyShane Currie - First Solo - June Shane Currie - First Solo - JuneSha Sha Williams - First Solo - JulySamuel Akinwumi - First Solo - June Craig Sargeant - RPL - July Matthew Joubert - First Solo - June Norrapon Sirisrap - First Solo - July Rory Armstrong - First Solo - June
ROYAL AERO CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INC.) 8 (PPL)LICENCEPILOTPRIVATEDaniel Izonritei - RPL - July Julia Chapman - RPL - July Li Zenghao - RPL - June Matthew Barrington - RPL - July Matthew Jourbert - RPL - July Shane Cheah - RPL - July Daniel Wilcox - PPL - June Evan Brown - PPL - June Neil McGill - PPL - July Rory Colquhoun - PPL - June
TARMAC TOPICS JUNE - JULY 20229 (CPL)LICENCEPILOTCOMMERCIAL Anthony Barbaro - CPL -July Ruck Cameron - Grade 1 Instructor - July Simon Saddick - Grade 1 Instructor - July GRADE RATINGINSTRUCTOR2 Thomas Keamy - Grade 2 Instructor - June GRADE RATINGINSTRUCTOR3 Caroline Watson - Grade 3 Instructor - July Johnny Zhang - Grade 3 Instructor - July Roneesha James - Grade 3 Instructor - July GRADE RATINGINSTRUCTOR1
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WrittenUPDATEWAACbyJerryWoong
As a side note regarding theory exams and knowledge in general - many students find memory dumping of knowledge after an exam very easy as not many people enjoy studying for theory exams, including myself. However, I would say that the theory knowledge absorbed is paramount when it comes to being a good pilot as the knowledge supports pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight decisions.
Cloud Surfing
As the winter months rolled through, they brought with them cold and rainy winter weather, resulting in many weather-re lated cancellations. A22 have unfortunately suffered quite a bit with their flying progress due to those cancellations, however this has given them enough time to work on other aspects of their training like commencing classes and sitting their CPL theory exams. As of mid-July, they should have their fourth exam completed and will be going into a flying block allowing for some to finish their PPL flight test and the others an opportunity to complete hour building.
B22 have commenced their PPL theory training with most of them passing their RPL flight tests. Well done to the ones that have completed their flight tests and I wish them the best for the PPL theory exams and flying thereafter. For all students they will have better flying weather to look forward to and I hope they take full advantage of that by making sure that the preparation work has been done allow ing the flights to depart on time.
As far as my experience goes, the more knowledge that can be retained, utilised, and applied in real life situations can be the difference between a pilot keeping their job longer than another pilot. Any commercial licence holder can get a job, but it is a different ball game when it comes to keeping it. What I have found to be very helpful is a curious mind when it comes knowing more about flying. The hunger of wanting to know more and confirming assumptions is what helps retain the knowledge which will be used not only in flying but also future exams if you intend to do them.
Craig is keen to continue his training and get his PPL. With an RV6 on hand, I have no doubt an aerobatic and formation rating will also be on the list!
On to our achievers for June and July. We have had two gain the rank of pilot receiving their RPL licences.
Congratulations to Samuel Akinwumi for achieving his RPL licence on the 3rd of June. Sam started his flight training back in 2020 with the ambition of eventually getting his commer cial pilot’s licence. He has shown incredible determination and persistence throughout, which is why I was very happy to see him achieve this milestone in his aviation career. I am sure there will be many more to come. Keep up the hard work Sam. It will all be worth it in the end.
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If you have flown over or landed at Murrayfield recently, you may have noticed the threshold for runway 09 has been permanently displaced. The displacement is marked with four white cones either side of the runway as well as a solid white bars. This has been accompanied by a NOTAM bringing the landing distance available to 803 metres. Another good reminder to always read the NOTAMS when planning a flight. When landing on runway 09 you should now be aiming for these white cones. The reason for the displacement is to keep aircraft away from the large trees on the approach to the runway.
Murrayfield Runway 09 Samuel Akinwumi ringing the achievers bell
Happy Flying!
