< PreviousAviation Business Profile When it’s time for engine maintenance Whether due inspection or overhaul, engine maintenance time comes with a myriad of variables and often quite some expense. Within Oceania Aviation’s engine shop at Hamilton Airport, there is a wealth of experience available to manage the process in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. Production Lead Shaun Thompson explains some of the processes and planning required to achieve the best possible result. Overhaul, Bulk Strip, Repair, Panic? There comes a time in every engine’s life where it either needs to be replaced or stripped down and rebuilt to ensure ongoing serviceability and reliability. This can leave you as an owner feeling overwhelmed with the multitude of scenarios and options on hand. Our job is to make the hard decisions simple and work with you to find the best options for getting your engine up and running again. Generally, as an owner you will fall into one of three categories: 1: Your engine is due for overhaul 2: Your engine is running ‘on-condition’ but has started to show signs of deterioration and needs to be repaired 3: Your engine has suffered a prop strike and needs to be stripped for inspection Although the above scenarios are all different, they follow a very similar process through our shop. We begin with the initial contact to discuss your situation, engine specifications and required timeline for your build. From this we can provide estimates for any options that were discussed and decide on the best course of action. Once the engine arrives at our facility we begin the strip and inspection; this is normally a task undertaken with much interest and a slightly odd fascination, especially if the engine is unique or has been sent in as a result of deterioration or a prop strike. We can find all sorts of weird and wonderful defects, from the usual internal corrosion issues common on low utilisation engines to engines that have suffered failures during operation causing cracked crankshafts or twisted and bent conrods. Once this phase is complete, we will contact you again with a strip report, hopefully only full of good news, and another estimate for any extra work that is required or recommended. Once the extra work and parts have been accepted and ordered, you can sit back and relax! We will push the engine through to our assembly bay where it is built up before being painted, run in our test cell and given a final check over. At this point we will be in contact to let you know we are done and that your engine can make its way home. Parts and Planning It is important as an owner that you are proactive when it comes to your upcoming engine maintenance. If you have an engine due for overhaul in the next 12 months, it is time to start looking at your options now. As we are a Lycoming distributor, we have the very best chance of bringing all the parts together for your engine but allowing this time for planning means that we can purchase parts direct from the supplier within their lead times. Sourcing parts is an ongoing issue, and we are constantly checking on orders to ensure there have been no delays out of the factory and/or shipping hold ups. Supply chains are still recovering, and it can sometimes be the most simple and unexpected part that causes us the biggest headache. Even though these problems have all stemmed from Covid, there is no indication of supply chain issues easing for the foreseeable future. If your preference is for a factory exchange engine, we would suggest looking even further ahead as factory lead times are currently 12 months from time of order and then the engine still needs to be shipped all the way back to here. Our supplier relationships do also help us to acquire urgent parts as well as sell parts at a very competitive price, and customers can trust that they are getting genuine parts for their engine. Vast experience Between myself and our two resident engine boffins Greg Mundell and Phil Wright (who have countless decades of aviation wisdom to draw on), we have a vast store of knowledge that we are always willing to share in the interest of keeping customers airborne. Our engine shop at Hamilton Airport is purpose-built and provides us the ability to repair and overhaul engines and components from all major brands. We have an in-house NDT wizard for any Magnetic Particle, Eddy Current or Fluorescent penetrant work we may need to do and with sister company Engine Components NZ available for all machining work, we have developed a solid reputation as a leading specialist in piston engine overhauls. We are always happy to accommodate the requirements of different owners and operators and enjoy being able to make your engine woes disappear. This philosophy alongside the love of a challenge and of sending shiny engines back home to their owners, means that Oceania’s customers are dealing with professionals who are also engine enthusiasts, and who keep the customer’s interests always foremost in their