< PreviousKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 63 20 running smoothly. Official figures have the D.VIII climbing at about 1600 feet per minute and able to reach 13,000 feet in about 10 minutes. Certainly, at the lower altitudes we fly, the aircraft has one of the best rates of climb in the collection, matched only by the Gnome engined Sopwith Camel. Established at altitude the aircraft is a pleasure to fly. It is fast and light on the controls in all axes, especially roll. Like the Fokker Dr.1 it has little inherent stability and is therefore extremely manoeuvrable. As with many WWI aircraft it is tail heavy but not annoyingly so. Stalling is unremarkable and the aircraft can be flown with confidence close to handling limits with no feeling that it might depart controlled flight (unless mishandled). As I noted earlier, visibility is much better than in biplane or triplane aircraft. Having flown modern jet fighter aircraft (where 90 percent of the aircraft is behind you) I have always admired the courage of Great War pilots in dogfights involving large numbers of aircraft. Wherever you wish to look there is always a wing in the way. In the dogfight melee, pilots must have lived as much in fear of collision as anything else and, indeed, collisions were far from uncommon. The Hard Part Unsurprisingly, focus and concentration are required in returning the aircraft to terra firma undamaged! Flying the circuit is simple enough, engine RPM is retarded to 1100 downwind to reduce speed and retarded further on base/ final to minimise the need for ‘blipping’ Fokker D.VIII John Lanham in The Vintage Aviator Limited’s Fokker D.VIII. Massey University, Albany, North Shore Massey University Flight Ops CentreJohn Lanham F K the ignition. A high, side slipped approach is wise, as with all rotaries. As a precaution, I briefly check for full power availability at about 200 feet before blipping the engine to flare and land. The aircraft requires great care on touch down. It is directionally unstable and short coupled. If bounced, an unpleasant fore and aft oscillation is possible. The aircraft must be kept deadly straight, as its undercarriage track is very narrow, the rudder is ineffective at low speed/power and the machine has a high centre of gravity. If landed out of wind, directional control will be lost as speed reduces. The aircraft will swing readily into a ground loop and, as it swings, it leans outwards to the point of tipping over. It is necessary to bring all proceedings to a halt, before attempting further progress! Overall Assessment As with all rotaries, the pilot spends as much time ‘managing’ the engine as he does flying the aircraft. This is particularly so on landing, where the engine cannot necessarily be relied upon to produce full power on demand, if needed. Care is also necessary when manoeuvring at low speed, as the rotary engine torque and gyroscopic effects can counter the aerodynamic controls. However, unlike the higher-powered Camel and Snipe, these characteristics in the D.VIII (and Nieuport and Sopwith Pup) do not cause particular concern. My overall impression is that the D.VIII would have been a difficult opponent in the right hands. From my experience of other TVAL aircraft, I would confidently engage in a dogfight with an SE5a or Camel in the expectation that only pilot ability would determine the outcome. With its excellent manoeuvrability the aircraft would have been more than a match for a Snipe. My only reservation is that the D.VIII is noticeably under-powered with the Ur.II. In any serious manoeuvring, full power is necessary, the aircraft’s energy decays quickly and the nose must be lowered. Inevitably, its fighting qualities diminish rapidly with power reduction. This was recognised by the High Command and it was intended that the Oberursel Ur.II rotary engine of 110 HP would be replaced by the Ur.III of 145 HP. However, it seems that no example of this variant reached the front before the Armistice. The Fokker D.VIII is forever overshadowed by its immediate and very successful predecessor, the D.VII. It remains an intriguing question as to what effect this advanced and capable aircraft might have had, had it arrived at the Front in significant numbers, been powered by the larger engine or if hostilities had continued longer. John Lanham The Vintage Aviator Limited 21 2019 #3KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 63 22 Dr Anton Wiles & Dr Jon Nelson - ME 1 (New Zealand) - Australia (CASA) - U.K. and Europe (EASA) - AME (Canada) - United States (FAA) - Fiji Your Experienced Aviation Medical Services Team Phone Paul on 07 843 1200 or 021 743 033 Email: paul@centralaero.nz www.centralaero.nz Ingram Road Hamilton Airport Patented Kiwi Made Spray Nozzles Improved Chemical Delivery Better Spray Drift Control Less Ground Time Tried and Proven Two Patterns Contact Glenn . 