ADELAIDE BIPLANES

4 months ago

Fergus Watts .... Getting a PPL in a month! Meet this determined young New Zealander, a Civil Engineer and Project Manager, who was working in the Solomon Islands when he upped and flew to Adelaide in South Australia to find Adelaide Biplanes. This story begins with "How did you ever find us??!!"

"Having grown up going on the odd club trip or in tow with Dad and Ross for random trips around the country and hearing stories of the aviation history in the Franklin Family including my Great Grandfather gifting a Tiger Moth at the commencement of the Waipukurau Aero Club, flying skipped a few generations, but I had long ago decided I would one day get my Private Pilot Licence.

I love going to really remote places in New Zealand, there are always people there with aeroplanes and I wanted to do that! I love surfing, fishing, hunting ....I have a pioneering spirit for adventure!

My challenge has been staying in one place long enough to actually get it done however. I’ve spent the better portion of the last ~10 years working across the South and North Pacific managing remote construction projects – including a coconut processing factory in the Chuuk Lagoon in the Federated States of Micronesia, the location of the forward Japanese base in the North Pacific and connected to the Pearl Harbour attack, resulting in a retaliation strike by the Allies called Operation Hailstone (I understand it was the most successful / tonne of ships sunk in history, something like 90 Japanese shipwrecks are in the Chuuk Lagoon), work throughout Papua New Guinea, Bougainville, an underwater project in Tuvalu, visits to Guam, Pohnpei and other far off little obscure islands.

Most recently I have been working on the upgrade of two original WWII airstrips in the remote outer islands of the Solomon Islands, one Japanese occupied area on the border with now Autonomous Bougainville and one American Airstrip further to the south, right in the thick of the confrontation where the two forces met prior to the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The majority of the work I do in the Pacific involves UXO – (Unexploded Ordinance) remnants of the Pacific War are still everywhere – though day to day long forgotten here in New Zealand the impacts of war are still prevalent in certain islands – it is not uncommon to hear of deaths from an outside kitchen fire exploding a buried UXO and countries having military/police divisions for dealing with UXO’s. The United States of America and Japan do contribute in a small way to the clean up but really only scratch the surface of the ongoing costs. Typically the Australian Military provide the most support in assisting with the cleanup.
I’ve lost count of the number of unexploded mortars, grenades, bombs, paravanes, munitions and ammunition, canteens, machine parts, radial engines, dog tags, guns and other war relics I’ve seen dug up, ship wrecks I’ve seen, plane wrecks in the water, planes overgrown in the jungle, gun emplacements, collapsed tunnels and remnant war infrastructure. The shear volume of bombs that failed to detonate on impact with the ground is staggering, the detonators either had a high failure rate or what’s left behind is actually minor as a percentage of what was dropped and went off – I’m not sure exactly which is true. The Japanese aerial dropped bombs also had the same problem.

Stories of Japanese war gold are abound around the pacific, buried US Jeeps, pristine planes hidden in hillside bunkers that remain undiscovered, Japanese submarines in underwater caves – some I know are true stories while others seem to be nothing more than a good yarn but who really knows.

On one island in Micronesia, following a landslide the locals supposedly came across a stash of Japanese Gold Bars in an unknown tunnel, having no way to sell the gold, they somehow decided to use the gold in their mouths and the whole population has gold teeth which I saw for myself – with more hierarchy comes more gold teeth! On the same island, a few locals were one armed, or missing fingers and hands after holding on too long when dynamite fishing with explosives they’d removed from unexploded mortars and bombs!

Because of my work I knew I was never going to get an opportunity to get my Private Pilot Licence the usual way, so I set about finding an intensive route.

My ideals were ....

*To be taught by grey haired grumpy old buggers
*To do the PPL in a tailwheel, preferably something old that required ‘flying’
*Somewhere where I could fly, day in day out

I had no desire to learn in the classic flight school, sitting in a classroom wearing a white shirt, flying one of a fleet of modern trainer planes and being taught by someone that’s just left high school. That concept didn’t fit with my dream of being able to use flying to get around New Zealand, fly into remote off strip locations, access surf, hunting and adventure and get to my property in South Westland.

