Flight Safety Australia Winter 2023
In the winter edition of Flight Safety Australia, Monica Kade says flying in winter has many perks, such as smooth crisp air and a reprieve from the Aussie heat. However, the cooler weather is also a time for increased icing encounters, particularly carburettor and airframe icing.
After years of flying a desk, Adrian Park faces the dilemma of how to preserve his skills. Could the solution be in the computer screen in front of him? He talks to experts including CASA’s John Frearson who is enthusiastic about the benefits of desktop devices to prepare for check rides.
Continuing the theme, Robert Wilson says the technologies of virtual and mixed reality are revolutionising aviation maintenance. Engineers can now train for complex procedures in the same way surgeons do – computer systems can guide them through the job and experts can watch their progress, not just over their shoulders, but literally through their eyes.
In the ‘Good old bad old days’ column, Graham Murphy says his sixty-year career began in a wood and canvas biplane and took him high into the flight levels, behind the glass displays of intercontinental business jets. Many things changed, but the fundamentals stayed the same.
Angela Stevenson jumped onto a glider – for authentic research – to write about how to fly safely into an aerodrome where gliders are operating. She says gliders don’t behave the same as a powered aircraft, so best not expect them to.
Entering the world of drones, Margo Marchbank asks what role does the human operator play in uncrewed operations, what human factors issues are at play and how does this affect the safety of such operations?
In one of the popular close calls, A tumble of numbers, a reader recalls how subtle psychological pressures and an unintentional signal almost killed this now experienced flier, in the first hours of their career. On a solo flight, they tried to emulate the instructor’s manoeuvre of entering a roll – but ended up in a terrifying dive.
This 64-page edition features another ‘crash comic’, tests readers’ knowledge with quizzes and has great safety reading and information valuable to everyone in aviation.
Flight Safety Australia is also available for annual subscription.
