T H E G U I L D O F A I R P I L O T S A N D A I R N AV I G AT O R S

AU G U S T 2 0 0 9 N o . 1 7 6

PUBLISHED BY:The Guild of Air Pilots and AirNavigators, Cobham House, 9 WarwickCourt, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DJ.

EDITOR:Group Captain T Eeles BA FRAeSEMAIL: teeleseditor@hotmail.co.uk

FUNCTION PHOTOGRAPHY:Gerald Sharp Photography

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Except where specifically stated, none of the materialin this issue is to be taken as expressing the opinionof the Court of the Guild.

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS:The copy deadline for the October 2009edition of Guild News is 1 September2009 and should be sent to: The Editor,Guild News, Cobham House, 9 WarwickCourt, Gray’s Inn, London WC1R 5DJ.

TELEPHONE: 020 7404 4032FAX NO: 020 7404 4035EMAIL: gapan@gapan.orgWEBSITE: www.gapan.org

Guild DiaryAUGUST 20092 Garden Party Old Warden Military Pageant6 Aptitude Assessment RAF Cranwell

SEPTEMBER 20098 3rd Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House10 5th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House10 3rd Court Meeting Cobham House29 Election of Lord Mayor Guildhall30 Guild Luncheon Club RAF Club30 Sir Frederick Tymms Lecture Royal Aeronautical Society

OCTOBER 20098 Aptitude Assessment RAF Cranwell13 3rd Education and Training Committee Cobham House15 6th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House29 Trophies and Awards Banquet Guildhall31 Flyer Show Sofitel, Heathrow

NOVEMBER 20093 4th Technical and Air Safety Committee Cobham House3 Benevolent Fund Board of Management Cobham House12 7th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House12 4th Court Meeting Cutlers' Hall12 Scholarships Presentation Cutlers' Hall13 Silent Change Guildhall14 Lord Mayor's Show16 Lord Mayor's Banquet Guildhall

St Cecilia's Festival St Paul's Cathedral

DECEMBER 20091 5th Education and Training Committee Cobham House3 Aptitude Assessment RAF Cranwell11 8th General Purposes and Finance Committee Cobham House11 New Member’s Briefing Cobham House11 Guild Carol Service St Michael’s Cornhill11 Christmas Supper The Counting House18 Guild Closes

JANUARY 20105 Guild Opens

Guild Visits Programme15 September Brooklands, Weybridge

7 October Blades, Sywell

27 October Naval Strike Wing, RAF Cottesmore

Please see Flyers accompanying this and previous editions of Guild News orcontact Assistant Michael Glover at MJAG2001@aol.com

Cover picture: The Flying Heritage Collection’s (FHC) meticulously restoredSpitfire Mk. VC in flight. FHC features the exquisite flying aircraft collectionof Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen and is housed at Paine Field, north ofSeattle in Washington State in the US. This Mk. V entered service with 312Squadron in November 1942 and had its longest service with this Czech-manned unit in whose colours it flies. This is the only flying Mk. V in NorthAmerica and is part of an elite stable at FHC that includes iconic aircraftfrom several nations.(Photo courtesy of John Dibbs and The Plane Picture Co.).

THE GUILD OFAIR PILOTS ANDAIR NAVIGATORS

PATRON:His Royal HighnessThe Prince Philip

Duke of Edinburgh KG KT

GRAND MASTER:His Royal HighnessThe Prince Andrew

Duke of York KG KCVO

MASTER:Rear Admiral

C H D Cooke-PriestCB CVO FRAeS

CLERK:Paul J Tacon BA FCIS

The Guild, founded in 1929, is a LiveryCompany of the City of London.

(Letters Patent 1956)

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In this edition of Guild News

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Page 4 News Round Up

Page 5 The Master Writes

Page 6 Clerk’s Column and Gazette

Page 7 Guild Technical News

Page 8 Guild visit to Airbus Industrie

Page 10 Pillars of Fire

Page 12 South Pacific SafetyManagement SystemsSymposium

Page 14 Guild Visit to RNLI Poole

Page 16 Do you REALLY understandhow your trim works?

Page 20 A Barn With A History

Page 22 Sailing the World for FlyingScholarships for theDisabled

Page 23 The Flying HeritageCollection, Paine Field,Everett, USA

Page 24 A Powerful Flight-TestProgramme

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Queen’s Birthday Honours.Congratulations to the Master, RearAdmiral Colin Cooke-Priest, who wasawarded the CVO in the Queen’s BirthdayHonours List, for his services asGentleman Usher to the Queen.Congratulations also to Tim Prince,Director of RIAT and founder of RIATFlying Scholarships for the Disabled, whowas awarded the OBE.

Inter-Livery Clay Shoot, 21st May. Onceagain the weather for the annual Inter-Livery Clay Pigeon Shoot was glorious,this being the tenth year that the Guild hasentered a team to shoot at the prestigiousHolland and Holland shooting ground nearRuislip, Middlesex. The Guild was onlyable to field one team this year, but it didexceptionally well, coming second in the‘non-full Livery team’ category and sixthoverall. The highest shot of the day for theGuild was Colin Wright with a personalscore of 61 out of 80, and his wife Margaretcame third in the Ladies High Gun with ascore of 50.A lunch of roast pig and an extensivebuffet were included in the price, as wereall clays, cartridges, guns and insurance.Liveryman Andrew Bunn hopes that nextyear the Guild will be able to field a fullLivery team and maybe even a PastMaster’s team (Dr Ian Perry could notshoot this year). Non-shooting guests andnovices are always welcome; the staffmanning the stands are all Olympic levelinstructors so those participating willalways break clays. Those interestedshould keep next year’s event, 19th May,free in their diaries.Italian ATCO Receives Freedom of theCity. Upper Freeman Adriano Covizzi, anItalian Air Traffic Control Officer workingwith ENAV SpA, received the Freedom of

the City of London on 11th May. He is seenhere with the Clerk of the Chamberlain’sCourt and Alderman and Past MasterDavid Mauleverer at the ceremony, whichdemonstrates the accessibility of theFreedom of the City to any member,whether from the UK or overseas.

SBW Visits NortholtOn a recent July Friday evening The SouthBucks Wing temporarily relocated from itscustomary meeting place, the Stag andHounds in Farnham Common, to RAFNortholt. Beer and a large plateful ofcalories (bangers and chips) wereconsumed in the newly and lavishlyrefurbished Officers’ Mess, courtesy of akind invitation from SBW memberSquadron Leader Chris Ford, during ourweekly deliberations.

Guild Team Plays Golf With Red Arrows.On 4th June eight members of the GuildGolf Society made their way toGainsborough Golf Club for a match withthe RAF Red Arrows. The 6.30 am startwas no problem for the seven from theLondon area nor for David McDonnell whocame down from the Lake District for hisfirst Guild golf event. Playing better-ballpairs, the Guild's team set out to show thatage and experience was more than a matchfor all the other advantages that the 'Reds'held, and with three games completed thescore stood at one won (John Robinsonand David McDonnell), one lost and onehalved. Sadly the Guild lost the fourth andfinal game, but the team had made amatch of it and the event was enjoyedequally by both sides. Wing CommanderJason Hawker and his team were generousand friendly hosts and the day was amemorable one that it is hoped couldbecome a regular fixture. The Guild team'ssincere thanks go to the Red Arrows formaking this event possible.The day had been offered free by the RedArrows, so the Guild members paid a fairSociety rate for the golf and thus raised£400. Put with the £200 already given bythe Guild, this has enabled a seismometerto be placed in our 'partner' school, theCity of London Academy, Islington, as partof a programme initiated by ImperialCollege, London, to place 50 in schools inthe south of England to encourage interestin science subjects. The seismometer hasbeen delivered (in kit form) but it is hopedthat a presentation day in October can bearranged in which the Red Arrows will beinvolved; that possibility has been greetedwith enthusiasm by the staff.

The Guild team with the Red Arrows. From left toright, Bill Straghan, Gil Gray, David McDonnell,Keith Warburton (holding the framed and signedphoto he won for being Nearest-the-Pin), JohnRobinson, Wg Cdr Jason Hawker, Bob Seed, WallyEpton, and John Mason.

New CAA Chief Executive.The Secretary of State for Transport, LordAdonis, has appointed Andrew Haines asthe Chief Executive of the Civil AviationAuthority after an open competition. MrHaines will be the first holder of thisnewly-created post, following therecommendation put forward by SirJoseph Pilling in 2008. For furtherinformation see www.caa.co.uk.

Erratum. Unfortunately there was anommission in the April Guild NewsGazette. Assistant Michael Glover's namewas inadvertently left out of the 2009Court List. Neither the Editor or his proofreading helpers picked this error up, forwhich they humbly apologise.�

Cody Picture Presentation Liveryman Peter Adams, Lord of Abbots-Hay, recently flewto Middle Wallop to present a framed picture of Cody’s first flight in this country to

Colonel Bill Sivewright of the Army AirCorps. The picture was one of a limitedissue of 30, commissioned to celebrate 100years of powered flight in this country, andwas signed by Lady Thatcher, Vera Lynnand Cody’s 2 great grandsons. It will beauctioned by the Army Air Corps to raisemoney for Service charities.

Peter Adams presenting the picture to ColonelSivewright.

Left to right – IPM Rick Peacock-Edwards,Liveryman Owen Cubitt, Freeman AlexWhitburn, PM Roger Gault, Assistant MikeGlover, Assistant Chris Ford.

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The Master writes …COLIN COOKE-PRIEST

As thoseof youwho

attended theLivery Dinneralready know, thefinal report of ourStrategic Reviewwill very shortlygo to print.Indeed the timelines which drivethese Master’sMessages aresuch that thereport may wellarrive pretty

much simultaneously with this edition of theGuild News. For those of you, the majority,who were not at the dinner I highlighted theneed to create a ‘Nonsense Watch’ as ameans of correcting the arrant nonsense orhalf-baked drivel that frequentlymasquerades as informed comment onaviation matters in the media and, in sodoing, drawing attention, over time, to theGuild as a first port of call for informedinformation and comment. We are alreadytaking the necessary steps to set this up.