I wanted the New Zealand Aeroclub experience in a condensed fashion. Hard to find it seems!

Initially I contacted a number of places around the world, Alaska and Idaho – possible they said but the hoops to jump through as a foreigner or “Alien” as the Americans refer to us were impossible as they assume everyone wanting to fly is going to become a terrorist, I spoke with some schools around New Zealand, and got a response from an outfit in Wanaka that I was dreaming and would need ~3 months to do a PPL with them, time I didn’t have.

That’s when I looked into Australia and found an outfit in South Australia, one hour south of Adelaide called Adelaide Biplanes and fired off an email. To which the response was “6 weeks for a PPL is theoretically possible but you’ll have to live and breathe it” & “yes we can do it in a Tailwheel – an 80yr old flapless Aeronca Champ” They were prompt in responding, professional and fitted the ticket I thought.

Work dragged on a bit closer to Christmas than I’d hoped so by the time I hopped on a plane from the Solomon Islands and flew straight to Adelaide there were only four and half weeks left until Christmas. I distinctly remember walking up to the front desk when I first arrived and three Pilots who worked there and were hanging around when I said I’m here to get my PPL before Christmas all burst out laughing and promptly told me I was dreaming! Perhaps that was all the motivation I needed!

Adelaide Biplanes is one of the coolest flying outfits around – with a fleet of old classic planes including a Stearman, Waco, Tiger Moth, Great Lakes, Piper Super Cub on floats, Super Decathlon, all based out of a classic little flight office with a café, historic aviation paraphernalia all over the walls, the junior CPL pilots making coffees, baking cakes and everyone wearing khaki flying shirts – with a humorous disdain for the white shirt and ...... bars! It is 5 mins inland from Aldinga Beach, surrounded by the vineyards of the McLaren Vale wine region. Aldinga Airfield is a seriously busy little airfield, 4 crossed strips with a mix of RH & LH circuits, a lot of hangars, Heli’s coming and going, other schools flying in and always multiple in the circuit, a skydiving operation, controlled airspace at low level to the North, a windy spot - with strong sea breezes and a small mountain range to the south providing conditions for a real mixed bag of wind every day. The place was definitely overwhelming at first.

Adelaide Biplanes is owned and run by Chief Pilot – Martyn Smith, with north of 20,000hrs a real good bugger, grey haired, as passionate about aviation as you get and grumpy to boot (good grumpy!). I remember he sent me up solo into the circuit for only my second time and at one point there were three different strips in use with full stop traffic – boy was he quick to get on the radio and give the others a hell of a rark up!

Despite the mocking of my dream to knock it out in no time and constant ridiculing of the kiwi accent and how we pronounce “six” we got on with it on day one and I never missed a day and the weather never prevented a day of flying.

By day 6 of flying I went solo at a private strip in Strathalbyn – a routine affair, it just happened. By the end of week two, Martyn was still telling me finishing by Christmas was impossible and I’d have to come back next year for 2-3 weeks.. I still had a glimmer of hope, if only they’d just give me a few more hours.

The Private Pilot LIcence is not the most common licence completed these days as they have an RPL licence which enables a private pilot to fly and carry passengers in a GA Plane, with endorsements available for everything excluding night flying, twin engine and instrument ratings. The RPL can step direct to a CPL also bypassing a PPL. The RPL has self-declaring medicals, more leniency with service hours, maintenance etc. For someone who wants to fly privately in Australia but never internationally, there really is no reason to hold a PPL, unfortunately I needed the PPL in order to transfer it to New Zealand
.
In Australia the PPL theory isn’t broken in to 6 exams as it is in NZ either, the 6 topics remain but you have one single exam with all 6 topics mixed amongst the questions – a brutal exam that is renowned for taking 2-3 attempts to pass and a horrible failure rate. I quickly figured I hadn’t a choice but to pass the exam before Christmas even if I was to come back in 2025 to complete the flying as I’d soon forget any study I’d done if not. So I set to studying in earnest and soon realised the mammoth amount of information I had to learn!! Boy maybe the guys laughing at me were right… I was realising I’d underestimated how tough this was going to be.

