Official Newsletter of the Western Australian Aviation College – October 2004

From the Principal's Desk

With spring here, the blue skies are upon us and we are looking forward to an industrious few months leading up to Christmas.

Every time I open an Aviation newspaper recently, it seems I am reading about very positive news for the industry.
Airline recruitment seems to be heading steadily in the right direction, supported by fleet expansion from many countries. I note that Cathay Pacific Airways fleet will exceed the magical 100 when they receive their eight, recently acquired Boeing 747-400s. America West has confirmed an order for ten A320s and seven A319 and Singapore Airlines has signed a letter of intent to purchase up to thirty-one Boeing B777-300. Public confidence is growing fast, all the positive news this month pushed Boeing shares up by $US 1.50 to a year's high of $US 52.50.
Down here in Australia, we are seeing our contemporary market place unfold. I sometimes have to pinch myself when I read about Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Blue. They are now operating a fleet of nearly fifty Boeing 737s after only four years of operation, and the newly launched Jetstar, only operating since May this year, already has fourteen Boeing 717s and the first of 23 Airbus A320s has arrived.
These movements justify the predicted shortage of pilots, which of course is great news for our graduates.

Many of our team members have been keen to contribute to this E-News letter for your pleasure, so please enjoy.

Mark Cheveralls

College Principal Western Australian Aviaition College

WORK AND STUDY

BECOME A HELICOPTER PILOT WITHOUT LEAVING HOME

The Western Australian Aviation College is pleased to offer two BRAND NEW comprehensive correspondence helicopter courses designed to suit the Private and Commercial Pilot CASA Licence.

Both courses assume no prior knowledge and will take you all the way from BAK (Basic Aeronautical Knowledge) level up to your choice of PPL or CPL

The complete package includes comprehensive colour notes, maps, charts, workbooks, exams, handbooks and other relevant information. (The practical flying component of the licence will also need to be completed and the college can assist with organising this)

You also have on-line assistance available from the college's experienced flying training staff.

Our full-time instructors include ex-RAAF Central Flying School Flying Instructors with rotary wing experience including winching, sling ops, ship deck landing qualifications, low flying, night flying, instrument flying, formation flying and high density altitude operations.

Call today for more information on (08) 9417 7733 or visit us at www.waaviationcollege.com.au

Helicopter News

It is fantastic to finally get the course ‘off the ground’ and we are looking forward to establishing our reputation as a quality provider of helicopter theory training.
We have called on a number of resources to complete the training packages and we are really happy with the end result. We have some ‘rotorheads’ on staff, namely myself and Kevin Lathbury. I hold a helicopter CPL and have flown Iroquois (Bell 205) and Squirrels (AS350B) with the RAAF. Kevin flew as a navigator/tactician in Sea Kings in the RAN. We have also picked the brains of the boys down at Heli West and they have been fantastic in fine tuning some of our material.

We wish our very first student, Pascal, good luck and we are confident he will enjoy his time with us.

In parallel with the full time course, we are also offering Helicopter theory correspondence courses. Interested students can choose between a BAK/PPL package or a BAK/CPL package. So come on all you fixed wing types. Give it a go!

Craig Peterson

What exactly is a bypass ratio?

Answer will be revealed next edition.

PH: +61 8 9417 7733 or visit or web site www.waaviationcollege.com.au

Examinations were the normal method of assessing whether or not a person could do the task. Standards against which candidates were examined were not nationally consistent and the qualifications were not nationally recognised.

It was time for change.

In this article, I would like to talk about that change as an introduction into why it is important that the aviation industry embrace the new training and assessment systems.

It was agreed by the tripartite partnership, that training needed to be focused on the needs of industry against standards which lead to national qualifications. This would allow the transfer of skills between sectors and throughout Australia. It was also agreed that we needed to make training and assessment accessible to all those who wished to participate regardless of their educational, cultural or ethnic background or where they lived and worked.
Two of the cornerstones of that agreement were the need for training organisations to recognise qualifications issued by other Registered Training Organisations and to recognise prior learning. This in turn meant that people with skills and knowledge could be assessed for recognition of those skills without the need to attend unnecessary training.
With these changes in thinking and process came the need to increase the avenues for training and assessment and to set benchmarks which were nationally recognised as meeting the needs of industry.
Since 1985, the Training and Assessment Industry has undergone massive change until now where we have Registered Training Organisations both public and private that provide Training and Assessment Services within the Australian Qualifications Framework from Certificate 1 through to the Advanced Diploma. There is now a Quality System in place that aims to ensure learners have access to training and assessment processes that have been validated and are delivered by qualified trainers and assessors. Those trainers and assessors need to be qualified as professional trainers with a range of industry qualifications and experience.
In the next newsletter I will talk about Training Packages and the current Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training which is about to be embraced by the Aviation Industry as the basic qualification for trainers and assessors and how it is being replaced by a new qualification against the Training and Assessment Training Package.

John Clark

Calendar of Events

18th October

Advanced Diploma in Aviation

1 November

Instrument Rating Theory (PIFR/IREX).

Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). Part Time

6th November

Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (B.A.K.)

15th November

Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time

29th November

Maths & Physics.

10th January

Private Pilot Licence (P.P.L.) – Full Time

10th January

Commercial Pilot Licence (C.P.L.) Full Time only

11th January

Advanced Diploma in Aviation

1st February

Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Part Time

1st February

Private Pilots Licence (P.P.L) – Part Time

28rd February

Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) Full Time

14th March

Aircraft Maintenance

28th March

Dangerous Goods Awareness

Click here to book

Industry News

The more airlines flying into and within Australia the better the job prospects are for our graduates. Enjoy these little snippets.