Perhaps of even greater importance thanindividual aviation ‘nonsenses’, howevergreatly they need to and should be corrected,is the requirement to produce a credible andco-ordinated rebuttal to the green anti-aviation lobby; for to allow to continuedunchallenged the distortions contained in somuch of what is currently written and said,could well result in disastrous, if unintended,consequences! Many of the issues arearticulated in a balanced and unemotionalstudy – ‘Aviation – the real world wide web’-produced recently by Oxford Economics. Iwant to draw on two examples. A newaddition to the Dictionary of Modern Usagewould appear to be the term ‘food miles’,frequently used by the current glut of TV‘celebrity’ chefs to enjoin us to use onlyhome-grown produce. But, as has beenpointed out, driving half a dozen miles tobuy your shopping emits more carbon thanflying a pack of Kenyan green beans to theUK. It is equally relevant, as an example,

that Kenyan farming contributes very little toglobal warming. They use people to weedthe fields. They don’t use tractors to producethe food that is exported. A vegetable thatgrows easily in the African climate might wellbe grown in Europe under hothouseconditions but this would generateconsiderably greater net emissions than thoseresulting from the ‘food miles’ of transportingthe produce between continents. Similarlythe use of fertilisers to make growth possible,or to increase crop yields has been clearlylinked to higher GHG emissions. I quotethese two examples simply to highlight thefact that emission patterns are highlycomplex. The simplified concept of ‘foodmiles’, measuring only the distance the foodhas travelled from field to retailer, producesdistortions that could well result ininappropriate decisions.

Aviation is estimated to be responsible foraround 2% of global CO2 emissions.However, any discussion about carbon costsshould equally, but rarely does, include thebenefits that air transport brings worldwide.Oxford Economics estimates that the airtransport industry directly employs morethan 1.2 million people in the Asia-Pacificregion and contributes US$ 60 Billion to GDP,more than seven times as productive as theeconomy as a whole. For Europe the figuressuggest 1.6 million directly employed and anindustry about 50% more productive. Ifaviation was a country it would rank 21st inthe world in terms of GDP! So realistically,given the global impact on living standards,the elimination of GHG caused by aviation isneither politically nor economicallydesirable, still less viable.

Whichever way you look at it aviation is partof a wide and highly interdependentnational, regional and global transportsystem. The ‘Greener by Design’ initiativesuggests that, even at the highest forecastlevels of growth, the carbon footprint ofaviation will be lower than for cars andshipping. Targeting aviation promises aneasy solution but misses the need for astrategic approach to moving people andgoods.

So why should aviation continue to be thewhipping boy for facile political and ‘green’point scorers? I come back to where Istarted, our Strategic Review. One of itsfindings is that the voice of the Guild, and itsenormous store of aviation knowledge andexperience, should be more widely heard. Ihave drawn on the Oxford Economics Reportto highlight just a fraction of the many andcomplex issues surrounding GHG emissionsand to show how badly the aviationfraternity needs to generate a co-ordinatedand robust response. It is an area in which Ibelieve the Guild both could and should takea lead. Because of this we have decided thatthe T&ASC sub-committee that currentlycovers ‘green’ issues should be re-formed asa third professional committee, to be knownas the Environmental Committee, fullyfledged in its own right. The IPM has agreedto take the lead in forming the new team andis already drawing together appropriatepeople from both within and outside theGuild. They will meet in the near future tostart formulating an agenda for action.

By the time you get to read this we will befirmly into August and, for many, theSummer holiday break. I, together with Sue,will be making the Master’s inaugural visit toour newly formed Canadian region to whichwe both look forward enormously. I lookforward to reporting on this auspicious visitin the next issue. Meantime may we wishyou all a happy and relaxing Summer break.

Postscript: The Strategic Review Report thataccompanies this edition of Guild News is theresult of a long and thorough investigationinto all aspects of the Guild and its activities.The fact that there are no large-scale ordramatic changes recommended or detailedin the report is not indicative of a superficialreview process; it merely indicates that theGuild is already in a healthy state and thatthere are only relatively modest changesrequired to improve on the manner in whichthe Guild currently conducts its 'business'.Many of the recommendations have alreadybeen implemented or are in hand. TheReview was exhaustive and I commend to allmembers to read the Report carefully andthoroughly.

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SEEKING A NEW GUILD VISITS ORGANISERIn the October 2008 issue of Guild News Assistant Mike Glover explained his plans to “retire” from the responsibility of running the Guild Visits andGarden Parties programme at the 2010 AGM. In the meantime a small team has been assembled to help in the job of arranging individual visits this

year. Assistant Chris Ford has arranged and run three of these; Martin Baker in May, RNLI in June and Brooklands to come in September.Upper Freeman John Davy and Liveryman Hugh Dibley organised the very successful three-day visit to Airbus and RAeS in Toulouse in May, and Past

Master Arthur Thorning will be taking a group of us for a morning visit to the “Blades” Aerobatic Team at Sywell in October.

This assistance has been very welcome but hasn’t solved the problem of finding a successor. Any one of these members could well do the job butunfortunately, due to a variety of other commitments, not one is able to take overall co-ordinating responsibility for the programme at this stage.So, we urgently need a volunteer! Anyone interested, please contact Mike Glover so he can explain in detail what the job entails.

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‘NONSENSE WATCH’ Some of the ‘expert’comment on aviation matters that ispresented on TV or published in the main-stream press (the ‘Dailies’) is ill-founded,unjustified or just plain wrong. Onemethod by which the Guild can ‘put therecord straight’ is by a ‘nonsense watch’.As and when the opportunity arises, theGuild will try to help inform the public byoffering knowledgeable rebuttal orcomment and correcting the ‘receivedwisdom’ about any particular report orincident, or on aviation matters generally.

If any member hears or reads anycomment or opinion which purports to be‘expert’ but which you know is not correct- because you have much more in-depthexpertise on the matter in question - pleasecontact the Guild office (by email) withyour comment and we will endeavour tocorrect what has been reported bycontacting the TV station or newspaperconcerned and offering your informedcomment.In due course, it is hoped that thesecomments submitted by the Guild mayeventually help to establish a position of‘professional respect’ for the Guild within

the media and that it will become the firstport-of-call for comment - and, byextension, be able to defend publicly theinterests of aviation generally and ofaviators in particular.

WEBSITE As you will all appreciate, thenew website is up and running. It isbecoming, and will continue to evolve asthe Guild’s primary tool for disseminationof information to members, as well as tothe general public.

However, we are not able (or rather, do notwish) to send everybody an email everytime we add or change information on thewebsite. Therefore, if you wish to knowwhat the latest postings are on thewebsite, it is important to access itregularly. That way, you will keep abreastof the latest Guild information or otheraviation developments and news that theGuild is able to pass on via its website.

RSS FEEDS RSS feeds can be found in 3locations on the new Guild website:‘Press Releases’ (within ‘Press Pages’)and within ‘Members Pages’

‘Stop Press’ - contains new items of notefor the attention of Guild Members.

‘Other Events of Interest’ – non-Guildevents which may interest Guild Members.

An RSS Feed will automatically update thespecific webpage to which it is connectedand show the latest items for that page

each time you access the particular ‘feed’– without having to log-on to the websiteeach time.

For those who may wish to use this facilitybut not familiar with the use of RSS feeds,the Guild office can email you some brief‘instructions’ if requested.

CITY BRIEFINGS The dates for thebriefings held by the Corporation ofLondon for new Liverymen and spousesare listed on the following website. Pleasenote that all attendance applications andpayments for all courses mustnow be made using this website:www.liverycommitteecourses.org

LORD MAYOR’S SHOW GRANDSTANDTICKETS Tickets in the Grandstand at StPaul’s for this year’s Lord Mayor’s Showcan be obtained (cost £27) in one of thefollowing ways:Online: www.lordmayorshow.org

Telephone: 01908 300106,lines open Mon to Fri 10.00 to 16.00

Post: enclosing a cheque (payable toTickets.com Ltd) and giving your name,address and telephone to:

Samantha LeeTickets.com LtdElder House570-578 Elder GateMilton Keynes MK9 1LR

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Clerk’s columnPAUL TACONLearned Clerk

ADMISSIONSAs Upper FreemanChristopher Dennis BROWNCommander Mark Vincent CARETTAAir Commodore Keith DENNISONWing CommanderJohn Charles GRIFFITHS (AUS)Group CaptainTimothy Chetnole HEWLETTSquadron LeaderJohn Martin George JONESCaptain Wayne Gordon JONES (AUS)Mark Laurence MURPHYCaptain Arild RAMBERG (OS)Captain Peter Trevor READINGJames Michael SHEPARDBrendan John SWEENEY (OS)Captain John Patrick TOWELL

As FreemanCraig Kenneth CAMPBELL (CAN)John Charles Edward KELMAN (AUS)Nigel Anthony OATESPauline Ann VAHEY

As AssociateNicholas LOWE (GYM)Subhajit SENGUPTA (GYM)

ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE COURT16 July 2009

REGRADETo LiveryGary LUI (HK)Captain Michael Charles DAVIDSON (HK)Sarah Caroline HOLTSquadron LeaderDouglas Frank ORCHARD

DECEASEDCaptain John Stephen FAIREYCaptain Douglas Hopton HADLEYLeopold HEIMESCaptain Leslie INGHAM (OS)Captain John LEAKEYKenneth Hugh WILSON

RESIGNATIONSWilliam BRISTOW (AUS)John Alexander BROMPTONBruce John CARROLL (AUS)Ka Fuk Richard CHEUNG (HK)Lyndon DAVIDGE (NZ)Evan John DAVIES (AUS)Rodney Michael EARLE (AUS)Simon Thornton HENDERSON (AUS)Trevor George JENSEN (AUS)Ross Trevor JOHNSON (NZ)Barry John KELLY (AUS)Richard Matthew MACARTHUR-ONSLOW (AUS)Barry Julian MILES (AUS)Michael Kevin O’NEILL (HK)Malcolm PRISSICKKen TREVILLIEN (AUS)Ilka TREVILLIEN (AUS)Robert James WHITE (AUS)

GazetteAPPROVED BY THE COURT ON 16h JULY 2009

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NON JAA UK LICENCES Advice from theCAA confirms that under the currentproposals the new European rules intendto deem a licence issued in accordancewith JAR-FCL to be issued under Part FCLand hence no action will be necessary forthe holders of these licences to convert toEU Licences when they come in. Anyother licences will be national and wouldneed to be converted to a Part FCL licence.To do this, CAA will need to look at therequirements for the equivalent licenceand it may be possible that someadditional hoops may have to be jumpedthrough. Human performance springs tomind as it was not a theoretical knowledgerequirement for the national licences untilfairly recently, and certainly not in theBoard of Trade days.

