< PreviousKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 80 10 F K allow safer, predictable access to many airfields. It will also enable GA to assist in times of civil disasters, as happened at Kaikoura and Takaka when they were cut off due to the earthquake and a heavy rain incident. GA was instrumental in many recoveries. Rule Change Advocacy When CAA tried to slip a rule change in at ACAG for major / minor maintenance, NZAF forced a backdown and change to the proposed NPRM 17-02. A close eye on this is still needed. NZAF efforts successfully opposed changes to Airspace that were applied for to facilitate drone research in the Hokianga and Alexandra areas. We have been active in bringing common sense to the so-called disruptive technology of drones through Jonathan Shorer and now Chris Jackson from Model Flying NZ. Gliding NZ has also worked on Airspace Changes for areas that they use. Airspace is a complicated issue that needs very specialised skills to evaluate. We have been active with our members in submitting to the Civil Aviation Act review that is now in its fifth year of the process. Presentations at select committees are next. We have had some changes accepted but there is still a need to have a Tribunal established to allow us to challenge things we consider are not according to the rules. Currently, the only option is to apply for a Judicial Review which is effectively suing the CAA. That is expensive and would probably be heard by a judge with no technical aviation experience. NZAF growth From 2015, we have grown NZAF from 10 members to 16 members making NZAF a truly representative organisation that supports our members in many ways. Visit our website to see all of our aviation products 07 843 6063 avionics@hamaero.co.nz www.hamaero.co.nz FOR ALL YOUR ADS-B OPTIONS Garmin GTX335 with GPS (awaiting stock) ADS-B out with built in GPS at an affordable price. Pre-wired and pre-configured options. Trig Combo (in stock) The STC approved and mandate compliant TT22 Transponder and TN70 GPS combination. A remote mounted ADS-B solution in a small package. L-3 NGT-9000 (in stock) ADS-B in and out touchscreen transponder with built in GPS, moving map and traffic display. More capability for less. Contact our NZ Partner Superior Air Parts (09) 298 8992 bob@aviationpowersupply.com.au rob@superiorairparts.com.au NZAF have contributed over $275k to or via our member organisations to facilitate rule changes, airspace changes, district plan changes that threaten landing rights, independent risk assessments, judicial reviews, and events such as Wings over Wairarapa and Wings over Wanaka to promote or assist the growth of GA in NZ. Youth in Aviation NZAF is now taking a very active role in promoting youth in aviation. Our latest initiative has the potential to encourage young budding engineers to try the aviation scene as a career. This is an $8,000 Scholarship for a female engineer to gain training at NMIT. This could be the start of several scholarships in various areas of aviation including supporting the STEM programme so actively promoted by Wings over Wairarapa. We have also donated computer equipment for use by students at the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School. GA Road Map We are about to start work with Aviation NZ on a GA road map in the manner of the UK and EU road map of the same name. The Ministry does not have the resources to produce this, but we intend to work with them so that it can be a joint publication. Looking forward We are looking forward to a year where we can continue our advocacy for all NZ Aviators, hopefully more in person than by Zoom meetings, and where we can promote the freedom of flight while highlighting all the benefits it brings to our members and the country as a whole. Ian Andrews, President NZAF11 2022 #3 Aviation Insurance contributed by Bill Beard All aviation insurance policies contain deductibles of some sort, however the nature and applications of these are not always well understood. Bill Beard from Crombie Lockwood continues his series of insurance related articles, here explaining some common terms and how the process of calculating deductibles in the event of an accident is usually applied. All of Bill’s previous aviation insurance articles are available for download from the KiwiFlyer website www.kiwiflyer.co.nz Policy Deductibles A hull deductible (sometimes referred to as an excess), applies to all aviation policies involving repairs but may on occasions not be applied in the event of a Total or Constructive Total Loss. Hull deductibles are predominately applied as a percentage of the agreed total value. For the majority of fixed wing aircraft, the deductible is usually 1% of the hull value subject to a minimum dollar value (usually $1000) on lower valued hulls. For aviation uses involving abnormal hazards such as agriculture and for the majority of helicopters, a hull