iscover
Air Safety, Weather or Not!
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A good idea at the time . . .
The pilot had spent a fair amount of time planning this particular flight. It meant a great deal to him as he was taking his fiance, Bev, and tier two brothers, Peter and Michael to Sydney to meet his family for the first time.
The aircraft had been booked through a local operator at his home aerodrome at West Wyalong in rural New South Wales for the flight to Bankstown via Cowra and Camden. It was an aircraft with which he had become quite familiar during his training the previous year; a Piper Warrior (PA28-161), not a particularly fast aircraft, but stable and relatively simple to operate.
One of the things that had impressed him during his training was the need to spend time prior to the flight reviewing the plan. For this reason, the night before departure,, David had sat down with Bev, Peter and· Michael to discuss the flight. David particularly noted that with four on board and the bags they were planning to take for the three days they intended to stay in the “big smoke”, he would have to take reduced fuel to remain within the aircraft’s weight and centre of gravity limitations, so he rang up the operator and asked that the aircraft only be refuelled to the filler neck in both tanks. This would provide David with 114 litres of fuel, quite sufficient for the flight with ample reserves. In fact, at a recommended 65% best power setting there would be a total of 3. 5 hours including allowances for engine run-up, taxi and climb to the 6000′ planned cruise.
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