For this reason once the requirements havebeen finalised CAA expect to be advisingholders of national licences to convert tothe JAR-FCL equivalent prior to theimplementation date as this process isstraightforward and with no additionalrequirements if the licence is current.CONVERTING NOW MIGHT SEEMSENSIBLE.

VOLUNTEER REQUIRED - GENERALAVIATION AWARENESS COUNCIL(GAAC) The GAAC does an invaluable jobin trying to protect existing airfields fromclosure and advising those ‘under attack’.The GAAC meets a maximum of 4 times ayear. If anyone is interested in becomingthe Guild Nominee to this very helpfulbody, please email the office.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE FLARM is asystem of low-cost avionics providingselective warning for potential collisionsbetween light aircraft. FLARM (the namederives from 'Flight alARM) obtains its

position from an integral GPS and abarometric sensor and then broadcasts thiswith forecast data about the future 3Dflight track. Its receiver listens for otherFLARM devices within typically 3-5kilometres and processes the informationreceived. Motion-prediction algorithmspredict potential conflicts for up to 50other signals and warn the pilot usingsound and visual means. FLARM can alsostore information about static aerialobstacles, such as cables, in a database.Unlike conventional transponders inaircraft, FLARM has a low powerconsumption and is relatively cheap to buy(570 euro plus tax) and to install. FLARMonly gives selective alerts to aircraft posinga collision risk. However the short range ofthe present power output makes FLARMunsuitable for avoiding collisions with fastmoving aircraft. Currently it is mainlyused in sailplanes and helicopters. Theproduct featured prominently at the recentgiant Friedrichshafen Air Show.

UK and EU AIRFIELDS Followingextensive work with the EU Commissionand Parliament, Europe Air Sports hasannounced that most airfields in the EUused for light aviation will be outside thescope of EASA. The European Parliamenthas voted to exclude aerodromes mainlyused for sports and recreational flyingfrom common European rules.European rules will only apply to thoseaerodromes, open to public use, “whichserve commercial air transport and whereoperations using instrument approach ordeparture procedures are provided … andhave a paved runway of 800 metres orabove”. Furthermore any individualMember State may, by way of derogation,exempt any particular aerodrome, which“handles no more than 10,000 passengers”

and “or more than 850 cargo movementsper year”. Some good news for a change?

MORE GOOD NEWS? MODE S. Forthose who only fly in UK airspace, there isa possibility that the the CAA may notafter all require Mode S in all UK airspace.However, more and more EU countries aremandating such carriage.

AVIATION DATABASES ICAO, the UKFlight Safety Committee and the FlightSafety Foundation have colla-borated to produce SKYbrary(www.skybrary.aero/ landingpage ) ,describing itself as ‘The single point ofreference in the network aviation safetyknowledge. Hyperlinks to SKYbrary andthe Rockwell Collins 54 page Glossary ofAviation terms, may be found on the newGuild website.

UAV/UAS UNMANNED AERIALVEHICLES or SYSTEMS There is a debateunder way as to how these ‘aircraft’ can beoperated both inside and outsidecontrolled airspace. In simple terms thecurrent requirement is that they shouldpose no more risk than a manned vehicle– but is that realistic and how does the riskvary? If you are knowledgeable in thisarea and/or you wish to be involved in thepreparation of Guild policy, please contactthe Technical Director.

SQUAWKS‘Listening Out’ squawks & frequencies are:Birmingham 0010/118.05Doncaster 6170/126.225Gatwick 0012 126.825London City 0012/132.70Manchester 7366/118.575Stansted 0013/120.625Luton 0013/129.55

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Guild Technical News PAST MASTER CHRIS HODGKINSON, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL LIVERYMEN STANDING FOR ELECTION AS ASSISTANTAs members will be aware, the Court of the Guild has 15 Assistants, each of whom is elected by the membership for a three year term. The

ballot to elect Assistants takes place each year (with approximately one third of Assistant places available) and runs from December, when ballotpapers are distributed, to March when the results are announced and newly elected Assistants (and those re-elected) are installed at the AGM.

However, many Liverymen are unaware of what is involved in being an Assistant. In order to ensure that any Liveryman who is potentiallyinterested in standing as an Assistant is aware of what is involved, and can therefore make a more informed decision on whether to stand, aBriefing will take place annually at the Guild office, prior to the call for nominations being distributed. The inaugural Briefing will be at 16.00on Friday, 23 October. The aim of the Briefing will be to explain the role and required commitment of an Assistant and to answer any queries

that any potential candidates may have.

All Liverymen who feel that they may wish to stand as a candidate for election are invited to attend the briefing and are asked to confirm byemail to the Guild Office if they wish to attend.

The date of the Briefing is before the deadline for submission of Candidacy Forms (which will be distributed with the October edition of ‘GuildNews’). The aim being that a Liveryman can decide after having attended the Briefing whether or not to stand, and therefore, whether to submita Candidacy Form. Following the Briefing, those who still wish to stand should submit their Candidacy Form (if they haven’t already done so) to

the Guild Office by the deadline given on the form.

Please note: Liverymen can stand for election without having attended the Briefing – ie attendance is not a pre-requisite to being a candidate.But for those who have not previously served on the Court the Briefing should prove informative and of benefit.

The Ballot Papers, containing the names of all candidates for election and re-election,will be distributed (as usual) with the December edition of ‘Guild News’.

P J Tacon, Clerk

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So, after 6 months of planning, 52Members and guests presentedthemselves in Toulouse on Sunday

17th May ready to visit the Airbus facilityat Blagnac the following day

I’ll have to start with an apology. Cameraswere officially banned during the factoryvisit. Nevertheless, this was relaxed in theFlight Test hangar, of which more later.

Sunday evening commenced with glassesof wine in the Patio Area of the CrownePlaza hotel followed by dinner in therestaurant. Soon, readers will discoverhow important “wining and dining” wereduring this three day visit, which includeda single, albeit very long, day with Airbus.Thankfully, our wallets were not depletedtotally by the costs of all this as the wine,both tonight and for Monday andTuesday’s dinners, was arranged byLiveryman Hugh Dibley, coming directfrom “Vignoble Arbeau” and at cost price.Furthermore, it even bore “GAPAN” labels!

Monday- AirbusMonday dawned very bright and sunny,and the “blazers, no ties” recommendedgarb was appreciated, especially as thebus, kindly provided by Airbus, was foundparked about 600m away!

Once at Blagnac, having exchanged ourpassports (or photocopy in one case!) forpasses, we were escorted to the CabinMock Up Centre.

There are going to be big changes inairliner interiors. More composites, lighterweights, and of great importance, theability to change layouts built in duringconstruction potentially saving huge costs.Starting with the A350 series, all cabinswill be wired and structurally the same,and will be able to accommodate allpossible layouts demanded by differentcustomers. This is of immense importancewhen aircraft move to second owners whomay not appreciate the choice of theirpredecessors. It also effects residualvalues.

Robin Pursey, “Director Flight Ops AirbusExecutive and Private Aviation” thenwelcomed us. His address was followed bya David Velupillai who ably persuaded usthat the “Airbus Corporate Jet Family” wassuperior to all competitors.

Ed Strongman “Chief Test Pilot AirbusMilitary” then reviewed the A400M

programme. The delays to this are welldocumented elsewhere. Ed described howtrying to integrate all the military demandsinto an aircraft that also met the currentcivil requirement was challenging. Withhindsight, Airbus might have preferred toput more effort into the A400M, and lessinto the A380, but no-one could haveforeseen the current world situation.

Liveryman Frank Chapman “EngineeringTest Pilot”, then described the A350 flightdeck which is even more advanced interms of ease of use and lack of paper thanthe A380. In particular, all the screens canbe viewed by both pilots, though clearlyeach pilot will use his own screens formanaging the flight. Robin Pursey endedthe morning by describing A320 AntarcticOperations. Landing an airliner on ice.Whatever next!

Next, the French Lunch. We were hostedby Airbus to a magnificent spread in their“Sky” restaurant........

The afternoon commenced with PeterChandler “Chief Test Pilot-Airbus CivilAircraft” telling us all about flight testingthe A380. As a helicopter pilot, thisseemed to me to be a little dangerous!However, I suspect that Peter may havereservations about helicopter flight ingeneral!! Bernard Mattos “Senior Expert-Simulation” then took us to view the IronBird simulators of both the A380 andA400M. Airbus intend keeping both aFlight Test Aircraft and Iron Bird in servicethroughout the life of the aircraft. Bernard,who spoke perfect English, was quiteforthcoming about the occasional

language misunderstandings that do arisewhen English is the language used byeveryone at multi-national meetings.

Next, the High Point of the visit, the FlightTest Hangar. The A380 s/n 001 was openedup for us to crawl where we liked! All ourquestions were frankly answered by thetest pilots, and for a one and only time,photos were allowed.

There were four teenagers amongst ourguests. Liveryman Iain Tulloch’s son-Alexander, and Liveryman RobertJacobson’s three sons: Bart, Paul andAnthonie. These four boys, who were backat school in Spain and Holland Tuesdaymorning, had the time of their lives!

