Following a cuppa, we adjourned to Roly's studio in the old SEC building, to competitively identify 20 gliders and powered aeroplane models, dating from WWI to modern times. The winner correctly identified 17 models and Roly gave him a box of chocolates for his effort.
At our first meeting for the year, model aeroplane model maker and Sky's the Limit member Roly Gaumann spoke about his experience in making and flying model aeroplanes. He spoke of the transition from now expensive and difficult to source balsa wood as a basic construction material, to using alternative materials and much superior glues. Following a cuppa, we adjourned to Roly's studio in the old SEC building, to competitively identify 20 gliders and powered aeroplane models, dating from WWI to modern times. The winner correctly identified 17 models and Roly gave him a box of chocolates for his effort. Roly is in studio residence most days and invited visitors who wish to see his collection to call his number listed on a board near the building's entrance. David Palmer
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Our speaker in December was Bruce Cowan, a Benalla based glider pilot, who spoke about early pilots and attempts to make heavier than air machines stay airborne. He started with early optimists who flung themselves off high towers with minimal winged attachments and often fatal results. Then he progressed with more successful kite and glider pilots, who were often successful in Germany; then later with the Wright brothers and their dubiously acknowledged success, as the first successful powered aeroplane pilots with their Wright flyer. Bruce Cowan chatting after class with Sky's the Limit member Brent Bailey For Tuesday 6 February at 2pm, local model aircraft builder Roly Gaumann, will talk about and later show us examples of his life work of building and often competitively flying model aeroplanes.
David Palmer and Andrew McFarlane At the end of our first year we can look back on Richard de Crespigny giving Qantas a serve for its lack of customer service, Wangaratta airport’s superb aircraft restoration and Benalla’s own artfully presented aviation museum, and more.
Our initiating convenor, Claire Rudolph, is handing over the reins completely next year, with Andrew McFarlane joining me as co-convenor. We hope that Claire will come along and contribute to our meetings next year and thank her for her role in making 'The Sky's the Limit' a reality. Our next speaker at 2pm on Tuesday December 5 will be Bruce Cowan of Lake Mokoan. He will talk about the history of flight with audio visual assistance. A member of the Gliding Club of Victoria, on November 10, Bruce flew 373km at an average speed of 115km/hr in three hours and 50 minutes, over a triangular course north east of Benalla. His outward leg was just west of the Albury control zone. David Palmer Former Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny, famous as the pilot in command of a Qantas A380 crippled by an engine failure near Singapore, which he returned safely to Changi Airport in 2010 with about 400 passengers on board, spoke to our group. Much of the discussion was concerned with the appalling performance of the airline, with much of the criticism focussed on former chairman Alan Joyce. Richard said he was widely criticised for giving all the 400 or so passengers on his crippled flight, his mobile phone number. He said that was the least he could do in the interests of good public relations. In the end, only about 20 passengers rang him. Richard believes Qantas can retrieve its previous good standing and he is working towards being elected to the board to help achieve that. Addressing the question concerning Qatar Airways being declined Australian landing rights, Richard said the airline's appalling treatment of women, should exclude it from more access to Australian skies. Richard also signed copies of his two books, QF 32 and FLY! The Elements of Resilience. There will be no session on Cup Day, however we will meet again on Tuesday 5th December. Details will be included in the December Newsletter. David Palmer Our speaker on Tuesday 3 October at 2pm is retired Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny. Richard is famous for successfully piloting an Airbus 380, Qantas flight QF32, when it suffered a catastrophic uncontained engine failure just a few minutes after departing Singapore in November 2010. The crew managed to bring the airplane back to Singapore for a successful landing. Richard wrote a book QF32 and Its Aftermath about that & FLY! The Elements of Resilience. Before Qantas he flew for 11 years with the RAAF.