WrittenMATTERSMURRAYFIELDbyHarryO’Brien
Congratulations to Craig Sargeant for achieving his RPL licence on the 12th of July. Craig only started his flight train ing on the 16th of February and has already achieved his first licence. He has also recently bought himself a very tidy RV6 which I had the honour of flying back from Gympie, QLD.
Factors that should be taken into consideration include:
• Allow for taxi time, time to warm the engine as well as the pre take off checklist including run ups
• The estimated lapsed time for each leg is based on a direct track so any manoeuvring in the circuit area to get on track will all add time
• The actual conditions may be different to the forecast and headwinds may be potentially greater, which will add time
• Any course corrections, 1:60s or other deviations will also add time.
It is good airmanship to add additional buffers to allow for unforeseen circumstances. Planning appropriate buffers is the pilot in command’s responsibility, however a good rule of thumb is to plan to be back 30 minutes before last light and then add on an additional 10 minutes to that for every hour of flight time.
Sunset over the coast
SAFETY REPORTLAST LIGHT
At the end of May end of daylight at Jandakot is 5:46pm (WST) and stays around that time through the winter sol stice and daylight only lasts longer than 6pm local time after around July 24. So, in June, July and August, for a 2 ½ hour flight, so long as you’re ready to go by 3:30 pm you should be OK, right? Probably not.
I’m writing this as the first decent cold front of the season is lashing Perth keeping the fleet grounded for the day. Days like this are a reality during the winter months, however we also have beautiful, crisp, clear days where the cooler air allows our aircraft to perform superbly. Flying on those days is an absolute delight. However, during the cooler months, the days are shorter, and end of daylight considerations become a factor requir ing more attention than in the summer where that after noon sun lasts well after the closing time of the Club.
Written by Reece Bateman
• Briefing your passengers, getting everybody secure in the aircraft and running through the checklists and getting the aircraft started all take time
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Grobs
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Dealing with the wet weather
There is a greater chance of you finding water in the fuel system during your pre-flight inspection. Water can enter the fuel system from various sources: a contaminated supply, eg. the fuel bowser/truck or drum stocks, condensation from within the aircrafts fuel tank or from a leak in the fuel cap.
The flight manual of the aircraft may give additional infor mation on water draining. The main things to remember are that there must be no water remaining in the system for flight and if there is more than a small amount and/or if it spread throughout the system i.e. wing and fuselage drain points, do not fly and report it as a defect via the M/R.
The aircraft you fly are getting rained on quite a bit this win ter and this will increase the possibility of water effecting the operation of the aircraft in a few areas: The Fuel System
The Stall Warning
Make sure that the canopy vista vents are closed and that the NACA duct bungs in the side of the forward fuselage are available and in place when parked. Also ensure the canopy is fully closed and latched. Winter gives us a few challenges but with a little bit of attention we can resolve any issues fairly quickly. Water in fuel
ANY water found in the fuel drains requires you to take additional action prior to flight. Water in the system will gravitate to the lowest point in the tank/system. This is where the drain points are located. Draining ALL the points, wing and fuselage, will remove the water if the aircraft is parked on level ground. If the air craft is parked on a slope you will have to move it to ensure ALL water is removed. Rocking the wings up and down and pushing down on the tail can encourage the water to the drain points too.
WrittenREPORTMAINTENANCEbyGigPapa-Adams
The reed type stall warning horns, as found on the 152s, can get moisture in them and thereby not allowing them to sound. If you do have this happen to you bring it to the attention of the maintenance department and we can usu ally fix it fairly quickly.
The Grob canopy seals have never been great at keeping the water out but there are a couple of things you can do to prevent a puddle of water on the floor.
Written by Taylor King After postponing the last few events due to Covid, we were finally able to gather and award Wings to members who have recently achieved their RPL. We had approximately 90 guests, including our newest Club members turn up for our quarterly event. Pro ceedings started off with a presentation, from our Club President, Ray Challen, showcasing what it means to be a RACWA Club Member. Following the presentation, the Wings were awarded, then everyone was able to meet and greet other members and club instructors over a drink and nibbles provided by Muzz Buzz. We look forward to being able to host this event every quarter moving forward.