027 473 1403 . GlennKeane@xtra.co.nz GAA Matters Brian Mackie of the General Aviation Advocacy Network comments on recent GAA undertakings: On 9 May, a draft for consultation on the Civil Aviation Bill was released. It’s an opportunity for stakeholders in our aviation system to have their say about changes they would like to see. Back in 2016, the GAA knew this review was being conducted and - as a starting point to gain opinions from the CAA’s client base - in December that year, we wrote to the Ministry of Transport’s CEO, suggesting that a client survey be conducted. The MoT replied that it was up to the CAA Board to ask its Chief Executive to determine the type of surveys it undertakes. In January 2017, we followed up with a letter to the CAA Board’s Chairman. Nigel Gould told us that management was planning to supplement its general public ‘Feel Safe’ survey by splitting it to provide more information from the aviation sector. He said that management was also introducing a ‘balanced scorecard’ to improve the information available on organisational performance, because management and Board recognised the importance of such information from the sector. Fast forward two years later, and no new CAA-initiated client satisfaction surveys have been conducted. A survey with feedback and actions arising would surely be a beneficial undertaking towards improving CAA’s relationship with its clients. The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority perform virtually parallel roles. Until quite recently, their approach to customer relationships was also similar – as were some demonstrably negative consequences of those relationships. However, in Australia, the 2014 Aviation Safety Regulation Review identified the need to improve service delivery and the relationship with industry stakeholders. CASA accepted that it must confront manifest difficulties with its customers and tackle inconvenient truths head-on. In March 2018, the GAA conducted its own independent CAA Client Satisfaction survey. There were some significant findings: • Distrust of, and lack of confidence in, the Medical Unit. More than 90% of survey respondents want an independent Aviation Medical Panel. • A clear mandate (almost 90% in favour) for a voluntary, confidential incident reporting system that is non-punitive and administered by an independent organisation such as TAIC. • Slow recognition and little or no promotion by the Authority of new initiatives that do not compromise safety, developed and adopted by other countries – principally in the medical area such as changes to PPL medical certification. Changes to how colour vision deficiency in pilots is assessed have taken 10 years to achieve! The need for change and improvement is accepted by the Authority who has recently publicised their actions relating to failings in governance identified by TAIC. There are numerous other aviation governance improvement opportunities in New Zealand. On behalf of our members we will participate in the consultation process of the Civil Aviation Bill. We can hope that Transport Minister Phil Twyford is ready to listen, learn and act for everyone’s benefit. More on this and other topics of importance to General Aviators at www.caa.gen.nz Brian Mackie / GAAwww.aviationsafety.co.nz 07 543 0075 sales@aviationsafety.co.nz ETSO Anti-Exposure Suits The complete range of Switlik products is available from Aviation Safety Supplies Limited, including: TSO Liferafts (5 year service) l 10 year service Lifejackets Helicopter X-Back lifejackets l Single Person Liferafts l Waterproof, breathable and Fire Resistant Tri-Laminate fabric construction l Waterproof, breathable, stretch socks attached to the suit l PolarTec Fleece Zip-In Liner options provide up to 6+ hours of survival l Custom sizing available for the ETSO Pilot Suit l ETSO Passenger Suit available in generic pool sizes l All suits come standard with a neoprene hood & glove kit l U-Shaped zipper allows for both male and female seated bathroom relief Constant Wear Pilot and Passenger Suits Of course the engine won’t stop, but if it does, then surviving a cold water ditching requires specialist gear and knowledge. After recent examples in the news, Lloyd Klee, owner of Aviation Safety Supplies has put together this informative article for readers: Flying over water with confidence If you have an off airfield landing into cold water there is a response called a cold shock. You