Our Pilot Proficiency Day (PPD) started at 7.30 am with Craig Whiting flying with Bruce Dunlop. It was a lovely, calm but cloudy day. We had an impressive ten (10) pilots fly to take advantage of our cheap rates of $100 an hour for these days as well as to retain their currency. Thanks once again to Bruce Dunlop and John Hayler for helping with the judging as well as providing guidance.
Our goals for PPD stresses on Aviation Safety and Airmanship. The flying events were as follows.
STUCK THROTTLE
In this exercise we simulated a stuck throttle of 3000RPM while flying downwind and landing perfectly in the large, white markers. This is treated like a forced landing exercise.
1st Rod Davison and Caleb Butterfield 40pts
2nd Col Hayler 10pts
RIVER BASH
(Co ordinated Flying Exercise up the Maria River)
1st Craig Whiting 65 pts (perfect score)
2nd Rod Davison / Caleb Butterfield / Col Hayler 59 pts
3rd Jon Maguire 57pts
FORCED LANDING
1st Graham Smith 70pts
2nd Rod Davison 67pts
3rd Craig Whiting / Mark Whatson 51 pts
OVERALL
1st Rod Davison 186pts
2nd Caleb Butterfield 182pts
3rd Craig Whiting 136pts
Congratulations to Rod for some outstanding flying for our April Pilot Proficiency Day. Rod gained 186 pts in the 3 exercises of the Stuck Throttle, River Bash and Forced Landing.