Our visit to Airbus ended with a tour of theA380 final assembly line with two veryattractive ladies as our guides. Thisbuilding is massive, and by now a few ofus were looking towards a seat on the busto the hotels...........it was already 1830,and Dinner was at 2000!

Monday evening we dined at “Les Cavesde la Maréchale”, a short walk from thehotels. The Master presented a Guildshield to Peter Chandler, who was ourguest together with his wife Kate togetherwith Liveryman Frank Chapman

Tuesday- Broken BusTuesday morning was, thankfully for most,free time. Toulouse is a charming city,largely undamaged during WWII. Moststreets are too narrow for free-flowingtraffic, and walking around is verypleasant. The cafés on the sunny side ofthe Place du Capitole were a popularmeeting place.

Visit report on the Guild Visit to Airbus Industrie, May 2009

Monday - Airbus, Tuesday - Broken BusUPPER FREEMAN JOHN DAVY

Dick Hadlow searches for a replacement bus.

9

Then, at midday, we set off to visit thesource of our wine each evening, VignobleArbeau. All went well until we were 15minutes into the motorway sector, whenthe bus stopped. Broken!

There we were, parked in the earlyafternoon heat, at the side of theautoroute. 45 minutes later, we were onour way in a replacement bus. Once at thevineyard, the Master was treated to adetailed resumé of the finer points of vineculture before we were permitted tocommence the “tasting”. To be frank, thedelay on the autoroute may have been asilver lining as it did reduce the timeavailable for consumption!

After ensuring that no wine wentuntouched, we were off to the shop in thevillage. Here, some purchased a bottle, ortwo, whilst others needed a trolley andsome muscle power.

We returned to Airbus’s facility at Blagnacin time for the local branch of the RAeSlecture on the Airbus A350. There wereprobably 200 attendees at this lecturewhich contained so much information thatI really couldn’t keep up taking notes!

And now, finally, The Last Supper. Ourfinal meal was at the Restaurant 7 PlaceSaint Sernin. This absolutely superb(e)restaurant is next to the floodlit Basilique.The location and the food were quitemarvellous. Once more, and for the lasttime, the wine was from Vignoble Arbeau.I can only repeat that our visit would havebeen so much more expensive without thearrangements made by Liveryman HughDibley to provide wine for all three dinnersat cost price. Thank you Hugh!�Carrying off the spoils, no hope of it beingclassified as hand luggage! Judith Gault checks out the left hand seat in the Airbus 380

The Master, Sue and Guild members absorb thedetail of vine culture in the Provencal sunshine.

10

Tanker 451, altimeter 29.89, targetelevation 1,500, maintain 4,000 andyou are Number Two. There’s

already a 580 holding at 3,500.” In a fewminutes, a DC-6 with an external bellytank containing 11,360 litres of fireretardant will arrive overhead aburgeoning forest fire in central BritishColumbia. The instructions come from aConair Turbo Commander which acts asan airborne command post, or ‘bird-dog’;in the right seat is the Air Attack Officer(AAO) who represents the BritishColumbia Forestry Service (BCFS).

The AAO’s task is to assess the fire interms of size, speed, direction of traveland risk to life and property. He willdecide where to lay down lines ofretardant to impede the fire’s advance andthen coordinate his tactics with thefiremen on the ground and air tankersarriving on the scene. The bird-dog willprovide air traffic control, stacking thetankers overhead as they arrive, steppingthem down in 500’ increments and thenshepherding them on their bombing runsacross the head of the fire.

Since the bird-dog aircraft is light andmanoeuvrable, it will first fly areconnaissance run along the ‘line’checking for obstructions that a heavy airtanker might be unable to avoid. Thepilot must be particularly vigilant for‘snags’: solitary trees that are significantlyhigher than the forest’s canopy. The bird-dog also identifies tracks and gradientsthat permit the tanker to safely overshootwith an engine failure, even if the

emergency load dump system fails tooperate properly. Consequently thechosen line must always be over level ordescending terrain, never rising ground.Furthermore, the line should not bedirectly into the sun as flying a DC-6 withfull flap at 125 knots, 130’ above the treetops, until the target is just about todisappear under the nose, is very muchan ‘eyes wide open’ exercise.

To the uninitiated, the burning question isnot so much how a few aircraft cansubdue a vast conflagration, rather ‘Howcan it be done in a routine and safemanner despite the convective turbulenceand smoky visibility that accompanyforest fires?’ This year the Conair Group,headquartered in Abbotsford B.C.,celebrates its 40th anniversary of savinglives and property, maintains a stronglead in its field and has received manyrewards for pioneering SafetyManagement Systems in non-airlineoperations.

Claude Marchand, Director of SafetyServices points out that while safety is anoble aim in its own right, it’s also goodfor business. In fact, the cost reductionsare tangible and a portion of the savingsis shared with all employees, from thecorner office to the hangar floor. Since1995 Conair has been examining everyincident that causes lost time, or damageto company property and has beentransformed operationally, with many ofthe best improvements being suggestedby the employee group. This year,Marchand instituted “Target Zero”, anenhanced safety program designed to take

accidents and incidents right to thebottom of the graph paper.

Ray Horton, Director of Flight Operations,explains “Safety begins with hiring theright people and we specify an ATPL withsignificant PIC and multi-engineexperience”. Despite the challengingwork, pilots appreciate Conair’s safety-first way of doing business and thusannual turnover is low. For the 2009summer fire season, the average Conairpilot has several years with the companyand 8,100 hours in his logbook. “Then,we give our people the best trainingpossible” notes Horton, a former airlinepilot who has been with the Conair Groupfor 26 years.

In the spring, when snow still coversmuch of the West’s forests, Horton recallshis pilots to Abbotsford for their annualtraining which includes type proficiencyand instrument rating checks and ofcourse, target practice. A typical smallpractice drop will spread fluid in a swathapproximately 12m wide and 30m longand candidates’ skill is scored in units of‘drop width’ from the target. In realoperations, this same rating is conductedby the birddog which flies slightly aboveand behind the air tanker. On the DC-6belly, for example, the Conair designedand engineered retardant tank is ratherlike a big ice-cube tray with separatecompartments and computer-operateddoors. The pilots can vary doorsequences and drop patterns to satisfy theAAO’s requirements. A small fire couldbe boxed in on all four sides, for example,by unloading three of the twelvecompartments on each of the four passes.Alternatively, an elongated pattern can beachieved by the sequenced opening of alldoors on a single run.

By early June, Conair’s private air forcehas been divided into Groups anddispatched to temporary summer bases inAlberta, British Columbia, Alaska and theYukon. Each Group contains a mix of airtankers and bird-dogs and a team ofdedicated maintenance personnel. Theair tanker fleet includes 2 DouglasDC-6, 9 Convair 580, 9 Firecats(remanufactured Grumman Trackers) and18 single-engine Air Tractor AT-802’s. Thebird-dog fleet consists of 8 Piper

Pillars of FireP.C. FYNES, CANADA REGION

DC-6 tanker 450 laying a line of fire retardant in the wilderness

‘

11

Aerostars, 5 Turbo Commanders and 4Cessna Caravans.

Although Conair provides crews for severalBombardier CL-215/215T’s owned by theAlberta government, it does not operateany of this type itself. Horton points outthat the geography is different in BritishColumbia; suitable lakes are not soplentiful and often terrain can restrict‘water scooping’ operations. Thus waterbombers have the advantage only when thefire is close to open expanses of water andmultiple drops can be executed in shortorder. This specialized ability wasdemonstrated in 2003 when the lakesidecity of Kelowna was threatened and theflying boats played an important role intaming a fire that charred 250 sq.km. andrazed 239 homes in the southern suburbs.On the other hand, when open water is notavailable, the special retardant droppedfrom Conair’s airport-based aircraft cankeep trees from igniting for several hours.The retardant itself is a slurry mixture ofwater, salts, fertilizer and red iron oxide,which acts as a visual marker when tackinga perimeter around a fire.

Most forest fires are caused by lightningstrikes and the BCFS’s Command Centretracks the weather and monitors themoisture levels across the province’sforests. Other jurisdictions have similarprocedures in place so that their aircraftmay also be positioned in the areas facedwith the greatest risk. Although theGroups’ daily missions are determined byConair’s governmental customers, closecontact is maintained with the home base.Every two minutes, Captain Horton’s officecomputer is updated with the position andstatus of all deployed aircraft and eachflightdeck is equipped with either anIridium or Globalstar telephone. Anaircraft commander is never more than aphone call away from the operationaladvice and technical expertise atAbbotsford. Such technology comes with aprice tag but Marchand and Horton both

look on it not only as a means to betterserve their customers but also as aninvestment in safety.

Conair will be expanding its CV-580 fleet inthe coming years as the type’s handlingcharacteristics, rugged airframe, 8,400 litretank and turboprop engines have provenideal in the fire-fighting role. Like theFirecat program which was alsoaccomplished in-house, Conair convertsthe former airliners into fire attack aircraftin its own 100,000 sq.ft. maintenancefacility at Abbotsford. The company alsoplayed the central role in the certification ofBombardier Q-400 air tankers delivered toFrance’s Securité Civile.

Overhead the forest fire, the Convair 580flies conventional rectangular circuits withthe Turbo Commander joining up on finalto guide the tanker along the line and alsoto critique the drops. Soon it will be timefor the DC-6 to descend from its holdingaltitude and make its runs, furtherhemming in the fire. Once back at base,the tankers will either immediately reloadand return to the fire for more drops, or thecrews will participate in the AAO’soperational debriefing. A candidexamination of each day’s flying buildsknowledge, sharpens teamwork andreinforces safety procedures. This cycle isrepeated throughout the summer untilSeptember’s cooler weather brings an endto the fire season.

Forest fires are inherently fickle andhazardous but Canada’s Conair hasdemonstrated that they may be foughteffectively and economically, withoutendangering crews and aircraft. AsShakespeare might have concluded ‘Fromthis nettle, danger, we have plucked aflower, safety.’�

Conair CEO inductedinto Canada’s AviationHall of FameD. FARQUHARADMINISTRATOR, CANADA REGIONUpper Freeman Barry Marsden wasinducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall ofFame in a ceremony held May 30, 2009 atWetaskiwin’s Reynolds-Alberta Museum.Marsden, an Aircraft Maintenance Engineerand an Airline Transport Rated pilot, co-founded Conair in 1969 and became itsPresident and CEO in 1991.

