NEWSLETTER. President s Report. Special points of interest: Inside this issue: MAY 2013

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1 MAY 2013 President s Report Winter has arrived! As I sit here on the 1st of June (another slightly late newsletter I m afraid) the weather at Kyneton is IMC all the way with cloud on the ground and over 60mm of much needed rain the last 24 hours. Going aviating is the last thing on today s to do list...so we ll write about it instead. May was another hectic month that came and went before I knew it. For us it started with another Antiquers event, the annual Auster Rally which was held at Leeton NSW over the weekend 4-5 of May. Despite it s name, the Auster Rally and Antiquers welcome everyone to their events and approximately 50 aircraft, including 12 Austers, flew in for a weekend of grass roots paddock flying. The weather was again on side and it was a great fun weekend. That weekend also saw about 30 members get stuck in to the bi-annual working bee. Timed to have the airfield and surrounds looking in tip top shape for the Biggest Morning tea, it definitely achieved that objective and the overall look of the place continues to amaze and impress both me and everyone who visits. A big thank you to everyone who contributes to this. May also saw the Club host the annual Biggest Morning Tea which continues to grow in size and support each year. Rough numbers saw approximately 500 people attend and approximately 80 aircraft (both local and visitors) out on the field which made for a great visual spectacle for visitors...including the timely visit of a Ayres Fire Bombing aircraft prior to the Minister for Aviation landing. Sadly May also saw the loss of one of our more active and sometimes live in members with John Livsey passing away suddenly. Alan Elliot was probably closest to John and shared many an adventure with him and was kind enough to pen a few words while travelling in Europe. This is a touching read and can be found on Page 2. Until next time. Safe flying. Cheers, Matt. Special points of interest: The long awaited portable classroom is getting closer. Hoping to see it in place by July. Inside this issue: Vale John Livsey 2 Biggest Morning Tea 3 Consequences 4 Around the Airfield 6 Calendar of Events 7 Circuit Operations 8

2 Page 2 Vale John Livsey By Alan Elliot I first met John when he moved his flying operations from Moorabbin to Kyneton some seven years ago. John was one of that rare breed who built and fly their own aircraft; we have a few of them at Kyneton now. A quite and gentle man, but one who was somewhat difficult to confide in on a personal level, until you got to know him. Flying was his principal interest which he pursued with passion and was always keen to get out of the circuit area and go places. We shared a room in Oshkosh in 2010 even though we had only known each other briefly at that time. Each morning we would go our separate ways; John to the home builders forums and workshops, and myself to the products of Wichita and Independence. He was quiet and pleasant company, and after Oshkosh we went our separate ways again. Some time later, on a freezing day when he was staying in his caravan at YKTN, I suggested he follow me back, for a home cooked meal and a warm fire and comfortable bed. Since then he has spent many Saturday nights with us at Faraday during which it became evident that there were issues in his private life, with which he confided in to my wife Heather, who counseled him on many occasions. John warmed to the idea of a long trip and we agreed to share the flying and the costs in my aircraft, as his had a limited range in the outback. And so our round Australia trip evolved and he has since spoken of it as one of his best adventures ever. And mine also. Shortly afterwards his wife Nancy passed away suddenly, and there followed a very low and confused period of his life. Again Heather became a rock of support, as only a woman can. Finally, he renewed a friendship with a lady he had known years ago. The relationship developed into something deeper than friendship. John seemed so happy, and they had only recently travelled away together. We will never know let alone understand the personal crisis that challenged his life and overwhelmed him, sadly possibly contributing to his untimely death. The Aero Club will miss him, and all of us who were touched by his life will remember him fondly.

3 MAY 2013 Page 3 BIGGEST MORNING TEA On a chilly but thankfully VMC Saturday morning on May 18th, Transaero and Kyneton Aero Club hosted the annual Cancer Council Australia s Biggest Morning Tea. This is the 6th year that Transaero have hosted the event and the 4th year that it s been held at Kyneton and co-hosted by the Club. This year s event attracted approximately 500 people, a collection of vintage cars and approximately 80 aircraft from as far away as Colac, Latrobe Valley, Deniliquin, Echuca, Tyabb and Lethbridge. As the event continues to grow, so do the donations with this year s event raising $6,563, a few hundred more than last year bringing the total from the 6 years of the event to over $19,000 with nearly $13,000 of that in the last 2 years! Big thanks go to Kim Skyring and her mum for coordinating the event and the vast selection of goodies on offer. Big thanks also to everyone that brought a plate along, as always there was plenty for everyone to eat. Thanks also go to everyone who volunteered their time on Saturday to help with all the background tasks that make the event so successful including car & aeroplane parking, gate guards, tour guides, refuellers, BBQ cookers and the list goes on. Too many to thank individually but you all know who you are and thank you!