thinking. For more information For more information Contact Shaun on 07 858 0332 or shaun.thompson@oal.co.nz or visit oceania-aviation.com for more about Oceania Aviation’s extensive range of rotary and fixed-wing MRO services and parts supply. KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 86 20 After and before: Freshly overhauled engine, Bent conrod, Cracked flange.Developed in New Zealand from 2017 by a team including Pilots, Doctors and Operators, SkyCert is a secure online aviation medical administration program designed to better manage and massively streamline the process of gaining and maintaining aviation medicals. There was no other program that addressed the needs of all stakeholders, for example helping pilots to manage their career, or how often have you wondered why you have to recall and rewrite your entire medical history at each medical renewal… So popular has the software become that one of the developers, Chris Lapish, says SkyCert is now looking after more than approximately 50% of all NZ aviation medicals. In this article Chris describes the genesis of their system, the benefits arising to pilots, Medical Examiners and the CAA, plus how to join the Kiwi born and bred system if you aren’t already using it. SkyCert in Pole Position When Lewis Hamilton started out, he was part of a two-person team – Lewis and his Dad. The other kids had loads of money, huge support teams, and often sponsorships. Lewis would show up to races in the oldest, cheapest car. And win. What Lewis and his dad had was the ability to analyse how to win races and the nerve to go all out at the corners and go for it. SkyCert is a bit like that except that we have the most technically advanced program. It didn’t have international corporate backing but with keen observation of what pilots, employers, aeroclubs, flying schools, medical examiners and the regulator needs; and by constantly listening to those stakeholders and refining its products, SkyCert has created a product that looks so simple - but is actually incredibly sophisticated. As Lewis Hamilton knew, taking care of the details and responding quickly to new challenges is what makes for a winner. We have a variety of NZ winners using SkyCert. We are very proud of their comments. As an example consider Tom Schnackenburg, famed for his contribution to yacht design and Team NZ - who is also a keen pilot. Team NZ has been very successful on the global stage punching far above their weight. Tom says: “I find SkyCert to be a very innovative and reliable program. It is complex and thorough yet remarkably intuitive SkyCert Online Aviation Medicals NZ developed software making medical administration easier for everyone Medical Matters contributed by Chris Lapish and forgiving to use. From what I have seen, it does a great job understanding and providing what each stakeholder needs, including private and commercial pilots, companies in the industry, medical experts and also the CAA. There is an important mix of accessibility and privacy in the data management. “Speaking as a Kiwi, I am delighted and proud to see such a competent expression of home-grown initiatives, specifically designed and implemented into NZ aviation.” We also have senior pilots from the world comparing us with other systems written just for Governments, rather than also for what is important for pilots and their medical examiners. An A380 Captain says, “Having completed Class 1 medicals for over 30 years in NZ, the Netherlands Kenya, and the UAE, I find SkyCert the easiest and most user friendly out of all of them.” Another user says, “SkyCert is an absolute pleasure! A user- friendly, efficient and a well-polished system. I hold a number of licences and SkyCert far exceeds anything currently available.” SkyCert has influenced the industry for the better. Pilots are more likely to walk out of their medical with their certificate at the doctors. Pilots also love the small cert. Before Remuera Doctors came onto SkyCert we were looking KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 86 22 Big avionics ideas but on a small budget? Talk to us about Staged Installations We’ll work with you to plan everything you’d like, then implement that plan in stages to suit your budget. To help out, we’ll even rebate the additional set-up/dismantle costs so the price will be the same as if you did all the work at once. subject to forex and supplier price changes over time Contact David on 027 222 0872 avionicscanterbury@gmail.com www.avionicscanterbury.co.nzafter about 50% of all NZ medicals with about 60% of NZ Medical examiners. SkyCert was written in 2017. Security In case you are wondering about security, and who isn’t: If your medical was done on paper, it is guaranteed not to be as secure as if it was done in SkyCert. Paper medicals are exposed to risk every step of the way. SkyCert was written by one of New Zealand’s best programmers who teaches all over the world. Our security partner looks after the cyber security of the big corporations as