Bankstown and the Warrior

After a couple of months break whilst I got the final theory subjects for my CPL under my belt I was very glad to get back in the air with my instructor to learn the ins and outs of operating from Bankstown, one of Australia’s busiest General Aviation airfields, and a new aircraft type, the Warrior.

The move came as I felt ready to get experience at a busier airport and also to continue to make use of my excellent instructor who recently moved flying schools. The airport is about 40 minutes nearer than Camden, my previous flying home, so quicker to get to.
Whilst I thought I only had an hours flying lesson booked, the actual introduction took most the afternoon, arriving for 2pm and not leaving before 7pm. After a tour of the fleet at the Scholfield Flying Club it was inside for some ground school on the various procedures at Bankstown. This covered radio, arrival and departure procedures and a look at the map on how to taxi to one of the three runway strips.

If anyone reading this is looking for more information on flying from Bankstown or any of the main Sydney airports, take a look at the excellent Sydney Basin Visual Pilot Guide. The main points to note are:

- Different arrival and departure altitudes depending upon the active runway.
- The southern runway is typically used for circuit training and is on frequency 123.6
- Centre and northern runways are typically used for arrivals and departures on 132.8
- Approach points of 2CN in the south and Prospect Reservoir in the north
- Care not to intrude on the joining Sydney International class C airspace.

At the same time as looking to find my way around Bankstown airport was the interesting learning of a new aircraft, the Piper Alpha Warrior. Having nearly always trained and flown Cessna's I was rather daunted by this challenge. However, once I had a detailed brief from Daniel and started the plane up, I started to feel at home with Sierra Foxtrot Romeo (SFR).
Checking the aircraft was quite similar to the Cessna. Perhaps the most alarming difference though was finding water in the fuel. I was however assured this is quite normal for aircraft that stand outside frequently such as this one. Nonetheless, a first for me and I was relieved when the second fuel test revealed just fuel.

The main control differences between the Warrior and the Cessna I noted are:
- No ignition key. Just switches for power, alternator and mags. Switches to remain switched on during flight have a nice little guard around them.
- Two fuel tanks and no duel feed option - i.e. you must select left or right tank - and remember to interchange them!
- Fuel pump has to be used at critical stages of flight. Switch it on at the run-up bay and turn off at 500ft. Turn on when performing downwind checks prior to landing and off when exiting the runway.
- Flaps are operated by a 'handbrake' style leaver rather than electric. They can stick in the down position too until some wind resistance forces them up.
- Carb heat is present as there is no fuel injection.
- Nice reminder for shutdown - Lights, Camera (radio), Action (Mixture).

In flight the aircraft was quite comparable to the Cessna to fly and probably a touch easier to land. Hopefully I will be signed off after just one more lesson.