Submission of offers for BH Airlines start today

The Bosnia and Herzegovina agency for privatisation has , from today, started to accept offers for the national airline in order for it to be privatised. The privatisation of B&H was approved by the Bosnian government on May 29 this year. It won’t be a classical privatisation but a certain amount of shares will be sold so a strategic partner can be found who would work closely with the Bosnian government and both should invest money in the airline. There have already been talks with investors from the United States, Turkey (Turkish Airlines is interested in the purchase) and Croatia (Croatia Airlines has also voiced its interest). The foreign investor would gain 49% of the airline, with the majority share still in the hands of the government. The first action the new part owner must accomplish is to purchase the airline a 100 seater aircraft. This way the airline would have 3 fleet members. Last year the airline carried 70,000 passengers, an increase of 14.1% compared to 2007 and had a profit of 7.3 million Euros, a 9.5% increase compared to 2007.

Jat’s fleet shortage headache

Serbia’s national carrier is experiencing extreme delays on the majority of its flight due to a fleet shortage. The schedule was already stretched at the beginning of thesummer season with 15 aircraft operating for the airline. There were not many troubles until Monday. 3 aircraft (2 ATR72s and 1 B737-300) have undergone regular technical checks making the aircraft unusable for the next week. Major delays have been experienced on all flights particularly hurting the Belgrade-Dubai service which was delayed twice last week for up to 3 hours causing a headache for the airline as many transit passengers in Dubai had to be placed on other airlines due to missed connections. Although the airline apologised in the Serbian daily of Politika on Friday it says that it will not compromise safety and will not allow the 3 absent aircraft to leave the hangers until all regular checks are complete.

This morning Jat already has delayed flights with its Belgrade-Prague service delayed by an hour and the Belgrade-Istanbul service delayed by an hour and thirty five minutes however earlier flights this morning have been operating on time (improved situation compared to yesterday). Although things will soon be stabilised, once the out of service aircraft leave the hangers, the need for more new aircraft has now been made more evident than ever. If you are travelling on Jat in the next few days bring reading material – you will be spending some time at the airport.

HS748 ZK-MCB

Pic taken at Christchurch 08-10-1995
A bit of grotty weather web site browsing found that the ex Mt Cook HS748 ZK-MCB/2 has found another home.
Try looking (if you have a lot of time to spare) at http://www.ruudleeuw.com/index.html
To find the MCB ref; click on "Photos by friends & guests" then click on page 13 and drill your way down until you find a pic of it in its new identity of S2-AAX.

It started life as G-BGMO (c/n 1767) on 09-03-1779 and went to Trinidad as 9V-TGI, then off to Antigua as V2-LDB in December of 1985 on lease. It returned briefly to its Trinidad registration before returning to the UK as G-BGMO on 08-04-1986. It served with EuroAir, British Airways and Jersey European Airways and arrived in NZ on 04-12-1993. On the 10th of December it became ZK-MCB/2 (MCB/1 was an Islander c/n C336), and was named "Te Anau". Its last service for Mt Cook was on 31-12-1995 with it departing Christchurch for Norfolk Island & Brisbane on 09-02-1996. It took up its old G-BGMO registration again with Emerald Airways. After a period of storage it was cancelled on 18-03-2008 and is now S2-AAX with Bismillah Airlines in Bangladesh.

easyJet starts new flights to Croatia today

For the first time the low cost easyJet airline will today land in the Croatian city of Split from Geneva. This way the fourth largest European airline will be yet another to connect Croatia and Switzerland. From today, the 28th of June to the 13th of July the airline will operate these flights once a week (Saturday) while it will start 3 weekly flights 3 days later (operated Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday). The price of these flights start from 41 Euros, one way, including taxes. The large amount of Swiss tourists to Croatia should fill the planes to the Adriatic seaside city.

What is this ?

First noted at Rangiora in about July 2004 is this unknown helicopter type.

Air-96 is on the panel below the engine.
Reputed to have done about 1000 hours cattle mustering in Australia.
From what I observed it did not seem to have the grunt to lift off its trolley on a cool Rangiora day - let alone from a hot Aussie outback paddock !.
Engine on arrival was a Rotax 618 of around 70hp and a Rabe exhaust.
I believe it has been re-engined since but appears to have gone off the scene.

Anybody any clues as to what it is ?

Stewart Kerr Stuker




Among the April ownership changes was the Stewart Kerr Stuker. In case you have wondered what it looks like - here it is.
Looks not unlike a basic Rans S-9 Chaos.
First listed to Stewart Kerr on 13-05-1997.
A move to Andrew Gilmour at Taieri on 06-08-2003.
To Noel Wilson of Reefton from 08-04-2007 and now further North to Palmerston North for Robin Baker from 22-04-2008.


Instrument Flying Fundamental Skills


During attitude instrument training, you must develop three fundamental skills involved in all instrument flight maneuvers: instrument cross-check, instrument interpretation, and aircraft control. Although you learn these skills separately and in deliberate sequence, a measure of your proficiency in precision flying will be your ability to integrate these skills into unified, smooth, positive control responses to maintain any prescribed flight path.
 
Tag: Flying instrument, instrument flight, aviation, piloting, instrument rating, instrument flying training, instrument flight rating, instrument rating requirement, instrument rating regulation, aircraft, aero plane, airplane, and aeronautical knowledge.
 
Cross-Check
The first fundamental skill is cross-checking (also called "scanning" or "instrument coverage"). Cross-checking is the continuous and logical observation of instruments for attitude and performance information. In attitude instrument flying, the pilot maintains an attitude by reference to instruments that will produce the desired result in performance. Due to human error, instrument error, and airplane performance differences in various atmospheric and loading conditions, it is impossible to establish an attitude and have performance remain constant for a long period of time. These variables make it necessary for the pilot to constantly check the instruments and make appropriate changes in airplane attitude.
 
Tag: Flying instrument, instrument flight, aviation, piloting, instrument rating, instrument flying training, instrument flight rating, instrument rating requirement, instrument rating regulation, aircraft, aero plane, airplane, and aeronautical knowledge.

