Wings of Life Portfolio by Douglas Field

Written and compiled by Douglas Field Graphic design by Ben Tuckey

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T h e R oy a l F l y i n g D o c t o r S e r v i c e & Yo u t h i n Av i a t i o n By Douglas Field

Ron Field’s (Doug’s father) Murphy Renegade

Contents 1

The face behind Wings of Life

2

Behind the logo

3

Laying the Foundations

5

Fly In & Trade Show

7

Event Memories

9

Flying to greater heights

11 12

National Geographic Live Curious Quiz Night Event Memories

13

Flying to greater heights

15

Fly In - Drive In

17

Event Memories

21

Flying to greater heights

23

Flight Around Australia

25

Destinations

27

Barry Uscinski

29

Pilots

38

Other helping hands

39

Reflection on the Flight Around Australia

43

Event Memories

47

Flying to greater heights

49

Media Clippings

51

Thankyou

52

Sponsors

53

Testimonies

The face behind Wings of Life A short Biography of Douglas Field

by Sheril-lee Field Douglas Field was born on the 29th of April 1991, and is the founder of Wings of Life. Born in Brisbane, Queensland, he is fanatical about aviation and has a genuine desire to help those less fortunate then himself.

As a child, Douglas was always full of energy (highlighted by the mischief he would frequently be coordinating) and curious to find out how things worked and what was around the next corner. It is no surprise, to those who know him, that he has recently piloted an aircraft around Australia.

From a young age Douglas would take every opportunity to fly with his father. He found the front seat of his Dad’s Murphy’s Renegade very comfortable especially when they found themselves in inclement weather. The upper wing of the biplane sheltered the front seat and would provide Doug with a dry platform for which he could look back at his father with his cheeky smile; meanwhile Ron would cop the full brunt of the weather. Douglas has now outgrown the front seat of the Renegade and regularly fly’s solo from the rear seat.

Since these early days Douglas has gone on to successfully complete a secondary education at St. Joseph’s Nudgee College in Brisbane where he studied mathematics, physics, design technology and many other subjects. Although, occasionally distracted by the usual teenage complications, the quality of work he produced, especially in design technology displayed his attention to detail and his creative mind.

While a student at St. Joseph’s Nudgee College, Douglas was also an active member of their social justice community. He participated in projects that included feeding and providing shelter for the less fortunate of Brisbane. This highlighted his commitment to helping those in need.

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At the age of 15, Douglas successfully completed his first solo flight in a Jabiru J160 after accumulating only 7 hours of dual instruction. Shortly after his first solo flight he received his pilots certificate, although unable to hold a drivers license (this was used as a regular joke amongst family and friends). This was something he was quite proud of and he loved to share his passion with his mates. Since then he has completed a Flight Instructors Rating, holds a Private Pilot’s License and has accumulated over 700 hours of aeronautical experience.

He is a determined young man and takes every opportunity to improve his skills through flying different aircraft and obtaining various aircraft endorsements. Doug has developed an affiliation for the warbird and vintage aircraft and states that his “heart belongs with their stick and rudder flying characteristics”. He believes these aircraft truly develop pilot’s flying skills and he is determined to see these rare aircraft in the future. He is an active committee member of the Queensland Vintage Aircraft Group (QVAG) who contribute to the airworthiness preservation of these aircraft.

Currently Doug is attempting to work his way into the air show display scene flying his father’s replica Spitfire.

Doug is also studying a Bachelor of Aviation degree at Griffith University and a Commercial Pilot License.

He hopes that his work with Wings of Life has inspired other youth to follow their dreams and recognise that “anything is possible if you are determined to achieve it.”

Founder Douglas Field in front of the Spitfire he piloted around Australia

Behind the Logo The heart at the centre, symbolises the people involved in Wings of Life that sacrifice hours of their time into putting on events, maintaining the club, and continue to inspire others through their work. It also represents the lives that Wings of Life save by supporting the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).

