Avalon Airshow
In March, Melbourne Heli, Christchurch Helicopters and Guimbal all teamed up to display the Cabri G2 at the 2025 Avalon Airshow. Aside from the fun of flying down, it was great to meet so many others in the aviation and rotary wing industry, and plenty of curious onlookers came and spoke to us about both flight training and purchasing their own Cabri G2.
At Melbourne Heli we’re proud to operate three Cabri G2 helicopters, the safest two-seat piston helicopter in the world, and one that allows our students to more easily transfer onto larger European helicopters as their careers progress.
We’ll be back in 2027, but if you can’t wait that long, feel free to check out our flight home from Avalon to Essendon, in which Guimbal’s own Director of Sales and Support, Raphael Yver, did most of the flying alongside one of our instructors, Rick.
Major Sponsorship of The Mount Players
Melbourne Helicopters recently became a major sponsor of The Mount Players, a theatrical company based among the Macedon Ranges community. After our Chief Pilot attended a performance of A Bunch of Amateurs, it was clear to him that this theatre company is built on genuine effort, local involvement, and a strong sense of community. From performers who double as theatre cleaners to dogs being granted lifetime memberships, The Mount Players represent the kind of grassroots organisation we’re glad to stand behind.
We also recently had the chance to take two committee members, Craig and Karlana, on a short helicopter flight over Melbourne. It was a great opportunity to share what we do while connecting with people who give so much to their local area.
Student News
A big congratulations to Felix and Dom who both flew solo down at Moorabbin for the first time. Every pilot remembers their first time in the air alone, and it’s an exciting milestone and right of passage for all of us.
Above: Thumbs up from Felix after his first solo flight.
Below: Dom making it all look too easy.
Staff and Graduate News
Gray’s had a busy Q2, recently hitting an impressive milestone of 3,000 flight hours, as well as obtaining his Design Feature Training and Flight Instructor Training Endorsements. This allows Gray to conduct training, and grant the qualification (called an endorsement) in turbine helicopters for people that want to upgrade to larger/faster machines such as our R66. Additionally he can now also train pilots who want to become flight instructors, and conduct upgrade training to existing instructors to expand their skills and abilities.
Gray also now steps into a new role as Melbourne Heli’s Head of Operations as Alex shifts focus to other duties, and will now oversee the instructional side of our operations. Congratulations to Gray on both his flying achievements and new leadership role.
Harry recently earned his Grade 2 instructor endorsement after dedicated effort and study. Well done to Harry on reaching this important career milestone.
Ruben, one of our Line Pilots, has secured both his instructor rating and fixed-wing endorsement. While he won’t be instructing on helicopters at Melbourne Heli, Ruben has already been contributing to staff and student development, helping to strengthen our training and promote safe flying practices.
Above: Night VFR flying above Melbourne
Be aware of mast-bumping
Melbourne Heli pilots and students are encouraged to read and watch the findings from the ATSB report of the Loss of control and in-flight break-up involving Robinson R66, VH-KFT, near Hawks Nest, New South Wales on 26 October 2023.
The ATSB advises all operators of Robinson helicopters to be aware of the possibility of mechanical turbulence and avoid it whenever possible. If it is not possible to avoid flying through an area where mechanical turbulence is anticipated, reduce airspeed to 60–70 kt in accordance with Robinson Safety Notice 32, prior to encountering turbulence. Pilots must also be aware of distractions and manage these accordingly, remember to always prioritise flying the aircraft.
Slow down prior to suspected turbulence
Robinson Helicopters’ handling characteristics in low-g and turbulent conditions are well documented and detailed in Robinson Helicopter Safety Notices SN-11 & SN-32 respectively. In both cases an increased airspeed affects the severity of the resulting aircraft response, and increases the likelihood of mast bumping and in-flight break-up.
It is possible that, at high airspeeds, an encounter with turbulence may produce a reaction that requires an immediate and decisive response from the pilot to ensure the safety of flight. As outlined in Robinson Safety Notice 11, a low‑g (weightless) condition can result in a powerful right roll. In such circumstances, ‘The rotor must be reloaded before lateral cyclic can stop the right roll. To reload the rotor, apply an immediate gentle aft cyclic, but avoid any large aft cyclic inputs.’
As airspeed increases, the time available for the pilot to recognise and respond to undesirable aircraft states is significantly reduced.
Pilots are reminded to remain vigilant at all times and to continuously assess conditions to identify the possibility for turbulence. Where any doubt exists, pilots should reduce airspeed prior to entering an area with potential for turbulence to reduce the effects of, and increase the available response time to, an upset condition.
Have you cancelled your SARTIME?
Managing Search and Rescue times (SARTIME) and cancelling them at the end of a flight is a critical responsibility of pilots in command. It ensures that Airservices and emergency response authorities such as the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) know that you’ve arrived safely. It also prevents unnecessary search and rescue operations – a highly resource intensive, and at times costly, process.
In 2022, around 8000 SARTIMEs expired without being cancelled by pilots. Around 1 in 25 of these were passed on to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) when pilots could not be contacted by Airservices.
Something lighter…