will start to hyperventilate immediately. For several minutes you breathe very fast and deep, uncontrollably. If you go underwater, then swallowing water is highly probable to occur, as is dying. But if you can survive the cold shock you will be okay for a while depending upon time in the water and the temperature of the water. Subject to various factors such as clothing, a person can survive in very cold water for 10 to 20 minutes before muscles get weak and you lose coordination and strength. This occurs as your blood moves away from the extremities and toward the centre and core of your body. Factors contributing to your cooling time include body fat (insulation), what you are wearing and if you have a personal flotation device (PFD) on. Anybody that is obese will have a lot of soft tissue that provides insulation. If that sounds like you, you are likely to last longer than a tall and thin person. Another issue is how far your actual body is underwater. Water conducts heat away from the body much faster than air does. Consequently, the more you are submerged, the faster the heat will be dispersed. If you have to swim, then the rate of heat loss is multiplied by much more as you are dragging cold water across your body thereby cooling it faster. Most heat loss is from the groin area and head. Even water temperatures of 22 degrees C can be dangerous. Hug yourself to keep as much of your body away from the water as possible. If you keep your arms and legs in tight, close to the core of the body, you will keep your limbs from being exposed to the cooling water. Clothing is crucial and if undertaking overwater flights you should wear an Immersion Suit. The Immersion Suit is not a nylon ‘Deck Suit’, or coverall type which has built in flotation as you see the Coastguard wearing but it is a purpose manufactured aviation suit that is flameproof and breathable. It is also fitted with insulated and waterproof socks. Be aware that the coverall style recently seen on a rescue with built in flotation is no better than a wetsuit when it comes to insulation and also has the added potential problem of too much flotation. This will make it difficult egressing from an inverted aircraft. In addition, these flotation / coverall suits need a 300N PFD to overcome the inherent buoyancy. A standard 150N PFD does not have enough buoyancy to turn oneself over onto your back from being face down if wearing a deck suit type coverall. Treating hypothermia If your body temperature is above 35 degrees and you’re healthy, your body will warm itself up without treatment. If your body is 32 to 35 degrees C and you look okay, a warming blanket around you will be enough. If your temperature drops much lower, you may need an IV with warm fluids, and a breathing tube to supply the lungs with warm air. Heating from the inside helps warm the body’s core tissues faster than heating the body from the outside (by using blankets or putting a person in a warm environment. Cardiac arrest often occurs in this temperature range. Even if it appears someone has passed away, it is still important to warm them (using the techniques described above), because with this degree of hypothermia the heart can slow to a point at which doctors cannot even detect it. Thus, they could make the mistake of presuming someone dead who is actually still alive. For unconscious patients, CPR should always be undertaken. Find out more at www.aviationsafety.co.nz/?syscmd=dl&ID=66B 8D0DBFE604944881D40EE2CF6064F F K Lloyd Klee Aviation Safety Supplies Limited 23 2019 #3 Aviation Safety contribributed by Lloyd KleeWaiheke Island is New Zealand’s most densely populated island and the second largest in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. Ruth Allanson found a friendly airfield and plenty to do for this edition of Places to Go: Fly yourself to Waiheke Island Waiheke Island is New Zealand’s most densely populated island and the second largest island in the Hauraki Gulf. The airfield is located east of the main settlement of Oneroa at a height of 445 ft. It is 630 m long with a grass surface and a 2 degree slope up to the north. NZKE is unattended (120.40) and you do need a briefing if Waiheke Island with the main wharf at Matiatia in the foreground. KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 63 24 you are not on the approved operators list. Contact Chris on 021 280 0964 or email info@waihekeairportmanagement.co.nz. There is overnight, weekly and monthly parking available but pay your landing fees on arrival to prevent an admin fee. The island is about 20 km from downtown Auckland and was voted by Lonely Planet as the 5th best destination in the world, so we have no excuse not to visit this paradise in our own back yard. Waiheke Island’s history is long. First settled around 950AD, there are 50 Pā sites on the island. 