Marsden formed Cascade Aerospace in2001 and today the company performsmodifications and heavy maintenance forleading airlines and governments. Cascadealso provides fleet management services forthe Canadian Department of NationalDefence’s C-130 Lockheed Herculesaircraft.

The citation reads “His visionary leadershiphas made Conair Group a world leader inthe development of aerial fire controlservices, and Cascade Aerospace aspecialist in fleet management,maintenance and modification services,resulting in major contributions toCanada’s aviation industry.”

Barry Marsden thanks John Holding (left),Chairman of the Board of Directors of theAviation Hall of Fame and Max Ward (right),founder of Wardair Canada, for his induction

Conair CV-580 drops water on apractice run during spring training.

12

Over the last several years theNew Zealand Region of theGuild of Air Pilots and Air

Navigators has been active in advocatingthe development and implementation ofSafety Management Systems in theAviation Sector of New Zealand and thePacific Islands.

By way of background, SafetyManagement Systems has been the topicfor two successful New Zealand RegionGuild Technical evenings held inWellington (the Capital City) andAuckland. The affiliation to the NewZealand Region of the Guild of the RoyalNew Zealand Air Force has meant that forthese Technical evenings we could usespeakers from both the RNZAF and thecivil aviation industry which enabled abroad coverage of thetopics of Safety Management Systemimplementation in the RNZAF and ZEAL320 (the operator of Airbus A320 in theAir New Zealand Group). A wide crosssection of people with aviation interestsand accountability in addition to Guildmembers were invited to attend theseevenings.

It was gratifying to have the Minister ofTransport Safety of the NZ Governmentplus members of the Ministry ofTransport, together with both RNZAF andcivilian personnel attained. Presentationswere made by Mr. Neil Airey, ManagerSafety Management Systems for ZEAL 320and Wing Commander Johan Bosch,Director of Air Force Safety and Health.These two technical evenings had beenpart of an overall New Zealand Regionstrategy to raise awareness of the ICAOannex requirements for safetymanagement systems and demonstratepractical examples of Safety ManagementSystems in operation. Also to indicate awillingness by the Guild to support bothregulatory and industry efforts to definean implementation programme. The NewZealand Region has also over the last

several years met with the then Ministerof Transport Safety, Mr. HarryDuynhoven, officials of the Ministry ofTransport and Officers of the CivilAviation Authority of New Zealand toindicate the Guild’s support for rapid rulemaking and implementation. We had alsoworked closely with the Aviation IndustryAssociation, a body representing allaspects of New Zealand Civil Aviationand who are committed to enhancingoperational safety through theimplementation of Safety ManagementSystems.

However this not insignificant effort hadlittle real result apart from the publishingof a project plan by CAA NZ showing astaged implementation over a number ofyears. It was in this environment that theexecutive committee of the New ZealandRegion resolved to provide some seedfunding, agenda development, andorganisational assistance for an inauguralSouth Pacific Safety Management SystemsSymposium. The commitment of fundingassistance by the New Zealand Region ofthe Guild was put to the Aviation IndustryAssociation executive who readily agreedto support the Symposium withorganisational assistance and funding,and when the proposal for theSymposium was put to CAA NZ theyreadily agreed to support and participate.These initial discussions took place some12 months prior to the actual date of theSymposium which was set for 20th & 21stMarch 2009.

Agenda development was quicklyfollowed by ascertaining the availabilityof speakers who could address theselected topics with authority. Theorganising group of which the Guild wasa member was able to quickly secure bothInternational and New Zealand basedspeakers that represented the crosssection of industry affected by the initialimplementation of the SafetyManagement System Annex’s, namelyAirlines, Maintenance Organisations,

Airports and Air Traffic Control. Wherepossible we also secured speakersrepresenting the medium and smalloperators to ensure a balanced view.

Now to the Symposium itself.

The Guild in the form of Captain BryanWyness, Chairman of the New ZealandRegion, assumed the role of SymposiumChair, and Ms. Irene King, Chief Executiveof the Aviation Industry Association, therole of the Overall organiser. Enrolmentsreached the 100 mark with a number ofattendees from Australia and the PacificIslands.

The presentations were aligned with fourmain topics headings:

1. SMS Foundations

2. SMS Integration

3. SMS Lead Indicators

4. SMS “One size does not fit all”

Day ONE1. Foundations:

This covered the basic description of whatare the essential elements of a SafetyManagement System. The speakersaddressing this particular area were; Mr.Neil Airey, whose most recent role was asa manager of Safety ManagementSystems, who kicked the ball off with“SMS – 101”. He was followed by Dr. RobLee, well known to most aviators from hisprevious role as the Director of theAustralian Bureau of Air SafetyInvestigations, but also becoming theauthority of SMS understanding andimplementation. To consolidate thissection there were key note addressesfrom the Director of CAA NZ Mr. SteveDouglas addressing Safety ManagementSystems in New Zealand and brief keynotes from three General Managers fromCAA NZ, Mr. Simon Clegg, Mr. John Kayand Captain Mark Hughes covering offthe “NZ State Safety Plan”, “Informationand Data Flows under the SMS approach”and “What SMS means for an Operators

New Zealand Region Sponsors the Inaugural

South Pacific SafetyManagement SystemsSymposiumCAPTAIN BRYAN WYNESS, CHAIRMAN, NEW ZEALAND REGION

13

relationship with the CAA”

2. Integration:

The second major groupings ofpresentations sought to cover theintegration of SMS with the current QualitySystems and the management of riskacross and between aviation participants.The overall topic of Integration wascovered with some searching presentationsby Captain Tim Burfoot, Chief Investigatorof the New Zealand Transport andAccident Investigation Commission (TAIC)whose talk was “What I find and don’tfind when investigating incidents andaccidents”

Dr. Curt Graeber, recently retired as aSenior Technical Fellow Boeing Company,put SMS in context in the “Global Aviation

Safety Road Map”, Mike Cosman andDavid Tregoweth gave an “OccupationalSafety and Health (OSH) view of SMS”,and “OSH a Working Example of SMS inAction?”.

Day one concluded with “The Case forSMS in the Air Force” delivered by WingCommander Johan Bosch.

The Symposium also held workshopsessions at the conclusion of each group ofpresentations where the audience wasdivided into groups and with the help offacilitators, discussed and documented theunderstandings from the presentations.These were recorded and, together withthe presentations formed the proceedingsof the Symposium.

Day TWO:

Day two of the Symposium hadtwo main topic headings to cover“Lead Indicators” and “One SizeDoes Not Fit All”. The “LeadIndicator” session had speakersfrom the New Zealand Air TrafficControl provider, “A Case Study ofSMS Implementation” and“Integration of a Fatigue RiskManagement System into anSMS”, and of particular interestwas the paper by Mr. Paul Lamy,Deputy Director of the AirNavigation Bureau of ICAO, histopic being “Why SMS?”

The last session of the Symposiumsought to give reality to the cleardirection in the ICAO annex’s toensure that the SMS matches the

size and complexity of the operation for

which it is required. Presentations from

the New Zealand major airline, a small

rescue helicopter operator, a major airport

and a maintenance provider certainly

provided some valuable guidance to both

the participants and the regulator.

The Symposium concluded with an action

plan workshop and some words of

guidance and encouragement from Dr. Rob

Lee and Mr Paul Lamy.

Was it successful?

I would say yes. Comments by the nowMinister of Transport, Mr. Stephen Joyce,who was able to attend briefly, andcomments by CAA NZ, and Ministry ofTransport staff plus feedback from industryindicated that the Symposium has focusedall participants on the necessity ofimplementation of SMS sooner rather thanlater! The formation of an IndustrySteering Group was also a positiveoutcome from the Symposium.

By initiating this Symposium and

providing both financial and technical

assistance in the development of the

agenda for the two day Symposium the

New Zealand Region of the Guild has

demonstrated it can make a positive

contribution to enhance aviation safety

both in New Zealand and the Pacific

islands.�

Dr Rob Green and Curt Graeber.

Simon Clegg, Bryan Wyness,Hon. Steven Joyce, Minister ofTransport, Wing CommanderJohan Bausch, Alan Boyce.

14

On Thursday the 4th June theMaster accompanied bymembers of the Guild, their

families and friends visited the RNLITraining College at Poole. The visit,arranged by the kind invitation of TheChief Executive Andrew FreemantleCBE, gave the party the opportunity tolearn more about the workings of theRNLI and to get a feel for thecamaraderie within the Institutionwhich is so important to ensure theexemplary service is upheld year in yearout.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institutionwas founded in 1824 and is by far thelargest dedicated lifeboat service in theworld. To this day the RNLI provides thesea rescue service around the coast ofthe United Kingdom and the Republic ofIreland. 350 lifeboats at 235 lifeboatstations, deployed at strategic locations,provide coverage in these waters.Although there is at least one full-time,paid member of staff on each AllWeather Lifeboat, the vast majority ofthe four and a half thousandcrewmembers are volunteers andreceive no pay.

The dangers of the ‘old days’ are overnow that the RNLI has 127 All WeatherLifeboats, which are capable of 25 knotsand all of which are self-righting. Theseare either already afloat or launchedfrom slipways or carriages. Newlifeboats are being developed and builtto replace older ones at a cost of £2.6million a time. Inshore waters arecovered by 5 and 8 metre Ribs and 9metre water jet lifeboats as well as anumber of light hovercraft for locationswith large expanses of mud or sandexposed at low tide.

More recently the RNLI has added

beach Lifeguards to its skill set, initially6 years ago at 3 beaches. By 2008 thishad expanded to some 140 beachesaround England and Wales. Withfinancial assistance from local Councilsthis facility only costs 5% of the RNLI’sannual budget.