4 Page 4 CONSEQUENCES By Mike Dalton One thing that I have noticed when watching the garbage offered up to us by the free to air TV stations is the consistent running of "work safe" adds. You know, the ones that tear at our heartstrings reminding us that the most important thing in life is our family and that we should be extra careful at work to ensure we get home to them safely. It s a great message and one that we should also embrace as aviators. But the message for us needs some expansion and the aim of this article is to highlight potential problems that we could create for our family as a result of the manner in which we operate our aircraft. I am mostly thinking about situations that could result in a financial liability and the consequences of our actions. As we are all aware,there are a variety of legislative conditions imposed on us in relation to the operation of aircraft. Some are obvious to us as we studied them during our PPL training (CAO/CAR/ CAAP etc) but there are others that many of us may not be aware of nor of their implications such as The Damage by Aircraft Act. We need to be mindful of these various regulations and always operate in accordance with them as deliberate breaches can lead to serious consequences. Also our Insurance provider will require that we operate our pride and joy in accordance with the manufacturer s recommendations. How many of us have performed a fly past, beat up or some other "stunt" at a fly-in or when out taking mates for a ride? Let s be honest - most of us have, haven t we. Consider this scenario then: You agree to take your mate and his family for a fly. Given the seating capacity of your aircraft you load your mate, his wife and one of their children on board but have to leave the other child on the ground with your wife and family to await the second trip. You take off conduct your local fly and upon your return conduct a beat up of the aerodrome. Unfortunately during your pass you hit a tower near the hangar and crash mid field. The ensuing fireball kills all on board. Ok I know this sounds a bit extreme but this scenario is actually a combination of a couple of accidents that I have handled here in Australia during my time in Aviation Insurance and that had dramatic consequences for those who survived. So the survivors are your wife and family and that one child from your mates family. No two ways about it YOU ARE LIABLE and there will be financial consequences. Had you survived there would likely have been criminal consequences. But the real potential problem for the survivors arises after the funerals etc. when your mates surviving child makes a common law liability claim against your estate and your wife makes a claim on your insurance policy. The problem is that the cause of the accident is your deliberate breach of the regulations by conducting the beat up and as a result your insurer has the right to deny the claim. Not just deny the portion of the claim for the loss of your aircraft but importantly the liability claim being made by the surviving child from your mate s family. So the situation you have left your wife and family in is that that they are being sued at Common Law by a child with a really good case and your insurance is invalid because you deliberately broke the law. Bear in mind that just because your insurance cover is now invalid, this doesn t mean that the common law proceedings go away. They will continue and the court will probably find in favour of the plaintiff which leaves the only way out of this predicament for your wife being to sell the family home and other assets to pay the claim leaving your family with nothing maybe even having to file for bankruptcy!

5 MAY 2013 Page 5 CONSEQUENCES cont. There are numerous other scenarios less graphic than this one that could leave you in a similar situation from a liability perspective such as: - Deliberate flight in IMC conditions without qualification - Departing when you don t have sufficient daylight - Performing low level aerobatic maneuvers without qualification - Flying without a medical or current AFR Internationally there have been recent trends where criminal convictions and jail time have resulted from similar acts. Recently a pilot in the US was convicted of manslaughter when the Beech Baron he was flying crashed into trees short of the runway after sunset killing the passenger (his daughter). Turns out the pilot did not have a multi-engine endorsement and was out of his flight review - oh and hadn t flown at night in over 10 years! So the message is to think before you act and this applies equally to those of us that have children and those that don t. What will be the consequences if i fly in this manner? What am i putting at risk - my life? my families future? my spouses security? my freedom? my reputation? As they say on the Work Cover adds - the best reason to be careful is at home!

6 Page 6 AROUND THE AIRFIELD Wayne Tomkins GP4 has been spotted out and about following some repairs. A recent trip to Echuca for a Sunday roast had Murray Wallace wishing to get more out of his SIAI Marchetti SF260 as the GP4 put distance between them. The SF260 is no slouch with a cruise speed in the 180kts range which shows how fast and efficient many sports aircraft can be...not only did the GP4 achieve a higher airspeed, it probably did it at half the fuel burn! Wondering what a GP4 is...here s Wayne s aircraft out on display during the morning tea The Club is hopeful of securing funding from the State Government s Regional Aviation Development Fund in the next financial year to undertake some minor capital works. It is expected the next round of funding will provide up to $250,000 for Councils and/or Aero Clubs to undertake works including swipe card fuel installations, sealing of taxiways, installation of PAL lighting and AWIS without a matching financial contribution. We re also hoping that the Minister will make the announcement of the funding changes at Kyneton Airfield in July and at the same time announce the works to be undertaken at Kyneton which the Committee will begin to put plans in for.

7 Page 7 Kyneton Aero Club PO Box 117 Kyneton VIC 3444 Phone: Fax: info@kynetonaeroclub.org Kyneton Aero Club was established in November 1966 by a group of like minded individuals that saw the potential of general aviation in regional areas. Strongly supported by the Kyneton Shire at the time, the Kyneton Airfield was established with responsibility for its management in the hands of the Kyneton Aero Club. This arrangement is still in place with the Kyneton Aero Club responsible for the operations and management of the airfield. Coming Events The following events are coming up in the next month: 17 June: Kyneton Aero Club 7PM, General gathering at 8PM. MOVIE NIGHT: We ll be watching old flying films on the big screen.

8 MAY 2013 In order to maintain a positive relationship with our neighbors, a fly neighborly policy has been in place at Kyneton for some time. In order to continue to improve on our operations and address noise complaints and other concerns raised from time to time, we have prepared the plan below which shows the preferred circuits to be flown at Kyneton Airfield. These circuits are approximately 1nm (1.8km) in lateral displacement from the runway in use providing for safe operations in the event of an engine failure in circuit. They also track directly overhead major roads / rivers and avoid homes / properties where possible. Reminder: Preferred Circuit Patterns at YKTN RWY 18/36: Northern boundary is the road that runs east-west to the north of Sunbury Lodge. Southern boundary is the Old Calder Highway. Western boundary is the Campaspe River. RWY 27/09: Northern and Western boundaries as per RWY 18/36. Eastern boundary is Edgecombe Road. These are preferred patterns only, ultimately the decision for safe operation of the aircraft rests with the pilot in charge. NOISE SENSITIVE AREA NOISE SENSITIVE AREA NOISE SENSITIVE AREA