Fun flying and flying concerns

There were a few wood and fabric aircraft, but the majority of the homebuilt aircraft present were constructed of sheet aluminium or composite materials. The finish of the aircraft present was very good.

On the Saturday night my talk covered a few subjects including instructional issues and flight concerns as I see them. It was later suggested to me that it would be worthwhile repeating those concerns to other flyers.

The three concerns that I raised were: low level aerobatics; the responsibility of a pilot flying a two seat aircraft; and high speed/low experience.

As regular readers of this column will be aware I covered the subject of high speed/low experience in the September issue of AA. Since that time there has been one well publicised accident that would appear to contain all the elements of the previous discussion: speed, low experience and weather, plus flying a new and heavier aircraft.

What more can one say? Fun flying and flying concerns At Cowra there were a good number of what I would deem to be high speed aircraft, aircraft that are easily capable of 150-160kt in cruise. But at the end of the day it makes no difference if the aircraft is factory or home built.

To all those pilots I again say get a good check-out with a suitably qualified instructor and learn how to fly the aircraft not only in good weather, but also in marginal weather. Do include crosscountry flight and learn how to be able to fly slowly while you plan your way out of a weather related issue.

Low level aerobatics: Given a properly qualified and current pilot flying an aerobatic approved aircraft, and flying to a planned routine, there is nothing more exhilarating than exercising mastery over machine.

Remove any of those required elements and the event becomes an accident looking for a place to occur. Looking back over local aviation history of the last few years, readers will no doubt recall various accidents that have had at least one of the required elements missing. Low level aerobatic approvals are not handed out lightly and for good reason.

Altitude is a friend. Get to know him and use him correctly, and be disciplined at the same time.

Pilots in command of a twoseat aircraft: Two seat aircraft can be great machines to fly.

Usually inexpensive to operate, they are often lower level flyers and can be great to carry a second person in them to share the enjoyment of flying.

Therein lies the problem.

Having a second person aboard may give pilots the urge to show a passenger just how good they think they are.

This writer can clearly recall a number of accidents in the southern states of Australia in which the pilots flying the aircraft deliberately chose to push the aircraft and their flying skills beyond the envelope. The result was the inevitable fatal crash. Some of those accidents also involved aerobatics.

Seen from another perspective, the passenger is hardly likely to have been urging the pilot on to commit the fatal act. The passenger is more likely to have been a silent partner in a fatal dive, an event over which they had totally no control. As one person once remarked to me, murder and suicide. Brutal, but probably an accurate description.

Then there are the remainders.

The grieving families of the deceased, the disbelieving friends and co-workers.

The loss of someone’s aircraft.

The list goes on. If only the pilot who pushed the aircraft beyond the envelope had thought about the ‘what-if ’ factor and chosen to ease up, then the flying world would be a better place.

Being in charge of an aircraft is one responsibility. Flying an aircraft that is carrying a passenger or passengers is another and higher responsibility. It means being responsible for someone else’s life. Treat that responsibility with the respect that it deserves.

A pilot once said to me his aim in life was not to be the boldest pilot, just the oldest.

To do that requires a healthy respect for the rules that were written as a result of history.  Contact Dave at [email protected]. au