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As a pilot only two bad things can happen to you and one of them will happen eventually: A) One day you will walk out to the aircraft knowing that this will be your last flight in an airplane. B) One day you will walk out to the airplane not knowing that it is your last flight in an aircraft.
New achievement record for African Pilot
Our February 2006 edition is at our printers together with our second annual Aviation Services Guide, to be completed by the end of this week. This edition will be packaged in a plastic bag together with a free copy of our Services Guide and will go into national distribution early next week. The publication of this particular edition places African Pilot on a new platform, well ahead of budget and overall market expectation. We would like to thank all persons who participated in this particular edition as well as our Service Guide for your commitment to South Africa's premier aviation magazine.
Flight to United Arab Emirates
Multi-national cabin crew: Russian, Australian, South African, Arabic, Moroccan, Chinese, Philippians, Kenyan, Romanian and Malaysian. A stewardess told me that Etihad Airlines, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has eighty different nationalities working for the airline. Passengers on this flight also represented many nationalities of the world. The new Airbus A340-300 is remarkably quiet when seated over the wing, but average noise levels are experienced rear and forwaService on this flight was good including the food, and seating space was comfortable.
Proud to be South African
Seldom in my life have I been as proud to be a South African as I was at the Al Ain Aerobatic Show last week. Our team of display pilots, their wives, technicians and media representatives created a formidable presence with levels of sheer professionalism and comradeship. Brian Emmenis was at his best. Because the Arabic announcer's English was not up to airshow standard, the organisers requested that Brian conduct the English commentary, which included all the non-Arabic teams from countries such as England, America, Germany, France, Switzerland, and naturally the four South African teams. All teams involved congratulated Brian on his amazing aviation knowledge, especially as he quickly conducted research on aircraft and pilots involved in this spectacular event.
There is no doubt that the main South African sponsor, SASOL, represented by the three Sasol Tiger L-29 jets, received world acclaim as they appeared on television stations around the globe. Flown by veteran pilots Ralf Dominique, Martin van Straten and Nigel Hopkins, they displayed the SASOL brand with a graceful dance in the clear skies of the desert. The other South African formation aerobatic team represented was the Zlin 50 duo of the Mazda Zoom-Zoom team flown by Brad Bennetts and Ian Billing. Stu Davidson provided some unusual entertainment with his Boeing Stearman ZS-BED and wing walker Bernice when she appears to fall off the wing into the desert and the aircraft returns to the centre stage minus a wing walker. Naturally they own up later when she re-appears, having been carefully hidden by a cover over the front cockpit of the Stearman. Patrick Davidson flew his South African flag Extra 300 in his first aerobatic grand prix competition together with some of the finest pilots in the world. Congratulations to a brilliant young pilot who made all of our team so very proud of his excellent displays.
The South African team included: Albert Hempstead, Frans Dely, Ian & Kathy Billing, Nigel & Caylin Hopkins, Ralf Dominique, Martin van Straten & Ella Cullin, Brian & Beverley Emmenis, Peter Wise & Yuqin, Brad Bennetts, Rob Cook & Graham Austin (video makers), Stu Davidson & Patrick Davidson, Graham Hall & Louise, Gary & Bernice Butlion (wing walker), Vladimir & son and naturally African Pilot as the only South African magazine media representative. Several other South Africans made the airshow because they had heard about the brilliant flying of some international display pilots including Lithuanian born world aerobatic freestyle champion - Jurgis Kairys.
Outstanding organisation
Marie-Louise, from the organisers committee, needs to be singled out as the person who contributed enormously to the overall success of this airshow. Her charming, uncomplicated method of dealing with pilots and media persons from many nationalities was superb and clearly shows her considerable experience in airshow organisation. From the South African team we wish to thank Marie-Louise for assisting us in a foreign country. Once our team had become used to the Arab way of life in that nothing happens before 10h00 when certain shops open and people start answering their phones, we settled into a routine. However, the laid back atmosphere of the UAE that is known for being a stable and safe country impressed all of us. Since we had arrived several days earlier, we were in a position to watch the construction of display areas being prepared for the five day airshow. As time moved on we became increasingly aware of the sheer magnitude of the organisation that was managed in a quiet, disciplined manner. Nothing was left to chance as every possible glitch had already been catered for. In particular I was impressed with the treatment of participating display pilots and the media - nothing was too much trouble. The air conditioned media centre was well equipped with rows of computers, comfortable seating and delicious refreshments.