well as banks. They say the quality of our work is to a higher standard than what they normally see. SkyCert has been protecting and encrypting pilot’s medicals since 2018. If your medical is still done on paper, it is nowhere as secure as SkyCert. Overhead Join and more We care deeply for pilots. In March 2020 we created our pilot mental health programme, Overhead Join. It brings a tear to my eye when I hear stories of how this has helped pilots who were down on their luck. They needed the industry to reach out and help. We offered a format for zoom medicals in 2020 during Covid, rather than in person ones. The CAA brought this online in 2021. A Pilot’s Story Lets consider a typical pilot established in SkyCert. Their medical may be due in 9 months. They have just been to their GP or specialist for something. They log into SkyCert and update their application form (medical Logbook) with the new item so they don’t forget. Later SkyCert starts reminding them before their medical runs out. Their medical examiner is one that uses the integrated SkyCert booking system. The pilot has just finished a late sector into LA. Even though things are still closed in NZ, the pilot wants to book the renewal now. The pilot logs into SkyCert on their iPad, selects the location, date, time and even the examiner they want to see, then books their renewal. SkyCert encourages the medical to be done up to 30 days before the cert runs out. SkyCert is able to future date a new cert up to 30 days without any loss of paid currency. This way if something was regrettably to come up at the medical, the pilot still has 30 days of currency up their sleeve. If the pilot needs more time to wait for the specialist, a 60-day extension can easily be done in SkyCert. i.e. if you come early, you are likely to be able to keep flying for 90 days while the issue is sorted out. 23 2022 #9 Try OzRunways or RWY EFB today! Download from the App Store or Google Play for a FREE 30 day trial. RWY OzRunways ozrunways.com RWY for Android RWY and OzRunways EFBs are now more unified than ever for New Zealand Subscribers! Take advantage of our most intuitive and easy-to-navigate RWY map screen, including a new Help ‘?’ button to explain the map page options. Enjoy brand-new features like Quick Plan, the easiest way of creating a plan in a matter of seconds. Plus, gain traffic insights with speed and climb/descent indicators inside every traffic bubble. Harewood Aviation Park 4/25 Aviation Drive PO Box 39 144, Christchurch 7676 Tel: 03 359 1001 Cell: 027 733 6982 - Pip, Director 027 280 3160 - James, Chief Engineer E-mail: info@helimaintenance.com www.helimaintenance.com Independent Helicopter Maintenance CompanyKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 86 24 Medical Matters The pilot’s medical is coming up. SkyCert reminds the pilot of the booking and to go. The pilot then finishes the medical application that was started 9 months ago. If the pilot had not started one previously, he would start one now. SkyCert automatically fills in everything the pilot had entered on the previous 11 medicals done in SkyCert. You don’t have to either remember what you said previously or retype it. Once finished you press the sign button in SkyCert. If you have forgotten to answer a question SkyCert prompts you. This enhances pilot privacy. If you are doing a paper medical a person needs to read your form to make sure you have filled it all out. This is usually the receptionist or nurse. They now know all your private secrets. In SkyCert only the medical examiner generally looks. No one else has any need. Also, only staff granted access can see. If you have any items to provide for the medical you can ask SkyCert and it will suggest what you need. If you were asked to do something at your last medical it will have reminded you previously, for example a BP reading at the GP 6 months ago. You can upload these reports or documents using the SkyCert upload button. Your info is then provided to your examiner in a secure way, unlike an emailed copy. The pilot also has access to graphs of their blood pressure. They can even enter their own at home into SkyCert. The pilot can upload history documents that may be useful for the future into their document library. The pilot can even sort their document library for use for other licences. Your examiner fills in the forms needed for your medical in SkyCert when you are there. You can read what they say about you once they save. They print out your medical cert and then also press a button to ‘send to’ the CAA. But SkyCert does not transmit your medical anywhere. The CAA with their login looks at the medical from inside the secure program. SkyCert is not like a paper medical which is scanned and emailed in an unprotected way. Paper lays around where many can pick it up, except you. Pilots have access to their medical info in SkyCert from all over the world. Information access and transparency for the pilot is unequalled. Conclusion Not only do we help pilots but