WINTER WONDERLAND
Above: Wing at 8000 feet over New Zealand
Girls in Aviation Day
On 11 October Melbourne Heli proudly hosted the Essendon Airport Girls in Aviation Day, celebrating and showcasing the wide range of professional opportunities available across the aviation industry. The day brought together aspiring aviators and industry professionals, highlighting the many pathways available to women in aviation.
Above: A busy hangar 7 apron
Student News
Congratulations to Dom and Teague who both passed their Commercial Pilot Licence – Helicopter flight tests, a major milestone earned through dedication, discipline, and hard work. This achievement marks the transition from student through to professional helicopter pilot and the beginning of an exciting aviation career. Well done both on a fantastic result!
Above: A happy Dom (above) and Teague (below) after passing their
Congratulations to Tommy who has successfully passed his Private Pilot Licence – Helicopter, marking an important step in his flying journey. Tommy’s efforts and dedication were obvious to everyone who flew with him, and the team wishes him safe flying going forward. Well done!
Above: A happy Tommy on an earlier flight
A big congratulations to Rhys, Ben, Noah, and Ian who all 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.
A happy Ben (above) and Noah (below) after their respective first solo flights
Above: And a big smile from Ian after his first solo
Staff and Graduate News
Wing recently enjoyed some flying across the ditch in New Zealand, taking a Cabri G2 to altitudes rarely experienced in Australia. Having originally completed her training with Wanaka Helicopters in New Zealand, Wing knows the local area well and was right at home operating in the high country.
Also, a congratulations to Rick for picking up his FIR Grade 2 endorsement
Cabri G2 RFM Temporary Revision
Guimbal has advised Cabri operators of reported cases of carburettor icing in service, with a particular emphasis on occurrences during autorotation training. In response, Service Letter SL 24-001 was issued in December 2024. However, despite this procedure, further suspected carburettor icing events have been reported, notably during autorotation with power on and during low-power descents.
Guimbal is treating this issue very seriously. Design changes to the automatic carburettor heating system are currently being developed and tested to improve overall robustness. In the interim, a Temporary Revision of the Flight Manual has been released and is now available for all pilots.
The revised guidance highlights that, despite the automatic carburettor heating system, carburettor icing may still occur under certain combinations of outside air temperature (OAT) and dew point. As dew point is not available in flight, Guimbal recommends treating conditions as prone to carburettor icing whenever OAT is between -5°C and 25°C.
Under these conditions, the following procedures apply: during run-up, hover, take-off, climb and cruise, carb heat should be set to AUTO. During low-power descents (MLI less than 60%), carb heat should be set to HOT. For autorotation training, carb heat should be selected HOT at least 10 seconds prior to entry. Pilots are reminded to ensure sufficient HIGE power margin with carb heat set to HOT before commencing autorotation training.
DISENGAGE A/P
To all our fixed-wing autopilot aficionado colleagues out there who might feel like it’s time for a refresher on what it feels like to personally manipulate a flight control surface, feel free to jump online and book yourself in for a trial flight with us.
Fly safe!