NEW MEMBERS AND WINGS PRESENTATION
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RPL Wings Recipents L-R Daniel Wilcox, Will Taylor, Samuel Akinwumi, Zhenghao ‘Woody’ Li, Danielle Wright, Evan Brown RPL Wings Recipents L- R John Ridley, James Walker, Craig Lines, Matthew Cox, Josh Vlahos RPL Wings Recipents L-R Raizagul Qurbani, Rohan Badge, Jett Coletti, Geoff Chambers RPL Wings Recipents L-R Loranzo Tarquinio, Tom Paynter, Xavier Camacho, Paul Ware RPL Wings Recipents L-R Matthew Longworth, Riley Wallace, Rory Colquhoun, Lochlan Cable, Connor Lock, Naomi Scott The Official Welcome from Mick
GLEN CAPLE
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Glen was the life and soul of the Club’s social calendar in the 1980s as he participated in most Club events. His sto ries of the shenanigans that members got up to in those days are impressive to say the least! A glass of good red wine can unlock some very interesting stories of the early DuringJandakot…his 54 years at RACWA, Glen has restored many aircraft that have required bush maintenance. He recounts a C150 having such a hard landing at Rottnest Island that there were scratch marks on the underbelly! He gleefully recounts being in Ceduna fixing an aircraft when a pilot fer rying a Club aircraft from Melbourne landed and phoned the Club to report a problem. Twenty minutes later, Glen arrived to fix the problem. Talk about service levels! Glen has established a reputation of high standards and an encyclopaedic knowledge of spare part numbers. He is recognised for his technical ability to achieve a safe result, which has helped the Club be recognised as the ‘go to’ maintenance organisation for building holes in aircraft for Glen,cameras.thankyou for your 54 years of unstinted service to the Club. We hope you will enjoy a thoroughly deserved retirement. Glen Caple, in his Chipmunk
Written by David Currey and John Douglas RACWA without Glen Caple – impossible, it just can’t hap pen! This is a common sentiment amongst many senior members of the Club. But unfortunately, it is true. After more than 54 years of nurturing Club aircraft, Glen has commenced his retirement. Glen commenced his tenure at the Club as a young apprentice in 1968. His engineering prowess was soon evident as he completed the five-year course in four years and passed the CASA (then DCA) engi neering exams in the same year. This was the first time that this had been achieved in WA. Glen added a host of other qualification to his licence, ending up with five separate licences. The Club has been extremely fortunate that Glen could oversee a multitude of engineering work without the Club having to outsource this work to other engineering organisations. Anyone who knows Glen will picture him next to RHW, his Chipmunk, that he lovingly restored with the intention to sell it. 49 years later, he still has not managed to find a buyer. Glen’s love of aerobatics and formation flying are legendary. As a private pilot, his skills in these activities were recognised by the DCA who granted Glen the licence to teach both disciplines. Glen’s ingenuity and out of the box thinking has saved the Club a significant amount of money over the years. It is simply not possible to add up all the savings that Glen has been responsible for. His high standard of maintenance that he required for all Club aircraft was evident when the new SIDs program was introduced in 2016 for Cessna 100 and 200 series aircraft. A large provision was budgeted for these costly inspections but most of this provision was not needed because Glen’s high standards had required most of the inspections to be done as part of his ongoing inspection requirements.
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Written by Taylor King
Engineer Andy showing the members a Cessna 152 engine
PILOT MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP
If you were lucky enough to join us on Saturday, July 16th 2022, for the Annual Members Quiz Night, you would know that the members bar was stuffed full of some of the largest brains that the Royal Aero Club of WA has to offer!
Written by Mark Kemp
There was an awesome turn out of students, instructors, pilots, staff, partners and friends who decided that the best way to spend a stormy Saturday night was to play games while being challenged by random facts and eating cheese and Mick,dips.was behind the bar ensuring that drinks were avail able to assist everyone’s long term memory recall of obscure facts, which I’m sure wasn’t the best idea. However, it did fuel my enthusiasm for passionately building a tower out of Jatz packets and sauce bottles!
