The Last Minute Hitch: 23 August 2024
23 August 2024
– Steve Hitchen
It's all going down at The Oaks, it would seem. The airport west of Sydney has been a supporter of recreational and private aviation for years and there are now plans for a serious redevelopment that will result in 60 hangars being built, airpark-style homes/hangars, aero club, sealed runway, convention centre, museum and various sundry facilities. With something similar being mooted for[b] [/b]Coldstream in Victoria, its fair to ask if this is going to be the way of the future for airfields on the periphery of the capital cities. In the case of The Oaks, the business plan probably looks sturdier given an almost certain exodus of aeroplanes and flight training organisations from Bankstown after Western Sydney gets going. But even though the local council and some pollies have expressed support for The Oaks, the traditional NIMBY screams from the sidelines can still cause support to swing towards populist causes. Councilors regularly buckle under the weight of people screaming "no" because its safer than bucking for change, even if that change is a good idea. GA in the Sydney basin really needs this development to go ahead and succeed, but the road ahead is rocky and long. It always is when someone wants to sink money into a local airport.
"..The lack of suitable sims condemns us to endure the risks of OEI training.."
The crash of VH-OMD at Cowra has given me the excuse I need to saddle up a hobby horse: one engine inoperative (OEI) training in twins. It's a sad but true fact that more twin-engine crashes have occurred during OEI training than have in genuine engine-out situations. That illustrates how dangerous it is to fly an aeroplane on one engine; the aerodynamic forces go feral on you and the aeroplane tends to follow. Simulation becomes reality. The answer is to conduct this sort of training either at altitude, or in a suitable simulator. You've got me at "simulator". Emergency procedures for some aircraft don't have to be done in the real thing if a suitable simulator is available, and that should extend to any twin-engined aeroplane. The problem is that so few simulators are available, and probably none for an E55 Baron. My own experiments with Seminoles showed that if a sim has six degrees of freedom (6DOF) and active control loading (force feedback) on the rudder, there is absolutely no need to do OEI training in a real aeroplane. The lack of suitable sims condemns us to endure the risks of OEI training and crashes such as this one will continue. What I believe is needed is a twin-engine flight training device that can be used across several models of aircraft. There is not a lot of difference in emergency procedures between a Baron and Seneca or a Seminole and a Duchess. One or two such machines positioned around Australia might give CASA the confidence to say "OK, you can do your OEI training in a sim". Yes, there is a danger that some cockpit differences could complicate things, but is that danger greater than doing the OEI training in a real aeroplane? The stats would suggest not.
It's heartening to see the number of nominations for the 2024 CASA Wings Awards we've already received ... and there's still about 11 weeks to go until we close off the books! The scheme has matured well since it began a decade ago, as evidenced not only by the nomination numbers, but also the quality of the winners. We may have to think about stepping it up some more in the future. But, through all that, we still get the occasional lazy nominator; a one-liner about who they reckon should win without addressing the criteria and without supplying anything more than a name. Whilst we appreciate the interest and in some cases understand the integrity of the nomination, we can't progress the name to the judging stage with such little information. If a person or organisation is worthy of the award, then they're worth nominating properly. All the criteria and the nomination process is on the Australian Flying website.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch
23 August 2024
– Steve Hitchen
It's all going down at The Oaks, it would seem. The airport west of Sydney has been a supporter of recreational and private aviation for years and there are now plans for a serious redevelopment that will result in 60 hangars being built, airpark-style homes/hangars, aero club, sealed runway, convention centre, museum and various sundry facilities. With something similar being mooted for[b] [/b]Coldstream in Victoria, its fair to ask if this is going to be the way of the future for airfields on the periphery of the capital cities. In the case of The Oaks, the business plan probably looks sturdier given an almost certain exodus of aeroplanes and flight training organisations from Bankstown after Western Sydney gets going. But even though the local council and some pollies have expressed support for The Oaks, the traditional NIMBY screams from the sidelines can still cause support to swing towards populist causes. Councilors regularly buckle under the weight of people screaming "no" because its safer than bucking for change, even if that change is a good idea. GA in the Sydney basin really needs this development to go ahead and succeed, but the road ahead is rocky and long. It always is when someone wants to sink money into a local airport.
"..The lack of suitable sims condemns us to endure the risks of OEI training.."
The crash of VH-OMD at Cowra has given me the excuse I need to saddle up a hobby horse: one engine inoperative (OEI) training in twins. It's a sad but true fact that more twin-engine crashes have occurred during OEI training than have in genuine engine-out situations. That illustrates how dangerous it is to fly an aeroplane on one engine; the aerodynamic forces go feral on you and the aeroplane tends to follow. Simulation becomes reality. The answer is to conduct this sort of training either at altitude, or in a suitable simulator. You've got me at "simulator". Emergency procedures for some aircraft don't have to be done in the real thing if a suitable simulator is available, and that should extend to any twin-engined aeroplane. The problem is that so few simulators are available, and probably none for an E55 Baron. My own experiments with Seminoles showed that if a sim has six degrees of freedom (6DOF) and active control loading (force feedback) on the rudder, there is absolutely no need to do OEI training in a real aeroplane. The lack of suitable sims condemns us to endure the risks of OEI training and crashes such as this one will continue. What I believe is needed is a twin-engine flight training device that can be used across several models of aircraft. There is not a lot of difference in emergency procedures between a Baron and Seneca or a Seminole and a Duchess. One or two such machines positioned around Australia might give CASA the confidence to say "OK, you can do your OEI training in a sim". Yes, there is a danger that some cockpit differences could complicate things, but is that danger greater than doing the OEI training in a real aeroplane? The stats would suggest not.
It's heartening to see the number of nominations for the 2024 CASA Wings Awards we've already received ... and there's still about 11 weeks to go until we close off the books! The scheme has matured well since it began a decade ago, as evidenced not only by the nomination numbers, but also the quality of the winners. We may have to think about stepping it up some more in the future. But, through all that, we still get the occasional lazy nominator; a one-liner about who they reckon should win without addressing the criteria and without supplying anything more than a name. Whilst we appreciate the interest and in some cases understand the integrity of the nomination, we can't progress the name to the judging stage with such little information. If a person or organisation is worthy of the award, then they're worth nominating properly. All the criteria and the nomination process is on the Australian Flying website.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch