My Aviation Page

Photos of Piper Dakota PA 28-236 Reg. VH - MCS equipped with 235 hp Lycoming 6 cyl. O-540 -J3A5D Engine, Constant Speed Propeller, TAS (Cruise above 5000') 135 kts @65% Power, Rate of Climb 1100 fpm at sea level ISA, Fuel Consumption 50 lph, Fuel capacity 272 litres useable, Endurance 5 hours 30 mins, Seating for 4 Adults, Max. Take-off Weight 1361 Kg, equipped with Dual VHF Nav. Comms VOR, ADF, HF, GPS100, ELB, 8-channel EGT & CHT Engine Scanner, Standby Vacuum, Auto-Pilot, Air Switch, Assigned Altitude Indicator, Dual PTT, Intercomm, Electric Trim, Mode C Transponder, Monroy ATD-300 Traffic Watch passive transponder receiver, aileron, flap and stabilator gap seals.

Refuelling Leigh Creek Airport and unloading supplies Tarcoola, outback South Australia.

A fine shot taken at last light at 10,000' over Mount Gibson W.A. and cruising above the clouds.

Murchison Grade Control Pty Ltd is West Australian Company providing specialist trenching services for mineral sampling (grade control) and the installation of underground services in remote areas. For the aviation industry we have installed Airport Lighting and Drainage Systems at Mount Magnet, Golden Grove, Wiluna, Leinster, Jundee, Mt. Keith, Bronzewing and Plutonic Gold Mines, Leonora Shire Airport, Yandi Iron Ore Project Airport. Additional work has been done for Air Services Australia in relocating Aerial Navaids at Meekatharra, Forrest and Paraburdoo Airports. Trenching for Aerodrome Management Services for the installation of lighting and PAPI system at Murrin Murrin Nickel Mine was completed in July 2004. Large scale project included trenching and cable installation for the Jindalee Over Horizon Radar Project at Laverton W.A. and 58km of airport lighting, power and communication cables at RAAF Base Learmonth $69M upgrade in 1998-99. A fleet of modern Ditch Witch Earth Saws and Trenchers cut well defined clean trenches with minimum surface disruption and the finely ground spoil is ideal for backfill with damaging the buried service.

Please contact Warwick Archer on 08 9319 1113, Mobile 0417 977 841 & by email at archerw@bigpond.com

Underground Installations Pty Ltd, a South Australian based company, specialises in similiar work as well as the installation of telecommunications infrastructure in metropolitan and regional South Australia and Northern Territory.

South Australian Manager Tony Gold can be contacted on 08 8296 4664, Mobile 411 082 735 & by email awgold@iprimus.com.au

For further information please go to the Business Page of Murchison Grade Control Pty Ltd and Underground Installations Pty Ltd.

Between the above dates I flew to Adelaide, South Australia with my old school & army mate John Mathwin. Because I had to go to Kalgoorlie on the way and we needed a flexible timetable we decided to go in my aeroplane. We flew to Kalgoorlie on Tuesday 22/04/03, spent 2 or 3 hours there and then on to Forrest on the Nullarbor and stayed the night. The following day we flew Forrest via Head of Bight with a landing and refuel at Ceduna then on into Adelaide Airport.With a big high pressure system located south east of Adelaide the weather was fine but with 10-15 knot headwinds most of the way. Picture right shows VH-MCS at Adelaide Airport.

Forrest is worth a particular mention. First time visitors are amazed to find a large Airport with two 'jet size' bitumen runways at this remote siding on the transcontinental railway line in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain.

The name of the Plain comes from the Latin, 'null arbor', meaning 'no trees'. Forrest takes its name from Lord Forrest, an early West Australian explorer, and its first state Premier. The Nullarbor is the largest limestone plain in the World, a huge limestone shield that was a former sea bed and is honeycombed with numerous caves, many of great depth and size. Forrest was one of the numerous railway communities that sprang into existence with the construction of the railway line between 1908 and 1916. In 1929 the first airservices to the West from Adelaide commenced using De Haviland DH-66 Hercules, large 3 engined biplanes that cruised along at a stately 100mph. They would depart Adelaide with a lunch stop at Ceduna then on to Forrest which had a comfortable Hostel complete with dining room (pictured left) and maids for an overnight stop. The next day it was on to Kalgoorlie, and then to

the former Perth Airport at Maylands. For many years Forrest was run by the Federal Governement and housed a Bureau of Meteorology weather station until it was relocated to the present site at Eucla on the coast. In recent years Forrest was purchased by the present owners, Forte Airport Management, who have done a magnificent job through Andrew Forte and the various airport managers who make the 'towns' permanent population of two! The Airport makes a welcome oasis in the desert for the long 'cross nullarbor' leg and also caters house and camping accommodation for 4 wheel drivers who brave the rugged plains. Well maintained and fitted out houses provide comfortable and relaxing accommodation together with the always hospitable Airport Managers. The old Bureau of Met. building is now a museum of Forrest Airport history and well worth a visit. The silence of the plain, magnificent sunrises and sunsets, the blaze of stars at night, makes this one of my favourite stopping points which I can thoroughly recommended. After a season of good rain the plain is a carpet of green. Another feature for the air traveller is the whale watch season between June and September at the head of the Great Australian Bight just over one hour flight time to the south east. Its great see a part of Outback such as Forrest with a future. So often these remote places with loads of history and character have sunk into sad decay, Cook and the old mining town of Tarcoola are examples despite the fanfare given to "The Year of The Outback" and all that. I worked through this country in the late 90's on a contract to install signalling equipment on the railway between Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta. Details of that job is in My Business Page under Projects. For more details of the early Trans Australia flights go to http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/waus.htm

Views of the Forrest Airport, Nullarbor Plain, approach on finals(left) and departure, looking south.

On the return trip I was accompanied by John Mathwin again and my old mate Don 'Clacka' Phillips (pictured left), former Surf Lifesaver, kangaroo shooter and current real estate tycoon, fisherman and beer drinker. Don is responsible for most of these photos.

After waiting out the passing of a cold front on 30th April which bought heavy rain to Adelaide we departed at 9:20 am CST in fine conditions under a broken overcast at 2000' and tracking out via the Ardrossan VOR. Over Yorke Penisula the cloud had broken up to scattered strato-cumulus between 4500' and 5500' and we climbed to our planned

cruising level of 8500' as we crossed Spencers Gulf. A new high pressure system now worked in our favour with the GPS showing over 140 knots with the aid of the sou' easterly air flow. Approaching Ceduna we tracked towards the coast letting down through the clouds to reveal a magnificent view of the coastline and ocean then turning inland for a landing and refuel. Departing Ceduna climbing back to 8500' we could see the oyster farms on the western side of Murat Bay. The track follows the coast, providing great views of the world renowned 'Cactus' surfing beach at Point Sinclair south of Penong township, and the former port at Fowlers Bay. As we proceed west we pass over the extreme western margins of the agricultural lands to scrub and sand dune country with its remote and magnificent beaches. Again we track to 'Head of Bight' (HOB), the furthest point inland of the the Great Australian Bight, and over the whale watch lookout but it is too early in the season to see any whales. At HOB the Nullarbor Cliffs start, rising to over 300' and continuing to Eucla some 200 kilometres to the west. At HOB we track over Nullarbor Roadhouse (which also has an airstrip and fuelling facilities) and head towards Forrest. The cloud has now thickened to dense white strato-cumulus some 3000' below us and stretching to the horizon. Above the clouds the sky is a brilliant clear blue and the ride is smooth. Fifty miles south east of Forrest the cloud begins to break up as we commence our descent, now picking up a few 'bumps' from the rising warm air. With a 10 knot breeze from the sou' east we land on runway 09. Airport managers Ross & Alice are waiting to refuel us and provide a cup of tea and Anzac biscuits.

After refuelling we flew on to Kalgoorlie via the now deserted lime mining settlement of Loongana, over Nurina, a rail siding that, during World War 2 was an Italian POW camp, no need for barbed wire fences out here! On over the still occupied town of Rawlinna, then the deserted town of Zanthus and on into Kalgoolrie at dusk.

We overnighted at Kalgoorlie, my good mate & co-contractor, Steve Bellin who is based in Boulder, loaning us his 450 SEL for the night. In the morning I gave the blokes a tour of Kalgoorlie and the Super Pit then it was on to Jandakot Airport in Perth. Weather was fine & beaut and we cruised at 8500' with a tail wind. Jandakot frequently records Australias' highest monthly movements and today was no exception, traffic everywhere. On landing during our rollout the Controller with some urgency issued the instruction to clear the runway without delay. Turning off the runway we saw a Cessna Citation jet on short finals behind us and closing fast hence the urgency. All in all a great trip with the aircraft performing perfectly, good weather & good company.

The heat rating of a spark plug is the measure of its ability to transfer heat received from the firing end of the plug into the cylinder and engine cooling system. A cold plug transfers heat rapidly away from its firing end into the cooling system and is used to avoid core nose heat saturation where combustion chamber or cylinder head temperatures are relatively high. A hot spark plug has a much slower rate of heat transfer and is used to avoid fouling where combustion chamber or cylinder head temperatures are relatively low. With Champion Plugs the higher the number the 'hotter' the plug, eg. a RHM40E is hotter than a RHM38E.

Operating temperature of the spark plug insulator core nose is one factor that governs formation of troublesome combustion deposits. To help overcome this problem, selection of spark plugs with the proper heat range should be made. Spark plugs are susceptible to carbon deposits when the operating temperature of the core nose insulator is at or below 800o F, but an increase of just 100 deg. F is sufficient to eliminate formation of these deposits. Also, lead deposits form because the bromide scavenger contained in tetraethyl lead is non-active at low temperatures. At 900 deg. F temperature, the bromide scavenger is fully activated, disposing of lead deposits with combustion gases during exhaust cycle. In this case, an increase of just 100 deg. F was sufficient to make the difference between a smooth and rough running engine. To eliminate or keep this problem at a minimum, avoid prolonged idling at low RPM, avoid power-off let downs, and after flooded starts run engine at medium RPM before taxiing. Deposits formed between 1000 deg.F and 1300 deg. F are low in volume and electrical conductivity and are least apt to cause spark plug fouling. This is the reason for selecting a plug that will operate within the aforementioned temperature range at all power settings.

Most fouling can be 'burned off' by leaning on the ground run but if it persists after 2 or 3 attempts then the offending plug/s will have to be removed and cleaned. Make sure you know which magneto fires which plugs, on a Lycoming O-540 the RH mag. fires upper left and lower right, the LH mag. fires upper right and lower left. That means during your run-ups when the RH mag. is selected the engine is running on that magneto and so on. Since it is usual for the lower plugs to foul, this will help narrow the search. That said it will usually be the last and most difficult plug to remove, Murphy lurks about! Plug above right shows carbon fouling between upper electrode and plug core. Plugs below ( l to r ) show lead fouling, oil fouling and a clean upper plug. Slight ovality of centre core is due to electrode erosion.

Gap seals are an after market approved modification using aluminium strips to fill the 'gaps' between aerofoils and moving control surfaces to prevent high pressure air from bleeding through the gaps and disrupting airflow. I have just fitted these to my Piper P28-236 Dakota. The seal kit was obtained from US supplier appropriately called Knots2U. From time of order to receipt was less than a week. The kit I bought contained aileron, flap and stabilator seals. The have to be fitted by a LAME and takes about 19 hours, in my case this was done by the Royal Aero Club of W.A. maintenance division. On completion painting of the seals was done by Peter Turners Aeropaint. All up not a cheap modification. Claimed benefits are increased speed climb and low speed handing chararteristics. Indications from an initial test flight showed 6 kts IAS increase (at 1000'), shorter take off run, lighter and more responsive controls, particularly the elevator, improved climb. Although MTOW is not officially increased I believe all up weight performance would be improved. (entry 1st August 2006)

Accident and incident reports continually point to fuel exhaustion and fuel mismanagement as the largest cause of loss of power in light aircraft. Fuel exhaustion usually happens in the later stages of a flight and fuel mismanagement (sometimes leading to premature fuel exhaustion) can happen at any time. Because I frequently fly long legs across remote country that offers few convenient landing spots I pay close attention to the fuel state of my aircraft. The tools I use for fuel management include

During a long flight it may be necessary to consider at some point in the flight whether sufficient fuel remains to complete the planned leg with reserves intact. This situation may come about due to differences in actual winds from forecast winds or flying at a lower levels due to weather. Since it is always better to plan for this event prior to the flight rather than be confronted with the question during the flight, I use a formula that can be applied with information available to me at any time during the flight. This formula will tell me if I have enough fuel remaining, based on actual flight conditions, to achieve my destination with reserves intact. The cardinal rule is never violate your reserves unless every other option is exhausted. If a flight is properly planned and with all contingencies considered there should be no reason to eat into reserves.

The formula, which can be programmed into a small handheld computer, I use use a Casio COMPU-NAV Navigation Computer, reads as follows:

The formula can be used at any point inn the flight but it is preferable to use it over or abeam the last 'best' alternate where you could land and refuel, or at any time when you suspect a change in flight conditions from those foercast, a higher fuel consumption than expected or lower ground speeds. Of course to use this method a fuel flow gauge is essential.

Flight YPJT to YFRT (Forrest W.A.) distance 630 nm, I am passing abeam Rawlinna, 139 nm to the west of Forrest and want to check if I have sufficient fuel to reach Forrest without encroaching on reserves. (Normally on this trip I would do a check abeam Kalgoorlie as fuel is cheaper and more readily available.)

then Rem = 167 nm, ie based on ground speed (134 kts) and fuel consumption (48 l/hour) so far, the aircraft can fly on for another 167 nm before fuel reserves are breached so I can easily reached Forrest without using reserves.

F = 183.4 litres (fuel used), equates with fuel consumption rate of 48 litres/hour

then Rem = 140 nm, ie based on ground speed (128.5 kts) and fuel consumption (48 l/hour) so far, the aircraft can reach Forrest before fuel reserves are breached but I would need to be in the circuit Forrest.

Such a formula should be reguarly put to the test by using actual flight figures then checked against fuel remaining, fuel used, block ground speeds and actual block flight fuel consumptions.

The fuel flow guage should be checked against actual fuel figures after each flight and recorded. If discrepancies exceed 1% then fuel figures should averaged over last five refuellings and 'K' factor recalibrated.

I recently fitted a Monroy ATD300 Traffic Watch unit to my aircraft. This is a passive transponder receiver capable of detecting transponder replies from nearby aircraft and displaying their range and altitude on an 8 character dot matrix yellow LED display in Bright (day ) or Dim (night). It also provides distinctive voice warnings in relation to traffic proximity. The ATD-300 has a detection range of 5 nautical miles. The receiver consists of a receiver/indicator unit, antenna, power cord and telephone cable.

The ATD-300 provides distinctive voice warnings for traffic at different ranges. When set in the FAR mode and traffic is within 3nm and +/- 1000' of vertical separation "Traffic" will be annunciated. As the traffic gets closer to about 1nm and within +/- 1000' of vertical separation the message will change to "Traffic Nearby". When set in the NEAR mode only traffic within 1nm and +/- 500' of vertical separation will be annunciated by "Traffic Nearby". When set to MUTE there is no warning messages for any traffic, however traffic range and MSL altitude will still be indicated. Whenthere is no traffic activity the ATD-300 will automatically indicate the host transponder MSL pressure altitude.

The ATD also features a built in voltage warning indicator that lets you know if the aircraft voltage is out of range. Also if there is no mode C altitudedata transmitted the ATD-300 indicates the transponder Mode A code.

The unit can be mounted simply on the dash top with velcro and plugged into the cigarette lighter or dash mounted.

Having now flown with the unit for the last month the best comment I can make, its brilliant, provides alerted "See and Avoid" and makes traffic indentification much easier, its ability to monitor host transponder Mode C returns gives the confidence that the transponder is working correctly. Few aircraft have volt meters so this is an added redundancy feature.

The management of reciprocating aero engines is critical to performance, flight safety, economy of operation and engine life. Comparisons with piston auto engines produce more differences than similarities yet many aircraft operators, particularly the inexperienced, seem to regard their operation in the same light. Consider the differences, leaving aside the even more complex issues of turbocharging & geared engines. Operating demands and requirements placed on aero engines include:

The real masters of complex reciprocating engine management were the Flight Engineers of the 50's in the big piston engined airliners of the time, Super Constellations, Stratocruisers, DC-6 and

DC-7s etc. These aircraft were equipped with large powerful piston engines that represented the very pinnacle of their development. An example is the massive 3,500 h.p. 28 cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major pictured right. In fact it can be argued that they were developed to a point beyond which reasonably reliable operation could be expected. Failures were not uncommon, factory TBO's, when reached were often less than 1000 hours and there was little or no prospect for further development. To gain more power either cylinder size or numbers of cylinders had to be increased. Larger cylinders meant poor flame front advance and more cylinders meant increased complexity and its attendant problems. An example to illustrate this was the fact that Qantas stocked one spare engine for every installed engine on its Super Constellations. Three engined arrivals and turn backs were not uncommon. These engines, already highly stressed, were literally operated on the razors edge as Flight Engineers strove to extract the maximum range and performance while controlling cylinder head and oil temperatures during critical flight phases. To do this they had sophisticated engine analysers, cathode ray oscilliscopes and instrumentation to moniter the performance of each cylinder and spark plug. The light aircraft operator does not have these tools and thus a sound understanding of what is happening in the engine and the appreciation of how to best manage the power plant is essential.

One of the most important aspects of engine operation is management of exhaust gases temperatures (EGT). EGT reacts directly to fuel/air mixture ratio. As the fuel/air mixture approaches (by leaning) its chemically correct (optimum) ratio the EGT will rise indicating the most efficient energy release, and will peak at the optimum mixture. The temperature at which the peak occurs will vary depending on air temperature & pressure, humidity levels and other factors. If leaning continues beyond this point the EGT will fall as the mixture becomes less efficient. Since aero engines use fuel as one of their cooling mediums , the problem here is one of inadequate cooling of cylinder internals & valves & seats.

Many light aircraft possess either no EGT gauge or a simple 'relative' temperature gauge with one probe to the exhuast pipe of the manufacturers designated 'hottest' or 'first to peak' cylinder. The single EGT gauge does not give absolute temperature, but climbs to a peak as the mixture is leaned. Standard practice then dicates that the mixture is richened to 50 deg. F rich of peak thus providing a buffer against running too lean. All very agricultural. The table above shows EGT data for a Lycoming O-540 (in my aircraft) using a 6 channel analyser. The yellow bars show the EGT for the'peak' cylinder, in this case No. 2 for each level with the 'p' indicating the peak EGT at that level. Note that the 'spread' (hottest to coldest) is fairly tight at the lower levels but the spread increases and becomes more erratic the higher we go. This is a result of poorer fuel atomisation at lower air temperatures and pressures at altitude and thus more erratic fuel metering to each cylinder. This is typical of a large carburetted engine. One would expect to see a tighter spread through the altitude range with an injected (IO) engine. Note that at 9500' No. 6 cylinder 'peaked' first and thus leaning procedures would use that peak and not lean any further. This would have been missed by a single probe EGT gauge. Thus during the leaning procedure what we would have seen is a continuing rise in EGT on all cylinders except No. 6 which have started to fall. If we had only used No.2, we would have been operating No. 6 lean of its peak EGT. This cylinder could then be subject to operating for an extended period of time without adequate cooling, with the possibility of overheating the piston and burning the valves and seats and the added risk of detonation with dire consequences for the whole engine. The 6 channel EGT analyser enables us the accurately identify the first cylinder to peak and enrichen accordingly, thus protecting all cylinders from the problems mentioned above. Additionally, because we have a much tighter handle on all EGT's we can operate to tighter margins, that is, running at 25 deg. F rich, instead of the more conservative 50 deg. F. This will save fuel and improve performance without compromising the engine.

The Engine Analyser display is in the centre right of the panel below the VOR. This unit has 8 channels, 1 to 6 for the EGT of each cylinder while channels 7 & 8 display the cylinder head temperatures (CHT) for cylinder No.1 (coolest) and cylinder No. 4 (hottest), respectively.

The other great advantage of the multi-channel analyser is its ability to monitor engine behavior over time and aid trouble shooting. A frequent indicator of trouble with any machine is a departure from normal operating parameters. This signals that something has changed without known intervention and should be investigated. I keep a record of all important operating parameters during flight on part of my flight log. A copy is under Flight Planning on this page. I wont go through all the trouble shooting applications, there are many, and there is plenty of information that can be sourced on this subject. A couple are worthy of note. Firstly plug fouling is a common problem. As Murphy's Law dictates, the last plug you remove from the engine, because it is the most difficult to reach, will be the fouled plug. The analyser will help you find it more easily, it may be the cylinder showing an uncharacteristically high EGT that has the fouled plug, as combustion is slowed down and part of the still burning mixture is passing out through the exhaust port (to where the probe is located). The other important use is in providing evidence of something going seriously wrong during operation. This happened to me recently of a flight ot Leonora. It was a beautiful day for flying and all was right with the world, when 50 nm south east of my destination I noticed something had changed, bigtime! All EGT's had risen by over 50 degrees F, while cylinder head temperatures had dropped. Airspeed had also dropped by 2 - 3 knots. Classic symptom of magneto failure. As with the fouled plug, poor flame front advance (due to only one plug firing) means that the mixture is still burning as the exhaust valve opens subjecting the probe to the still burning gases. The combustion temperatures however will be lower and some of the heat will be dissapated through the exhaust resulting in the lower cylinder head temps. Airspeed will of course suffer, due to the slight drop in power. In this case I enriched the mixture to reduce temperatures and prevent the possibility of detonation. On the ground, magneto checks indicated that, indeed, a magneto had failed to due a broken condensor lead, causing arcing at the points and subsequent failure. Did'nt save me any money in this case, but alerted me to a serious problem and enabled me to take some action.

Falling EGT's are also an indicator of the build up of carburettor ice, an ever present danger. However I believe that an earlier indicator will be falling manifold pressure, so watch it like a hawk when conditions conducive to icing are present.

This is a standard (blank) pre-formatted flight log that I use. For routes I fly regularly, I have plans with details included for that route and saved on the computer. Please email me at archerw@bigpond.com if you would like a copy in a MS Word format.

New Moon		First Quarter		Full Moon		Last Quarter
Jan 8	20:37*	Jan 16	04:46*	Jan 22	22:34*	Jan 30	14:03*
Feb 7	12:44*	Feb 14	12:33*	Feb 21	12:30*	Feb 29	11:18*
Mar 8	02:14*	Mar 14	19:45*	Mar 22	03:40*	Mar 30	05:47
Apr 6	11:55	Apr 13	02:32	Apr 20	18:25	Apr 28	22:12
May 5	20:18	May 12	11:47	May 20	10:11	May 28	10:56
Jun 4	10:18	JJun 10	23:03	Jun 19	01:30	Jun 26	20:10
Jul 3	10:18	Jul 10	12:35	Jun 18	15:59	Jul 26	02:41
Aug 1	18:12	Aug 9	04:20	Aug 17	05:16	Aug 24	07:49
Aug 31	03:58	Sept 7	22:04	Sept 15	17:13	Sep 22	13:04
Sep 29	16:12	Oct 7	17:04	Oct 15	04:02	Oct 21	19:55
Oct 29	08:14*	Nov 6	13:03*	Nov 13	14:17*	Nov 20	06:31*
Nov 28	01:54*	Dec 6	06:25*	Dec 13	01:37*	Dec 19	19:29*

Tip: Try planning Night VFR for full moon nights. I once flew back from Kalgoorlie on the night of a full moon, the terrain below was clearly visible which would have made a forced landing much easier.

20 OCT 1948

Lockheed Constellation "Nijmegen" departed Amsterdam at 21:11 GMT for a transatlantic flight to New York with an intermediate stop at Prestwick. Arriving near Prestwick the aircraft was vectored for a Ground Controlled Approach to runway 32. Thee crew however wanted to try a visual approach to runway 26. After having overshot runway 32, the aircraft entered the runway 26 downwind leg. At an altitude of 440 feet the aircraft struck high tension cables; the aircraft caught fire and completed a left turn before crashing.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "1) That when the pilot started his landing manoeuvre for runway 26 of Prestwick Airport the weather conditions were already below the limits for this manoeuvre but that from the weather forecasts received this could not be known to him and that this could not be personally judged at the time. 2) That, although the landing on runway 26 under the weather conditions, as far as these were known to the pilot, required the greatest caution, the pilot could not be blamed for having commenced that landing procedure. 3) That flying too long on the downwind-leg of runway 26 caused the accident. 4) That, if no unknown circumstances contributed to the extension of the flight on the downwind-leg of runway 26, the extension was due to the delayed action of the pilot after he lost visual approach. 5) That it was not impossible that a stronger wind that the pilot accounted for contributed to the extension of the flight on the downwind-leg of runway 26. 6) That the possibility of other circumstances as mentioned under 4 could not be ruled out, but that no data was available which could give cause for the supposition that they contributed to the extension of the flight at a low altitude on the downwind-leg of runway 26."

One of the remarkable things about this accident is that the aircraft was commanded by Captain Dirk Parmentier, considered one of the most experienced pilots in the world. With over 16,000 hours experience Parmentiers reputation had been enhanced by coming second in the 1934 England to Australia air race in a Douglas DC2 airliner competing against purpose built racers. In 1943 Parmentier was flying a dangerous route from Portugal to England in an unarmed DC3. Over the Bay of Biscay his flight was 'jumped by six JU88 fighter-bombers. Exercising exceptional skill Parmentier escaped, just six weeks later a DC3 was shot down on the same route with loss of the actor Leslie Howard.

Despite much of the aircraft being destroyed by fire, an un-burnt piece of the navigation map was recovered showing the map displayed incorrect elevations of the surrounding country and the power lines.

PanAm Stratorcruiser N90943 was on a round-the-world flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco with stops in Europe, Asia and the Pacific. The aircraft took off from Honolulu at 20:26 HST for the last leg of the flight to San Francisco. The flight was cleared via Green Airway 9, track to 30deg N, 140deg W at FL130 and then at FL210 to San Francisco. About half way, at 01:02 the crew requested a VFR climb to FL210, which was approved. Immediately after reaching this altitude (at 01:19) the no.1 engine oversped. Reduction of airspeed didn't help and the prop could not be feathered, so the engine was cut. As the aircraft was losing altitude a ditching seemed imminent. US Coast Guard weather station 'November' was contacted at 01:22 about the possible ditching. Climb power was then applied to the remaining engines. The no.4 engine however, was only developing partial power at full throttle. Despite these problems the crew managed to maintain altitude at 5000 feet at an airspeed of 135 knots. Remaining fuel was insufficient however to reach San Francisco or fly back to Honolulu. The crew decided to orbit the cutter 'November' and wait for daylight to carry out the ditching. Meanwhile electric water lights were laid by the cutter to illuminate a track for the aircraft. At 02:45 the no.4 engine backfired and failed. The prop was feathered. At 05:40 the Captain contacted the cutter again about the intended ditching time and descended to 900 feet. The ditching was carried out at 06:15 with full flaps, gear up and at a speed of 90 knots. The

fuselage broke off aft of the main cabin door. The tail section swung to the left, trapping the liferaft launched from the main cabin door. Some 3 minutes after all occupants had been rescued, at 06:32 the aircraft sank at position 30deg01.5'N, 140deg09'W.

The impeccable airmanship and skill of Captain Richard Ogg and the disciplined application of CRM, (Crew Resource Management) long before it become a recognized concept undoubtably saved the lives of all the passengers and crew.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "An initial mechanical failure which precluded feathering the no. 1 propeller and a subsequent mechanical failure which resulted in a complete loss of power from the no. 4 engine, the effects of which necessitated a ditching."

Pictured right, a British Overseas Airways Corporation Stratocruiser. Like PanAm, BOAC was a major operator of this aircraft throughout the 'fifties on transatlantic and long haul routes.

Pictured left, Cockpit and Flight Engineers station on a Boeing B377 Stratocruiser. The Flight Engineer was a busy man in those days monitoring the complex aircraft systems and managing the four huge and temperamental Pratt & Whitney 28 cylinder Wasp Major radial engines.

In 1948 the Tudor IV by Avro Corp. was a relatively new aircraft. Its design was partially dictated by a new company called B.S.A.A.. “British South American Airways Corporation”. This company was founded by veteran fliers of W.W.II to tap into the South American passenger and trade lines. Along with Star Panther and Star Lion, Star Tiger was one of the first planes ordered by BSAAC. It had flown roughly over 500 hours without incident when the following flight occurred.

Avro Tudor "Star Tiger" departed London on January 27 for a flight to Bermuda. A failure of the cabin heating system and compass problems were remedied during the overnight stop at Lisbon, Portugal The flight continued to Santa Maria, Azores the next day where the crew decided to stay overnight , because of predicted adverse weather conditions on the leg to Bermuda. A company Lancastrian (G-AGWL) was staying overnight as well. During the stay, compass trouble was again remedied. The Lancastrian departed Santa Maria at 14:22 for the flight to Bermuda, followed by the "Star Tiger" at 15:35. G-AHNP took off with a full load of petrol, causing a 936 pounds overload on takeoff. Planned flying altitude was 2000 feet. Last radio contact was at 03:00 and nothing more was heard from the flight. At 04:11 Lancastrian G-AGWL landed safely at Kindley Field, Bermuda one hour past the estimated time of arrival due to stronger then predicted headwinds (which had caused the plane to be carried 68 miles off course). No trace of Star Tiger was ever found.

The Board of Inquiry in its conclusion stated: "In the complete absence of any reliable evidence as to either the nature or the cause of the disaster to 'Star Tiger' the Court has not been able to do more than suggest possibilities, none of which reaches the level even of probability. Into all activities which involve the co-operation of man and machine two elements enter of very diverse character. There is the incalculable element of the human equation dependent upon imperfectly known factors; and there is the mechanical element subject to quite different laws. A breakdown may occur in either separately or in both on conjunction. Or some external cause may overwhelm both man and machine. What happened in this case will never be known and the fate of 'Star Tiger' must forever remain an unsolved mystery."

Rows and flows of angel hair,
And ice cream castles in the air,
And feather canyons everywhere,
I've looked at clouds that way.

But now they only block the Sun,
They rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done,
But clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow,
It's cloud illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds, at all.

Joni Mitchell

The pilot was conducting a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Walgett to an airstrip near Merriwa. The aircraft had departed from Walgett earlier in the day, but had returned a short time later when it was reported that the weather at the destination was not suitable for VFR flight. The pilot felt that he was under pressure to complete the flight that day. He continued to monitor the weather by telephoning for weather reports that were available from an automatic Bureau of Meteorology outlet, and by contacting a friend near the destination airfield. The aircraft later departed at about 1415. A search was subsequently initiated when the aircraft failed to arrive at its destination. The wreckage of the aircraft was located two days later on the top of a ridge, 3,880 ft above mean sea level (AMSL), slightly to the left of the direct track between Walgett and Merriwa.

The aircraft was found to have collided with trees during a right turn, at a rate of descent of about 2,500 ft/min. The impact severed the outboard section of the right wing. The aircraft had then collided with other trees before striking the ground. The right fuel tank had ruptured during descent through the trees and an intense post-impact fire had consumed the cabin area and the fuselage section immediately behind the cabin. Although the accident was survivable, both the pilot and passenger received extensive burns while escaping from the burning wreckage. The pilot died some time later from his injuries, before the aircraft was located by search-and-rescue services personnel during the morning of the second day of the search. A fixed emergency locator transmitter (ELT), mounted in the aft cabin area of the aircraft, was destroyed by the fire. While it was not possible to determine if the ELT had activated during the accident sequence, no signal from the ELT had been received by the satellite monitoring system. The pilot was known to possess a personal ELT; however, this was not located after the accident.

Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any deficiencies that were likely to have contributed to the accident. Data extracted from a portable global positioning system unit found at the accident site confirmed that the aircraft had been in a right turn when it collided with the trees. Shortly after the accident the pilot had written a brief message on the left tailplane of the aircraft. That message indicated the pilot's perception of the accident sequence, and was generally consistent with the analysis by the investigation team.

The pilot held a private pilot licence for aeroplanes, and a commercial helicopter licence, together with valid medical certificates; however, he did not hold a rating for flight in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), nor was the aircraft approved for flight in IMC.

Reports from National Park rangers who were in the area at the time of the accident, and from the Bureau of Meteorology, indicated that the cloudbase was 3,600 ft AMSL, and that cloud was covering the ridge where the wreckage was found. The weather over lower terrain to the south-west of the accident site was reported to have been suitable for VFR flight.

The circumstances of this accident were consistent with uncontrolled collision with terrain following inadvertent flight into cloud. The pilot was primarily dependent on being able to see the ground or the horizon in order to maintain control of the aircraft. Once the aircraft entered cloud the pilot was no longer able to rely on external visual references and probably became spatially disoriented. The aircraft subsequently entered a right turn, descended rapidly and collided with trees.

The pressure that the pilot felt to complete the flight that day may have influenced him when choosing the shortest direct route over high terrain with associated poor visibility, rather than a longer route further to the south-west where clearer conditions prevailed.

As a result of this occurrence, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation is currently investigating a perceived safety deficiency relating to operational issues associated with aircraft emergency locator transmitters.

Any safety output issued as a result of this analysis will be published in the Bureau's Quarterly Safety Deficiency Report.

The pictures below testify that even experienced Operators can have embarrasing problems.....

Randy Thistlewaite spent his boyhood days of the late twenties and early thirties days hanging around the

fences of Oklahoma City Airport, staring in awe and wonder at the flying machines. His personal hero was the great Oklahoman aviator Wiley Post and he kept a scrapbook of his exploits. Randy’s parents owned a farm up near Guthrie and his father had a Fairchild 24. Sitting by his fathers side on their frequent flights down to the ‘Big Smoke’ Randy gained an early familiarity with things aviation.

The outbreak of World War II in Europe ensured that Randy’s Air Force career would enter a longer and more serious phase. With a small contingent of other American flyers he went to Canada to participate in the Empire Air Training scheme and then by ship to England. He joined the American Eagle squadron and converted to the new Hawker Hurricane. This aircraft, although soon to be overshadowed by the even newer elegant Supermarine Spitfire, was the backbone of Britains defense against the might of Germany’s Luftwaffe.

The Americans acquitted themselves well in this arena. Technically well skilled, aggressive and courageous they were highly regarded by their counterparts in the Royal Air Force. It was not until well into 1942 with the huge influx of American airmen into the U.K. that some resentments emerged of the “over paid, oversexed and over here” kind.

In 1941 after converting to the Spitfire Randy was posted back to the United States as a flight instructor. During that time he underwent training on the new North American P51B Mustang equipped with the Packard built Rolls Royce Merlin. This aircraft originally equipped with a V12 Allison was a mediocre performer until the installation of the great Merlin and went onto become perhaps the best all round single engine fighter of the war through its later variants. Whatever the case it was one of those classic statements of what looks good is usually good and vice versa.

A shortage of combat experienced pilots for the USAAF 8th Air Force Bomber Group saw Randy convert to the Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress and return to Europe. The next two years until late 1944 Randy flew, trained and commanded crews on the great daylight missions over Nazi Germany. There is little doubt that these raids together with those of the Royal Air Force Lancaster’s, Stirling’s and Halifax’s at night threw the enemy war production into chaos and in so doing saved tens of thousands of lives in the ground struggle that would eventually be called upon to end the European War.

As the war moved closer to Germany the Luftwaffe threw in more and more desperate defenses to protect the Reich. By now Allied fighters were at least equal too and in many cases were better than their German counterparts and the same applied to the pilots. Years of combat had seen the loss of many of the Luftwaffe’s finest Aces and the pilots that followed in these late years of the War, though brave enough lacked the experience to meet the demands placed upon them.

Randy by this time had moved back to the fighter wing flying the huge and brutish Republic P47 Thunderbolt. Now in his fifth year of war Randy had had more than his share of close shaves & bailouts but his greatest battle was yet to be fought. On the 28th January 1945 he was commanding a group P47 fighters escorting Liberator bombers on raid on the Ploesti Oilfields in enemy Rumania. Turning for the home trip they were bounced by a staffel of Bf 109G’s and FW 190’s. In the ensuing dogfights Randy found himself locked in mortal combat with a skillful and daring opponent. This opponent turned out to be none other than the great Major Erich Hartmann, the highest scoring fighter pilot of all time and known on the Eastern Front as the ‘Black Devil”. For 45 minutes they dueled in the sky, neither the brute power of the big Republic nor the agility of the smaller Messerschmidt giving either pilot a decisive advantage. Finally with their ammunition exhausted, the P47 low on fuel and the Daimler Benz engine of the Messerschmidt overheating both pilots broke of with a wave and departed to their respective bases. Later back safely on the ground the American ground crews found a row of bullet holes along the fuselage of the Thunderbolt testifying to the toughness of the airplane and to Hartmanns legendry firing accuracy.

The two adversaries did not finally meet again until many years later. Randy continued flying after the war in civilian service though returning to the Air Force during the Korean War. Hartmann finished the war with 352 confirmed ‘kills’, the highest score of all time, surrendered to the Americans but was passed over to the Russians and imprisoned until 1955.

Their next meeting took place at the rather remarkable Allied Aces versus the Luftwaffe Aces inaugural soccer match at Munich in 1958. Held at the former base of the crack Luftwaffe group JV 44 this match was well attended. Perhaps betraying their European sporting background the Luftwaffe trounced the Allies 39 to nil, Adolph Galland’s ‘Abbeyville Boys’ in particular having a field day in the forward lines. However in the club rooms after the game over drinks the Allied team Captain, the charming and charismatic Squadron Leader Bob Stanford-Tuck remarked in fact that they regarded the match a draw with the comment “who won the bloody war anyway”!

Randy Thistlewaite finally hung up his professional headphones in 1984 after a thirty five career with United Airlines. He now fly’s a beautiful Piper Dakota nicked named ‘Gracie May’ after his wife and devotes his time to volunteer work with the EAA, writing and recreational flying. His is a good friend of that other great journalist of aviation nostalgia Len Morgan and the two have often traveled together to aviation functions. Randy’s latest article is entitled the ‘Legend of Harvey Birchmore’ which should appear in a forthcoming issue of FLYING magazine.

This history has been compiled from the researches and writings of Tom Brady. Tom Brady was born in the outback South Australian town of Lancelot in 1891. He witnessed Harry Houdini’s first flight in Australia in the early part of this century and took up Flying. He traveled to England and joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and spent time flying SE5A’s and Bristol Fighters in France. He became a good friend Albert Ball and Wilfred Owen. He served in Murmansk in Russia after the war before briefly returning to Australia. Tom then traveled extensively throughout the Europe and took up mountaineering learning from the great climber Cesare Maestri also known as the ‘Dolomite Spider”. He narrowly missed being interned in Germany on the eve of World War II.

Tom served with the Royal Air Force during the War. His service record and flight log shows time on Hurricanes, Spitfires and later Tempests. He won the DFC during the battle of the Falaise Pocket in 1944. How he came by this story is a mystery but the material was undoubtedly gathered in the course of his wartime experiences and later travels. He never flew again after the war.

Tom Brady is now a semi-retired earthmoving contractor and lives on the outskirts of Mount Magnet. Tom spends his time using unusual machines in unusual applications, researching, writing and looking after his pets. He is known to have the only complete collection of Dulcie Moles’ voluminous but little known work “Simple Stories for Seniors”. His Sunday roast spatchcock dinners are renowned throughout the area.

DAK	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	MR DENNIS WILLIAM GEORGE ROGERS	PO BOX 119 NAREMBEEN WA 6369
EDB	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	MR GORDON EDGAR BURGESS	14 CLARE AVENUE WAGGA WAGGA NSW 2650
HIR	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	BLAYNEY TREATED PINE PTY LIMITED	PO BOX 109 BLAYNEY NSW 2799
JIT	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	BARCE HOLDINGS PTY LTD	66 BENT ST LINDFIELD NSW 2070
JUZ	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	SMITH'S TRANSPORT ORANGE PTY LIMITED	PO BOX 1317 ORANGE NSW 2800
KHD	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	NINETY THIRD SONMAR PTY LTD	306 MAIN NORTH ROAD CLARE SA 5453
KKQ	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	P.K. WHITFORD NOMINEES PTY LTD	LOT 435 BEACH STREET KWINANA WA 6167
LHR	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	MR ROBERT LINDAY ROLLINSON	CONCORDIA FERNIHURST VIA WEDDERBURN VIC 3518
LJK	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	MR ROSS MILLER KELLY	59 CASTLE STREET BLAKEHURST NSW 2221
MBS	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	FUENTES PTY LTD	PO BOX E360 ORANGE NSW 2800
MCS	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	MURCHISON GRADE CONTROL PTY LTD	PO BOX 4500 MYAREE BC PRIVATE BOXES WA 6960
TKX	PIPER	P28B	PA-28-236	MR ALLAN DOUGLAS LARFIELD	I WAIGANI STREET BLI BLI QLD 4560

Tues. 22/04/03
LEG	TRACK via	TRACK & LEVEL	DISTANCE	FLIGHT TIME	BLOCK SPEED	FUEL
Perth (Jandakot) to Kalgoorlie	Southern Cross	077 deg. M 7500'	298 nm	2 hr 42 min.	110 kts	131 litres
Kalgoorlie to Forrest	Zanthus, Rawlinna, Loongana	088 deg. M 9500'	343 nm	2 hr 50 min.	120.8 kts	138 litres

Wed. 23/04/03
LEG	TRACK via	TRACK & LEVEL	DISTANCE	FLIGHT TIME	BLOCK SPEED	FUEL
Forrest to Ceduna	Head of Bight	101 deg. M 9500'	296 nm	2 hr 32 min.	116.5 kts	126 litres
Ceduna to Adelaide	Direct	121 deg. M 9500'	294 nm	2 hr 25 min.	121.5kts	120 litres

Thurs. 1/05/03
LEG	TRACK via	TRACK & LEVEL	DISTANCE	FLIGHT TIME	BLOCK SPEED	FUEL
Adelaide to Ceduna	Ardrossan	295 deg. M 8500'	296 nm	2 hr 25 min.	122.5 kts	119 litres
Ceduna to Forrest	Head of Bight	281 deg. M 8500'	296 nm	2 hr 24 min.	123.5 kts	115 litres
Forrest to Kalgoorlie	Loongana, Rawlinna, Zanthus	265 deg. M 8500'	343 nm	2 hr 35 min.	132.4 kts	130 litres

Friday 2/05/03
LEG	TRACK via	TRACK & LEVEL	DISTANCE	FLIGHT TIME	BLOCK SPEED	FUEL
Kalgoorlie to Perth (Jandakot)	Southern Cross, Cunderdin	255 deg. M 8500'	297 nm	2 hr 20 min.	126.9 kts	113.5 litres

20 OCT 1948

Rows and flows of angel hair, And ice cream castles in the air, And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way.

But now they only block the Sun, They rain and snow on everyone. So many things I would have done, But clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now, From up and down, and still somehow, It's cloud illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds, at all.

Joni Mitchell

Rows and flows of angel hair,
And ice cream castles in the air,
And feather canyons everywhere,
I've looked at clouds that way.

But now they only block the Sun,
They rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done,
But clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow,
It's cloud illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds, at all.