Quiz Night - Club Members enjoying their night
QUIZ NIGHT
We had a full house for our Annual Pilot Maintenance Work shop this July. Over 25 Club members braved the horrible weather conditions and joined two engineers in the Hangar for a hands-on workshop. Members’ conducted basic aircraft maintenance listed under Schedule 8 of CAR 1988 under watchful eyes. The Engineers made two of our Cessna 152’s available and ‘pulled them apart’ for the members to work together by diagnosing issues and eventually making the aircraft work again. Thanks to all that joined us, and we hope you learnt a few tips and tricks to help you out in the future.
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Quiz Night - The winning team with their prize donated from Flight City 777 Simulator RACWA staff enjoying the quiz
Quiz Night - WAAC Students, Alison Glew & Family
Luckily for us, they were too polite to refuse which was awesome as we ended up having an incredibly fun night and not too shabby overall score! They answered questions relating to the Rugg Rats theme song, avi ation and dinosaurs while the older crew nailed ran dom facts about phobias, Bewitched and Orange Is The New Black. There were lots of prizes divvied up amongst the tables over the night, but the best part was connecting with other members, hanging out and having a laugh.
If you’ve not had the chance to come along to a mem ber’s event, we’d love to see you! Everyone is extremely welcoming and it’s always excited to meet new faces.
Our tower was beaten by a far better construction on a neighboring table, due to their obvious engineering talent for stacking cracker biscuit boxes. The weather was awful, leading to some people who were meant to be on our table catching “can’t be both ered leaving homeitis”. This left us in a precarious posi tion as the reality sunk in that we were going to need to think for ourselves and answer questions rather than just eat the blue cheese, drink wine and have a chat. As the horror of our situation hit home, we sprang into action bribing a table of young WAAC students (with the promise of sausage rolls and bad humour) to join forces with us… the over 40s.
CLUB NIGHT
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COMPETITIONS
Written by Mick Harcourt Who would be an owl?
In more recent years, however, the compliance for safety and regulatory advice have seen us transition to only using C172 aircraft, which, is a much more comfortable and spa cious aircraft to use at nighttime – especially getting in and out “in the dark” and it seems, that it is also the first time some students even fly the C172.
Let me explain at this point, that ALL the night comps are flown with Instructors, whether you are Night Rated or not, although I still get some people asking if it’s “OK for them to fly solo at night” having only just completed an RPL! We need to ‘tweak’ the advertising in that case! Let’s look at 2022, this year. The three comps are held over May, June and finally July, if the weather conditions are good. This year we have had great weather for all three comps with no real stoppages.
Photo from Tarmac
An old WW2 book I read once, was called “Only Owls and B… Fools Fly at Night” – this latest series of night comps that we held at the Royal Aero Club of WA, proves something quite different from that! For more years than I have been associated with the Club (and that’s coming up to 35) there has been a winter trilogy of Night Flying Competitions at Jandakot to supplement the day comps at both Jandakot and Murrayfield.
The early days saw up to 7 x C152s flying around the circuit at night after a BBQ dinner was served to the competitors, Instructors and even JT Tower! Heady days and interesting in as much as a lot of Night Ratings were born as a result of the competition interest.
The May comp, as per normal, was a bit slow to start, but still attracted over 20 competitors, with the usual suspects and a few newbies. June’s comp had 26 competing and some vying for the coveted “Night Champ” by looking forward to the last challenge. Word was getting around to have a go at this unique form of competition, for if nothing else, the pure difference and enjoyment of flying at night. The challenge of course, is to ‘do it right’ and get a theoretical Gold Star from your Instructor/ Air Judge! So it was that the weather cleared up on the morning of the final Night Comp for 2022 on 6th July and as the registrations grew, so did the planning for the event!
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David Schneiker headed the team of instructors with five C172s, ready to do battle on the Night Circuit. After a thor ough briefing given by Simon Saddick – we discovered that there was a problem with one of the C172 and it could not be used – so, an alternative was offered – GROB VH-BBXmany of the competitors agreed to “have a go”, however, some quite rightly, were not happy about changing aircraft. With a bit of correction tape and some more ink and paper and we were back on track.