Jat Airways warns of slump in profit

The management of Jat Arways. Serbia’s national carrier announced that their projected profit of 59 million Euros for the end of 2008 has been revised to a profit of 37 million Euros which is a 22 million Euro decrease due to the unexpected hefty rise in oil prices. The news is followed by the IATA agency’s warning that every increase in the price of fuel will cost the aviation industry 1.6 billion US dollars. A few days ago Jat increased its ticket prices due to increased fuel prices with charter flights becoming more expensive from 8 to 14 Euros and selected scheduled destination between 1 to 7 Euros.

Twin engine training.

On 19th of March 2005 I managed to avoid being detected by the Oamaru Airport security system to get a couple of shots of the North Otago Aero Clubs twin engine trainer.


Good financial results for Adria

Slovenia’s Adria Airways’ management board presented to the supervisory board the business results for the period January–April 2008 and an estimate for May. The company has attained all the objectives it has set itself and is achieving better results than envisaged in the business plan, since it has generated 12% more income than planned and 9% more profit than planned. The management board informed the supervisory board of the critical situation concerning aviation fuel prices, and of the measures the management board has already taken and the measures it plans to take. By keeping costs under control and improving its results, particularly in scheduled and charter services, the company has generated almost € 6 million more income than planned and thus mitigated the unexpected growth in fuel prices. The supervisory board gave a positive assessment of the work of the management board and supported its activities to mitigate the effects of high fuel prices.

In the period from January to May 2008, Adria Airways carried a total of 430,126 passengers, which is 28% more than in the same period last year and 7% more than the figure in the business plan, and operated 15% more commercial flights. The company operated a total of 9,633 commercial flights. Income from scheduled flights increased by € 2.8 million above the figure in the business plan, while income from charter flights grew by an additional € 2.1 million. The company also generated € 1.2 million more operating income than planned. Despite the clear increase in income from operations, fuel costs have increased by over 37% as a result of the higher price of kerosene and now amount to 22% of the company's total costs.

Works of Art #7

Hmm !
Work of art - Maybe.
Robbie R22 Beta (c/n 1671) whilst with Christchurch Helicopters.
In this scheme briefly around October 2005 as part of the Christchurch Airports bird deterrent exercise.
Noted several times off the northern end of the runway at very low level with a shooter aboard.






Question time #11 winner

From the right hand seat, looking over the nose of a Pilatus PC6 Porter heading towards the Upper Tasman Glacier.
Cannot comment on what lurks below that protrusion.
I think the Tasman Hut is at the top of that bluff just above that hump on the cowl.
Well done Rodney.

Question time #11

What am I looking at here then ?

SAS Scandinavian Airlines expanding network throughout Croatia

On Monday the 31st of March in 2008, SAS introduced flights between Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Zagreb, Croatia. The line between Stockholm and Zagreb is currently operated with departures on Monday and Friday afternoon. From the 30th of April frequencies were increased to three times a week with the new departures on Wednesday. The results from the flights are very good and have caused SAS to keep expanding their Croatia network. SAS Sverige started flights between Gothenburg and Split on June 7th and has continued to operate its Stockholm-Split service on Tuesday and Saturday. With all these direct lines between Sweden and Croatia SAS Sverige is now the largest operator of direct flights from Sweden to Croatia.

“With the new lines we continue our important expansion in Europe. The destinations in Croatia are a result from an increased interest in our flights from Sweden to Croatia, as a destination for holiday but also as a destination for business trips”, says Susanne Dahlberg, head of Commercial at SAS Sverige. Croatia’s national airline, Croatian Airlines, has no direct flights to any Swedish city.

Recent register changes

A couple of interesting changes to the register recently.
Westland Scout AH/1 ZK-HVD/2 (c/n F.9704) of Heli-Logging was revoked on 16-04-2008. First registered in NZ on 21-10-1999 to Metro Air in Christchurch and first flown here on 07-11-1999. It moved over to the Ford Family Trust on 09-08-2001. This is the last of six such machines on our register.
Both pics at Wanaka airshow 2004.

The Westland Wessex HC Mk2 ZK-HBE/3 (c/n WA196) also from Heli-Logging, was listed to The Wessex Trust c/- Mark Ford on 11-06-2008. This ex RAF helicopter joined the NZ register with Wessex Air Ltd (Metro Air) on 11-12-2001 before relisting to Helilogging on 21-02-2003.

Its close cousin Wessex ZK-HBF/3 (c/n WA533) was revoked on 16-04-2008.

The third Wessex ZK-HVK/2 (c/n WA178) was a HC Mk5C model. It was lost in an accident on 11-02-2001 in the Little Pokororo Valley.

There are several (up to seven) other airframes in country but they have not reached the civil register.

What is wrong with sailplane airfoils for powered planes

Everything might look very obvious at first, but after digging more and more, it becomes clearer and clearer what kind of compromises all aircraft are made of and why.

A known thing is that the more efficient the airfoil the higher L/D ratio it has and vice versa. So one could go and find that sailplane airfoils produce very high L/D ratios. There is a little but on that though: Sailplane airfoils commonly achieve the best L/D ratio at higher Cl than what is optimal for a powered aircraft with reasonable wing loading where the cruise Cl is between 0.15 and 0.20. E.g. NLF 215F seems to achieve its L/D max at around Cl 0.5 which is unusually low compared to some other airfoils that require Cl being close to 1.0. That is acceptable for a sailplane that is thermalling at close to the stall speed. However, that is not where one wants to cruise with a powered aircraft, there is usually a requirement to get somewhere in a reasonable time, thus speed has some importance.

I have previously mentioned that the wing loading and cruise Cl has direct relation. The higher the wing loading, the higher the cruise Cl vice versa. Then the speed where the best L/D ratio occurs has a relation to the previous and it also tends to have relation to the top speed.

Diamond DA40 uses Wortmann FX 63-137 airfoil. It has best L/D ratio higher than the optimal < 0.2 (for light wing loading). Therefore the best L/D speed is the same as the approach speed on the aircraft. Similarly on Diamond DA42 Twin Star the same airfoil was used but the wing loading is as high as it is on Cirrus SR20. The result is that the best L/D speed is higher than on DA40, the top speed is higher (it is not only because of the two engines, the two engines produce also more drag than one). Because of the substantially heavier wing loading, the DA42 cruises at higher Cl than the DA40 and it gets closer to the airfoil optimum resulting better aerodynamic efficiency.