excess of 5% is usually applied and this is sometimes increased to 10% in the case of inexperienced pilots or extremely hazardous uses. The important thing to understand is that in the case of repair claims, the hull deductible/excess is calculated on the total hull value – not the amount of repairs. Third party liability property damage claims however are not usually subject to an excess or deductible. Pro-Rata/Time-Life Component Adjustments Another deduction made from a claim can be a Pro-Rata/Time-Life Component Adjustment. Particularly all helicopters and fixed-wing turbo-props (other than total or constructive total loss) are subject to contribution by the policy holder for the proportion of the overhaul or replacement cost of any unit or component in relation to the TBO or “life” of the replaced unit or component. The insurer will deduct the appropriate amount on the application of the following formula: Used Time or Hours Flown divided by Overhaul TBO, multiplied by Overhaul or Replacement Cost. This can have a major impact on the eventual proceeds of a claim following say a main or tail rotor blade strike on components nearing the end of their TBO. In recent times, a few Insurers have agreed to delete the clause relating to pro-rata contribution on Time- Life components and in the case of helicopters, under some circumstances, Betterment can be insured. To obtain further information on this subject we invite operators to contact this office to discuss. To discuss this topic or any other aviation insurance questions, or to seek quotations, contact Arden Jennings at Crombie Lockwood on 0800 322206. Full policy wordings and other information is available on our website. Insurance Policy Deductibles ExplainedKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 80 12 Wings and Water Te Anau’s Cessna 206C ZK-DRH at the Wanaka lake front. How about writing a story on running a floatplane company, we said to Ivan Krippner who with wife Kylie owns and operates Wings and Water based at Te Anau. There are such romantic connotations – what could be more idyllic than combining all the good things about flying, boating, and stunning scenery into the one occupation. Of course that’s not entirely the case, as Ivan explains for anyone daring to think similar: “So you run a floatplane company? That must be so much fun!” You’d think so wouldn’t ya? A lot of floatplane stories allude to how fantastic float flying is, and it is! But suggesting it is always like that aligns the story more contributed by Ivan Krippner with fairy tales than with reality. Having now ‘enjoyed’ six years and 1000 hours plus of float flying (it was a baptism by fire really), I’m at least partly qualified to share some of the nut and bolt details behind a floatplane operation. It’s a lifestyle for sure, but in saying that I’m reminded of a situation that occurred on the main street of Kihikihi many years ago when I was driving stock trucks. Late for delivery, with a truck and trailer full of stock, I came across a car moving at 10kph. I found myself yelling, “It may be Christmas Eve to you, but to me it’s just Tuesday... Move!” Problem was, it was Christmas Eve and to the amusement of the people on the street, my window was down so they heard me. I’ve worked most of my life in industries where weekends and public holidays are just another working Floatplanes & Fairy Tales13 2022 #3 day; there’s no overtime or days off in lieu. Running a floatplane company is like that too. Planes and boats Float flying can be split into two groups: floatplanes / seaplanes (same thing) and flying boats / floating hulls (same thing). I have no experience in floating hulls, but I have been told that they are not the same to operate and if you should try to do so the results may be less than ideal. Floatplanes can again be split into two groups: amphibious and straight floats, both with their idiosyncrasies. I have limited experience with amphibious aircraft so I will concentrate on straight floats and their operational requirements; for that’s what KiwiFlyer Feature John McCaw image Floatplanes & Fairy TalesKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 80 14 Floatplanes we run at Te Anau. Our second floatplane did arrive into the country as an amphibian and we spent a great deal of time and money converting it to straight floats. The reasons were very simple – amphibians are designed to be aircraft that live on land and go into the water, as opposed to our set-up where the aircraft lives on water and occasionally goes onto land. The bearings and moving parts would not be kind to the idea, and the best advertising we have for the company is the plane on the lake front. The removal of the gear also meant 123 kg of weight removed. That equates to an extra paying passenger in a commercial operation. In a commercial environment the amphibious landing gear is a Safety Management System nightmare. History