With the beginning of autumn upon us I believe we are moving into the best time of year to commit aviation. Cooler temperatures and lighter winds give rise to a more pleasurable time in the cockpit.

So plan a day trip somewhere like Robe, Kingston, Riverland or Clare. You could plan to go to one of the regular club barbeques hosted by other clubs as listed below. Plan to do some cross country visual navigation to get there. Once there, fly some circuits in different configurations (glide, low level, flapless) to keep your skills up at less familiar airfields.  All this will certainly help if you plan on going to one of the many flyins held at this time of year. Familiarity and confidence will save a possible embarrassing incident in front of fellow aviators.

Two such events coming up that are within easy reach of us is the SAAA Ausfly at Wentworth NSW on 22-23 March and the Aldinga airshow on April 7th.

Don’t forget the club safari to south west Western Australia is leaving April 22. For more details please contact Greg Tabe.

Also, it is not too late to sign up to help out at our club fund raiser BBQ at Bunnings Windsor Gardens on March 16th. If you have not done it before, give it a go. It is a fun few hours and raises funds that go towards running the club and awarding scholarships. Contact Greg Tabe for details.

Last week I received an email from Nigel Daw, President of the SA Aviation Museum. Nigel is an avid aviation photographer and historian. He has authored several books and has just released a new one entitled “Regional Airlines of SA 1967 to 2017 – The first 50 years”. His precis states there have been 58 regional airlines in SA since 1967 but as of 2024 only 3 survive! A tough business. His book covers the history and background of each of these airlines supported by stories from their staff and passengers. It is richly illustrated with photos from Nigel’s personal collection. See the flyer below on how to purchase a copy. I have suggested to Nigel the he might like to joins us at a club meeting soon to give us a more personal talk based on the book. Details to follow.

Our guest speaker for March is Dr Garth Morgan. Dr Morgan was a career defence scientist with a PhD in engineering. He served in various roles in all three branches of the Australian military. He has served in Antarctic expeditions, undersea research aboard RAAF P3 Orions and a 4 year posting to ARDU as project officer on the Laser Airborne Depth Sounding project.

Later he worked with the Army over a 15 year period developing a unique satellite terrain mapping methodology for army operational use. He also served in the Navy reserve for 17 years. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and a Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has authored over 50 scientific publications.

He lists his personal interests as sailing, restoring classic cars, boats and aeroplanes.

The topic for his talk is “Some adventures of an Australian Boffin- never far from aviation”. It should be very interesting.

Blue skies,

Steve

You want me to answer you if this old plane is safe to fly? Just how in the world do you think it got to be this old? Anon