David Palmer 'Matt and Karen Henderson had a Dream’
Leaving the world of high finance to build and establish an aircraft museum requires serious vision, and money [lots of it], and enthusiasm [lots of it], and courage [lots of it], and resilience and perseverance – you have guessed it [lots of it], and amazing research skills, collecting ability, patience [years] and commitment. The museum hanger was specially built and decorated for the aircraft on display [most of the display is airworthy and flies regularly]. The display does change depending on the flying program. The result is amazing. We had just come in from the ‘Drome Cafe’ [where everything was delicious] and pondered on the changes, here, over the years – The first landing in 1919 –commercial regional airlines in the 1930’s - #7 Operational Training Unit B-24 LIBERATOR’S during WW11 – the largest aerodrome in the southern hemisphere in 1942, and the largest base that the RAAF have ever operated. As a group we have many and varied aviation experiences and stories, so to stand in this very clean and well- lit hanger, immersed within aviation history, was amazing, and to visit the secret bunker and see how things worked there – well, history is alive and now. In 1964 one of our members started skydiving. One of his favourite aircraft was the DOMINIE RAPIDE [DeHAVILLAND 89] - and there it was – in the hanger looking like new – super excited! To everyone reading this–make the effort and go and visit – the Drome Cafe is very good and the history here is something to experience. Andrew McFarlane This month we visited Precision Airmotive at Wangaratta. This aerospace company restores and makes parts for old airplanes. They specialise in the WW11 era planes. The owners have their own Kittyhawk and also a Mustang. We spent two hours with our guide Lou, who showed us some of the precision machinery they use for the restorations. The restored planes finish up in other parts of the world and also in RAAF museums. On our tour we noticed shelves piled with what looked like junk. Louise explained that they were parts of aircraft that could not be salvaged. Often the original plans they have are not too detailed and they use these oddments to assist in putting things together as the originals were. Some parts cannot be found, and this facility is the only one in the world that can reproduce the pieces the same as the original. As you could imagine deep pockets would be needed to finance the work that is done at this fascinating place. At the end of our tour those of us who were flexible enough were invited to ascend the wing of the Kittyhawk and peer into the cockpit. Outside the old Wangaratta terminal on the edge of the car park, there is an interesting tower. Originally it was erected above Wangaratta Motors Garage in Reid Street in 1937. The beacon on top of the tower emitted a flashing red light signalling the letters W.G. in Morse code which was used to guide aircraft during night air mail services between Melbourne and Brisbane. Claire Rudolph
Benalla Aero Club secretary and aircraft owner Tony Schneider (on left) spoke about the club and his flying experiences this month. The club owns a two seat Tecnam T92 Super Echo aeroplane and a hangar to keep it in.
Currently the 30-member club does not employ an instructor due to difficulties in employing one. Tony said that could be overcome if the Civil Aviation Safety Authority was a little less strict in demanding expensive to attain full instructor qualifications. He felt that once a potential pilot had achieved the basic flying skills with a full-blown instructor, a lesser qualified instructor could take over. Tony said CASA were focussed just on the safety of aviation to the detriment of the industry. He said the US general aviation sector was much healthier, because as well as safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), concentrated on making the industry viable as well. The redoubtable Dick Smith tried for years as chairman of CASA, to humanise it, but just hit a brick wall. This writer knows of at least one well qualified local flying instructor, who has been grounded by CASA since surgery that made him fit again, because CASA doctors said he was not fit. David Palmer Our excursion to Drage Airworld Wangaratta on Tuesday 1 August has been confirmed. Louise will be our guide and is looking forward to showing us around. As most of you are aware we will meet at the old Coles carpark (next to Mitre 10) on Sydney Rd on Tuesday at 1.15 pm. The plan is for us to car pool to Wangaratta. Looking forward to seeing you there. Claire Rudolph On Tuesday 6 June, nine members of the ‘Sky’s the Limit’ attended Benalla Gliding Club where Viv Drew and John Blacklock, members of the Benalla Gliding Club and both very experienced glider pilots, presented a thoughtfully planned session which included a slide show presentation, small group visits to the hangars to alternate with experiencing the flight simulator. It was interesting to learn about the science and technicalities of gliding and to hear Viv and John speak about the benefits in of learning to glide and gliding experience for those who go on to pilot regular aircraft; the efforts the club makes to encourage young people and girls to take up gliding, and the high proportion of gliding club members who have moved to Benalla to live. During the small group visits to the hangars, John provided an expert explanation of the sleek modern gliders and start-of-the-art tow aircraft to be found there. Sadly, planned small group experiences of using the flight simulator were thwarted by an hour-long plus update to the program of the flight simulator! Throughout the session and coffee break, stories of gliding were shared, including experiences of being winched and pulled along by tractors rather than tow aircraft, and more. New member James and presenter John reminisced about having been inspired to fly by watching crop dusters at work; while given the overcast conditions, retired meteorologist Graham must have been reminded of assessing the weather for flying conditions, as he did when working. Convenor, retired glider pilot Claire, also shared many stories.