Qantas

Qantas recently announced a profit before tax of $964.6 million for the year ended 30 June 2004, a 92 per cent increase on last year's result of $502.3 million. Qantas said that it would pay a $1,000 cash bonus to each staff member in recognition of their contribution to the airline's record 2003/04 profit results.

Qantas has also began operating its new Airbus A330-300 aircraft on international routes. The aircraft will initially operate from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Hong Kong

QantasLink will operate additional services to Rockhampton and Emerald and increase the number of seats to Bundaberg from Brisbane with the arrival of the airline's latest 50-seater Dash 8 Q300 aircraft from mid-December.

Qantas is the only airline to offer non-stop flights between Australia and India. There will be three weekly services to Mumbai.

Virgin Blue launches first intrastate flights

Virgin Blue launched its new intrastate service between Perth and Broome recently. Flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and are expected to increase travel between Perth and Broome for holiday makers and business travellers.

Air New Zealand to increase services

Air New Zealand will begin its non-stop daily flights from Auckland to Perth on November 1, 2004.

New daily services for Perth-Singapore Route

Singapore-based budget carrier Valuair will fly daily between Perth and Singapore, starting in December 2004, subject to regulatory approvals. Perth will be the first Australian city incorporated into the Valuair network. Valuair currently operates between Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta. Valuair is expected to offer flights at competitive prices.

India air talks deliver growth opportunity

Australia and India have negotiated a new bilateral aviation agreement that will triple airline seat capacity between the two countries over the next two years. The agreement gives airlines from both countries the opportunity to increase capacity from 2,100 to 4,500 seats per week immediately. Capacity can then increase to 5,500 seats per week in one year's time, and to 6,500 seats per week by October 2006.

Sascha Stone

500g diced lamb or beef or kangaroo or any other mammal (except protected species).

1 large onion finely chopped (remember to wear the swimming goggles to prevent crying like a Nancy).

1 clove garlic finely chopped.

1 large unpeeled potato diced.

1 to 3 tablespoons curry powder (depending on how brave you are!).

1 tin of condensed tomato soup.

2 tablespoons oil.

1. Pour the oil into a large pot and heat.

2. Add the onion and garlic and sizzle until onion goes slightly transparent.

3. Add curry powder and stir for about a minute. It will look a bit dry and sticky at this stage but don’t worry about it. Just don’t let it burn and turn black.

4. Add the tin of tomato soup. Half fill the empty tin with water and add that too.

5. Stir and bring to the boil.

6. Add meat, stir and gently simmer for 15 minutes.

8. Add potato and simmer for a further 30 minutes. If it looks a bit dry at this stage, add water until you have a nice sauce almost covering the meat and potatoes.

9. Serve with white rice.

Can be served straight away but like most curries the flavour will be best about a day after cooking.

Not recommended for a first date meal! Enjoy!

Student Profile

AGE: 27

PLACE OF BIRTH:
Melbourne, Australia

NICKNAMES AND WHY? Lethal
I guess it started from ‘Lethal Leigh Matthews’ and his Hawthorn days, not because I’ve coached in 5 AFL grand finals!?

MY FAVOURITE PASTIMES:
I love flying, traveling, relaxing, eating and mixing all of these! I like to challenge myself and love the rewards it brings. I also love watching the Bombers win footy, the Warriors win cricket and the Aussies whipping anyone in cricket.

FUTURE GOALS: To become an airline captain…..simple!

BEST AIRBORNE MOMENT TO DATE?
The class trip to Broome and back was pretty special. To see the coast from 1500 feet, flying over Shark Bay, the terrain to Parraburdoo, 90 Mile Beach, it was all awesome! Actually, watching Justin Taylor hopping out of VH-BFC and doing my first solo circuit of Jandakot was right up there too!

Everyone obeys except a haughty-looking woman in first class.

Eventually a flight attendant walks up and repeats the captain's request.

The woman looks at the flightie and says in a stuck-up voice, "In my country I'm a princess, and I don't take orders from anyone!"

The flightie gives up, and shortly the purser walks up and asks the woman again to strap in and put her seat and tray table up.

She gets exactly the same response, and she too walks away in frustration.

Eventually a male flight attendant prances up, obviously gay and camp as a row of pink tents, and says," Excuthe me ma'am, can you pleathe put your theat belt on, put your theat up and fold up your tray table?"

The woman replies," In my country I'm a princess, and I don't take orders from anyone, least of all the likes of you!"

The flightie replies," Well, in my country I'm a queen, so I outrank you, so put your seat up NOW!"

Notes from the Mad Medic

A. The nut that holds the control column.

No, that is not a successful attempt at poor humour, but stimulus for serious thought.
As good pilots we naturally spend considerable time checking over the aircraft we are about to fly and yet very few of us can truthfully state that we do the same for ourselves.
One year is a very long time between medical examinations. We are not the same people physically or even mentally that we were at the time of our last aviation check up. With few exceptions most of our cells have been replaced or grown older and our thought processes have also changed. Eyesight and hearing for example undergo subtle deterioration each year. Without regular examination adequate corrective measures cannot be taken and we cease to be safe pilots.
50 years ago 80% of aircraft accidents could be attributed to mechanical failures. Today with advanced materials and precision manufacturing techniques, most accidents are sadly due to human error. Aircraft designers have recognised that fact and are gradually designing us out of the cockpit. Future commercial licenses may then require little or no flying training. Where is the fun in that?
So we need to reverse the trend of current thinking and prove that the pilot is no longer the weakest link in the chain. Mentally and physically challenged pilots make poor aviators. Let us aim to pay as much attention to our own systems as those of the aircraft we intend to fly.
In future articles I will attempt to present some interesting material related to the subject of human performance and health in aviation. Stay tuned.

Karsten Juengling

Official Newsletter of the

Western Australian Aviation College

PH: +61 8 9417 7733 www.waaviationcollege.com.au

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