Cirrus SR20 is very similar to the DA40 but it has a different airfoil and higher wing loading. That results best L/D ratio speed being 96 kts. SR22 has that value even higher, it is over 100 kts, but it can be misleading that the best glide speed mentioned in the operating handbook is lower than on SR20. That is the best glide speed, it is not the best L/D ratio speed of the airfoil, it is a compromise of the airfoil + fuselage + propeller and in the SR22 the propeller is braking a lot more than on SR20, which alone is enough to explain the lower best glide speed - because of the propeller braking, the SR22 sinks faster, but if there was no propeller, SR22 could have higher glide speed than the SR20. But what this has to do with the topic? The interesting thing is that the Cirrus has different airfoil and higher wing loading and the optimum glide speed is higher than on DA40 which results potential to faster cruise speed than DA40 (whereas it is not exactly the airfoil's best L/D speed because of the mentioned reasons). Providing that there is enough power available, the Cirrus airframe is faster although the larger fuselage cross section and wetted area most likely pretty much diminishes the benefit from the wing, that is also partly a reason why the best cruise speed performance of DA40-180/XL and SR20 is not that much different, SR20 is just slightly faster - the Diamond has better fuselage shape and it simply is a lot smaller aircraft than the Cirrus and size does not tend to come without penalty when it comes to aerodynamic drag.

However, it would be beneficial for efficiency to have an airfoil which could achieve higher L/D ratio at the cruise Cl of the DA40 already. It does not come without penalties of course, the airfoils which have high L/D ratio at low Cl don't necessarily always produce optimal Clmax (which then has also relation to the required wing area which gets back to the stall speed and wing loading).

And it is not all in that, Daniel Raymer notes in his book that usually only 90% of the theoretical Clmax of the airfoil gets realized in practice. Therefore it is a interesting compromise between the wing sizing, and the best L/D at cruise Cl. Daniel Raymer notes in high book that the Cl is one of the hardest things to estimate without experimental data from test flights, and often test flights result in the need of modifications (e.g. if the Clmax in practise is not as good as was predicted, a larger wing is required to meet the maximum stall speed criteria, which is for single engine aircraft 61 kts).

It would be really interesting if someone would have a batch processing functionality in a airfoil program that would ingest the UIUC airfoil database data and simulate through all airfoils and put them into a correct order for the given specification (cruise Cl below 0.2), as high L/D at cruise Cl for a low wing loading, and at the same time, as high Clmax as possible, and at the same time, gentle stall charasteristics at low Reynolds number. And of course, the pitching moment also has some importance, high pitching moment tends to cause more trim drag which reduces the achievable Clmax (of the total airframe) considerably - if the wing can achieve e.g. Clmax 2.2, the airframe may be left to below 1.5 in total because of the download in the tail that is negative lift.

Jat hits 500.000 passenger mark

On Monday, June 16, 2008, Jat Airways carried its 500,000th passenger. This is more than ever before. Last year, Jat carried its 500,000th passenger on June 25, in 2006 – on June 30, in 2005 – on July 24, in 2004 – on July 2 and in 2003 – on July 8. Jat Airways expects to have carried one and a half million passengers by the end of the year. This would have been a new record compared to the last year's figure when it carried one million 300,000 passengers. Also, this would see Jat well on its way toward definitely achieving one of its strategic goals – that of regaining the position of regional leader in commercial air traffic.

Bad news for passengers
Due to the global increase in oil prices, like many other airlines, Jat Airways will increase its ticket prices on charter flights and select scheduled services. Ticket prices on charter flights will increase somewhere in the range of 8 to 14 Euros and select regular service charges will increase somewhere in the range of 1 to 7 Euros.

A winner for Question time #10

Yes !
Grey Beard wins the elusive (fictional) chocolate fish.

The aircraft is indeed the Beechcraft 65-B80 Queen Air ZK-CIA/2 which is enduring gentle decay at Bridge Pa airfield, Hastings.
This aircraft flew into Auckland as N640K on 27-12-1988 to become ZK-CIA/2 for Chathams Air and served for some ten years before being parked up at Hastings.

In memorium #2

On Paraumu Airfield Control Tower hill.
Between the Aviation Museum and the Air to There office.


4th civilian airport for Bosnia and Herzegovina

With a population of 80,000 people in South eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina the construction of yet another civilian airport is on the horizon – Trebinje Airport in the town of Trebinje. The local authorities have given their approval for plans to begin to be gathered for the construction of the airport. The positive side of the area is its terrain and the ability for an airport to be built in Trebinje. Another plus is that the airport will be on the AdrAlthough Dubrovnik in Croatia and Tivat in Montenegro are nearby they do not have the ability to expand iatic Sea. The airport’s newly elected CEO says the airport could have a lot of potential. and cater for new incoming traffic. The CEO Zoran Okilj also explains that Podgorica is not an airport where tourists fly to although it is close to Trebinje. The city authorities are hoping to attract low budget tourists and low budget airlines as the cost for the use new facilities and services at Trebinje Airport will be the lowest in the region. The next stage of the project includes geographical studies of the area where the airport will be built as well as a comprehensive study of air corridors in the EX-YU region. Although the construction of the airport is still a distant reality Okilj states that there are various companies and businessmen interested in investing in the project.

Trebinje is located in the Serb entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina called Republika Srpska. If built it would become the fourth international airport in the country, following Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar while it would be the second in Republika Srpska after Banja Luka.

Question time #10

Another easy, what and where ?

