Latest restoration work being undertaken in Australia on the static B-24 Liberator bomber – https://www.facebook.com/B24Werribee/posts/1453831658215344

AWAL Update August 2014

Here we are well into August and the end of Winter is in sight! Things have been reasonably quiet of-late but there is still quite a bit to update all of you on:

FAST Formation Progress
Our AWAL FAST Formation manual is advancing, slowly but surely! By the time you read this, I hope to have the final draft done. It has taken awhile because we want to get it right the first time. The end result will be a formation manual thoroughly vetted by our most experienced members, including several former and current Air Force and Navy pilots. As soon as the final draft is done, I will submit it to our Board of Directors for acceptance. From there, we’ll work to plan our first Formation Clinic, ideally to be held in Cowra immediately prior to our 2014 AGM/Fly-in. I have to say I’m really encouraged by the level and comments of support we’ve received for this program from a large number of members and am quite anxious to get it off the ground (pardon the pun)!

2014 AGM and Fly-in at Cowra
Speaking of the AGM/Fly-in, planning is moving ahead nicely. If you will be attending but have not yet booked your room, please do so as soon as possible. While there is still availability at the several motels in town, they are starting to fill up. We should have a weekend full of flying fun, some great speakers, and only as much official Association business as is necessary! Please click here to view our flyer for the weekend. I really am looking forward to meeting a large number of you there and hope you can all make it!
To view the event’s Flyer designed by Board Member Matt Henderson, please click here http://australianwarbirds.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=1311b8f2d433eebf474f41a26&id=75058fa597&e=b2e0ce7858

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation can be booked at any of the following establishments:
Breakout Motor Inn (02)6342 6111
Country Comfort Cowra (02)6342 3177
Aalana Motor Inn (02)6341 1177
Cowra Motor Inn (02)6342 2011
Cowra Crest Motel (02)6342 2799
131 Kendall St-Serviced Apartments (02)6342 4000
We highly recommend you book sooner rather than later to ensure availability.

AWAL’s AGM, gala dinner, and awards ceremony will be held on Saturday evening at the Cowra Services Club. Tickets will be very reasonable at around the $35 range and will go on sale soon.

Part of the official Association business to be covered at the AGM will of course involve elections for positions on AWAL’s Board of Directors. If you are a Flying Member in good standing who would like to make a contribution, now is the time to consider nominating for the Board. As our new Constitution is now in effect, the old system of either having to vote in person or by proxy is no more. We will now conduct balloting either electronically or by mail in the lead-up to the AGM, with final voting and results announced at the meeting. The plan is to have nomination forms available within the next 2-3 weeks with voting commencing in mid- to late-September. Serving as a Board member is an excellent way to both contribute to Australia’s warbird community and meet other dedicated members. Give it some thought! I or any of the current Board will be happy to speak with you with regards to what an AWAL directorship entails, so please don’t hesitate to contact us.

At the AGM dinner, as part of the evening’s events, we will be presenting numerous awards, hopefully to include a good mix of both humorous and more traditional categories.
There is one award we will need your input on: AWAL Member of the Year! If you know of anyone you would like to nominate, please forward their name to me at [email]mark.awad@australianwarbirds.com.au[/email] along with a brief on why they should be chosen for this recognition.

Noise Exemption Certificate Update
Most of you would have spoken with Norm Jones with the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. Norm is the extremely helpful and friendly point of contact for us with the Department, charged with facilitating the Noise Exemption Certificate process. He’s been working to streamline and simplify things for us all and as such has asked that I pass on the following to you:
The online filing of applications is now available and is preferred by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
A new noise permit application form for both renewals and initial applications for Adventure/Airshow and Historic flights must be submitted for all renewals every 12 months. Permit expiry dates are aligned with AWAL members’ registration expiry date.Applications for Adventure flights in particular must include a letter of support from both the Airport operator and the local council is they are not one and the same. Basically, what they are looking for is compliance with the legislation i.e. that consultation has taken place (If you are unable to get a reply from an either intransigent or unresponsive council, please let Norm know and provide him with evidence that you’ve been trying over a period of at least 3-4 weeks with no luck.He will in most circumstances be able to process your request at that time).Support letters can also be emailed directly to [email]aircraft.permits@infrastructure.gov.au[/email]
Application forms can be found and filed on line at http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/environmental/aircraft-noise/noise_regulations.aspx, or via fax or email with an application form attached. Once an application is filed on line, copies are automatically sent to AWAL’s Admin and DSA for comment/checking. A copy is also sent back to the applicant for their records. Processing of applications is usually completed within a week. Urgent applications can be accommodated if necessary. He’s happy for members to call or email him anytime to discuss their application process or issues they are having with airports and/or councils. Norm can be reached on (02)6274 6056 or at [email]norm.jones@infrastructure.gov.au[/email]