Training for all the volunteers isconducted as close as possible to thelifeboat station to which they areattached, either with the local coxswainor by using a number of Mobile TrainingUnits; these are equipped to provideeither radar/navigation, medical orengine maintenance training and visiteach lifeboat station every few months.However, some training has to beconducted centrally and for that reasonthe RNLI Training College was openedin 2004.

The Guild members were entertained inthe College and its facilities for the day.Andrew Freemantle gave the party anintroductory overview of the RNLI,

whereupon the party was split into twogroups to visit the training facilities.College Principal and Head of TrainingGeraldine Grainger showed the groupsthe facilities within the College.Comprising of 60 en-suite bedrooms,training rooms, restaurant and bar theCollege can house the trainee crews incomfort and at less cost than in Pooleitself. Attached to the College are aSurvival Centre, a full sized BridgeSimulator and a live engine workshop.Storage and major maintenance of reliefboats and sea training for crews alsotakes place at Poole.

David Brook OBE, Engineering andSupply Director, showed the groupsaround the workshops, storage facilitiesand the boat yard. The high point of thiselement was being able to see one of thenew “Tamar” class lifeboats completewith a computerised Systems andInformation Management System(SIMS) which enables the crews toremotely perform navigation and

The Guild’s Visit to RNLI PooleASSISTANT CHRIS FORD

It’s dark, there is a thirty-knot gale blowing, the sea is rough and the lightning flashes all around. The

sound of a helicopter hovering overhead brings relief to those about to be rescued from this maelstrom. The

survivors of this disaster at sea are thanking their lucky stars for the brave crews from the RNLI who have

come to rescue them from certain death. This time we do not hear about it on the early morning news, no,

in reality this is a training scenario being demonstrated to the Master, his wife and twenty-one other

members of the Guild who are on a visit to the RNLI Training College at Poole in Dorset.

Mersey, Trent and Severn Class boats seen from a Tamar

15

onboard management tasks whilst beingseated, for longer, securely and in bettersafety.

Head of Fleet Operations Hugh Fogartyshowed the groups the heart of the RNLI,its Ops Room. Here, he demonstrated theMan Overboard (MOB) Guardian, a lifesaving innovation designed andpioneered by the RNLI and monitored 24hrs a day by the Ops Staff. Based uponGPS technology this equipment is theonly one available to ensure the locationof a small commercial vessel and its creware monitored continuously whilst at seaaround the UK. Should there be a ManOverboard situation, mechanical ormedical emergency then an alarm willsound (typically within three minutes) inPoole from where the staff will eithercontact the vessel or the Coast Guard.

Guy Richards and Ryan Clarkdemonstrated how versatile the BridgeSimulator was by setting the scene offDover harbour, varying the weather, lightand sea conditions whilst adding a fewextras to illustrate just how realistic thesituation could be made to seem whilstattempting to rescue survivors from aburning super tanker. This is not amotion simulator as aviators are used to.However, the graphics are of such goodquality one could just imagine how thecrews must feel on a very dark nightwith a lot of pressure to succeed andforgetting that “teacher” is watching andrecording every action from the consolenext door. And, yes, at the RNLI they arelooking for their equivalent of CRM,though, they call it Team (or Bridge)resource management.

The drama of a sea rescue and perhapssome of the most realistic training wasdemonstrated by Alex Saywell at the SeaSurvival trainer. Here he was able torecreate a 2 metre swell, 30 kts of wind,darkness, thunder, lightning and eventhe saviour in the form of the noise of ahelicopter. Within this environment thecrews can be trained to right capsizedinshore lifeboats, rescue casualties andeven winch people out of the sea.Obviously a very worthwhile facility thatreduces the risk of injury to the traineecrews who in the past would have put tosea without having practiced such drills.

Half way through the day an enjoyablebuffet lunch was had in the company ofmost of the senior executive of the RNLI,giving us an opportunity to delve moreinto the workings of such an efficient

organisation. Throughout this visit theGuild Members were thoroughlyimpressed by the organisation, teamspirit, enthusiasm and dedication shownby all involved with the RNLI, to theextent that it was obvious that workingfor the RNLI was not a job but a way oflife. Sadly the day had to end midafternoon but not before The Master hadhanded a donation from those attendingto the Chief Executive. Thereafter a fewpaid a visit to the shop to buy somemementos of the visit.

2008 saw 8,293 Lifeboat launches. 7,612people rescued, 9,536 Lifeguardincidents and 11,027 people being aided,the busiest year to date. To continue toprovide such a unique and invaluableservice the RNLI must raise £130 millioneach year. All of this is generated bycharitable contributions, many of which

are legacies. The funds to do this in 2008

were made up of £94.0M in legacies,

£52.0M from raised voluntary income

and £14.0M from investments, leaving

the RNLI with enough money to survive

for 7 months if the source of funding

were to dry up! However, the Institution

exists by Royal Charter and this is

unlikely to occur, as the Government

would have to provide the service if the

RNLI was unable to continue!

Full details of the RNLI can be found on

the web site www.rnli.org.uk and for all

those who fly over or navigate the waters

around the British Isles please

remember; “The RNLI is the Charity that

saves lives at sea”�

Sue and The Master learning about aTamar class lifeboat.

16

Picture yourself in a conventional

airliner, say a 737 of any

generation. You have to do a

low level go-around, perhaps because

your fail passive Cat lll has just failed,

er, passively. You apply GA thrust, and

the aircraft pitches up. If you are low

enough, you may already have some

extra helpful nose up trim applied

thanks to the ‘design feature’ that

ensures that in the event of AP failure at

low level, the aircraft pitches up not

down, and so a few units of nose up

trim are applied late in the approach.

Your speed is low, about Vapp and the

thing is pitching firmly upward. You

need ample forward stick/elevator to

restrain it. You don’t want to carry this

load for long so you retrim. Question: if

you run the trim forward

while maintaining

forward pressure on the

wheel, what happens?

Hands up all those who

think the load reduces to

zero. I see a lot of hands.

My unscientific polling to

date suggests that just

about everyone is

convinced that this is

what happens, but it

doesn’t.

Nearly everyone of my

generation trained on a

Cessna 150 or a Piper

PA28. You fly those

aircraft by putting the

attitude where you want

it, holding it there by

holding the stick rigid and

retrimming until the load

goes to zero. In fact if you

didn’t do that, but were

too quick and started

trimming before the

aircraft was stable, the

instructor would exhibit a

severe sense of humour

failure. Let’s just consider

what is going on. Starting

from an ‘in-trim’ state, fig

1(a) (just for illustration I

have shown it as

everything in the middle,

but obviously this isn’t essential to the

argument); then, fig 1(b), the column is

held forward moving the elevator

down. Moving the trim wheel, fig 1(c),

in this case moves a trim tab which

relieves the control load until it goes to

zero; the column can again be released,

and it stays forward where you left it.

So in this scheme, the control column

stays forward for high speed and back

at low speed. Although I have shown a

tab operated system, the same result

can be achieved without a tab by means

of a spring in the control circuit or by

altering the neutral point of the feel

system. Aircraft as diverse as the Tiger

Moth, the L1011, and Concorde fly this

way.

Now there is another class of aircraft

that works totally differently. This

group includes most conventional

transports, and even the non

conventional A320 series in direct law.

In these, the tailplane is controlled

directly by the trim system, while the

control wheel controls only the angle of

the elevator relative to the tailplane.

Now starting again from the out of trim

state we started from above (see fig 2),

as the nose down trim is applied, the

tailplane starts to move leading-edge

up. In order to keep the force

contributed by both the tailplane and

elevator constant (i.e. to maintain

attitude), the elevator angle has to be

reduced as the tailplane incidence

increases (fig 2b). To do this, the

column/ wheel has to be moved back

towards neutral. When the operation is

complete, the column/ wheel is back in

the neutral position, which is the only

place it can be released without further

movement (fig 2c); its position does not

indicate the trim state of the aircraft.

For years Boeing manuals have said

Do you really understandhow your trim works?Many do not, and why it matters.ALEX FISHER

1. Conventional Trimming

a. Initial trimmed state

b. Forward column...

c. Final Trimmed state -column forward, no load

17

flatly that the control wheel cannot be

moved opposite to the direction of

trimming motion (the trim motors cut

out if it is)…. wrong, it can, and indeed

has to, be moved in the opposite

direction every time the trim is used; the

action is achieved by just relaxing the

pressure on the column and allowing to

drift back to neutral. It is true that if

pressure is applied to the column

opposite to the direction of trim, then

the trim cuts out.

This behaviour (column always returns

to neutral regardless of speed) is not

necessarily limited to aircraft with

trimmable tailplanes; for example, if the

column operates a servo tab while the

trimmer moves a separate

trim tab, the effect would

be the same (I believe the

146/RJ series works this

way). Doubtless there are

other combinations too,

you really have to study

the systems carefully.

When I converted from a

‘conventional’ trimming

type (Trident) to a separate

trimming tailplane (757),

not a word on this subject

appeared in the training

notes, nor was anything

ever said by any training

captain. Many years later I

did write something for the

company Magazine and

generic training manual,

but apart from one reprint

in the Far East it has not

been widely circulated. So

how do people go through

an entire career without

realising things have

changed from the way they

were first taught? I think it

is because mostly any

column movement is

followed immediately by

small movements of the

trimmer, so large loads are

never allowed to develop

and the reverse column

movements are virtually

imperceptible. In ‘normal’

flight operations,

movements in pitch are mostly quite

small, apart from two: rotate and go

around; the latter is relatively rare, while

the former is transitory (if the take-off

trim is roughly right (!) you can relax

the load after lift off with the aircraft

roughly at the right attitude).

So why does it matter? The chances are

you will fly more smoothly if you

understand what is going on, but there

are three broad categories of error which

are likely if these subtleties are not

understood, I will cite examples of each.

1. Failure to understand the trim

function (the process described above)

itself. This isn’t disastrous. Most pilots

are in this category, but they cope well

anyway, by simply flying on the trim.