As the change in the time of the excursion to a morning session affected the attendance by some members of the group, and because the excursion could well be of interest to other members of U3A Benalla, a repeat session, with the simulator already updated on the day, is planned for the Spring! Our speaker at 2pm on Tuesday 4 July is Tony Schneider, pilot and secretary of the Benalla Aero Club. Claire Rudolph/David Palmer/Bev Lee Andrew McFarlane, a member of the Sky's the Limit U3A group, told us about his several decades as a flight attendant with Qantas International. As he described it, quirks in Qantas's recruitment schemes enabled him to become a flight service director at just 26. He loved the life, particularly flying Boeing 747s to, in some cases, relatively remote destinations like Tahiti and Mexico City, which were serviced once a week and so required weeklong stopovers. As flight service director he had the power, including baton and handcuffs, to arrest difficult passengers, a power he used every second or third flight. Andrew also became enamoured with parachuting and helped develop an Australian made parachute, which far exceeded the quality of alternatives and became widely used by civil and military parachutists as well as the CIA. Andrew McFarlane David Palmer At our next meeting on Tuesday 6th June, we are going to the Benalla Gliding Club, looking at motorless flight and ‘having a go’ in the club’s flight simulator. Please note the venue change and the time change to 10 am not 2pm.
Claire Rudolph For our April meeting we visited the Benalla Aviation Museum at the airport and several in the group signed up to be members. Mark Carr welcomed the group and made himself available for questions as the group went around the museum. Doug Williams, our previous speaker in March and member of the group, is also a fount of Benalla aviation information and he too provided valuable information to group members Next month’s Sky’s the Limit speaker on Tuesday May 2, will be another group member Andrew McFarlane.
David Palmer Doug Williams spoke to our March meeting about his working life, which was almost totally devoted to aviation. He started as an Air Training Corp (ATC) cadet in his late teens before becoming an RAAF national serviceman. He later qualified as a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer (LAME), an aeronautical draftsman for Australian National Airways later Ansett, and a flying instructor for Whittlesea based Executive Airlines. Later he joined RMIT's Department of Aerospace Technology and later became its head. He retired in 1996. Doug’s book, ‘War Clouds Over Benalla’, is on the bookshelves of a number of our members. The next meeting of Sky’s the Limit will be on Wednesday April 5 at 2pm or 1400hrs, to be guided through the Benalla Aviation Museum, the site of a World War II RAAF pilot training school. I suspect most of you know where it is, but just in case, it is in the big hangar immediately to the east of BPACC. So just to stress again that the time of our April meeting will be at 2pm on Wednesday 5th April instead of Tuesday 4th April.
Our best wishes go to our convenor Claire Rudolph, currently in hospital, for a speedy recovery. David Palmer Co-convenor Sixteen members attended the first session of 'The Sky's the Limit' where we enjoyed listening to our speaker for the day, Mark Carr. Mark started his flying career with the RAAF and transferred to the navy where he flew fighter jets. It was interesting to hear his experience in landing a jet on a moving carrier in rough weather, not for the faint hearted that is for sure. Following his military career Mark became a pilot with Cathay Pacific, flying the Jumbo 747's. Mark described the difficulty in landing at Kia Tak airport in HongKong, his computer images gave us some idea of how low over the buildings the aircraft needed to fly to safely land. Fabulous views for the pilots and passengers alike. Mark has written a book called Written In The Sky telling of his life experiences in aviation. We hope next session to visit Wangaratta airfield and take a guided tour around the hangar where old aircraft are being rebuilt and restored. Mark signing books at the end of the session Claire Rudolph
The speaker at our first session on 7th February from 2 to 4pm is Mark Carr. After a career in the RAAF and as an airline pilot for Cathay Pacific, Mark has written a book about his career ‘Written in the Sky’, and locally is President of the Benalla Aviation Museum.
David Palmer Commencing in February 2023, our new course The Sky’s the Limit has been designed for those with an interest in gliding, flying, the history of aviation, with past lives involving aircraft in some way.
Sessions will include guest speakers with backgrounds in aviation and stories to tell, the occasional excursion and more. Class members will play an active role in suggesting and deciding upon topics for the monthly sessions/expeditions. Interested? For information, contact Claire on 0428 151 750 or [email protected]. Claire Rudolph With people away, concerned about the Covid outbreak, or just busy 'doing their thing', Claire Rudolph has decided to delay starting the course until 2023. Hopefully there'll be lots of interest on Enrolment Day, traditionally the time to spruik and introduce new courses.
For more information, contact Claire on 0428 151 750. Program Committee |
The Sky's the LimitFor those with an interest in gliding, flying, the history of aviation, with past lives involving aircraft in some way. Sessions will include guest speakers with backgrounds in aviation and stories to tell, the occasional excursion and more. Meeting Time and VenueU3A Meeting Room
1st Tuesday of the Month, commencing August 2022 2 to 4pm Convenor/s and Contact DetailsDavid Palmer
0408 470 468 Andrew McFarlane
0422 690 390 Thank you, Claire!Our initiating convenor, Claire Rudolph, handed over the reins after playing a key role in making 'The Sky's the Limit' a reality in 2023. Thank you, Claire!.
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