It was about now that we realised there were 37 competitors and a long list of people for each of the aircraft – something that would normally mean a very late finish for all concerned, but not tonight. Pre-briefing I stressed the importance of being ready to go when it was your turn, making sure cush ions, toilet runs etc, were all sorted beforehand to expedite the event. This we did and boy, did it go off well! The instructors were all on the ball, the competitors were available for their turn at the correct time and those mar shalling and sequencing everyone worked hard to make it all come Surprisingly,together.wehad the last competitors, all the scores totaled up, and results given by 9pm which is an amazing achievement given the numbers that were processed. Congratulations to our winners for each of the three heats and overall! Competition Trophy
Night
Winners
Written by Tom Bickerdike It’s always been a dream of mine to be a pilot, my earliest memories are of collecting planes and I loved everything aviation. So, when I moved to Perth at age 11 and my auntie was telling me about how she was getting lessons, I realised that it was also a possibility for me. My parents were very encouraging and at age 13 I did my first flight at Murray Field with John Vanzetti! Shortly after wards I enrolled in the Young Eagles program (2015) and not long after this I embarked on my journey to get my RPL. During this I time I joined the AAFC and achieved my first solo just after I turned 15 and passed my RPL flight test a year later when I was legally allowed to hold my first pilot’s licence at 16! For the next couple of years, I was studying ATAR during year 11 and 12 so I took time off from flight training and focused on building hours and taking family and friends on joy flights in the training area and sometimes over to Rottnest. After completing year 12 I moved to Brisbane at the start of 2020 for Uni and took the opportunity to do some general han dling flights at Archerfield Airport. Unfortunately, due to the onset COVID-19 my stay in Bris bane was cut short and I transferred Uni’s back to Perth to be with family during the uncertainty of the pandemic. After finishing my first year at Curtin, I had begun to really miss aviation and I found myself scrolling through the WAAC website. To my delight the college was now eligible to offer VET student loans for the Diploma of Aviation that would allow me to complete my flight training through to CPL and make my once childhood dream of becoming a commercial pilot an achievable reality. I decided to defer my course at Uni and enrolled in the Class of B21 and haven’t looked back since. During the course I’ve made friends that will last a lifetime, been on flights that have shown me WA from a whole new perspective, sat through countless hours of theory and loved every minute of it. As of right now I’m about to sit my 4th CPL exam and have amassed almost 110 hours in the cockpit with the hopes of sitting my CPL flight test in December of this year. Just over 7 years after I did my first flight!
WAAC STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Tom, when he was a Young Eagle Tom, in the same aircraft in 2022
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The largest leap in my Aviation life arose in July 2021 when I was offered a position in the full-time course at the Western Australian Aviation College. Over the past year, I have gained a wealth of knowledge that will guide me to becoming a world-ready pilot. Since joining this course, I have created many valuable memories that I will always look back on and let’s not forget establishing lifetime friendships with those a part of class B21!
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Over the next two months, I will be working toward the final phase of my training to obtain a commercial pilot license and then finally be able to begin my aviation career. I am excited for what lies ahead for the future of my aviation adventure and would like to thank everyone that has helped along the way so far! Navigation flight in a Club Mooney
Flight training with WAAC has allowed me to fly to locations throughout Western Australia, including Lancelin, Meekath arra, Kalgoorlie and many towns within our vast Wheatbelt.
Ever since a young age my passion for aviation has always been a large part of who I am. I still remember visiting Man chester Airport during the English summer to sit and watch aircraft depart and arrive whilst enjoying lunch next to a British Airways Concorde that was set up for display. Fast forward several years and I arrived here in Perth to begin a new chapter of my life. The start of my aviation journey began during high school, I spent a couple of days a week travelling down to Janda kot to complete a two-year-long course that allowed me to attain a ‘Cert IV Qualification in Aviation; this qualification developed strong building blocks of aviation knowledge that still assists me to this day. During this time, I started flight lessons at the Royal Aero Club of WA and first flew solo on the 17th of June 2017, an amazing accomplishment I will always vividly remember. Upon completion of high school, I accepted a position at Edith Cowan University to begin yet another major step in my aviation dream. Over the past 3 years I was introduced to more in-depth components of aviation knowledge; including an insight into the concepts of a turbine jet engine and many different performance equations for the B727, which will become helpful for the future. In June 2021 I completed and achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in aviation thanks to the help of the great lecturers Boris Kulic and John Murray.