1826 was when the first shipment of kauri spars left Man-O-War bay, with land trading with Europeans beginning in 1838. Matiatia Wharf (now the main gateway by boat) was built in 1924 and regular services were made in the 1960s by a Hydrofoil vessel. On some walks you can view concrete bunkers that were built during World War II to assist in defending the country’s shores. The one on the ocean side was used as a viewing platform to spot enemy vessels entering the harbour. A radio signal was linked across the channel to Motutapu where it was then relayed to the gun emplacement at Stony Batter on the eastern end of Waiheke. In the 1920s and 1930s many city notables were guests at the Alison Homestead, even the famous actress Vivien Leigh (“Gone with the Wind”) paid a visit. The Alisons left the two-story Homestead in 1972. It is still a prominent building at Matiatia, and is now administered by the Auckland City Council. Flying to Waiheke is a joy as it is a very pretty island, with a lovely coastline including long sandy beaches and rocky bays, Places to Go contributed by Ruth Allanson Cruising the Hauraki Gulf airspace with Rangitoto Island to starboard.KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 63 26 perfect for seaplane flying and of course there’s the friendly little airfield. The Waiheke Lodge positioned halfway along the runway is run by Trevor Dance and his wife. Trevor is both a pilot and aircraft home builder, so if you are flying in give him a call at the Lodge as there may be room to stay and in any case Trevor always loves to chat about aviation related stuff – he may even lend you his car. There are often interesting aircraft flying to the field - anything from a Stearman from Tauranga to a Chipmunk from Ardmore. There is also a locally based Piper Cub and a Cessna 180 which are often active. Each year or so, the Gordonton Microlight Club have a ‘rum run’ to Waiheke with a BBQ at the airfield as both a fun-raiser and fund-raiser to support a worthy local volunteer cause. Positioned in the centre of the island, NZKE runs north/south, high up on a ridgeline surrounded by vineyards and native bush. It’s perfect for flying to on sunny days with light winds or when there is fresh northerly or southerly; tricky landing or taking off in a strong south-westerly or easterly. As the AIP says - possible severe turbulence in easterly wind conditions on short finals RWY 35 Places to Go SCENIC FLIGHTS HELI CHARTER HELI FISHING PROPOSAL FLIGHTS HOTEL TRANSFERS COMMERCIAL OPS PHOTOGRAPHY PPL and CPL TRAINING CAANZ CERTIFICATED R 22, R 44, S 300 SAFETY AWARENESS COURSES TYPE RATINGS INSTRUCTOR RATINGS NIGHT RATINGS (unlim) 09 299 9442 sylvia@heliflite.nz www.heliflite.co.nz and possible severe wind shear in strong south-west wind conditions on short final RWY 17. Whilst Waiheke Wings and local operators land and take off in most conditions, if you are new to the field, stick to flying-in with easier winds. This is a private airfield and you should get a briefing before arriving, read the AIP and make sure to avoid overflying the Onetangi residential area to the north of the extended runway centreline to keep the locals on-side. Don’t be one of those pilots who ignores the rules and upsets locals. The field can get soft in winter so check NOTAMs. You can always give Trevor a call at the Lodge on 0274 896 988 and if he is there working, will check the airfield conditions and give you a pilot report. Waiheke airfield was owned for many years by cheerful Emirates A380 training captain Neil Greer, who sadly died in 2017 of a heart attack during a cycling race in Dubai. At the time, the field was up for sale and there was interest from developers wanting to build luxury houses there. Fortunately two keen pilots stepped-in and now operate the airfield with plans to improve it. So if you feel like complaining about few dollars for landing fees, remember that having a multi-million dollar property set aside amongst exclusive real estate for you to use as a runway is a privilege – they could make a lot more money doing something else with it! The Waiheke Lodge can sleep up to 22 people in the one house. Nightly rates start at $50 per person. Contact booking@ waihekelodge.co.nz for a quote. If you find yourself rather peckish at arrival there are wineries right on the field, as there are all over the island. The Batch Vineyard has the Waiheke Explorer bus stopping every 30 minutes which will get you in town after you have filled