New plane arrivals for Montenegro Airlines

After the successful start of the Tivat to London service last week with its brand new Embraer 195 jet, Montenegro Airlines management is announcing new plane arrivals. A second E195 is expected to arrive in May next year while two additional E195’s are expected to be purchase following the airline’s privatisation. The airline’s CEO Zoran Đurišić said: “An Assembly of our Shareholders is scheduled to take place on 22 July. At this session, Montenegro Airlines would change its’ structure and become a share-holding company. After this, we shall offer 30 percent of shares for sale, while the majority package would remain under the control of the government”. As he said, funds obtained through selling of these shares would be used for the purchase of two additional “Embrearer” planes to add to the two already purchased. Although it was originally planned for services to the UK to originate from Podgorica the airline, together with the government of Montenegro, decided to move the origin to Tivat as this way tourists from the UK could be attracted to Montenegro’s coast. However flights from Podgorica to London will now start in September 2008.

Winner for Question Time #9

nzompilot got the answer first time (with a little help from a Blue Bus technical error).
The above shot shows ZK-CAW at McDonalds in Taupo.

ZK-CAW (18923) started life with the USAAF serialled 42-100460 and joined the civil ranks as VH-ANM with Australian National Airways in February 1947. Its final Australian operator was Airlines of NSW from February 1961.
It was modified to "Viewmaster" status (Lengthened cabin windows) before arriving in NZ on 23-10-1961 to become ZK-CAW with South Pacific Airways of NZ Ltd and was named "George Bolt".
It joined NZNAC in March 1966 and was leased to Fiji Airways as VQ-FAI, returning to NZNAC in August 1969.
It the briefly served with Mount CookAirlines and then South Seas Airways before it went to Fieldair in May of 1971 in the agricultural role..
Its last flight was on 29-10-1984 bringing its total airframe time to 56,282 hours
By November 1990 it was at McDonalds.

Nice to see the B170 stuph on your blog.

Unidentified Hughes 369

Can anyone identifty this unmarked mechanical mouse that arrived in a flurry at the Taupo Airfield fuel pumps on 03-03-2008 ?

Question time #9

What is the aircraft registration; where is it ??

In memorium


Photo taken 03-03-2008.
This memorial for two well know aviators is sited at the Centennial Park airfield of the Taupo Gliding Club.

Jat Tehnika now servicing Sterling Airlines

Jat Tehnika, the largest EX-YU engendering company based in Belgrade, Serbia is continuing its expansion by signing a deal to commence servicing aircraft from the Danish based Icelandic Sterling Airlines. Tehnika will service the Boeing 737-700NG fleet of the Icelandic airline with the first aircraft recently arriving (as seen on the photo above). From September 2008 to March 2009 aircraft will continually start arriving at Belgrade’s airport for technical checks. 12 international airlines are now being served by Jat Tehnika. These include: British Airways, Jet2.com, CSA Czech Airlines, Palmair, S7 Airlines, Jat Airwyas and Transaero.

The new deal may boost interest for the purchase of the company as it is currently in the processes of privatisation which should be complete by the end of October this year. Approximate seven world-wide companies are interested in becoming the majority owners of Jat Tehnika.

Oh ! The things we do.

A really neat spot for rock collectors.

Mt Brewster in January 2007. Up above the Haast Pass Road.
Swine of a job, but I suppose somebody had to do it.

Photos by Shane.
Mode of transport was Hughes 369D ZK-HSR/2 (116-0024D) of Back Country Helicopters. This once operated as ZK-HPX 1980 - 1988 before a move offshore to PNG. It returned in 1992 for Harvey Hutton.
Since this shot it was damaged on 13-07-2007.

Medical Factors


A "go/no-go" decision is made before each flight. The pilot should not only preflight check the aircraft, but also his/ herself before every flight. As a pilot you should ask yourself, "Could I pass my medical examination right now?" If you cannot answer with an absolute "yes," then you should not fly. This is especially true for pilots embarking on flights in IMC. Instrument flying can be much more demanding than flying in VMC, and peak performance is critical for the safety of flight.

Pilot performance can be seriously degraded by both prescribed and over-the-counter medications, as well as by the medical conditions for which they are taken. Many medications, such as tranquilizers, sedatives, strong pain relievers, and cough-suppressants, have primary effects that may impair judgment, memory, alertness, coordination, vision, and the ability to make calculations. Others, such as antihistamines, blood pressure drugs, muscle relaxants, and agents to control diarrhea and motion sickness, have side effects that may impair the same critical functions. Any medication that depresses the nervous system, such as a sedative, tranquilizer, or antihistamine, can make a pilot much more susceptible to hypoxia.

Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) prohibits pilots from performing crewmember duties while using any medication that affects the faculties in any way contrary to safety. The safest rule is not to fly as a crewmember while taking any medication, unless approved to do so by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If there is any doubt regarding the effects of any medication, consult an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) before flying.

Alcohol
14 CFR part 91 prohibits pilots from performing crewmember duties within 8 hours after drinking any alcoholic beverage or while under the influence. Extensive research has provided a number of facts about the hazards of alcohol consumption and flying. As little as one ounce of liquor, one bottle of beer, or four ounces of wine can impair flying skills and render a pilot much more susceptible to disorientation and hypoxia. Even after the body completely metabolizes a moderate amount of alcohol, a pilot can still be impaired for many hours. There is simply no way of increasing the metabolism of alcohol or alleviating a hangover.

Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the most treacherous hazards to flight safety, as it may not be apparent to a pilot until serious errors are made. Fatigue can be either acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term). A normal occurrence of everyday living, acute fatigue is the tiredness felt after long periods of physical and mental strain, including strenuous muscular effort, immobility, heavy mental workload, strong emotional pressure, monotony, and lack of sleep. Acute fatigue is prevented by adequate rest, regular exercise, and proper nutrition. Chronic fatigue occurs when there is not enough time for a full recovery from repeated episodes of acute fatigue. Recovery from chronic fatigue requires a prolonged period of rest. In either case, unless adequate precautions are taken, personal performance could be impaired and adversely affect pilot judgment and decision making.

IMSAFE Checklist
The following checklist, IMSAFE, is intended for a pilot's personal preflight use. A quick check of the items on this list can help the pilot make a good self-evaluation prior to any flight. If the answer to any of the checklist questions is yes, then the pilot should consider not flying.

