SAFA Skysailor Magazine

33 September | October 2024 SKY SAILOR a broken RH wrist. Minor damage to the RH glider wing tip. The PIC has identified the contributing factors: New glasses, particularly multi-focal, are known to have contributed to several landing incidents. Persons returning to the sport at a more mature age are likely to be wearing glasses for the first time in their flying career and unaware of the visual distortions that can result. When returning to sport after a very long absence, pilots should expect their skill set to be degraded and fly conservatively. Finally, we finish with a couple of in-flight equipment failures. #1695 – PPG DLE 200 twin exhaust manifold flange bolt failure and emergency landing into new residential housing estate, Vic PIC was flying their PPG from Sunbury (Vic). An exhaust bolt failure during flight caused minor propeller damage. The pilot identified the problem and landed safely. Always complete a thorough pre-flight inspection of all your gear and have a safe landing option at all times during flight. #1948 – R07 PG risers failure in flight, Vic A pilot flying their paraglider in competition from Mystic (Vic), experienced a mechanical (riser) failure on their wing, severely degrading its performance and safety. This wing had been subject to a safety notice issued by its manufacturer. The pilot was able to navigate the wing to a safe landing. Pilots are reminded that safety notices are issued for a reason. In the event a safety notice is issued, it is safest to cease using the equipment concerned until the issue on which the safety notice is based has been resolved – preferably by an experienced individual. SAFA publishes notices from manufacturers on our public-facing website as soon as we become aware of them. Look under: Pilot Tools > Resources > Defect Reports. They can also be found in the Documents section of the Member’s Area. That’s it for this issue. Fly safe. Forms and Documents SAFA Documents are now available in the Member Zone of the SAFA website . To access them select then select ‘Documents’ in the left-hand menu. These documents are constantly updated, so download them only when required. DO NOT save them for later use. The office will not accept outdated forms. Documents available to the general public are accessible on the website under: ‘Pilot Tools’  Forms & Docs Visiting Pilot Membership Pilots requiring Visiting Pilot Memberships please go to www.safa. asn.au/visiting-international-pilots SAFA Office Manager