up on their delicous traditional family food with a fresh twist. Try their High Tea, perfect for a late lunch or early evening meal, served with a chilled glass of the vineyard’s own bubbly. The Waiheke Explorer bus is an easy way of getting around the island. Purchase a 1 or 2 day ticket which includes 15 stops to hop on and off, or just stay on the bus for the full 1.5 hour tour of the island with interesting local commentary from your driver. There are also taxis (Island Taxis ph. 09 372 4111) or rental cars (Waiheke Auto rentals 09 372 8998) who will pick you up from the airport. For a variety of accomodation options and a good all round website to introduce you to Waiheke, check out www.kiwihousewaiheke.co.nz. Although F K 27 2019 #3 Trevor Dance on the field at NZKE. the main tourist centre is Oneroa on the western end of the island with cafes/restaurants, shops and galleries, there are a number of other smaller centres such as Onetangi and Ostend. Ostend has a local market every Saturday morning which is well worth a look if you are stopping over for the weekend. The beaches are plentiful here. Oneroa beach being a beautiful white sand, safe-at-all-tides beach. For a family safe beach, the Little Oneroa beach is perfect for swimming, has a covered playground and Free BBQs and picnic tables. There is the Oneroa Takeaways or the Dragon Fired Pizza Trailer for if you would like to buy your lunch or dinner there. There are vast walk and bike trails on the island and for those of us that would like some assistance you can rent electric assist mountain bikes from Bikes & Barbers, Ph. 022 050 2233. The Te Ara Hura walking trails are all linked, meaning you can explore any part of the 100 kilometres of trails in either direction. As well as golf and paddle boards, you can also go on a Jet Ski tour, visiting the unspoiled coastlines with a passionate local guide, something to put on your bucket list: www. waihekeislandjetskitours.co.nz. For a big family group, try something different by checking out www.wildonwaiheke.co.nz, a multi activity centre complete with food and wine. While you are having fun shotting clay birds here send Granny and Grandad to the flicks at the Waiheke community Cinema at Oneroa. My experience of Waiheke locals is that they are caring and friendly people with a very much can-do attitude, typical of NZ’s smaller islands. Give Chris a call today at the airport, and start planning your flight over to Waiheke Island. Ruth Allanson We are out and about in the North Island during June and on stand June 12-15 th at National Fieldays. Contact Ruth for a demonstration flight in our P92 Tail Dragger. Eaglet G5 also in stock. Follow our tour on Facebook. 021 483 262 or ruth@tecnam.nzKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 63 28 Aerobatics contributed by Grant Benns A sporting competition invariably pitches competitors (individuals or teams) against each-other, either directly, such as in a running race or a rugby match, or indirectly, such as darts or gymnastics. In the case of the latter two examples, you may be judged or scored objectively by points awarded for accuracy (darts), or subjectively by a group of judges, against defined criteria - in this case the person who scores the highest points against that criteria becomes the winner. Reno In the world of ‘sport(ing) aviation’, or perhaps aviation-sport, there are only a few examples of direct competition. Glider Grand Prix racing is one. Another well-known example is the National Air Racing at Reno, Nevada. Here we have pilots competing directly against each other, going fast (VERY fast) and VERY low around a pylon racecourse, with the winner being easily identifiable as the one to cross the finish line first. As you may be aware from the exploits of local pilot Graham Frew in his Yak 3, this is very exciting, addictive and not without a degree of risk. Putting a group of 70 year-old aircraft in close proximity to each other at Most competition flying requires turn-around manoeuvres of some kind, often at speed or in a confined space. In this continuation of his aerobatics series of articles, Grant Benns describes the commonly untilised options: Aerobatic Turn Arounds Grant Benns performing a Half-Cuban in a Falco 400+mph, less than 100 feet off the desert, whilst pulling 6g in near-constant turns is not for the faint hearted. Red Bull Air Race An outsider might view the Red Bull Air Race (RBAR) series similarly, however a key point of difference is that you never see the aircraft directly racing against each other, although, through clever technology and a big production budget, the television coverage will occasionally