also their medical examiners. Life is easier for all with SkyCert. If you’re a pilot and you haven’t signed up then please do. SkyCert does not charge pilots as we believe pilots should not have to pay for the medical services SkyCert provides. We hope that the remaining medical examiners will also come onto SkyCert soon. SkyCert has been developed by NZ industry experts at no cost to the NZ taxpayer. It is a rip-roaring success with all who use it and now nobody looks after more NZ medicals than we do. Doing your medical on paper is like trying to navigate just with the Circular E6B Flight Computer. SkyCert pilots use better tools like a GPS. Like a new GPS there is a few extra things to do when you start for the first time, however you would never then want to be without it. We would love to see you sign up and support your Kiwi program. You can see what others think of us on our Facebook site. For more information contact Chris Lapish via info@skycert.nz or visit www.skycert.nz Chris Lapish Delta Zulu A New Generation of Headsets View the whole range at www.lightspeedheadsets.nz 021 340 308 phil@lightspeedheadsets.nz Built in CO Detector - always on and providing audible and visual warnings Stunning audio with Hearing EQity - optimises every conversation and ATC call for your customised hearing profile covering 12 frequencies Changeable Battery Packs - choose between rechargeable Li-ion and AA Lightspeed App - review data, record and play back all audio for debriefing Bluetooth and four cable options including UAC and Lightning Zulu 3 and Sierra still available For all your engine overhauls Lycoming, Continental, Gipsy, Rotax... Part 145 approved Call Damon Himburg or Graeme Daniell 03 489 6870 or 027 307 5850 Taieri Airport, Mosgiel. www.southair.co.nz F KCanterbury Gliding Club celebrated 75 years of soaring in October. The occasion was marked by a formal dinner followed by an open day at the club’s Springfield glider field. Glider pilots are generally of the shorts and teeshirt variety of Kiwis, so seeing people out of their jandals and into suits and gowns was rather lovely, and fun. Six previous club Presidents were there alongside the current one as well as many pilots who have achieved National and World Records and acclaim through the years. Stories were told and past members and their achievements remembered. The following day on the airfield people returned to their usual mode of dress and members proudly showed off the club’s A major anniversary was celebrated at the Canterbury Gliding Club in October. KiwiFlyer gliding contributor Jill McCaw has been involved with the club for 34 of those years and was there to enjoy the occasion. 75 Years of Soaring at Canterbury Alex McCaw (JK) and Nick Oakley (LB) soar along the Craigieburn Range west of Springfield. present facilities to past members, family and friends. It is ten years since the club moved to its current and permanent home at Springfield and we are very proud of the runways, hangar, club rooms, campground and amenities that have been developed on the former farm. No formal records were kept of the early days of the club, but long-term club member Stew Cain, created a booklet on the club’s history based on recollections and photographs by then current and past members, for the Club’s 50th anniversary in 1997. Much of the following information comes from that booklet. Canterbury is the second oldest gliding club in New Zealand and although formed in 1947, flying did not commence until 1952. This was because for the first few years they were a gliding club without a glider. The first order of business for the group of enthusiasts was to source one. Members also joined the Canterbury Aero Club in order to learn to fly Tiger Moths and other light aircraft. Dick Georgeson with his foster brother Jon Hamilton (two pioneers of NZ gliding) ordered a Slingsby Prefect and the club ordered a Slingsby T31 for the cost of £439. It needed to be assembled. The T31 was finally test flown on 1st November 1952. Moving from a glider building club to an actual flying club caused a few headaches as instructors were in short supply, however, once set in motion the club went from strength to strength. They purchased a Tiger Moth for a tow plane and flew out of Christchurch Airport running training courses from 6-8am weekday mornings to encourage people to learn to fly. There is a lot that could be written about those early days, but one of the highlights of this time, for me, reading through the 50th anniversary brochure, is the way pilots were extending their wings, learning about cross-country flying, and making some quite extraordinary NZ Soaring contributed by Jill McCaw KiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 86 2627 2022 #9 L-R: Bruce Drake, Ashley Glubb, Andy Aitken and Andrew Yates with a Skylark glider in 1961 K6 glider being flown over Wigram in the early 1970s T31 2-seater at Harewood in 1952Alex McCaw instructing ATC students in 201575th Celebration Dinner at the Christchurch