Illness—Do I have any symptoms?
Medication—Have I been taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs?
Stress—Am I under psychological pressure from the job? Do I have money, health, or family problems?
Alcohol—Have I been drinking within 8 hours? Within 24 hours?
Fatigue—Am I tired and not adequately rested?
Eating—Have I eaten enough of the proper foods to keep adequately nourished during the entire flight?

Hypoxia: A state of oxygen deficiency in the body sufficient to impair functions of the brain and other organs.

First person view for RC aircraft - FPV links

FPV pilot home page

Hobby wireless - a shop where you can buy FPV stuff

Youtube video about FPV in operation:

Croatia Airlines lands in Podgorica

Croatia Airlines believes it may soon become a regional leader in South Eastern Europe. This is what the CEO of the airline Ivan Mišetić said after the start of regular services to Podogrica yesterday and Priština 2 days ago. The first flight to Podogorica yesterday had 37 passengers on board. Officials from both countries waved goodbye to the aircraft at Zagreb’s airport. The flights are operated 3 times a week using a combination between the regional ATR42 aircraft and the A320. A return ticket from Zagreb’s Pleso Airport to Podogrica will cost you 140 Euros.

Physiological and Psychological Factors


Several factors can affect the pilot, either physiologically or psychologically, to the point where the safety of a flight can be severely compromised. These factors are stress, medical, alcohol, and fatigue. Any of these factors, individually or in combination, can significantly degrade the pilot's decision making or flying abilities, both in the flight planning phase and in flight.

Stress
Stress is the body's response to demands placed upon it. These demands can be either pleasant or unpleasant in nature. The causes of stress for a pilot can range from unexpected weather or mechanical problems while in flight, to personal issues totally unrelated to flying. Stress is an inevitable and necessary part of life; it adds motivation to life and heightens a pilot's response to meet any challenge. The effects of stress are cumulative, and there is a limit to a pilot's adaptive nature. This limit, the stress tolerance level, is based on a pilot's ability to cope with the situation.

At first, some amount of stress can be desirable and can actually improve performance. Higher stress levels, particularly over long periods of time, can adversely affect performance. Performance will generally increase with the onset of stress, but will peak and then begin to fall off rapidly as stress levels exceed the ability to cope.

At the lower stress levels, boredom is followed by optimal performance at the moderate stress levels, then followed ultimately by overload and panic at the highest stress levels. At this point, a pilot's performance begins to decline and judgment deteriorates. Complex or unfamiliar tasks require higher levels of performance than simple or over learned tasks. Complex or unfamiliar tasks are also more subject to the adverse effects of increasing stress than simple or familiar tasks.

The indicators of excessive stress often show as three types of symptoms: (1) emotional, (2) physical, and (3) behavioral. These symptoms depend upon whether aggression is focused inward or outward. Individuals who typically turn their aggressive feelings inward often demonstrate the emotional symptoms of depression, preoccupation, sadness, and withdrawal. Individuals who typically take out their frustration on other people or objects exhibit few physical symptoms. Emotional symptoms may surface as overcompensation, denial, suspicion, paranoia, agitation, restlessness, defensiveness, excess sensitivity to criticism, argumentative-ness, arrogance, and hostility. Pilots need to learn to recognize the symptoms of stress as they begin to occur within themselves.

Stress: The body's response to demands placed upon it.

There are many techniques available that can help reduce stress in life or help people cope with it better. Not all of the following ideas may be the solution, but some of them should be effective.

1.        Become knowledgeable about stress.
2.        Take a realistic self-assessment.
3.        Take a systematic approach to problem solving.
4.        Develop a lifestyle that will buffer against the effects of stress.
5.        Practice behavior management techniques.
6.        Establish and maintain a strong support network.

Good cockpit stress management begins with good life stress management. Many of the stress-coping techniques practiced for life stress management are not usually practical in flight. Rather, pilots must condition themselves to relax and think rationally when stress appears. The following checklist outlines some methods of cockpit stress management.

1.        Avoid situations that distract from flying the aircraft.
2.        Reduce workload to reduce stress levels. This will create a proper environment in which to make good decisions.
3.        If an emergency does occur, be calm. Think for a moment, weigh the alternatives, then act.
4.        Become thoroughly familiar with the aircraft, its operation, and emergency procedures. Also, maintain flight proficiency to build confidence.
5.        Know and respect personal limits.
6.        Do not allow small mistakes to be distractions during flight; rather, review and analyze them after landing.
7.        If flying adds stress, either stop flying or seek professional help to manage stress within acceptable limits.

Celebrating 81 years of service

Jat Airways, Serbia’s national carrier today celebrates 81 years since the airline Aeroput was created. Aeroput was renamed Jat Yugoslav Airlines after World War Two which soon became one of the biggest and most advanced airlines in the world with main bases in Zagreb and Belgrade. It was diminished in 1990 after the civil wars in Yugoslavia broke out and went through a period of domestic only service as the UN banned the airline from many world airports. Still the airline managed to survive. On June 17, 1927 when Aeroput was created it was the tenth airline in Europe and the 21st in the world.

Jat Airways marks the 2008 anniversary with the best financial and passenger result since 1991. From January to May 2008 it transported 437.862 passengers which is a 9% increase compared to last year. Jat is awaiting an extremely important as it will be privatised. Currently Aeroflot, Island Air, Air Berlin, Air One and Aegean Airlines are interested to purchase the national carrier.

Aeroput (1927-1943) – National airline of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
JAT Yugoslav Airlines (1943-1992) – National airline of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Yugoslav Airlines (1992-2003) – National airline of Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia
Jat Airways (2003-2006) – National airline of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro
Jat Airways (2006- ) - National airline of the Republic of Serbia


Ardmore 17Jun

Colin Hunter visited Ardmore today and snapped a couple of recent entrants to the ZK register.

L-29 ZK-SSS (395192) is one of two registered to Pacific Airways of Auckland back in March this year. It arrived at Ardmore on Friday 13Jun possible from New Plymouth where it was noted arriving from points unknown on 27May. The second aircraft registered to Pacific Airways is ZK-SSU and these two made the type's population up to 4 aircraft with a ZK-JRF registered to Christchurch interests and ZK-VAU based at New Plymouth.