Flying Boots Special Offer
We’ve recently received an excellent offer exclusive to AWAL members of 25% off all Belleville Flying Boots from Premier Defence Agencies! Please reference the attached price list for the most popular styles and cost, which includes post and GST. Click here http://australianwarbirds.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=1311b8f2d433eebf474f41a26&id=917ee17d9f&e=b2e0ce7858 to view their Brochure and AWAL price list. The quality speaks for itself and you should get at least 2-3 years out of a pair, at which time they can be fitted with replacement soles. If you choose to take them up on this offer, just quote your AWAL member number when ordering. I’ll be getting a pair myself!

Member Initiatives
I received an e-mail recently from members Laurie and Bec Jones of Tooradin, Vic. They’re quite eager to see more camaraderie amongst our Association and as such have extended an invitation for one and all to visit their airfield on Sundays for a BBQ. The cost is a very nominal $5 which goes to the Aero Club/Flying school there. All they ask is that if possible you contact them in advance for catering purposes. They can be reached on 0418 525 658 or [email]contact@adventurewings.com.au[/email] I and our Board of Directors really think this is an excellent initiative on Bec and Laurie’s behalf and commend them for it! I encourage any of you in the Tooradin area to take advantage of their hospitality and drop in for the BBQs and a catch-up.

2015 Classic Fighters Omaka Air Show
I’ve also recently been contacted by Graham Orphan, Editor of Classic Wings Magazine, who was promoting the 2015 Classic Fighters Omaka Air Show to be held 3-5 April. He asked that I pass the following on to all of you:
“The show is shaping up very well. As you know, April sees the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ANZAC tradition, so it’s a pretty important time for trans-Tasman relationships and we know the place is already going to be awash with fellow Australians. As usual, I’ll be trying to pre-load the Awards Dinner with more Aussies than Kiwis as this is always fun and reminds our Kiwi friends that they are generally outnumbered in this part of the world! As such I am still very keen to make in a predominantly AWAL / NZWA affair so thought I’d raise it with you again in case you folks would like to look at an AWAL initiative to have a unified presence on the field. If that is your leaning, then we’ll do whatever we can to make that presence work – just tell us what you’d like to see in place! In the meantime have a look at the promo clip….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEHo5epHinU
Please let us know if you are thinking of attending. If we have enough interest, we can work to put together an AWAL package. I for one think it would be great to have a large number of us representing Australia’s Warbird community at such a prominent air show!

Risk Management Plan
Our Technical Advisory Committee, ably led by Phil Frawley, has been working on a Risk Management Plan (RMP), to help us as warbird owners and operators better handle the risks that confront us in our varied operating environments. We’re confident the end product will be a very useful tool for all members and are moving steadily towards its completion, hopefully in the next month or so. I’ll keep you all updated on our progress…

Other news
Don’t forget we have the new AWAL hats http://australianwarbirds.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=1311b8f2d433eebf474f41a26&id=2ebed4b46f&e=b2e0ce7858 and t-shirts http://australianwarbirds.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1311b8f2d433eebf474f41a26&id=ddc032b220&e=b2e0ce7858 available. They make excellent gifts and each one you purchase helps to support our organisation! They can be ordered on our website, or just let me know if there are any you would like.