This isn’t how they were taught, but,

well, it works. It begins to matter when

the trim changes are large. I have

watched, in the simulator, a 737 go-

around from a Cat lll fail passive

approach (as described above) with its

marked pitch up; HP kept his arms

locked forward to contain the attitude

whilst simultaneously running the trim

forward with the thumb switch. I am

sure he was expecting the trim to reduce

push needed and he either didn’t know,

or had forgotten, that it wouldn’t. We

duly pitched straight back quickly into

the ground as the tailplane incidence

‘bit’. I can’t cite with certainty any

accident that has been caused by doing

this, but I strongly suspect this was a

factor in the infamous Icelandair upset

event at Oslo1 The aircraft went quickly

from +20 deg to -40 deg and was only

saved from a CFIT by a 3.5g pull up,

bottoming out at 360ft. Sadly, the report

does not discuss the control inputs, nor

does it contain any FDR traces, so this

trim confusion explanation must remain

speculation. I would be astonished,

however, if there weren’t more examples

of this error, particularly in unfamiliar

situations.

2. Failure to realise that the tailplane,

commanded by the trim system, is a

totally independent pitch control; it will

be available if the primary control is

inoperative or ineffective. But if you

only think of the trimmer, wrongly, as a

column-load reduction device, you may

not think of its other use when needed.

The following examples illustrate the

point; I am certain of the first, the others

must remain speculation in the absence

of evidence.

(a) 747-400 Take-off incident2. Just after

lift off the aircraft suffered an elevator

hardover, uncommanded full nose down

movement of one elevator; the pitch

attitude began to reduce. The crew’s

reaction not unreasonably was first to

pull harder, then a lot harder, which

succeeded in preventing an immediate

accident, but cannot be said to have

truly regained control. The anomaly

18

lasted about 8 secs until a spike in the

hydraulic pressure during the gear

raising sequence allowed normal control

to be resumed. No one thought of just

blipping the trim button to restore order.

Did thinking of the trim as merely a load

reducer blind them to the simple

solution? The incident report does not

mention the alternative control available

and does not discuss that part of the

pitch control system at all.

(b) THY DC-10 crash at Ermenonville in

1974.3 This was caused by an

improperly secured cargo door which

blew off; the floor above it collapsed due

to the pressurisation load, disrupting the

controls and injecting a nose down

elevator input. Rumour, I admit quite

unsubstantiated, has it that it could have

been flown on the trim as there was still

hydraulic power to the tailplane (350

casualties).

(c) The BAC 1-11 flight test super-stall4.

There was insufficient elevator to

recover, but the FDR trace shows that no

attempt was made to adjust the tailplane

which would have been more powerful.

It is pure speculation now

after 40 years, but it is an

intriguing thought that it

might have helped. There

would certainly have been

no similar possibility for the

Trident5 that was lost

during a pre delivery test

flight a year or so later as

the trim and column both

operated the tailplane and

its geared elevator together

(see fig 3).

3. Failure to appreciate that

loss of control in pitch might

be due to the independent

operation of the trim

system. Several well known

pitch upsets to A300s and

A310s (see for instance the

TAROM upset at Orly Sep

19946, and the A300 at

Nagoya, April 1994) have

been caused by a tailplane

movement which was not

fully appreciated by the

crew, and was all the more

insidious precisely because

there was NO change to the load on the

column . This is the reverse of the

situation in (2) above. None of these

occurrences were technically trim

runaways, so there were no warnings

and no indication to the crew from the

feel of the column. The first incident

started with the flap overspeed

protection system (the designers

obviously thought that putting in nose

up trim would reduce the speed… well it

will if you understand totally what is

happening and don’t override it); the

second, a fatal accident, started with an

inadvertent, and probably unnoticed,

GA selection.

A system where there are two

independent means of control, has

obvious safety benefits, but it also has

pitfalls if it is not fully understood. The

lack of importance given to the trim

system in training seems extraordinary. I

recall asking for TC guidance during my

757 conversion, to be told that there was

no difference to previous types; when I

finally convinced His Eminence that

there was, he blustered that it didn’t

matter. I can find no relevant discussion

in my edition of the Bible, Handling the

Big Jets; I guess the Test Pilots just cope

with anything they come across without

preconception, and perhaps don’t realise

how much baggage the rest of us carry

from our basic training. Accident

investigators would also do well to ask

themselves more often just how the

unfortunate pilots had been trained, and

cover the likely rationale for the control

inputs in their reports. The illustrations I

have used are obviously very rare

events, so it is very unlikely that any one

reading this will ever face their like.

Engine cuts at V1 are pretty rare too, but

they get a lot more exposure in training

than the basic control functions, odd,

isn’t it.

SAFE FLYING

Postscript

This article was written for the UKFSC

Focus magazine in late 2007. Since then

there has been a spate of accidents and

alarming incidents in which ‘tailplane

ignorance’ has played a part. The 737

accident at Amsterdam, an as yet

unpublicised 737 incident in the Far

East, and the Perpignan A320 crash all,

in different ways, involved a stall and

unsuccessful or botched recovery. The

shared feature is that in each case the

tailplane had wound itself to a fully

(aircraft) nose up position, as in (3)

above; the combination of pitch up, due

to full power, and low speed, meant

recovery was probably impossible using

elevator alone, to get the nose down

meant moving the tailplane back to a

more normal position, which means

running the trim forward. The A320

accident appears to be the result of an

improper flight test, but the two 737

cases occurred in normal line flying and

illustrate how important it is to

understand what the tailplane is doing,

and how easy it is for it to finish up

somewhere unexpected; in both these

cases the trigger was an unnoticed

Autothrottle failure on approach, the

speed fell and the autopilot duly

3. Some all movingtailplanes are trimmedconventionally - the

Trident’s was commandedby both the column and

the trim wheel; the ‘elevator’was a geared

tab (reproduced withpermission from CAA)

19

trimmed progressively further back

until it reached full nose up and quit;

recently, April 2009, the UK AAIB

published a report7 into yet another 737

near stall and upset and made the

following recommendation:

Safety Recommendation 2009-045: It isrecommended that Boeing clarify the

wording of the approach to stall

recovery Quick Reference Handbook

Non-normal Manoeuvres to ensure that

pilots are aware that trimming forward

may be required to enhance pitch

control authority.

The report contains the relevant Boeing

Ops Manual pages in an appendix,

including this:

To recover from a stall, angle of attack

must be reduced below the stalling

angle. Nose down pitch control must be

applied and maintained until the wings

are unstalled. Application of forward

control column (as much as full forward

may be required) and the use of some

nose-down stabilizer trim should

provide sufficient elevator control to

produce a nose-down pitch rate. It may

be difficult to know how much

stabilizer trim to use, and care must be

taken to avoid using too much trim.

Pilots should not fly the airplane using

stabilizer trim, and should stop

trimming nose down when they feel the

g force on the airplane lessen or the

required elevator force lessen. (myemphasis)

The forces won’t lessen by themselves,

so that last remark puzzles me – does

the writer think that the column load

will go to zero as the trim is run

forward? It can certainly be read that

way, but if you have understood the

rest of this article you should be able to

understand the subtle coordination

required to bring the tailplane safely

into play without creating a worse nose-

down problem. But you will also

appreciate that the bigger danger at the

moment may be that too many pilots

don’t think about trimming at all in this

situation.�

1www.rnf.is/media/skyrslur/2002/Flugatvik_TF-FIO_vid_Gardermoenflugvoll_22._januar_2002._(Endurutgafa).pdf

2 http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/sites/aaib/publications/formal_reports/1_1995_g_bnly.cfm

3 http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/1974/tc-v740303/pdf/tc-v740303.pdf

4 Brian Trubshaw: Test Pilot

5 G-ARPY Felstead, 3 June 1966

6 http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/1994/yr-a940924/pdf/yr-a940924.pdf

7 http://www.aaib.gov.uk/publications/formal_reports/3_2009_g_thof/g_thof_report_sections.cfm

20

On the Great North Road (A1) nearSandy, Bedfordshire, is a villagecalled Tempsford. It lies at the

junction of the Rivers Great Ouse and Ivel.Not much has happened since Alfred theGreat’s daughter Ethelflaed led her armythere in 917 to defeat a Danish force whichhad set up camp - no prisoners weretaken!

If you take a side road towards Everton,you find a bridle path, charmingly calledthe Skylark Way. The path is itself theremains of a Roman road, from Sandy toGodmanchester. However, walking a fewhundred metres North, you find yourselfon the perimeter track of an oldaerodrome, called after the village ofTempsford. Just off the track is aninnocent looking barn, named GibraltarFarm on the map.

A Handley Page Halifax aircraft, orsometimes an American Liberator, wouldbe sitting nearby waiting to depart, toparachute the agents of the SpecialOperations Executive (SOE) into occupied

Europe - ‘Set Europe Ablaze’ wereChurchill’s instructions! Also based atTempsford were Westland Lysander shorttake-off and landing aircraft which could

fly in and out of fields in France, guidedby a few electric torches. These aircraftwould pick up their passengers from anairfield near the South Coast of England to

A Barn With A HistoryPAST MASTER ARTHUR THORNING

Gibraltar Farm

The barn, centre left in this aerial picture, near theperimeter track, is all that remains of Gibraltar Farm

21

maximise their range, although sometimesthey would fly back direct to Tempsford.

One of the most poignant memorials inthe barn is to Violette Szabo, an SOE agentwho made her second, and final, flightfrom Tempsford in June 1944, in anAmerican Special Forces Liberator (shehad returned from France a few weeksearlier in a Lysander which landed atTempsford with a tyre shot out). Sadly,she was captured and executed by theGermans, and posthumously awarded theGeorge Cross, Britain’s most distinguishedaward for civilian gallantry - a tragic andheroic story.

The poem in the frame was composed byLeo Marks of the SOE Coderoom; heneeded a set of words the agents couldlearn by heart for transposition codingpurposes. He could not use a poempreviously published so he wrote this one,and it has become deservedly famous inits own right. Leo Marks’ own girlfriend, anurse, had been killed in an air accident inCanada and this poem came from hisheart; he had great admiration for Violetteand gave her this poem to use.