The Wings symbolise the flying background of Wings of Life. Wings of Life has a strong connection with aviation, as the idea prospered from Doug Field’s desire to contribute back to the industry and to develop his experience as a pilot.

Wings of Life will retain this strong connection with aviation, as students studying the Bachelor of Aviation at Griffith University coordinate the recently formed club. Finally, the wings represent the aircraft that the RFDS fly and the youth in aviation that the club “aspires to inspire”.

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Laying the Foundations A background to Wings of Life

by Douglas Field Wings of Life was formed by myself in June 2010. As an undergraduate in the Bachelor of Aviation degree at Griffith University I realised that in the near future I would be required to conduct a project to fulfil the requirements of my degree. I am an ambitious person seeking to challenge myself so I decided I would conduct a flight around Australia. The aircraft I initially selected was my father’s Jabiru J230. Fortunately we acquired a MK26 reproduction Spitfire prior to the departure date of the flight, which I used to take on Australia. I believed this project would provide significant personal benefits through providing an opportunity to satisfy the requirements of my degree and increase my flying experience. Evidently this experience would be a useful asset when seeking employment in the future. Unknown to myself at this point in time, Wings of Life would provide many more personal advantages.

I started off by chatting to some mates and friends in the aviation industry about the idea. They all had similar responses. The project was enormous in scale! But one, which was definitely achievable, and fortunately my peers were very supportive.

After gaining significant support from peers, I proceeded by typing my ideas into a basic project template on my computer. This clearly outlined my aims, objectives and goals. This is a fundamental process before starting any project or you find yourself visiting different tangents and deviating further from your goals (I personally find this very challenging).

This process is one, which is quite often overlooked and leads to the demise of many organisations and Griffith Aviation Project companies. These initialMarch ideas developed into a 22-page 30, 2010 document, which became my “Project Proposal” to Paul Bates who is the Head of Aviation at Griffith University and also the course Convenor for the Aviation Project.

Griffith Aviation Project

2010

This is a formal proposal for a Griffith Aviation Project to be conducted in the subject 3502BPS. This project is a charity flight, which will raise awareness and funds for the charity “Royal Flying Doctor Service”. The funds raised will contribute towards the operation of the services “ Royal Flying Doctor Service ” provides to rural Australians who lack access to adequate medical treatment.

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Formal Proposal

When I presented Paul with this proposal, he smiled and said, “Go for it”. At this point in time, Paul did not know me very well and I believe his smile indicated that he thought my ideas where quite ambitious, and that he had some doubt whether I would pursue the project after I gave it further consideration. Obviously my determination exceeded my concerns of the size of the task at hand.

I believe...

“ Nothing in life is impossible. All challenges in life are achievable. Challenges in life, are only as hard as you perceive them, and their difficulty is determined by the motivation you have to succeed ”.

After the University’s nod of approval I then approached the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) about using their charity to represent and raise funds for. Fortunately the kind fellows of the RFDS embraced my idea.

After this hurdle I thought about my project in more depth. I didn’t just want to jump in an aircraft and fly around Australia, I wanted to do this with a bunch of motivated aviation buffs and really maximise the effectiveness of this trip.

I am a very fortunate person as I live on an airfield (Archer Falls Airfield) in Kilcoy, Queensland and have the ability to easily access aircraft and also I have one awesome father! Without these key elements I would not be able to achieve what I have. Words cannot express my gratitude for the efforts of my father in helping me achieve my life goals. He is not only a father to me, but also my best mate!

Ron and Doug Field with their Spitfire Ron and Doug Field with their Spitfire

Discussing the project in more depth with my father, he had an idea to host a Fly-in at our airfield to promote the project to the aviation industry and the general community. I thought this was a great idea and it was right up my ally of fostering an aviation attitude that promotes fun aviation events!

So once again I laid out my ideas, this time from pen to paper. I started with basic flow diagrams which new ideas rapidly transpired from and highlighted the scale of the task I was about to undertake. Nevertheless I was determined! I believe anything is possible if you put your head and heart into it! This is the attitude I carried throughout this project.