is littered with tales of highly experienced pilots landing with the wheels down on water. And if you do, the results are brutal. The aircraft will flip inverted in a heartbeat and then you are faced with an inverted egress situation while potentially having to extract passengers from the back seats. How could this happen you ask? It’s part of your pre-landing checks surely? Yip it sure is, and herein lies the problem: It is so ingrained in the pre-landing checks that the wheels are down and locked for landing (more so in the commercial environment). It is so easy to revert back to force of habit and muscle memory. We decided to eliminate that risk. But then, how does the aircraft get to the airport for maintenance? For us, it becomes a boat. We fly it to the closest lake to our maintenance facility. It’s put on a trailer and then driven 5km along the road, to the surprise of any other traffic that happens to also be there. The fun of it We are fortunate to live and work in a wonderful part of New Zealand. Te Anau and Fiordland are incredibly beautiful and it is a pleasure to be able to take our clients on scenic flights and to amazing locations. Our office is on the shores of Lake Te Anau so our plane and airstrip are right at the back door. On a great day, there’s nothing better. We take spellbound passengers on majestic tours of the Sounds, over glaciers and waterfalls and unspoiled natural wonders. We might meet up with a jet boat or a ferry, or we might fly them into remote beaches for a picnic. That’s the public-facing side of it. Behind the scenes there’s a bit more going on than most people ever realise – particularly with everything being water-based. Let me explain… Behind the scenes Let’s begin at the start with a pre-flight. How is that done? You can’t just walk up to the aircraft and cast you eye over it because from the dock you can only see half. So the other half has to be done from a dinghy on the water. Time to check the fuel load: We all know how reliable fuel gauges are so always use the dipstick. But it’s not so easy if the aircraft is rocking in swell. Also, the more fuel you have in one tank on one side, the more inaccurate the dipstick reading can be depending on the position of the fuel cap. This is because the weight of the fuel is pushing one float further into the water and the fuel is moving to one end of the tank. It can be handy to upload fuel by the litre for each flight to be assured of fuel endurance. You can’t simply fill up the tanks, load passengers, then head off into the wild blue yonder. With the extra weight of the floats, the usable load is reduced and more importantly, the aircraft will not get up onto the float step and accelerate for take-off. And once on the step, you may not get Wings and Water’s # 1 floatplane, DRH taxis out for another flight. Calm Bay, Lake Manapouri; voted New Zealand’s most picturesque lake. A great place to stop for a picture. This is South Fiord, Lake Te Anau. DRH has been servicing Fiordland since the 1980s.Calling all Aviators Land Your Lifestyle at 1 Aviation Avenue, Fernside, North Canterbury On offer is an outstanding lifestyle property with access to a private airfield Take flight from your back door at Fernside Fields, where you will be one of only ten properties in this exclusive enclave which share right of access to a private 830m (approx.) airstrip. For your aircraft there’s a 15x19m hangar with 3-phase power and an approx. 13.5 m door. For the family there’s an immaculate 312sqm four double bedroom home which showcases effortless day-to-day living. An impressively proportioned kitchen features granite countertops and a walk-in pantry, with an integrated dining and living space, plus separate lounge and with an easy flow to the outdoor living space from where you can watch the skies. A heat pump, wood burner and in-slab underfloor heating ensure year-round warmth, while an office, separate laundry and internal access triple garaging increase practical convenience. Just 10 minutes from Rangiora and bordering the Cust River, the property also includes a small pine plantation, private water bore and irrigation serving beautiful gardens, plus a productive orchard and vegetable plots. Price by negotiation bayleys.co.nz/5517577 Mark Pringle 027 433 3334 Jack Pringle 027 533 4820 Jane Moody 027 455 0161 Kerry Eyles 027 472 6780 15x19m hangar with access to an 830m runway 312 sqm home in immaculate condition 4ha of well fenced, lovely grounds and gardens Impressive kitchen and generous living areasKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 80 16 from the beach or dock and the aircraft won’t start, for whatever reason. Battery? Starter motor? Fuel? Fuel pump? Flooded? Doesn’t matter why so much, what does matter is that you are drifting. You can’t just jump out and ring the engineer, and even if you did, he can’t get to you, never mind what you might drift into