Also, please keep the Australian Warbirds Insurance Scheme (AWIS) in mind. It has been really successful thus-far with a large number of members securing coverage under it. Click here http://australianwarbirds.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=1311b8f2d433eebf474f41a26&id=f5a1890ba8&e=b2e0ce7858 to view the AWIS brochure. If you would like a quote, please contact Dylan Jones with Aviation Insurance Australia on (07)3274 4732 or [email]dylanj@aviationinsurance.com.au[/email]

Safe Flying!

Best regards,
Mark Awad,
Chief Executive Officer

The Rathmines static Catalina project has some minor news update for anyone interested –

* The restoration work is progressing…..they currently have about 8 regular volunteers at present working across 3 days a week.

* They have so far commenced on the grubby work/preparation. The cockpit has now been stripped out, after the screens and an audit has been done on the instruments taken out, plus all the instruments that were able to be scavenge from San Juan. They will have more than enough to restore the cockpit to days past.

* The project could use more supporters with donations of money. So if interested consider visiting their website and follow the donations link….. http://rathmines-catalina.com/

AWAL CEO Mark Awad has news to share –

Details for AWAL’s upcoming 2014 Cowra Warbirds Fly-in and AGM

“AWAL’s Fly-in and AGM planning committee is working to make this inaugural event one to remember! The official schedule will run Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th of October. However, we are hoping to hold a formation flying clinic there Thursday and Friday the 16th and 17th. Keeping that in mind, you may want to schedule more time off and plan on arriving early for that.

FLY-IN and AGM FLYER
To view the event’s Flyer designed by Board Member Matt Henderson, please click http://australianwarbirds.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1311b8f2d433eebf474f41a26&id=77b99d1a09&e=b2e0ce7858

ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation can be booked at any of the following establishments:
Breakout Motor Inn (02)6342 6111
Country Comfort Cowra (02)6342 3177
Aalana Motor Inn (02)6341 1177
Cowra Motor Inn (02)6342 2011
Cowra Crest Motel (02)6342 2799
131 Kendall St-Serviced Apartments (02)6342 4000
We highly recommend you book sooner rather than later to ensure availability.

AGM, DINNER, and AWARDS
AWAL’s AGM, gala dinner, and awards ceremony will be held on Saturday evening at the Cowra Services Club. Tickets will be very reasonable at around the $35 range and will go on sale soon.
Our AGM will of course include elections and the subsequent introduction of our Association’s Board of Directors for the next year. If you are thinking of nominating for a position, please do so (2014 nomination forms will be available shortly)! I or any of the current Board will be happy to speak with you with regards to what an AWAL directorship entails, so please don’t hesitate to contact us.
As part of the evening’s events, we will be presenting numerous awards, hopefully to include a good mix of both humorous and more traditional categories.
There is one award we will need your input on: AWAL Member of the Year! If you know of anyone you would like to nominate, please forward their name to me at [email]mark.awad@australianwarbirds.com.au[/email] along with a brief on why they should be chosen for this highly prestigious and potentially career-enhancing recognition.

FUEL
While Cowra does have both Avgas and Jet-A1, Skyfuel will be providing mobile fueling services. Suffice to say, there’s hopefully no excuse not to fly your warbird in for the weekend!

We’ll follow up with more information as the plans for this great weekend of flying, fun, and camaraderie continue to come together.

I hope to see you all in Cowra!

Best regards,
Mark Awad”
Chief Executive Officer”

If you havent already become a AWAL member please visit our website for details – http://www.australianwarbirds.com.au/membership.php

We have been asked by some people if we were going to have another run of pavers to put in the memorial wall.

We have contacted the paver suppliers and were told that we would need 35 orders before they will schedule a new production run. The B-24 memorial wall is a recognition of those who served in Liberators either Australian or US, either flight or ground crew.

It also aims to recognise those who have worked on/supported the b-24 Werribee restoration.

A single paver, 230 X115 mm, is $50, a double is $100. At the moment we are looking for expressions of interest. Anyone who thinks that they might like a paver to be dedicated in their name, can contact Judy on our email [email]liberator@b24australia.org.au[/email]

The local Newcastle newspaper has just done a story on the Catalina project and 12 photos – http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2330244/catalina-may-find-home-at-museum-in-rathmines/?cs=12