In an attempt to achieve significant outcomes from the upcoming Fly-in and Flight Around Australia I needed to develop an image and logo to represent my project.

This is where “Wings of Life� originated.

To establish Wings of Life there were literally hundreds of phone calls and emails. But basically I purchased the business name and attached this to my personal ABN,

opened a bank account with ANZ (whom kindly waived all account fees), made an email address and produced the most vital tool in today’s day and age - a web site.

The web site www.wingsoflife.com.au was originally produced by my sister, Sheril-lee Field and myself and later worked on by Thales Calil a Griffith University student. This site constantly receives great remarks from members of the public and is a fundamental tool for Wings of Life to spread their messages.

Throughout the initial set up I received a significant amount of help from Ben Tuckey (professional graphic designer) on producing the logo and many other aspects that involved producing an image for Wings of Life. We produced what I believe is a very elegant and professional logo that clearly portrays what Wings of Life is all about.

The foundations were laid and Wings of Life was an organisation personally owned by myself that was an approved fund raiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

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Fly-in & Trade Show The inaugural event

By Douglas Field On the 2nd and 3rd of October 2010 the recently established organisation hosted its inaugural event which was a Fly-in and Trade Show at Archer Falls Airfield. Archer Falls Airfield is a private airfield located to the east of the small township of Kilcoy in the beautiful Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Unfortunately the weather on the weekend was mediocre and prevented a significant amount of aircraft attending the event. Fortunately we had outstanding support from members of the local community and aviators that decided to leave the aircraft in the hangar and drive to the event.

It was evident that the Fly-in and Trade Show had generated a significant amount of interest as on Saturday the 2nd; over 300 individuals came through the gates. Upon arrival those who attended the event either by air or road were greeted by Griffith University students that are currently undertaking a Bachelor of Aviation. The Griffith students directed the visitors to parking locations and gave accurate directions to main event areas. The Griffith University students did an extraordinary job at facilitating the traffic at this event despite the occasional obstacles like a bogged vehicle.

Those fortunate to attend the event were embraced by a fun-filled atmosphere created by all of the festivities. The Kilcoy Art Society Inc had a group of painters that sketched and painted art for all to see and provided advice to those interested in the hobby. They also displayed an art gallery within the Archer Falls Clubhouse that included approximately 50 pieces of art. This created a fantastic backdrop for the bar area and the Saturday night dinner.

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There was a coffee shop proudly supported by Auswana Coffee, a local coffee grower from D’Aguilar.

The coffee shop featured some of the best cakes and slices of any Fly In around. The shop was run by dedicated women from the community who spent numerous hours of their own time baking and preparing the products on sale. These ladies delivered an outstanding service and their efforts significantly contributed to the success of this event. While the visitors enjoyed the delightful refreshments from the coffee shop, their ears were charmed by pleasant tunes played from an accordion at the rear of a DC-3 (converted into a bus).

Woongooroo Estate, a local winery, provided wine tasting and catering for the weekend. As some would have experienced, Woongooroo Estate produces amongst the finest of Australian wine, highlighted by the numerous accolades they have received.

Stretton Pastoral Co, a local butcher supplied the high quality meat, which made a terrific BBQ over the weekend.

The Trade Show unfortunately was one area that suffered from the poor weather conditions as many of the sites involved aircraft flying-in that were unable to attend. Despite this, the Trade Show featured numerous aircraft manufacturers, aviation supplies, and farming equipment. Local businesses were present including Moore Bee-J Products displaying a variety of products produced from bee’s honey, and Carien Industries who displayed the latest products in solar electricity. Flying schools also offered Trial Introductory Flights in an attempt to promote the growth of aviation.

Pilot John Kean takes a birds eye view of the event

A major highlight of the event was Chris Brislin with his radio-controlled “Extra” that displayed the finest of aerobatic flying. His display was commonly discussed amongst visitors and provided great entertainment.

Numerous other model aircraft enthusiasts attended the event and displayed their terrific flying skills throughout the weekend.