and damage in that time. And if you happen to be in an area like the southwest coast with no communication, your problem is worse. The point is with float flying, you have to have a backup plan, and a backup plan for your backup plan. Floatplanes have no suspension. Ten knots of wind from the wrong direction can produce a swell that can be damaging to the floats or airframe. You fly off for a 30-minute flight, only to return to a runway area that cannot be used. It’s time for plan B, C, or perhaps D. There are plenty of letters in the alphabet, just keep trying. Landing in the lee of a hill or other large object can work, but this can present wind shear and turbulent conditions even before you get on the water. These can be seen from the air and are described as ‘cat’s paws’. Such a situation arose in January this year in George Sound. All was well until a gust picked me up off the water. With quick thinking and full power the situation was averted with only a positive return to water when the rug was pulled away. The passengers were left at their planned pick up until conditions improved. Be careful while loading in salt water. Beach the aircraft. Spin it around tail to the beach and pull it as far ashore as you can so it won’t float away. Load up your passengers and their bags and uh oh, with the extra weight you are now grounded on the bottom. By the time you have unloaded the aircraft so it will float again the tide has gone out sufficiently further that you’re still beached. Now it’s just you and the sand flies for the next six hours as you reflect airborne anytime in the near future anyway! Some good news is that weight and balance can be done very accurately by observing how deep the aircraft sits in the water and how deep the stern of the floats are. Take-off and landing The moment you start the engine the aircraft is moving whether you like it or not. We have no reverse thrust (some do), or brakes. So, the engine run-ups and pre-take-off checks are all done while on the move. Your head needs to be in the cockpit as well as out. The aircraft is just one big windsock. Given half a chance it will always face into wind. Anything over 10 knots and you will not be able to complete a 360 degree circle or turn down wind. So, when it comes to docking, if you only have one pilot door access to you and you have to dock down wind, any cross-wind component can steer you, against your wishes, to impact with the dock or any surroundings, or miss it altogether. Once on the dock, if the aircraft has to be manoeuvred or moved around, any kind of wind can spell disaster. It’s amazing the force that can be produced by a small amount of wind on the broad side of an aircraft. If you have an off dock breeze and the plane starts to drift off without you, the plan is to jump on to the float, get in and start up, and bring it back. One of the best helpers to have on the dock is a good throw rope - if in doubt, put a leash on it, even if there is no doubt. If the wind is too strong to complete a 180 degree turn the procedure is to shut off the engine and sail backwards much like backing a trailer... using any device available to you for help, like doors, flaps, rudder, ailerons. If you ever want to see adverse yaw/ aileron drag in motion, this is a good example. Okay, so we are loaded up and ready. We push/are blown away Floatplanes17 2022 #3 The late Bill Black and ZK-CHQ. Landing towards a bay is not advised... CHQ again, being righted after capsizing on the lake shore of Te Anau. With wind comes swell and trouble. on your mistake. One of the other fishhooks with blue water work is that the aircraft weighs between 1 to 1.5 tons – and is easily lifted by swell or boat wake. If there happens to be a sharp rock in the way when it comes down again, then it’s easy to put a hole in the ‘gold tinfoil’. Getting into it People ask me about getting into float flying with us or doing a rating. That we can do. There are three things I recommend first. First, become very familiar with the C206 or a very similar aircraft so that you are not wasting money getting your head around the CSU, cowl flaps, or engine management and can concentrate on the float component. Second, tail wheel time. Get lots of it. There are many similarities between float flying and conventional aircraft ground handling, take-offs and landings. Third, and probably most importantly, boating experience, and more so sail boats with no reverse thrust. Learn to read the water and water conditions. I also mention that the two aviation disciplines least tolerant to poor aviation practices are low level aerobatics and float flying. A relatively small problem can quickly become a very large problem. That leads to a story of a very recent experience. Christmas Eve 2021 Our straight floated seaplane is, for the most part, safest left on the boat mooring overnight. It is free from tampering and is always facing into