SAFA Skysailor Magazine

30 SKY SAILOR November | December 2020 My wing settled over three pine treetops with the right-hand wing tip being significantly higher than the rest of the wing. This resulted in my pod being on a sideways 45-degree angle which made for a rather uncomfortable wait as all my weight was on my left-hand side and the harness straps were cutting into my right leg. The rescue took about two hours. The rescue team were amazing, as was the ground support team of PG pilots. The wing is a write off as the insides are now on the outside.” There are a few lessons here. As the pilot themselves says, always look at the wing when something is or has happened to it – don’t assume anything. Cravats cause the wing to be smaller, so brake input is now amplified. Prioritise flying the wing away from sloping terrain in the event of a collapse near that terrain. This is generally very feasible on most paragliders even with significant asymmetric collapses, provided a spiral dive hasn’t been allowed to develop. Once straight and safe flight has been established, the collapse can then be attended to. We recently received from CASA, a complaint from a member of the public concerning a PPG pilot launching from a park that was well within the Class C airspace surrounding Coolangatta Airport (QLD/S). With the assistance of local pilots and an instructor, the pilot was identified and contacted. They immediately admitted it was them and mortified that they had committed this transgression. During the course of the conversation, it became apparent that there were gaps in their knowledge that would be filled by undertaking the PPG XC endorsement. The pilot agreed to refrain from further flying until that endorsement was attained and is currently working with their instructor to meet that requirement. CASA were notified of the resolution, advised us that they were very pleased with the outcome and considered the case closed. SAFA will be updating course material for all disciplines to include guidance on tools that can be used to identify locations where flight is permitted or otherwise. All pilots should be aware that VTCs (Visual Terminal Charts) and VNCs (Visual Navigation Chart) are primary resources to be consulted in determining whether flight operations are permitted at any given location. The VTCs and VNCs can be downloaded free of charge from Air Services Australia Aeronautical Information Package (AIP) . Once on this page, scroll down to the bottom and click the ‘I Agree’ button. On the next page, select ‘AIP Charts’, and on the next page select ‘VTC’ or ‘VNC’. You will then be presented with a list of charts that can be downloaded in PDF format. Note that any of the information within the AIP is available to download for free. Please explore and become familiar with the contents. It is an extremely informative and valuable resource. I want to hark back to the last issue where we talked about oil coolers for Rotax 912 engines as used in the Airborne XT-912. Around the time of AIRS #1167, we received a report concerning a failure of an oil cooler, also over in WA. In this case, the pilot had changed standard-sized oil coolers using the original mounting nuts. Now, in 2017 Rotax slightly altered the design of the oil coolers and Airborne changed the lower mounting nuts on Carlo Sand Blow, Rainbow Beach, QLD Photo: Denis Leboeuf