An important feature of this airshow was that, being a Muslim country, no alcoholic beverages were allowed on the airfield at any time; therefore people remained controlled, orderly and kept the place clean. As with Oshkosh, where alcohol is also forbidden within the active airfield area, the difference in spectator behaviour is immediately apparent. I firmly believe that the time has come to ban alcohol of any sort at South African airshows until the show is complete; alternatively, restrict drinking to specific 'beer tents' outside the immediate airshow grounds. Most other sporting events in our country have already taken this stance as intoxicated spectators become unruly and contribute to the filth that often spoils an otherwise successful event. We are all more than aware that the sale of alcoholic beverages adds to the overall profitability of a particular airshow, but at whose expense? Furthermore, the overall safety of participants who are subjected to blatant drunken and disorderly spectator behaviour compromises the quality of an airshow. This matter will be taken up with ASSA, the Aero Club and airshow organisers throughout South Africa.
Disaster on practice day has a happy ending
A brand new F16 supersonic fighter jet that had recently been delivered to the UAE and flown by one of four Lockheed Martin test pilots crashed soon after take off whilst under full power. It appears that the pilot lifted off the runway, then went vertical before performing a half roll pull through. However, approaching the desert at tremendous speed, he did not manage to complete the manoeuvre by levelling out and mushed into the sand tail first with the nose pointing at the sky. Fortunately the pilot ejected sideways as the jet struck the ground and, even though his parachute did not open he survived with a broken femur and certain back injuries. Thankfully his injuries are not very serious given the severity of the accident, which brought smiles back to all the pilots who were very downcast when they thought the pilot had died in the accident. Later that week I managed to photograph the accident site from the German Hughes helicopter, but there was very little left of the brand new F16. Unfortunately, in their rush to get to the crash site, one of the fire tenders rolled in the desert, causing further injuries to fire fighters.
It appears that Lockheed Martin had leased the F16 back from the Emirates Air Force for demonstration flights at the five day Al Ain airshow. One questions what the outcome of this US$ 100 million loss will be in the bigger picture. However, once again this type of unnecessary accident happens at airshows because of the adrenalin rush that often accompanies pilot misjudgement. The F16 crashed in front of a sizeable audience including one South African television camera and several photographers. At the time of the accident I was inside a hangar photographing the preparation for a mass parachute jump, but several members of our South African group witnessed the accident. From reliable sources we heard that the UAE Air Force has purchased 80 new block-60 F16s, which are not even in service within the US Air Force yet. They also have a sizeable quantity of Mirage 2000s, some of which were flown at the airshow as flights of four.
Plane hits truck, truck's insurance pays
The legal definition of a four-letter word (and not any of those you might be thinking) determined a Michigan truck owner's insurance must pay to replace an airplane that hit the truck while the pilot was trying to land it on a grass strip near Cedar Springs in 2003. According to the Insurance Journal Kevin Gould was legally driving the truck, owned by Dean Wall, on a road when the two-place Cessna 'bounced' off the truck and flipped over. No one was injured in the accident and the owner of the airplane filed a claim against Wall's insurance company. So far, the $18,000 claim has been upheld by two Michigan courts. The crux of the case has been the definition of the word upon. Under Michigan's no-fault insurance laws, any accident between a vehicle designed for use upon roads with one that is not and which does not occur upon the road, requires that compensation be paid by the insurer of the road vehicle. The airplane owner successfully argued that since the airplane never touched the road (it bounced off the truck and onto the airfield) that the truck's insurer had to pay. Wall, who now has a $59,000 claim on his insurance record (legal fees do add up), called the decision "absolutely absurd and asinine" but the insurance company has decided not to appeal the latest decision.
Received from Neil de Lange, General Manager of Aero Club
Dear Aero Club members,
At the end of October 2005, the CAA published a discussion document on its website. This document dealt with certain issues relating to the operation and airworthiness of Non-Type Certificated Aircraft (NTCA). Stan Oliver, Aero Club Chairman, and I met with the Commissioner to discuss this document and enquired as to the underlying objective of this effort. We also highlighted the mounting unhappiness of the NTCA fraternity in this regard. (For details of this meeting see previous message dated 17 Nov 05, and the notice by the Chairman to the AeCSA board, both on the www.awsa.co.za website.)
At this meeting the Commissioner agreed to meet with a large audience of affected parties to discuss the issues. This meeting will be held at 14:00 on 26 January 2006 at SASCOC HOUSE, James and Ethel Gray Park, Athol Oakland road, Melrose, Johannesburg. Since only 150 seats are available, booking is essential. For directions please contact Natasha on 0861 018018 or natasha@aeroclub.org.za. This is a most important meeting, and those who have responded to the document are welcome to raise their issues. Most of the proceedings will be in the form of a debate. The outcome of the meeting will determine the future of NTCA operations.