wind. If the swell becomes large, the wings go past critical angle quickly and then have a negative angle of attack on the down stroke. Have you ever tried to fly a kite by holding it by the nose? It just won’t fly. Also, the surface tension between the floats and the water means it is very reluctant to become airborne while unattended. So, to the eve of Christmas Eve 2021: The spring winds came late this year, and came with a vengeance and just wouldn’t let up. After three days solid things got interesting... The floats are vented to atmosphere to prevent them from popping or imploding and really have to be pumped every few days because of condensation, leaks or seeping. These floats have a large compartment for gear on each side and we have been chasing having them well sealed for some time - and we thought we had it. The wind and swell were the worst I’ve seen, the tail cone was touching the water in swells, and this meant the bow of the floats were duck diving. The aircraft is secured by a set of primary mooring lines and a set of secondary. It was noted from S OUTHERN A VIONICS • Smoother Engine Operation • 10–15% Gain In Fuel Efficiency • Improved High-Altitude Performance • More Horsepower The Timing Couldn’t Be Better! ™ • Timing adjusts with altitude • DO-160E tested • Lycoming and Continental • Reduced maintenance costs • Reduces spark plug fouling • Longer spark plug life typical • No T.B.O. Canterbury Aircraft Maintenance for all Aircraft and Magneto servicing Hangar Facilities and full workshop available at Rangiora Airfield Talk to us about 500 hour servicing on Bendix and Slick mags. Special rates of $85 +GST per hour Phone 03 310 6675 to enquire or make bookings Exclusive NZ Dealer and Certified Installer for the ElectroAir Electronic Ignition system YES... IT’S CERTIFIED SAVES FUEL!! Ask about factory discounts in AprilAvcraft Engineering NZ Ltd Feilding Aerodrome (NZFI) 06 212 0920 mat@avcraft.co.nz avionics@avcraft.co.nz www.avcraft.co.nz Facebook.com/AvcraftEngineering *All pricing excl. GST and Freight Buy online www.avcraft.co.nz19 2022 #3 the shore that the secondary lines had failed leaving only the primary to hold on until a solution could be found. Togs and life jacket on, expecting a dunking, the primary line was inspected, and the secondary was replaced from the ‘comfort’ of a jet boat with a highly experienced driver working within a foot of the float plane while navigating 1.5m swells. All was going well until we discovered just how much water the floats had taken on! The floats are pumped from the deck (in this case pitching) via bilge pipes using a hand pump, and an alarming amount of water was removed. Disaster was averted – until morning. In a brief break in the wind the aircraft had swung and collected the starboard mooring line on the port side cleat. This left it on one short line and presenting broadside to the swell. This was really bad. Not only was every wave washing over the deck, which was taking on more and more water, now the aircraft was no longer pitching but rolling from side to side, threatening to capsize it. This time no suitable boats or drivers were available. Time for a plan? I’ve lost track. One of the letters way down the line near P or Q… Waiting between gusts and swells, a mad dash was made in the dinghy and a leap on to the aircraft was effected to untangle the lines and repeat the bilging process. This in itself can be the end of things if you aren’t careful. Years ago, the same manoeuvre was made to save a sinking seaplane here in Te Anau and the weight of the pilot capsized the plane. Fortunately in our case it was all’s well that ends well. We only have one operational sea plane, and that is a lot like banking the whole farm on one cow. We thus survived to enjoy better weather and more stunning flying in one of the most beautiful places on Earth! As I said at the beginning, to you it may be Christmas Eve, but to me it was just Tuesday. And there you have it, a wee insight into the implications of float flying and commercial float plane operations. It’s not all beer and skittles. More like a duck - smooth on the surface and paddling like the devil underneath! Ivan Krippner F K Ivan and Kylie Krippner in front of their second floatplane, C206G ZK-DRI. Floatplanes Aviation Safety Supplies Ltd. P: 07 5430075 or 027 280 6549 E: lklee@aviationsafety.co.nz www.aviationsafety.co.nz Receive $50 off each Switlik Constant Wear X-Back Life Vest for the month of August 2020 to celebrate 100 years of Switlik Protection Call Liviu: (09) 296 2354 or (09) 268 1199 or 021 048 7055 e: liviu.filimon@liviuavionics.com www.liviuavionics.com For all aircraft Avionics and Instrument Equipment l Repair, Calibration tests l Regulatory altimeter, radio, transponder and ELT systems inspections l Part 145 certificated with Group 7 in radios and instruments l 26 years of work experience in New Zealand Est. 2003Next >