I booked the exam for Friday the 13th of December for no other reason than I thought it humorous and was happy to face superstition head on – dare I say it flying in the face of danger. This gave me just under 2 weeks to study like mad from no real knowledge. Australia has some really good resources for the theory, so I purchased the 2 Bob Tait textbooks and worked my way through them. I spent the last two days doing practice exams, learning how to use a flight computer, nav calcs, diversions, density heights and the classic loading charts and MTOW tables.

In the mean time I was flying every hour they were giving me and studying when I wasn’t flying, frustratingly at times I’d only log a single hour some days. Given the grumpy grey haired old buggers I had intentionally sought out, there wasn’t any chance of me pushing them for more hours, so I had to grin and bare it and take the hours they slotted me in for. Martyn’s attitude was very much .... it will take how long it takes .... and we don’t pump students out here – see you in 2025 Ferg! They knew my aptitude and how much to push me, even if it felt slow at times.

Friday the 13th came around and luck must have been on my side as I managed a pass of the exam on the first attempt, an hour off for lunch and out I went in the Champ for the first dual navigation trip. No time to waste. The Champ is a simple and very basic little aeroplane, flapless and has only 5 gauges and no GPS – RPM,
Airspeed, Altimeter, Oil P & T. Old school and basic, no lazy flying with constant inputs needed. Not many landmarks in the outback either. You really have to work hard to find little identifiers on a map – road intersections, bends in rivers, grain silos, everything in the outback looks the same! Having sat the exam and done a Nav, my brain was exhausted by days' end.

By the time I went on my second Solo Nav I only had another 5 days of flying left before I flew back to New Zealand and Martyn had finally convinced me, ever the optimist I am, that finishing by Christmas was impossible. That afternoon though I flew with another legendary instructor who I’d spent most of my time learning with – Stewart Bond

Overnight Stewart and Martyn had obviously been chatting and I arrived in the morning to a change of tune… “we think we can get you finished by Christmas Ferg, BUT for the next 5 days of flying and for your assessment you’re going to have to jump in a different plane” – a Super Decathlon, Aerobatic, Tailwheel, Stick and with a Constant Speed Prop. Because the Champ had no transponder we were unable to enter controlled airspace and complete this part of the training syllabus in the Champ.

So off we went in the Decathlon into Airspace and around Adelaide International for 2.0 hours before I got back in the Champ that afternoon for a 3.0hr Solo Nav in order to meet the 10hr solo requirement. Five hours ....another big day for the head.

The final PPL Assessment with CASA was booked with 4 days to go, declarations were signed, ID photos taken, class 2 Medical done, proper persons checks & money paid to everyone wanting their pound of flesh from me.

For the next 3 days we used the time in the Decathlon to fly into controlled airspace, airports, final Instrument time, complete a CSU Type Rating and figuring out how to talk to the tower and fly the different plane!

The day of the assessment arrived, the last Friday before Christmas and despite being windy every day it was looking even windier than normal – 25G30KT and dicey deteriorating forecast. I forgot to close the window on the Before Take-off checks & got pulled up by this which rattled me, but before I knew it I was departing crosswind & requesting clearance to track directly into the 2500ft Airspace just off the north Aldinga and then onward overhead Adelaide International and cleared to fly the submitted flight plan.

It was all smooth sailing until the tower at the last minute diverted me to Mt Lofty with no heading or vector given – supposedly it is Adelaide’s highest mountain, I of course had no clue where Mt Lofty was, given the mountains in Australia are laughable and would hardly be considered a knoll or rolling hill country in NZ and of course, I couldn’t for the life of me find it on the map! At least I was pointing roughly in the right direction! Lesson learnt, I should have told the tower I was unfamiliar with the area and I can’t see anything that resembles a mountain.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, pop up request to get up to 8000ft and out of some nasty turbulence and a testing landing in the gusty afternoon wind. I felt I hadn’t flown the best but well enough apparently.

I was at the airport and on the plane back to NZ the following morning. 51 logged hours in 22 days over 4 weeks and the PPL was done. A Tailwheel Rating and a CSU Rating & one very empty wallet. Not the easiest 4 weeks, certainly no holiday, but doable for someone short on time and the desire to get it done.