Eurocopter EC120 ZK-IFZ (1113) was registered on 03Jun to Rotor Flite and was imported from Japan where it flew as JA33MK.


Jat Tehnika privatisation deadline September 26

The Serbian privatisation agency today announced that Jat Tehnika (the largest EX-YU technical base located in Belgrade) is now on sale. 70% of the company is being sold while the other 30% will stay in the Serbian government’s ownership. The Serbian privatisation agency specifies that only companies dealing with aviation engineering for at least the past 5 years may send in an offer. All interested parties must until September 26, 2008 hand in their offers. It has been announced that so far 15 companies are interested in purchasing Tehnika one of which is the world famous Singapore based ST Engineering as well as companies from Israel, the United States and Austria. The public call advertising the deadline for offer submissions today appeared in Serbia’s daily Politika as well as the global Financial Times.

Jat Airways deadline in September

Meanwhile the Serbian privatisation agency will call companies to submit their offers for Jat Airways on July 15 with the final deadline for submission of offers being in September. The Serbian finance minister said that whoever buys the airline must follow the terms of the agreement which specify Jat will remain Serbia’s national airline, the flagship will not change and that the government has its own appointed members to the Jat Airways board.

Montenegro Airlines and Jat Airwaysstart new flights

Montenegro Airlines from today, 16 of June, is commencing regular service from the Serbian city of Niš to the Montenegrin town of Tivat. The flights will operate two times a week using a Fokker F100. The flights will last until September 5. Meanwhile Serbia’s national carrier Jat Airways is also starting services on the same destination. The flights will operate from June 20 to September 5. Therefore Montenegro Airlines will operate flights on Monday and Friday while Jat will operate on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (using an ATR72). In total this summer Jat Airways services flights to Zuirch. Tivat, Corfu and Heraklion from Niš while Montenegro Airlines will fly to Tivat. Yesterday Montenegro Airlines operated its inaugural flight to London Gatwick using its brand new Embraer 100.

Vision Under Dim and Bright Illumination


Under conditions of dim illumination, aeronautical charts and aircraft instruments can become unreadable unless adequate cockpit lighting is available. In darkness, vision becomes more sensitive to light; this process is called dark adaptation. Although exposure to total darkness for at least 30 minutes is required for complete dark adaptation, a pilot can achieve a moderate degree of dark adaptation within 20 minutes under dim red cockpit lighting. Red light distorts colors, especially on aeronautical charts, and makes it very difficult for the eyes to focus on objects inside the aircraft. Pilots should use it only where optimum outside night vision capability is necessary. White cockpit lighting should be available when needed for map and instrument reading, especially under IMC conditions.

Dark adaptation is impaired by exposure to cabin pressure altitudes above 5,000 feet, carbon monoxide inhaled through smoking and from exhaust fumes, deficiency of Vitamin A in the diet, and by prolonged exposure to bright sunlight. Since any degree of dark adaptation is lost within a few seconds of viewing a bright light, pilots should close one eye when using a light to preserve some degree of night vision. During night flights in the vicinity of lightning, cockpit lights should be turned up to help prevent loss of night vision due to the bright flashes.

Dark adaptation: Physical and chemical adjustments of the eye that make vision possible in relative darkness.

Jat Airways hopes to regain market dominance

Jat Airways, Serbia’s national carrier will be poised after privatization to regain the market dominance it once had in Eastern Europe, its chief executive said Saturday to the Associated Press. "Our strategic plan is to become a regional leader," Saša Vlaisavljević said. "We're convinced this is an achievable goal." Vlaisavljević said that Aeroflot and Icelandair are among the half dozen airlines that have expressed a "strong interest" in buying a controlling share. "According to our information, both have signed letters of intent" with the privatization agency," he said. "But that doesn't mean there won't be more interested parties." In Reykjavik, a spokesman for Icelandair said the airline had not yet made an offer for JAT. "It is common knowledge that we have expressed an interest in the company in the past," spokesman Gudjon Arngrimsson said. Media reports have suggested that Italy's Air One could also bid for Jat. "It's difficult to believe we could again have the 5 million passengers we carried with a fleet of 36 aircraft in the late 1980s," Vlaisavljević said. "But we could still be a very successful European company carrying 1.5-2 million passengers annually, and a very strong regional hub."

B&H Airlines opens Tuzla International Airport

Tuzla International Airport, located in North Eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina (the third largest city in the country) has been open for civilian use as up until now it was only a military air base. The airport was open when a promotional BH Airlines flights took off from Sarajevo to Tuzla early yesterday. More than 1.5 million convertible marks (KM) have been invested into the airport. The airport becomes the fourth international airport in the country after Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar. The biggest problem authorities will face will be how to attract airlines to the town and keep the airport profitable. Sarajevo itself has only 10 scheduled airlines operating, Banja Luka 3 and Mostar 1.

Jat Airways privatisation: Starting price 150 million Euros

The minister of the Serbian economy and regional development Mlađan Dinkić announced today that the tender for submission of offers for the purchase of Serbia’s national airline, Jat Airways, will open around July 15, 2008. The starting price of the Serbian air carrier will be 150 million Euros although reports suggest that Aeroflot, the most serious contender for the purchase would buy Jat for 350 million Euros and invest further millions in fleet rejuvenation, debt pay off and the end to the 12 year Airbus order dispute. Dinkić said the sale will initially cover 51% of the airline's shares. That percentage may be increased to 75% on the outcome of talks with the buyers

Jat assets
Jat Airways has ownership of 16 aircraft. Furthermore it has 30 offices outside of Serbia (including New York, Toronto, Sydney and Beijing) and 10 offices inside Serbia. It also owns the pilot academy in the Serbian town of Vršac and buildings and storage areas at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport. It is estimated that Jat’s assets in Croatia are worth at least 12.5 million Euros. On the negative side Jat owes the Paris and London investors club 209 million Euros. The airline has 1.811 employees. Until recently it also owned 3 hotels in Belgrade, hotel in Vršac and a hotel in the Serbian mountain town of Kopaonik together with its catering provider Jat Catering although these were made independent a few months ago following the decision on behalf of the Government of Serbia.

