HKAC NEWSLETTER HONG KONG AVIATION CLUB NEWSLETTER SUMMER ISSUE 2020 FLYING SINCE THE 1920s IN THIS ISSUE Message from the General Committee Update on the Resumption of Flying at Shek Kong As Club members know, our flying Department (CAD) to implement various operations were suspended last fall due recommendations arising from a review to renovation works on the runway at of our operations, which was undertaken Shek Kong Airfield, which commenced by an independent consultant in 2019. in November of 2019. At the time of the Among other things, the Club will be M3 Certification suspension, the works were scheduled to adopting: Learn about the M3 certification recently be complete by July of 2020, at which issued to the Club’s engineering department by CAD and the new standards the time we planned to resume our flying a new operations manual, which will department will be following. operations. However, as a result of the replace the Club’s previous flying developments with respect to COVID- orders (the new operations manual Page 3 19, we have not been able to meet that has been reviewed by CAD, and we deadline. While much of the runway have addressed all of CAD’s comments to date); renovation work at Shek Kong has now been completed, certain of the work has new training manuals for both fixed- been delayed due to the COVID-19 wing and helicopters, which will situation, and unfortunately our access standardize our lessons and flight to Shek Kong has been limited in recent briefings; and months. Notwithstanding these delays, we have an updated Safety Management continued to work on a number of System, which is more closely Head of Training initiatives so that we are ready to tailored to the Club’s operations. Meet the Club’s Head of Training, Giles resume our flying operations when Shek Haybittle, and hear about the various initiatives he has been involved in since Kong ultimately reopens. Perhaps most importantly, we have been working joining the Club. closely with the Civil Aviation Pages 4-5 HKAC NEWSLETTER | 2 IN THIS ISSUE Message from the General Committee (continued) We have also been working with CAD on Members are also reminded that they a proposal to resume our student can submit proxy forms in accordance training, including solo flights for fixed- with the procedures set forth in the wing students, and we recently notice in the event that they do not want submitted a risk assessment to CAD for to attend the meeting in person. their consideration. Much of this work has been led by our new Head of This Edition of the Newsletter Training, Giles Haybittle, who you can We have assembled a number articles in Community Outreach read more about in this edition of the this edition of the Newsletter to help Learn about the Club’s community outreach Newsletter. initiatives with HKU SPACE, Polytechnic keep you updated on developments at University and the Hong Kong Aerospace While we would like to be able to the Club during this difficult time, Leaders Association. provide an exact date when flying will including a Q&A session with our new Page 6 resume at Shek Kong, we are unable to Head of Training, the certification of the do so due to the uncertainty surrounding Club’s engineering department as an M3 the COVID-19 situation. We are organization, our community outreach continuing to monitor the situation efforts and the return of the Club’s closely, and we will be working with both Robinson R44 helicopter, as well as a CAD and the PLA to resume our flying tribute to our Club member Chris operations as soon as possible. When we Keeping, who passed away earlier this do resume flying, we will be conducting year. a series of briefings for members on the new flight operations manual and working with members so that they can regain their recency and renew their Certificates of Experience, as necessary. The Return of Mike Alpha Read about the overhaul of the Club’s Upcoming Annual General Meeting Robinson R44 B-KMA. Pages 7-8 You will soon be receiving the notice and related papers for our next Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is currently scheduled for 16 September. As the Club is required to hold its AGM within nine months after the end of its fiscal year, we will be proceeding with the meeting, albeit with certain precautionary measures in place due to the COVID-19 situation, including: mandatory body temperature screening of all attendees before granting admission to the meeting; Obituary Tribute to our club member Chris Keeping all attendees will be required to wear who recently passed away. face masks at the meeting; Pages 9-11 no food or beverages will be served at the meeting; and distancing protocols will be followed such that not more than 20 persons will be in each room or partitioned area. HKAC NEWSLETTER | 3 Group M3 Maintenance Approval for the Club’s Engineering Department Hogan Loh Chairman of Engineering Sub-Committee On 5 June 2020, the Club’s engineering MOE, or Maintenance Organisation department was awarded a Group M3 Exposition, had to be critically examined Maintenance Organisation Approval and finally accepted by CAD surveyors. (Approval Reference No. AI/236/0620) The entire process took more than half a by CAD. Prior to obtaining this approval, year. the Club operated under the personal aircraft maintenance licenses of its Another document known as a GTI, or engineers servicing the Club’s aircrafts. General Technical Instruction, will need be ready for CAD audit by November However, given the size of the Club’s 2020. This document contains more fleet, CAD suggested that the Club than 40 subjects and covers a range of should adhere to a higher maintenance specific activities, such as continuous standard. Accordingly, our former training of staff in two-year intervals Engineering Manager, Robert Sears, (GTI-003), a safety management system started writing an exposition on (SMS) in the engineering department standardisation in 2018 upon the request (GTI-035) and aircraft refueling and of the Club’s General Committee. defueling (GTI-47), among others. Working with industry professionals and CAD, and with the help of our current Just like HAECO, a renowned HKAR-145 Engineering Manager, Dandy Wong, this approved aircraft maintenance organisation in Hong Kong, CAD has a document evolved into an M3 Maintenance Organisation Manual. role to play in governing and monitoring all of the maintenance activities The M3 approval can be described more performed on the Club’s aircraft fleet specifically as a “Group M3 Maintenance through audits in the areas of (1) hangar Organisation Approval for Aeroplanes facilities; (2) a technical library for the and Rotorcraft not exceeding 2730 kg”. validity of various publications; (3) the As a pre-requisite of being awarded the status of the Club’s SMS; and (4) a approval, a document known as an certificates renewal exercise. Club President Ronald Maurer collected the M3 certificate from CAD Assistant Director-General (Flight Standards) Samson Lau. HKAC NEWSLETTER | 4 Q&A with the Club’s Head of Training, Giles Haybittle As many of you will know, Giles What experience did you gain in return to flight instruction, I immediately Haybittle joined us as the Club’s new California? submitted my application. Head of Training in November 2019. In order to help Club members get to know I chose LA Helicopters in Los Angeles to I am honored to say that November 2019 Giles better, we asked him a number of complete my licence and instructor saw my return to Hong Kong as Head of questions. ratings, and I was fortunate to get hired Training at the Club, and I am pleased to by them at graduation. Due to the have been able to work on many of the How did you get your start in aviation? school’s popularity and accolades, I was core initiatives for the organisation in able to complete flight hours at a steady readiness for the reopening of Shek I was first introduced to flying at the age pace, improve my skill level and apply Kong. of 13, when my parents signed me up to previously acquired managerial skills to be part of the Air Training Core in Sussex get involved in the running of the school. What are you focused on as the Head of in the United Kingdom, 45F Squadron. It Training, and what projects have you was at this point I knew that 13 was By 2013, I was appointed Chief Flight been working on since joining the Club? perhaps not so unlucky after all! The Instructor at LA Helicopters, and it was following five years included many also at that time I was hired to fly as a Safety and standardisation are at the top activities as an Air Cadet, but the one Safety Course Pilot at the Robinson of my list when it comes to protecting that was by far my favorite and the factory in Torrance, California. the welfare of the Club’s members, and reason we were all there was the accordingly, I am focused on providing opportunity to fly. How did you end up in Hong Kong? the correct tools and structure to the staff and flight instructors. During the In 2015, my wife and I chose to make the last nine months, I have been working on move to Hong Kong, where I took the a number of projects, including a new position of Line Pilot and SMS Manager operations manual that will consolidate at Heliservices and was later awarded the Club’s General Flying Orders, the additional role of Training Captain.