show the current race aircraft ‘racing’ against the ghost digital image of a previous competitor. There are also criteria that must be met, such as ‘wings-level’ through certain pylon-gates (judged externally), and certain speed or manoeuvre requirements, all of which attract time penalties for infractions. The winner is the pilot with the lowest time though the course. Competition Aerobatics Unlike Reno or the RBAR, competition aerobatics is generally an untimed event. There are a group of judges on the ground assessing the pilot’s ability to fly a series of prescribed manoeuvres, called a sequence, in accordance with a known criterion, to generate a score (from zero to 10) for each manoeuvre. The winner is found by being the competitor with the highest overall score. In this regard, competition aerobatics is much more like gymnastics, or even Dancing with the Stars. Some competition pilots would even like to consider themselves as sky-dancers, and most definitely ‘stars’.29 2019 #3 The Arena Common to Reno, RBAR, gymnastics and Dancing with the Stars is an arena in which to perform and/or display your talents. Keeping the competitors in sight is good from a spectator point-of-view but also very important from a judging perspective, when having to apply subjective scoring criteria. For competition aerobatics our arena is the ‘Aerobatic Box’, also described in the rules as the ‘performance zone’ (where we ‘perform’). The Box is 1000 m x 1000 m when viewed from above, and up to 3300 ft high, and is within which the competitor must contain their aerobatic sequence - no more wandering around the wild blue yonder. This creates a constrained arena enabling the ground-based judges to view the flight of the competitor with relative ease, although a little Pitts Special at 3300 ft on the far side of The Box can create challenges - ‘was that a roll or a snap?’ The challenge for the competitor is containing their sequence within The Box, a problem made worse by winds aloft and airspeeds of 200 kts or more in the higher-performance aircraft. At 150 kts it takes just 12 seconds to fly from one side of The Box to the other, and there may be up to three manoeuvres to be flown across that distance. Turns To keep within the arena - The Box, in our case - requires making turns. The dancers and gymnasts have flourishes that achieve this, the Reno-racers bank-and-PULL, while competition aerobatic pilots generally carry out manoeuvres with funky names like stall-turns, rollers, Immelmanns, half-Cubans, shark’s-tooths, humpties and goldfish. Occasionally they will carry out a plain- Jane banked turn, albeit to strict criteria, or, even worse, a banking turn mixed with a continuous roll, called a rolling circle (a ‘roller’). In previous articles I have described stall turns and rolling circles, so now let’s consider these other oddly named manoeuvres. Part-Loops These manoeuvres all require, at their initiation, a pull-up or push-down using the stick. Every time you pull back on the stick with wings level you are carrying out a part-loop. Some stop fractions of a second after you start, in which case you may have initiated a climb or arrested a descent. If you sustain it for longer your aircraft will prescribe a curving flightpath that may result in, for example, a vertical climb, a 180 degree direction change, or, ultimately, finishing you up in the same direction you started. The Perfectly Round Part-Loop In competition aerobatics, the curving vertical flightpaths/ partial loops must always have a constant radius, when viewed from the ground. This means as well as the pilot having to adjust the pitch inputs (using the elevator) for differing speeds throughout the looping segment, they must also take account of the effects of the wind component too. How hard can that be?! With nil wind and practice it’s not too hard. Understanding the interaction between speed, required g and stick position for your particular aircraft type will result in reasonably consistent results. Generally, most pilots new to aerobatics don’t quite pull hard enough at the beginning and end of a complete loop, resulting in a tall, egg-shaped manoeuvre. Having established the correct entry g (at least 4g) the trick is to then hold the stick position constant whist varying the stick pressure as the g changes throughout. Once that underlying technique is sorted you will have capacity to consider the effect of the wind - a loop into wind requires more ‘pull’ when the aircraft is flying the into-wind segments of the loop, and less ‘pull’ when flying the down-wind segments. See - told you it was easy! i i Email: info@compositesinternational.co.nzNext >