Wing structural considerations

Martin Hollman's book seems to describe structural calculations of wing in a pretty understandable way. Even I can follow how the resulting equation comes from the integration. I may write some software for spar sizing and layup schedule later after I get the aerodynamics part good enough to be useful. Martin Hollman's book includes Basic language programs for spar sizing etc., but they are not that easy to convert into modern programming languages because they are full of gotos and gosubs and global variables used in a crazy manner (the traditional Basic-spaghetti way). So it seems to be easier to understand the equations first and create the calculation algorithm from scratch by myself.

However, it would be interesting to know how much weight penalty comes from high aspect ratio. I am particularly interested in AR higher than 10 where around 14 would be great, because I am interested in high flight efficiency. However, my structural needs would be for a lot higher speeds than used on gliders, so it would be interesting to know how feasible it is to achieve a structure for AR=14 that can have Va >= 200 mph without adverse effects e.g. like aileron reversal and flutter.

I wrote a review in Finnish about Diamond DA40D handling qualities

I got type check out for Diamond DA40D yesterday and I wrote an article about it. I was very pleased with the handling qualities of the aircraft, it has the most well defined control feel than any other plane I have ever flown to the date. If you understand Finnish, you can read the full article from here http://lentokone.blogspot.com/2008/06/kokeiltua-diamond-da40d.html.

How to Prevent Landing Errors Due to Visual Illusions


Pilots can take action to prevent these illusions and their potentially hazardous consequences if they:

1.        Anticipate the possibility of visual illusions during approaches to unfamiliar airports, particularly at night or in adverse weather conditions. Consult airport diagrams and the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD) for information on runway slope, terrain, and lighting.
2.        Make frequent reference to the altimeter, especially during all approaches, day and night.
3.        If possible, conduct aerial visual inspection of unfamiliar airports before landing.
4.        Use Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) or Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) systems for a visual reference, or an electronic glide slope, whenever they are available.
5.        Utilize the visual descent point (VDP) found on many non-precision instrument approach procedure charts.
6.        Recognize that the chances of being involved in an approach accident increase when some emergency or other activity distracts from usual procedures.
7.        Maintain optimum proficiency in landing procedures.

Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI): A system of lights arranged to provide visual descent guidance information during the approach to the runway. A pilot on the correct glide slope will see red lights over white lights.

Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI): Similar to the VASI but consisting of one row of lights in two or four-light systems. A pilot on the correct glide slope will see two white lights and two red lights.

What Reynolds number fits into my car

I was thinking which is the highest Reynolds number I can fit into our car for transportation. And it seems like it goes as low as 136000, which makes 40 km/h stall speed (~10 m/s) in wing chord being 0.2 m and length 2 meters where aspect ratio becomes 10. This would already require two separate wings, joint left and right wing are not feasible to transport. So the airfoil selection gets a new twist, I can not reach 500000 in any meaningful way with high aspect ratio wings on a model that fits into a car. Also the achievable Cl is quite limited on the low Reynolds number and Cd is not as nice as could be achieved with higher Reynolds numbers. Even this is quite overkill as 40 km/h is very fast for a small model aircraft.

MAT – Greece crisis deepens

Greece's Ministry of Transport and Communications banned a few months ago the national airline of Macedonia to fly to destinations in Greece due to the name "Macedonian Airlines (MAT)". MAT’s request for obtaining permission to fly in June, July and August to Greek charter destinations was rejected by Greece. “Referring to you letter about tour charter flights in June, July and August 2008, we kindly inform you that we cannot grant permission to the airline under the name of MAT-Macedonian Airlines", reads the response sent by the Greek Transport Ministry. Subsequently, MAT appealed to the European Regions Airline Association, EU Ambassador Erwan Fouere, Air Traffic Committee and Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry and to the Civil Aviation Agency. Furthermore Macedonian President Crvenkovski, cancelled his participation at the Summit of Heads of States of Southeast Europe in Athens due to Greece’s decision to ban the landing of the Macedonian government as the name Macedonia was written on it. The summit is taking place tomorrow in Ahtens.

The economic implications of the MAT ban in Greece will be seen at the end of the year. There is no air traffic between the neighbouring Macedonia and Greece at the moment. A reminder to readers that Macedonian Airlines was created in 1992 as the charter subsidiary of the Greek national airline, Olympic Airways. The Olympic Airways management board decided to rename the charter subsidiary of the Group, Olympic AirTours in 1992 and the Macedonian Airlines brand name was created. The company had nothing to do with MAT Macedonian Airlines, which was founded two years later, in 1994. The Olympic subsidiary is now defunct.

I remember when

I remember when the Department of Civil Aviation operated two Douglas DC-3's on airways calibration duties based at Paraparaumu (In what is now the Helipro hangar)
If you were in the know, it was possible to cadge a ride for the day (or longer) on what were classed as Famil Flights.
You had to pick your day with care as the continual turning combined with other meteorological phenomena could lead to periods of unwellness.
Here we are at Invercargill on 23rd April 1968 in ZK-AUJ c/n 26651/15206.
It was delivered to the RNZAF on 30-12-1944 and became NZ3530.
It joined the ZK register on 18-04-1952 with CAA, then relisted to DCA and finally to MOT CAD Division after departmental reorganisations.
It was sold in 1973 having been replaced by Fokker F27's.
It departed Auckland on 20-06-1973 and spent about six weeks in Australia before moving to Cambodia to become XW-TFJ.
I heard that it "escaped" from the Pol Pot clutches and flew into Don Muang in April of 1975 for storage and was broken up in the mid 80's.
The original B & W photograph was re-photographed with my digital camera and appears above unedited.

Dark corners.