As for how well they taught me… you’ll have to ask Roscoe, we took the Club’s Cub for a spin together just before I headed back to the Islands.

Coming back to my connection to WW2 through my work around the Pacific; doing the PPL in 4 weeks really put into perspective to me just how green some of the pilots must have been when they were sent off to combat. Especially late in the war when there were pilot shortages. Stories of rushed training exist in the Luftwaffe, the Kamikaze Pilots, Soviets and even the RAF – imagine doing just 4-6 weeks of flying and being sent into battle! Talk about Fight in Flight no chance to choose Fight or Flight.

South Australia was a great place to do it and I understand hours logged are transferrable from Australia back to New Zealand, even if you were considering say a 10 day holiday to knock out a portion of a PPL started in NZ or a float plane type rating coinciding with a holiday for the Missus. Adelaide is a cool city, I really enjoyed my time there. I found it much like Hawkes Bay, rural classy vibes, nice vineyards and classy eateries, fresh produce, an abundance of stone fruit and a stunning coastline.

To bring the PPL to NZ, all I now need to do is complete the NZ PPL low level flying and terrain awareness syllabus as Australia doesn’t teach this (no mountains), along with a BFR and the licence can be transferred across.

Adelaide Biplanes really was the NZ Aeroclub experience at a full time organisation. I nailed it in selecting them to do my training. I got exactly what I was after.

For anyone mad enough to want to do the same check out adelaidebiplanes.com.au/ or feel free to give me a call.
See ya up there. Ferg Watts"

For those interested here is some WWII black and white footage from Seghe Airfield during its construction and operation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQHioMqTJbE&t=270s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsQpBWAwCsI&t=81s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3W9Hc7dM6A&t=495s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE63cTKlwZs&t=347s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHNzjzmWlP4&t=38s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQemPA5nUY

Well by now of course, we all love him and look forward to his return to this little known part of South Australia. Awesome that he found us! ... See MoreSee Less

ADELAIDE BIPLANES

4 months ago

Frank Falco .... First Solo in the Harmony and on towards his Licence

"Flying is something that I've always had an interest in. I was on holiday in March in the States. My friend Scott had built a Velocity XL and I went to visit him as part of our holiday. We went for a fly from Velocity Regional Airport which is near Vero Beach in Florida.
We talked about flying a lot, I had always wanted to but never got around to it!

Back from holiday, when I was trying to work out how to make the flying happen, I seemed to be catching up with people who were pilots. I went for dinner with a friend Sean, we were chatting about flying when he said I got my Pilot Licence about a year ago! I then called Simon another friend from Adelaide Uni days, he suggested Catherine Conway and she introduced me to the idea of Recreational Aviation. At the same time, all things pointed back to Adelaide Biplanes!!

I'm one of the Heads of IT at OTR in Kensington, Adelaide. My job is inside all day, in front of a screen and quite stressful.

I find the flying challenging but I actually enjoy it and find it rather relaxing as you can't think about anything else. I focus on my flying .... I zone in on it! It appeals to the way my mind works. It is technically and physically challenging.

Going solo felt really great. That particular day the weather was really good, I felt the flying was going well, I was really enjoying it and after about 4 or 5 circuits, the Instructor said I'm not going to say anything unless I'm worried about something!

This has been one of my big milestones!! ... See MoreSee Less

ADELAIDE BIPLANES

6 months ago

Kai Duffield .... New Recreational Pilot Certificate

16 years old and has been flying the tailwheel Champ .... "Dad was keen on simulation and I think I started flying on a home sim when I was about 5! I'm not sure that I remember now, but I think I flew lots of big jets, King Air 350's and Boeings.

Then when I was 11 years old, Dad and I joined the Holdfast Model Aero Club. We flew a little Cherokee and that year I also joined the Australian Air Force Cadets, 609 Squadron. We came to Adelaide Biplanes with Air Cadets for air experience flights on 21 November 2021 in the Cessna 172.

Later, my Mum and Dad gave me a Trial Instructional Flight in the Sport Cub. I'd always wanted to be a pilot, so this was a big step! When I came back from that flight, I knew, I just loved it!