FEES - ATNS, SAWS, ACSA, CAA
Report compiled by Paul Van Tellingen
The current situation with regards to 2006/2007 fee structures is as follows:
ATNS - Zero rating for aircraft with MTOW below 5 000kg except for flights in the Johannesburg TMA or CTR. For aircraft above 5 000kg the new tariffs have not been finalized yet. GA representatives will attend the meeting scheduled for 17 January 2006. Gazette therefore not published yet.
SAWS - Gazette not published yet. We are hopeful there will be some relief for GA.
ACSA - New fees not published yet.
CAA - New fees not published yet.
Emirates censured in Airbus A340 Johannesburg runway overrun probe
Emirates Airline's training and roistering practices have been criticised by South African investigators in their report into a take off accident involving one of the carrier's Airbus A340-300s at Johannesburg in April 2004. The A340 was seriously damaged after its wheels hit the approach lights on the overrun of runway 21R before it climbed away. The aircraft returned to the airport for a safe emergency landing in which none of the 260 passengers or 14 crew on board was injured.
The pilot had used an erroneous take off technique after receiving a training 'tip' for achieving accurate rotation without incurring a tail strike, which led to the aircraft failing to become airborne until it had overrun the runway, says the South African Civil Aviation Authority's final report. Realising the overrun, the captain rotated further and engaged take off/go-around thrust, says the report. When the aircraft began to climb away, some of its main gear tyres, the flaps and the fuselage were damaged. On the crew's command for the flaps to retract, the electronic centralised aircraft monitor announced "flaps locked" because of damage to the flap drive mechanism. The crew elected to dump fuel and return to land on runway 03R. For both pilots it was only their second flight in an A340-300, and it was the captain's first flight in the type as pilot flying. The report says the reason for the captain's erroneous take off technique was that he had "received a tip during recent recurrent training sessions to move the Side Stick Order Indicator to the +9° position on the primary flight display [PFD] during rotation for take off to attain the prescribed two-thirds backward side stick movement needed to rotate the aircraft for take-off". The effect of selecting the SSOI cross to +9° on the PFD's artificial horizon, then holding it there as the horizon bar moves downward reacting to the aircraft's rotation, demands a gradual forward movement of the side stick, which delays un-stick.
"The captain", says the report, "fixated on the SSOI and lost situational awareness, which prevented him from detecting the abnormal rotation at night". The actual purpose of the Side Stick Indication Display (SSID), which is overlaid on the attitude director indicator within the PFD until the aircraft leaves the ground, is to enable the pilot-not-flying to see, according to where the SSOI cross moves in the SSID "box", what side stick displacement is being used by the PF. The report recommends that Airbus consider modifying the SSID so it disappears from the PFD at the rotate point.
The co-pilot was looking out to ensure the aircraft was tracking the runway centre line, says the report, adding that his expectation of lower performance from the A340-300 than the Airbus types he was more familiar with, the selection of flexible thrust rather than full power, and Johannesburg's high airport elevation had led him to expect the take off run would be unusually long, so he did not intervene in the sequence. The report explains the effect of the captain's actions as shown by the flight data recorder (FDR), and why he says he did it: "The captain applied rearward side stick such that the SSOI, displayed on the PFD indicated +9° and, after approximately 4s, the aircraft nose started to move upward at a normal rate. When asked to explain this method of initiating the take off, the captain said that he was using this technique, having been made aware of it in his refresher training that he had completed in March.
"During a lesson to standardise rotation techniques across all Airbus fly-by-wire [FBW] types operated by Emirates, and to avoid a tail strike, he had been taught that the positive selection of two-third stick back was a requirement. The position could be more accurately obtained by placing the SSOI to 9° nose up on the PFD and that this would transition the aircraft to flight correctly." The report relates that the captain had subsequently used this technique successfully during recurrent A340-300 simulator training, and line operations with the A330-200. Emirates Airline says it is "carefully reviewing the report, which it has just received, together with the findings of its own internal investigations. Until all the information has been studied, we are not in a position to discuss specific points. If lessons can be learned from the report, they will be, given that safety is of paramount importance."
Aviation humour
A British Airways flight asks for push back clearance from ramp. Control Tower replies: "And where is the world's most experienced airline going today without filing a flight plan?" |
