Well despite it being midway through the 'muddy and watery' season there is still plenty of good flying being had. Springfield had a ripper 'Nor West Arch' wave day this month just gone and many other clubs have been up and out enjoying the majesty of mid winter flying and the unique perspective it brings.
Stay warm and if you can't do that, stay high.
Steve Wallace
GNZ President
Congratulations
PATRICK LALOR - 1st Outlanding
FERGUS PITNEY - KA13 Rated
WILLIAM KEEDWELL - 1st Winch Solo
Well done to Roger Read
Now available in the 'documentaries' section of the Inflight Entertainment system on all Air NZ international flights. The 45 minute long, award winning movie Sky Piercer, featuring some fantastic Duo flying over Mt Cook and our very own Fraser McDougall at the controls of one of the 3 Duos before climbing then skiing down Mt Cook.
Roger says "It took some getting there so I’m stoked we finally got it loaded. Its great exposure for our country and our sport."
Winter Flying
Who's been doing what
Tauranga
LAK-17B FES
Tauranga have a new toy. A LAK-17B with a front electric sustainer engine. Definitely looking forward to seeing this around the traps this season.
Sim Condor 2 VR
For those days or nights when you just can't go fly the real thing Tauranga now have the next best thing. Virtual Reality. If you think your club could benefit from this technology just give the friendly folk at Tauranga a call and they can tell you how much and how to set it up.
Nelson Lakes
Best back drop for a briefing
Instructor Marc Edgar briefs student Felix before going flying.
Wellington
Winter working bee
How many young folk does it take to supervise an older fella digging a hole? Learning by observation?
Canterbury
Photo of the month
Doesn't this look like fun? That Nor West Arch sure is a big wave.
Up coming events
"Get ye to one of these events below and a better pilot ye shall be."
Definition of an Incident
An 'accident' is where injury or damage is sustained. An 'incident' is any occurrence which could have led to an accident if no corrective action was taken. An accident often happens at the end of a string of seemingly minor incidents or omissions (the Swiss cheese model), where no single event is sufficient on its own to cause an accident. So when should an incident be reported? A useful guide is when someone else could learn from your incident, and possibly avoid having their own incident - or worse. If in doubt, file a report anyway. It's true that similar incidents may have occurred before - like wheel-up landings - but a large number of reports on a similar theme does signal a need for action.
Incident Reports
From the desk of the NOO (National Operations Officer)
So why is publishing incident reports useful?
Firstly it shows pilots that stuff happens, and may prompt alertness in similar situations, secondly it shows submitters that we do see benefit in doing something other than filing reports away for (later) analysis. Win all round.
Incident Reports reveal where we are bumping into the edge of the safe operating envelope. This can be due to a weakness in the training program, lack of currency, not paying enough attention, inadequate preparation . . . . or just simply drifting away from good practice.
Review of Incident Reports for June - July 2019
- carb ice in tow plane on take-off, cold winter morning - launch aborted, landed straight ahead
- unused 5th (crotch) strap dropped into rear seat control box, reduced up-elevator deflection
- trainee pilot briskly pulled trim lever rather than yellow knob to release, glider pitched up
- wheel up landing - pilot reported being distracted by being low in circuit, too far downwind
Don't forget a link to the GNZ incident reporting form (OPS 10) can now be found in the very top menu bar on the GNZ homepage, just to the right of the 'Classified Adverts'. You can now fill this form out on your phone at the airfield so no excuses.
Brian Sharpe, Chairman of the recently formed GNZ Membership Development Committee (MDC) is on a mission to recruit, retain and regain more GNZ members for the betterment of our sport.
Under a project titled Building Our Future Brianand his team have a vision and that is to ensure all our clubs are delivering world class soaring experiences - with skill and passion
To make this happen however Brian and his team need to be funded. So if you are not already a contributor to the promotions fund now is your chance. For less than the cost of a cup of coffee amonth you can contribute to the building of a bright and secure future for the sport we all love.
Contributors receive a Building Our Future bucket hat and regular reports on the MDC's plans, budgets, KPI's and results.
An automatic payment of either $5 or $10 per month (or $120.00 per annum) to the GNZ promotions account is all that is required.
Promotion Trust Account
BNZ 02-0568- 0304955-004
The MDC would like to thank all those who have already signed up and especially those who have chosen to contribute far more than the minimum.
Thanks for reading
All contributions, pics, videos and opinions welcome