Since then, I have been coming about once a month, my family normally come too.

When I went solo I felt safe as I knew that I could do it, but still, I was nervous. Turning downwind, that's when I started looking at the runway, I looked back, checked that I was alone .... that's when it felt amazing, that I was flying on my own!

I definitely want to do it as my career!" ... See MoreSee Less

ADELAIDE BIPLANES

6 months ago

A Flight To Remember ....

Squadron Leader Peter Nelson, AFC, RAAF Reservist, Air Show Team writes for me ....

"Why is Remembrance Day on November 11th?

The truce (or Armistice) to end the war between countries was signed at exactly 11 o’clock on the morning of November 11th, 1918. The guns on the Western Front fell silent .... at long last! And so, every year on Remembrance Day, we observe one or two minutes silence at the same time to commemorate those who served as a member of the armed forces during wartime, and their contribution to our freedom and way of life.

The war, also known as The Great War, lasted over four years and took the lives of over 15 million people.

This year we marked the day peace was made 106 years ago!

During the moment of silence in public Remembrance Day services, there is a song played on either the bugle or the trumpet called 'The Last Post'. This moves many in the gathered crowd to tears, regardless of how many of these ceremonies they have attended.

The Last Post was used during wartime by the Commonwealth Armies to signify to soldiers and officers that the end of the day had come, the fighting had ceased for the time being, and those who were lost or wounded could follow the sound back to camp for safety and rest.

Now, this song is played during Remembrance Day and other memorial services to symbolize the end of wartime and to honour those who had fallen by calling them to rest.

Nowadays, Remembrance Day ceremonies honour those who have fallen on all conflicts, those who have served and those who continue to serve."

At Adelaide Biplanes ............ On Monday 11 November at 1030, we began to slide the hangar doors, firstly pulling out the 1940 British designed Tiger Moth VH-UEQ. Sliding across the next door revealed the big radial engined American designed 1942 Boeing Stearman, VH-EYC. Both aircraft served time during World War II in a training role and still sport their 'training yellow' fabric colours, on this day shining and resplendent in the Australian sun.

As we took off from Aldinga Airfield, the biplanes climbed and gradually came together in formation, the pilots Martyn and Karl, working hard in the bumpy air. I turned back to look at the Tiger Moth bobbing up and down behind and then out ahead over the cowling towards McLaren Vale as they flew together, engine sounds purring and 'phtting' a rhythm.

First we flew over the Aldinga Memorial service and then back to the Willunga Memorial before landing home. The hangar doors were pushed closed and the aircraft were 'back in bed'. We had rumbled along and flown in peaceful air, free air.

With the sound of the Stearman engine rumbling in front of me, I began to remember ... Later, I began a search in old photos and letters, for I was remembering a story of the memories shared between my Aunties and my mother about their Uncle Robert George Lucas. He was the second son of my Great Grandparents, their grandparents. Their first son Edward Lucas had died in 1912, just 17 years old, then Robert their second son enlisted with The Australian Army on the 16th March 1916. At this time his sister, who was to become my Nanna was only 12 years old and had clear memories of that time.

Robert was from the family farm and he had attended the nearby Mt Gambier High School .... he rode horses .... he was loved by his family. On 14 August 1916, he was marched onto a ship at Outer Harbour, the 'Itria' sailing to Plymouth and arriving in the UK on 30 October 1916.

New Year's Eve 2016, he sailed on the ship 'Princess Victoria' to Etaples, France where he joined the 5th Pioneer Battalion, regimental Number 2382A.

On the 10 May 1917, Robert was KILLED IN ACTION, in the field, France, just 20 years old. His parents received a telegram on the 21 May 1917.

He lays far away from his family at the Vaulx Hill Cemetery, 160 kms north of Paris.

On the farm at Allendale, they were far removed from the horrors of that war, but it still reached out and affected them for the rest of their lives. I remember my family talking about him. His mother, my Great Grandmother was always heartbroken they said. I can vaguely remember there was a story of a young girl left behind in Mt Gambier. She never married.

The ripples of pain go down the generations.

Quote .... "Why do we need to remember? Because those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ... See MoreSee Less