Botanic gardens The Canterbury Gliding Club at Camp Hanmer in 1957 ALL THE LATEST AIRSPACE CHANGES NOW AVAILABLE IN THE NEW AOPA NZ VNC BOOK. Changes include 1:250,000 scale chart covering the Desert Road corridor (plus the mountains). Wellington CTA revisions, New Plymouth and up the coast, Military Ops areas and at least one new danger zone. NEW VNC CHARTS EFFECTIVE FROM 1 DECEMBER. REMEMBER: To comply with regulations, you must carry and use only current charts. AOPA NZ member discount $88 (includes gst and postage) at www.aopa.nz Available to non-members at www.aipshop.co.nz www.aopa.nzKiwiFlyer Magazine Issue 86 28 flights in the flimsy wood and fabric gliders that were available at the time. Dick Georgeson in particular, a man who had grown up on the Mackenzie Basin and been fascinated by the lenticular clouds overhead, pioneered flights into mountain lee waves. I’m also delighted to tell you that Helen Georgeson, Dick’s wife, received New Zealand’s first FAI Silver C badge in New Zealand – something that had all of the men a little annoyed. The club moved to Wigram Air Force Base in 1959 and ultimately hangars and a club house were built or otherwise procured for the site. The club operated here for many years with flights over the Port Hills and long, long tows into the mountains for wave and cross-country flights. Away trips were popular with the club flying out of Simon’s Hill, Birch Hill (near Aoraki/Mt Cook) and Omarama in the Mackenzie, and Burnt Hill and Hanmer in Canterbury. Wardell’s farm in Omarama became the regular site for Christmas Camps, shared with the South Canterbury Gliding Club from Timaru. Small baches were built alongside a willow shaded water race. The camps were family friendly. Once the town strip in Omarama was established, Canterbury was involved in the development of the Omarama Soaring Centre, with hangars, campground and amenities block alongside the ‘Terminal Building’, a meeting room and bar created from the original airfield’s hangar. There is now a café running out of the old club house (relocated ElectroCorp home) and many large hangars. The centre is a wonderful asset for aviation in the region. When the conditions were right for soaring at Mount Herbert and the hills of Banks Peninsula the club frequently flew from fields in Teddington, at the head of Lyttleton Harbour. Wigram itself wasn’t a good site for cross-country flying because the easterly sea breeze tended to wipe out any chance of thermals after mid- morning. The club would often find a friendly farmer’s paddock somewhere inland and operate for a day. It was noted that every time they flew in the Hororata area the weather was good, so the Hororata Domain Board was approached to see about creating an airstrip on the crown land that the Board managed. In very short time the club was able to take out a 35 year lease on the run-down area east of the racecourse. The club then found themselves with an airfield to develop. As Stew Cain pointed out in his booklet – these are the periods that focus a Club and weld it into a single unit. The Hororata Soaring Centre was officially opened on Saturday 13 November 1969. The club flew frequently from the site, enjoying its ease of access to the mountains and the fact that the easterly generally didn’t arrive until very late afternoon. Over the years, the club upgraded aircraft, gliders and towplanes. In 1967 Canterbury became the first club in the country to trial a Piper Pawnee top dresser as a tow plane, something that rapidly became standard once the CAA approved the trial. The club leased several but bought their own, ZK-CNG in 1974. This aircraft was the club’s principal tow plane, putting in sterling service and hundreds of hours, for nearly 40 years until it was no longer cost effective to maintain and run and was sadly replaced. Fibreglass gliders came to the club in 1972 with a single- seater Schempp-Hirth Open Cirrus. This glider was deemed far too slippery for the ordinary pilot to fly and a huge number of hours and experience were required to be able to fly it. Part of the problem was the all-flying tailplane which made attitude control, and consequently handling near the ground (on take-off and landing) very twitchy. In 1979 the club welcomed its first fibreglass twin-seater training glider, a Grob Twin Astir. A single seat version of this NZ Soaring FOR SALE PERCIVAL PROCTOR MK.1 1939 model classic with WWII history. 280 hours since 6 years ground-up restoration by Croyden Aircraft Company. Only 6000 hrs total time. Gipsy Queen engine 554 hrs since major overhaul and 195 hrs since bulk strip inspection. Absolutely pristine condition. Reluctantly for sale due medical. Extensive spares included. $300,000 including GST (if any) Vendor financing may be available to approved buyer. Syndicate ownership considered. For more information please contact Dennis Thompson on +64 294 923 160 or dennis@DtiAircraftSales.com soar AOTEAROA there’s no better place gliding.co.nz @glidingnewzealand @glidingnzNext >