Written by Mitchel Lawson
Numbers were down on previous months due to inclement weather, so I invited members to bring along their wives to this talk. Nine members of the WA Women Pilots Association also attended. Balloonist/ aviator/ adventurer and author, Ruth Wilson didn’t disappoint. She spoke of her early days in ballooning when chauvinism was rampant. When she began winning contests, people took notice. Ruth then entered Gordon Bennett races in America and Europe. In one event she took off in Switzerland, flew across the Alps, through Italian airspace to land near Venice in a vineyard. She spoke of the intense cold, sleeplessness and vigilance needed to survive.
I think this was a first!
Ruth answered many questions posed by members.
Ruth never knew her biological father, only that he was an American Pilot. In telling her story, she hopes to find him.
Ruth’s book “Conquering Clouds” is available from all good book stores.
Written by Steve Rogers
Bulletin No 192 July 2022
Ruth WilsonClub Member Sharon Williams, Club Committee Member Steven Pearce, Wing Commander Erica Ferguson, Club Committee Member, Vaughan Emery
ROYAL AERO CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INC.) 22
This week we have had two meetings. On Monday we met the RAF JARTS team at RAAFA Bull Creek. They were here to reassemble a Tornado. Wing Cmdr. Erica Ferguson and W.O. Keith Davies spoke about their roles in retrieving and transporting aircraft. On Friday, at our June Meeting, John Bennett told us about living at Macquarie Island for a year in 1970. He was Team Leader with responsibilities including maintaining morale. John accompanied his talk with many photos of the wildlife there and photos of how they lived and worked. The ANARES team were invited back a few years later by a Tourist Company to act as guides. Through this he visited Antarctica, Snares Island and Auckland Island. John brought in many items of interest for members to view, including his cold weather clothing. Afterwards John fielded many questions. As John’s presentation was extensive, we devoted the whole meeting to him.
THE OLD FLIERS GROUP
Bulletin No 191 June 2022
Written by Steve Rogers
TARMAC TOPICS JUNE - JULY 202223
STAFF
The presentation of a Master Instructor Certificate to Trevor Jones. The Master Instructor Certificate acknowledges the contribution professional flight instructors make to the aviation community by recognising service and milestones in flight-instruction. Congratulations Trevor.
John Douglas & Trevor Jones
NEWS
Notice is hereby given: That the 93rd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the ROYAL AERO CLUB OF W.A. (INC.) will be held in the Clubhouse, Jandakot Airport, at 7pm Wednesday 28th September 2022.
Alan SECRETARYWilson ELECTION OF OFFICERSELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS AND COMMITTEE
Email: awilson@royalaeroclubwa.com.au Fax: (08) 9417 0040 Phone: (08) 9417 0000
ANNUAL
Nominations shall be lodged with the Secretary on the nomination form available on request not later than 5pm Wednesday 31st August 2022
COMMITTEE:
Alan ContactSECRETARY.Wilsondetails for the Secretary are as follows: Royal Aero Club of W.A. (Inc.) 41 Eagle Drive, Jandakot, WA, 6164 Attn: The SecretaryMr Ray Challan President Mr Jim Di Menna Treasurer Mr Vaughan Emery Committee member Mr Hayden Vernon Committee member
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
In accordance with Rule 37 (1) of the Rules of the ROYAL AERO CLUB OF W.A. (INC.) nominations are hereby called for the election of officers for the Year 2022 – 2023 for the offices which shall be vacated at the Annual General Meeting on 28th September 2022 by constitutional retirement of the following Office holders
The business of the meeting shall be: a. to receive and consider — i. the Committee’s annual report on the Association’s activities during the preceding Financial Year; and ii. the Financial Report of the Association for the preceding Financial Year presented under Part 5 of the Act; iii. the auditor’s report on the Financial Report; b. to elect the office holders of the Association and other Committee Members; c. to appoint an auditor of the Association in accordance with the Act; d. to confirm or vary the membership fees to be paid by Members.
Rule 55 (4) – Reads as Follows: Any Member eligible to vote may give notice of any motion to be included in the business of the Annual General Meeting, by delivering such notice in writing to the Executive Secretary at least 28 days before the date fixed of the Annual General Meeting.