The absent-minded professor who made a safer world
James Reason, the originator of the Swiss cheese theory of accident causation died on 5 February.
Flying operations quiz – Summer 2024–25
Test your VFR aviation knowledge
Ensure you’re practising bushfire safety this summer
With the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a hot and dry summer, it’s time for all recreational and general aviation pilots to brush up on...
Your own set of wings
Like a pet, your own aircraft can be the highlight of your life and, like a pet, it is a commitment for many years....
Drone flyer diary – Jeff Gaunt
Jeff Gaunt, Operations Manager at Heliguy, is making waves in the film industry with his unique blend of drone tech and creative insight. Jeff’s...
Wings Award winner profile — Lachlan Hyde
For someone so young, Lachlan Hyde has packed more into his 23 years than most people twice his age, combining experience in the not-for-profit...
Ring of fire
A tiny, inexpensive part was ignored for decades until it failed, with dreadful consequences.
The fiery crash of a 44-year-old Mooney MJ201 in 2022 remains...
Dirty plus thirty
A 12-factor classification of maintenance hazards remains as relevant as it was in 1993. Gordon Dupont’s' dirty dozen’, identifies manageable distinct safety problems, breaking a huge vague challenge into 12 smaller ones.
Double blind
I was flying from Jandakot to Rottnest Island, a flight of about 15 minutes. It was a beautiful day for flying, with no clouds...
The weather in your head
It was mid-July 2023 and I was very excited to fly my first cross-country navigation flight that would have more than one stop. I...
Flight planning fail
Nothing emphasises the importance of flight planning like that knotted feeling in your gut when you have failed to do it. This pilot got...
Dam close-run thing
In May this year I was flying my Vans RV7A from Forrest to Kalgoorlie, with another pilot. We were heading to my home airport,...
Things that go wrong in the night
After a particularly bad day at work where everything seemed to have gone wrong, I was booked for the last dual night navigation exercise...
They don’t make them like they used to
How dumb luck prevented an intergenerational technology disaster.
If you walk around a classic car show, you will inevitably hear someone say, 'They don't make...
