Tonight we recognise the achievements of our student pilots, seasoned pilots and club members for outstanding flying, performance and contribution to the Hastings District Flying Club. The awards are as follows -
TRI CLUB COMPETITION
2015 Tri Club Competition between RNAC, MRAC and HDFC was held at Rutherford this year. Unfortunately MRAC was unable to attend so a very close battle soon arose between HDFC and RNAC. 8 HDFC pilots competed with 4 separate aircraft. The HDFC team was very successful in winning the trophy once again in a very close event. As individuals our top pilots were: John Hayler, Rod Davison and Craig Whiting. Next year we will travel to MRAC so with such a short distance for us to travel we should have lots of HDFC pilots competing in an attempt to retain the trophy.
STUDENT AWARDS
First Solo (Mug and Certificate) –An exciting, challenging and memorable time for all pilots. The one we never forget.
Tim Amor 5.1.15, Joanna Oreb 6.1.15, Jack Kalchbauer 12.1.15, Ivan Daniel 9.5.15 (Ivan actually achieved his first solo in only 3 months of flying)
Pilot Certificate (Wings)
Caleb Butterfield 30.12.14, Chris Watt 28.2.15, Ivan Daniel 11.7.15, Jan Burgess 29.9.15, John Hayler 18.8.15, Mike Bullock 8.9.15
Cross Country Certificate
Craig Whiting 9.8.15, Ivan Daniel 31.10.15. Caleb Butterfield has almost completed his Cross Country endorsement.
Passenger Endorsement
Caleb Butterfield 7.2.15, Chris Watt 14.4.15 ( the romantic ) Ivan Daniel 20.8.15
Variable Pitch Propeller Endorsement (Constant Speed)
Ed Godschalk 7.2.15, Bruce Dunlop 8.2.15, Craig Whiting 3.4.15, Caleb Butterfield 23.4.15, Ivan Daniel 28.8.15
Scholarship Winners - We have 3 this year, and this of course can lead into a flying career.
1. Joanna Oreb, 2. Lachlan Davidson, 3. Matt Kneipp
Student Pilot of the Year
All of our students have worked very hard to gain their qualifications…it doesn’t just happen…it can only be achieved by hard work and dedication. Many problems are encountered along the way in gaining your pilot’s certificate and this often takes a great deal of perseverance by the student to overcome individual difficulties. Our student pilot of this year has developed into being quite competent flier…he has become an excellent club member, socialising frequently and always being available to give a valuable helping hand around the club. Our student pilot always seemed to be in quite a hurry to gain his qualifications and after only starting flying training in February of this year, he has now almost completed his cross country endorsement in the CTLS, an aircraft with a constant speed propeller. Our Student Pilot for 2015 is …Ivan Daniel.
PILOT PROFICIENCY AWARDS
Pilot Proficiency Day - Benefits to every pilot to maintain skills.)
This year we have continued to use a 20 point bonus score for each landing regardless of whether it is in a scoring box or not to improve the quality of our landings overall. To gain the 20 points the aircraft must be exactly in the RWY centre, the column hard back with the nose high in the air. This is working well for our pilots.
A big thank you goes to Bruce Dunlop for his enthusiasm, dedication and assistance in running the PPDs while I was away. He spends hours doing the air judging and also mentors the less experienced pilots when they require it.
SPOT LANDING PROFICIENCY - For judgement in quality landings as well as gaining scoring boxes
We had some very close points with our top 3 pilots. The second highest score had two pilots sitting on 9 pts... Rod Davison and Bruce Dunlop. But the winning pilot of the Spot Landing Proficiency award on 10 pts is........Craig Whiting
FORCED LANDING PROFICIENCY - Judging for accurate flying while doing all of the required checks to cover a simulated total engine failure and to complete the exercise with a perfect landing in the scoring boxes
The yearly score ended up with two pilots on very close scores so based on our count back system to the overall winner, our top scorer was determined on a count back to the Overall Winner. Second highest score goes to Rod Davison with our winner of the Forced Landing Proficiency trophy for 2015 being…....Bruce Dunlop
PROFICIENCY PILOT for the YEAR - Vern Polley Memorial Trophy
The overall winner of our PPDs has proven competence in all sequences. Once again scores were very close but consistency and accuracy definitely paid off for our winner in all areas. Gaining the third highest score on 7 pts was: Bruce Dunlop. Second highest score was Craig Whiting on 9 pts. However, our worthy winner of the 2015 Vern Polley Proficiency Trophy and Overall winner on 10 pts is……Rod Davison.
PILOT of the YEAR
Our pilot of the year has been extremely busy with his flying as well as involving himself deeply in club activities. Our successful candidate has been an enthusiastic competitor in the Proficiency Flying events and he has also speedily gained his flying qualifications through dedication and determination. After gaining his Variable Pitch Propeller endorsement in April on the CTLS, he immediately launched into his Cross Country flying and quickly gained his qualifications in 4 months (no mean feat when you consider our uncooperative weather on the coast). Seemingly, never letting the CTLS engine cool down, he then set about gaining more confidence and more skill as he set out for destinations we'd attempted during our training but abandoned because of bad weather; including Walcha, Armidale and even Maitland.
Our Pilot of the Year for his unbending enthusiasm and drive, ......Craig Whiting
CLUB PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD
The 2015 Club Person of the Year award goes to Veronica Lind. Veronica was surprised but delighted to proudly accept this prestigous award. She is deeply involved in marketing, communications and editorial of the club's newsletter, Propwash. Her many hours of hard work have given us arguably the best website of any aeroclub in Australia and undoubtedly the best newsletter of any aeroclub. Veronica cited that she delivers HDFC's vision and positions the flying school priorities of Aviation Safety and Airmanship, while promoting comradeship through adequate flying and social activities for its members, families and friends. Thank you for your very hard work and dedication which goes above and beyond the call of duty!
HDFC AWARDS 2015 - Summary
Most Proficient Pilot (Vern Polley Trophy) - Rod Davison
Forced Landing Proficiency – Bruce Dunlop
Spot Landing Proficiency – Craig Whiting
Pilot of the Year – Craig Whiting
Student Pilot of the Year – Ivan Daniel
Club Person of the Year- Veronica Lind
Solo (Mug and Certificate) –
Tim Amor 5.1.15, Joanna Oreb 6.1.15, Jack Kalchbauer 12.1.15, Ivan Daniel 9.5.15 (Ivan actually achieved his first solo in only 3 months of flying)
Pilot Certificate (Wings and Certificate)
Caleb Butterfield 30.12.2014, Chris Watt 28.2.15, Ivan Daniel 11.7.15, Jan Burgess 29.9.15, John Hayler 18.8.15, Mike Bullock 8.9.15
Cross Country Certificate –
Craig Whiting 9.8.15, Ivan Daniel 31.10.15
Passenger Endorsement (Certificate)
Caleb Butterfield 7.2.15, Chris Watt 14.4.15, Ivan Daniel 20.8.15
Variable Pitch Propeller Endorsement (Certificate)
Ed Godschalk 7.2.15, Bruce Dunlop 8.2.15, Craig Whiting 3.4.15, Caleb Butterfield 23.4.15, Ivan Daniel 28.8.15
Scholarship Winners
1. Joanna Oreb, 2. Lachlan Davidson, 3. Matt Kneipp