Rotary takes Flight
Liz Derrick, flying instructor and member of Rotary Club of Seymour gave an instructive talk to members of the Alexandra Rotary club last Wednesday. Liz has had over 30 years of flying experience, including as a lecturer at Edith Cowan University WA, night freight flying, low level surveying and parachute operations, racking up 5950 flying hours.
In answer to the question of why do we fly- for the practicality of shorter travel times, and improved function for fire fighting, ambulance (medical evacuation) and police function.
Flight has evolved over the centuries from hot air balloons in the 1700s to box kites then gliders, as seen at Benalla. These are launched by tow plane, or being towed by a car or winch apparatus.
Recreational pilots are limited to 2 seater aircraft under 500kg, may only fly in daytime, not in cloud and are governed by Recreational Aviation Australia.
Micro lite  and Ultralites are powered hang gliders.
Landing gear is appropriate to the area where craft is to be flown- may be wheels, skis or floats. Engines have developed from propellers to jets - Whittles initial design is still in use in the RFDS fleet.
Medical requirements for general aviation pilots (recreational) are much the same as for a car driver’s licence.
A general aviation licence is required to fly 4-seater and larger aircraft.
A commercial licence is required to fly up to 15 seaters.
Then for larger craft an Air Transport licence is required.
Air Force and Civilian qualifications are comparable and transferable.
Liz has been involved in training for many Chinese pilots at Mangalore, Texas, Florida and Canada How safe are overseas airlines? Liz suggested that a good rule of thumb is to check whether airline is approved to land within Australia. If not, suggest giving them a miss.