So if you have time when travelling on theGreat North Road , you may wish to turnoff and pay your respects to these bravesouls…who jumped into the night to faceuncertain fate.�

Inside the barnare numerousmemorials, ofwhich this isthe principal.

On September 13th 2009, GAPANmember Alan Moss will embarkon a remarkable journey of a

lifetime. Alan, who works as an Air TrafficController for NATS in the London TMA atSwanwick, has entered the 2009-2010Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Thefollowing ten months will see Alan raceover 35,000 miles around the globe – quitea feat for this novice sailor.

The Clipper RTW race sees ten identical 68foot racing yachts leave the UK with acircumnavigation the goal. This is verydifferent to other yacht races though aswith the exception of the Skipper, all of thecrew are amateur sailors. Around 25%have never sailed before.

“For people like me, with little sailingexperience the challenge is huge” saysAlan. “I have been training with Clippersince December 2008, learning all aspectsof racing an ocean going yacht”. As part ofthe training, Alan is enrolled in aFoundation Degree in Operational YachtScience, and has completed the RYAYachtmaster Offshore qualifications inNavigation and Meteorology. “20 years inaviation made that easier to master thanlearning gybing with a spinnaker!” Thereare little comforts on board – “nobedroom, just bunks amongst the manysails.” There is also no fridge, noluxurious bathroom and basic cookingfacilities. “We do bake fresh bread everyday though – great for morale as much asanything!”

It is not just the cramped space and stormyweather that make this hard. “Weessentially work 4 hours on, 4 hours offwhen racing the boat – and that is bothphysically and mentally challenging” hesays. All of the boats are sponsored byeither a city, region or tourist board.Singapore, California are just two – butAlan is thrilled to be representing Irelandon board ‘Cork Clipper’ – a boat backed byDiscoverIreland.com “This is truly aglobal race with people from all over theworld, aged between 21 and 65”

Clipper is the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the chief executive of ClipperVentures. Sir Robin was of course the firstperson to circumnavigate the world nonstop in 1969. “Meeting Sir Robin for thefirst time is quite something – an awe

inspiring person” Sir Robin points out thatmore people have currently been upEverest than have sailed around the world.

Alan has taken a break from his career inair traffic control and has self-funded thistrip to fulfil a lifetime dream. He has,however, chosen to support a charity thathe has been involved in since 1995 –Flying Scholarships for the Disabled.“Since I started working as a volunteer atthe Royal International Air Show in 1994 Ihave always been in admiration of thework of the FSD team, and the scholarsthemselves.”

It would be great if anyone can help Alanby sponsoring him. “All money will godirectly to the FSD charity, and I would

like to raise enough money to get at leastone full scholarship. Everyone rememberstheir first solo with huge excitement and afeeling of achievement – and if we can getjust one person through that feeling, thiswill be great”

You can see more at Alan’s website –www.sailtheworld.org.uk which will give alink to the FSD sponsorship page. Formore information on the race itself – seewww.clipperroundtheworld.com where youcan even track the boats when racingbegins.�

22

Sailing the World for FlyingScholarships for the Disabled

Alan in full Round the World foulweather gear.'

23

For anyone planning a trip to thePacific Northwest of the UnitedStates, I would thoroughly

recommend a visit to the remarkableFlying Heritage Collection (FHC) ofimmaculately maintained vintage aircraft,to be found in a beautifully restored 1940’svintage hangar at Paine Field near Everett,about 30 minutes drive north of Seattle(www.flyingheritage.com). All theseaircraft have been carefully selected andare most lovingly cared for thanks to thepassion of one man, Paul G. Allen co-founder of Microsoft. The ExecutiveDirector of FHC, Adrian Hunt, was kindenough to invite me round for a personaltour of the collection recently on abeautiful sunny summer’s day.

Paul Allen officially opened FHC on the64th anniversary of D-Day, 6th June 2008,with the aim of enabling a wider public toshare and enjoy his passion for vintagewarbirds. There are 14 flyable aircraft inthe hangar, 10 of which are flownregularly, representing the Air Forces ofthe five major combatants of WW II;Germany, Japan, Russia, USA and Britain.There are also four non flyable exhibits; aMe 163 Komet, a Fiesler Fi 103 V1, a very

rare Fiesler Fi 103 Reicheneburg piloted V1(did you know there was such a thing?)and the nose section of a Lancasterbomber.

The spacious hangar allows the fourteenflyable aircraft to display themselves in anuncluttered fashion and each aircraft hasassociated information panels that not

only tell you the vital statistics but also theactual history of that particular aircraft.My own personal favourite was theexquisite Curtiss JN-4D Jenny; it’s just themost beautiful hand crafted work of art.

There are other interesting things to do inthe area. A certain well knownmanufacturer builds and assembles

airliners to the north of PaineField at Everett and there aretours available around theBoeing facility. Also, on thenorth side of Paine field itself,you will find the BoeingFuture of Flight AviationCentre and Boeing Tour run bya Foundation whose objectivesare to inspire and attractyoung people into aerospace.There is a large Rolls Roycepresence there whichdelighted me and it is a greatplace for young visitors to goto. It is instructional and thereare many interactive displaytools. All in all, that area of theUnited States is a must foranyone who has not beenthere and has the remotestinterest in aviation. And thescenery is not too bad either!

�

The Flying Heritage Collection,Paine Field, Everett, USAPAST MASTER JOHN HUTCHINSON

The Me 109 and the beautiful Curtiss JN-4D Jenny

A trio of American fighters, a P40 Warhawk, a P51 Mustang and a P47 Thunderbolt.

24

A Powerful Flight-Test ProgrammePAST MASTER HUGH FIELD

Throughout the 1990s Europeanaircraft designers struggled with aproject for a military freighter which

could provide capacity between theubiquitous C-130 and the mighty C-17. Thechoice of powerplant was a limitingconsideration and, over the years, projectdrawings were seen featuring turbopropsand turbofans alternately. Costconsiderations favoured an off-the-shelfsolution using fans but the operationalrequirement was shifting with the passageof time and turboprops were selected.

No suitable turboprop in the 10,000 s.h.p.category existed, which left the Airbusdesign consortium with a requirement for apurpose-built brand-new powerplant.There has always been reluctance for anew project to feature both a new airframeand a new engine and it was decided tocommission an engine flying test bed tocarry out a programme of risk-reductionflight trials. A contract for the design andconversion of the test bed was signed withMarshall Aerospace on 15 December, 2004.

The Meteorological Research C-130Hercules, XV208, entered service in 1975after role conversion by Marshall from astandard Royal Air Force aircraft and11,807 flying hours later it was retired in2001 and offered for disposal. Marshallbased their flying test bed proposal on theconversion of this aircraft and purchased itas soon as the ink was dry on the contract,finally taking delivery at Cambridge on 27April, 2005.

The conversion task was, to say the least,major for the test engine developing some10,000 s.h.p. was to replace the standard4,500 s.h.p. power plant in the No 2position. Turning this power into thrustrequired that the standard four-bladed 13ft6in diameter propeller should be replacedby one having eight blades and 17ft 6indiameter thus bringing the tips perilouslyclose to the fuselage.

Every discipline was needed at Marshall –aerodynamics, structures, stress, instru-mentation, performance, ergonomics and,almost above all, project management.Ultimately it would be up to chief test pilotIain Young and his team to carry out the50-hours flight-test programme called forby the contract and from an early stage inthe programme it was decided to build asimulator. A C-130 nose was readilyavailable from a scrapped aircraft and thecompany had all the necessary capability

to design and build a realistic simulatorwith visual system.

Because of the need to make fineadjustments on the test engine a newenlarged No 2 throttle has been placed atthe left end of the normal quadrant. Tocater for the large disparity between thestandard engines and the test unit, acomparator installed in the glare shieldgives a simple visual display andthroughout the basic airframe-provingflying symmetrical power was used.

Some 800 sensors are used to record thebehaviour of the test engine and the basicairframe and much of the data obtained isfed to eight flight-test observers seated atthree stations along the cabin. The highinternal noise level means that all crewmembers wear protective helmets at alltimes.

After three and a half years on the grounda very detailed schedule of systemsfunctioning and ground running of thebasic aircraft was needed in addition to theprogramme of ground running of the testengine before it could be cleared for flight.Some idea of the volume of work involvedcan be gained from the fact that 30km ofwiring was either replaced during themajor inspection or as part of the testinstallation.

As first flight approached the date seemedto the team to be constantly moving off tothe right. At Seville, where Airbus hadestablished its military division, reportssuggested that the first A400M was welladvanced in assembly and even had theengines hung. Was the test bed going to bethe critical path to the first flight of the new

aircraft? Certainly, the Marshall team werefaced with changes, particularly to theFADEC, which had to be fed into thedesign and it began to look as though thefirst flight of the test bed would not beachieved before the end of 2008. Finallythe design was frozen, ground runningcompleted and the aircraft granted itspermit to fly. Only the weather remainedcritical but on the last day before theChristmas break the sky was clear and thevital flight was achieved.

Nearly five months later the flight-testteam can look back on a remarkablysuccessful series of flights. From theairframe point of view a new series offlutter test points was called for, apart frombasic handling considerations. For theengine, power increases were appliedprogressively with full power at altitudebeing achieved on the third flight. As muchas data was being gained on the engine, soit was necessary to learn about thecharacteristics of the propeller. The firstrelight trials have been successful, givingthe team confidence that power can berecovered in the unlikely event of anunplanned power loss. Taking off with fullasymmetric power was clearly one of theultimate challenges but the aircraftbehaved exactly as the simulator hadpredicted.

There are few major flight-test programmesin the UK nowadays and first flights by anew type are rare. Marshall has risen to thechallenge of an unusually demanding taskand has thereby played a key role in thegestation of Europe’s new militaryfreighter.�

The Test bed C130's first take off from Cambridge Airport.

Photo courtesy of Marshall Aerospace.