Walking past a hangar at Rangiora yesterday I spotted the AS350BA upgraded Squirrel ZK-HKW/4 , c/n 1360 , tucked away in the dark corner. Ive seen it around hundreds of times before so I continued my snoop around. Wasn't until I spoke to one of the other aircraft owners that he mentioned that they had a "new" helicopter based on the field. On the way back to the vehicle I had a closer look at the olde familiar HKW and found that there were two guys down from Taupo installing spray equipment on her and that it now operates under a different name; not that of Amuri Helicopters - to whom it was registered on 05-02-2008 - but Way To GO Heliservices.
A bit of a lesson there I guess.
This Squirrell is now 27 years old, but is not long off a prolonged major rebuild at Christchurch Helicopters. (A back of the hangar spare time job).
Incidently it flew as ZK-HDV/2 with Southern Lakes/Helicopter Line and Northland Emergency Services between late 1990 and June 1993 before going to Australia to become VH-HBK.
It returned to NZ in June 2002 for CHCH Helicopters as HKW.

Comparing different configurations and plotting fuselage cross sections

Each configuration is a different compromise. I have been thinking hard which would work out the best. This may need to be proven to do a design for all the different alternatives as follows:

1. Laminar body fuselage with prop in rear. Boom tail. Front free of protruding elements until the laminar-turbulent transition point. Rotax 914 might fit into the rear of a rotated NACA 66-030 with no (or at least not long) extension shaft needed.
2. Laminar body fuselage shape with prop in the front, potential for laminar flow lost because of the prop disturbing air in the front. Like Stemme S6.
3. Laminar body fuselage with prop in the rear of the tail. Requires extension shaft which is structurally challenging.

Each design would need to be identical (fuselage pod length in Reynolds number should be equal) and the objective would be to investigate which one produces best compromise for low drag and is structurally the best solution (without unacceptable risk of in-flight failing parts (extension shaft in any circumstances must not fail)).

Measuring the difference actually is quite difficult because of the difference in the Reynolds number of a model aircraft and a full size aircraft because it affects quite heavily the laminar low drag area and where the transition to turbulent flow occurs. Also airfoil which is proper for full size aircraft would not work on a model. The NLF414F I discovered earlier does not work with low Reynolds number, it has nasty stall characteristics with low Reynolds number.

What interests me most in this is that how much drag the two tail booms would add. Would the penalty be more than the benefit of achieving laminar flow in the forward fuselage? Is the extension shaft the only way to achieve laminar flow without sacrificing the benefit?

I have been thinking possible concept for a model: try out the boom tail configuration as specified above. Fuselage would be rotated NACA 66-030 with propeller in the rear. Wortmann FX38-153 profile might work with the target Reynolds number range (the wing span and fuselage length would be determined by the interior size of our car, must be able to be disassembled to a size that fits inside for transportation, using a trailer for moving a model aircraft would be overkill). Target aspect ratio could be around 12-14 for main wing. I haven't done any calculations yet though.

I want to also create a plotting program for the fuselage. Martin Hollman's book has a Basic language program listing for a such thing. I am not sure if it is useful actually, I have been thinking how to parametrize a fuselage cross section (often it is not circular but rather boxy with rounded corners or it might have entirely different airfoil shape in horizontal and vertical axis), how to modify the shape of the centerline where the fuselage cross sections are referenced to and how to make the cross section follow a airfoil coordinates, possibly using the same data files that work with X-foil. Making circular or elliptical (LH-10 cross section for example seems to be elliptical) cross section plots from nose to tail for a rotated airfoil wouldn't be that impossible task to do and visualization could be even quite reasonable to do with OpenGL. Before doing the visualization, I however, need to determine how to parametrize it, in other words, how to make it easy to produce differently shaped fuselages. Rhino3D does all this, but I don't have Rhino3D, and this task is not that complicated, it should be doable with some little C++ work.

Any advise on the math and how to make the fuselage design easy would be great, feel free to add comments if you invent something or know something already.

Croatia Airlines CEO becomes AEA chairman

At the annual meeting of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) in Brussels, which within it contains the most important airlines in Europe, have selected Ivan Mišetić, CEO of Croatian Airlines, as the chairman of the organisation starting in January 2009 and ending at the beginning of 2010. It was also confirmed that Mišetić will become the advisor of the AEA president Peter Hertman from KLM effective immediately. The organisation contains 33 airlines. From the ex-Yugoslav region these include Adria Airways, Jat Airways and Croatia Airlines which entered in 1998. The appointment of Mišetić could greatly improve Croatia Air’s standing within the world of European airlines.

Grumman American AA-5 Traveller ZK-XRE

The Grumman American AA-5 Traveller ZK-XRE , c/n AA5 0282 , joined the register on Monday the 9th.

This was first registered as VH-ETT in early 1973 and arrived at Rangiora earlier this year still owned by Robyn Edwards and previously based at Lesmurdie, West Australia.

A HUG in the back paddock

Our family patriarch (on the other side) had his 70th birthday during the weekend.
The surprise for the day was his arrival into the back paddock and then rides for those interested over a snow covered Christchurch & Port Hills.
ZK-HUG/2 is a AS350BA , c/n 2038 , from Garden City Helicopters.

What ! another Robinson helicopter .


Noted at Garden City Helicopters in Christchurch on Monday the 9th was this relatively new Robinson R44 Raven II ZK-INP , c/n 11524 .
It was listed to Barrington Charters Ltd of Queenstown on 12-04-2007.
It carries the http://www.nuggetpoint.co.nz/ web site address on its tail boon.

Jat Tehnika tender on Monday - Singapore ST frontrunners

The submission of offers for Serbia’s national carrier Jat Airways’ technical branch Jat Tehnika will be open on Monday, June 16. Currently the most interested company for the purchase of Jat’s technical base is the Singaporean company “Singapore Technologies Aerospace” which is one of the largest third-party, independent aviation repair and overhaul companies in the world. It is looking at setting up a new base in Europe and geographically Jat Tehnika’s hangers at Belgrade’s airport would be ideal.

Jat Tehnika is the largest technical base in the former Yugoslavia. It broke off from Jat Airways unofficially in 2005 after its technicians staged a two month strike paralysing Serbia’s national airline however only a few days ago the company was officially recognised as an independent company by the Serbian government. Tehnika made a profit of 18.7 million Euros last year and is currently servicing aircraft from Jat Airways, CSA Czech Airlines. Jet2.com, Palmair, S7 airlines and Transaero.

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