Throughout the duration of the weekend numerous car clubs and car enthusiasts brought in their prize possessions to be displayed. This added a great aspect to the fly-in giving the visitors an opportunity to observe some rare and vintage vehicles.

Over the weekend, some visitors took advantage and camped amongst the picturesque bush land surrounding the airfield. The campers really enjoyed their stay and I am positive that I will see them again in the near future.

Archer Falls Arifield’s clubhouse

On the Saturday night a two course dinner was held which quickly sold out. Peter Randell, Deputy General Manager (Aviation) of the Royal Flying Doctor Service attended the event and spoke of how he became affiliated with the RFDS and highlighted to the visitors the significance of the services that the RFDS provides to rural Australians. That night many visitors enjoyed some fine wine by the warmth of an open fire whilst listening to great music played by a band called “Locus Wimple”.

Overall, despite the weather, the Fly In and Trade Show was a huge success. Through the efforts of Wings of Life, the RFDS received $5,000 in funds that can be utilised to aid in the replacement of aging aircraft and to update vital medical equipment that is fundamental to the services they provide.

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Event Memories

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Mark Broderick’s son enjoys a view from the tractor display

Chris Brislin and Doug Field with the model Extra

The local Rural Fire Brigade

The latest from aircraft manufacturer Piper

The glass cockpit of Flight Designs’ MC

A view of some of the trade sites

Models galore

Chris Brislin displaying his skills

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Flying to greater heights Transition from 2010 to 2011

By Douglas Field After the inaugural event, the Fly-in and Trade Show it was now time to prepare the fine details for the Flight Around Australia. As 2010 was coming to a conclusion I published articles in aviation magazines highlighting the success of the recent Fly-In and Trade Show in an attempt to develop awareness of Wings of Life, and encourage others to be involved.

Slowly pilots developed interest in the trip. This included Trevor Mills with his recently completed RV8, John Kean with his R44 helicopter, Peter Raffles and Barry Uscinksi with their replica Spitfire’s, and of course my father was coming in our Jabiru J230.

Having three replica Spitfires partaking in the trip was going to be a great draw card for us. Unfortunately certain circumstances (highlighted later) resulted in no Spitfire’s completing the Flight Around Australia.

A major turning point for Wings of Life in 2010 was when I met Joshua Groth. Josh grew up in the mountains of Colorado. He is an enthusiastic individual who is also passionate about flying and inspiring others. He approached myself and explained how he was involved with a project called “The Young Luscombes”. This was a two-month flying trip done in 1947 Luscombes and aimed to inspire youth in aviation, giving rides to many youth and distributing information on flight training. He wanted to incorporate “inspiring youth in aviation” into the Wings of Life, Flight Around Australia. I was convinced by his ideas and was pleased to incorporate this into Wings of Life.

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Wings of Life was now an organisation that raised funds and awareness for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and promoted youth in aviation.

The conclusion of 2010 brought about some devastating news with the death of pilot Barry Uscinski in his Spitfire. Later in this portfolio there is a memoir of Barry written by Walter B Wood. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet Barry, but I was inspired by what he had achieved, and was determined to provide recognition for his contribution to aviation.

This was achieved through honouring our Flight Around Australia to him. His family was more then pleased to allow this to occur.

As 2011 commenced Wings of Life was really starting to gather momentum and develop its reputation amongst the aviation industry and the general public.

This brought about two new pilots Rod Tizzard with his RV4 and David Brown with his RV10. At this point in time the pilots were meeting on a regular basis.

Determined to maximize the revenue raised for the RFDS I looked at hosting other events. These included a Trivia Night sponsored by National Geographic and the “Fly-In Drive-In” at Archer Falls. These events were held prior to the departure of the Flight Around Australia and are highlighted in more detail later.

Spitfires: Barry Uscinski (left), Peter Raffles (right)

It became evident to manage all of these pilots and the size of the task at hand that more personnel were required. Consequently Josh and myself turned to the students in the Bachelor of Aviation degree at Griffith University for assistance. Fortunately we discovered some extremely motivated students to manage the following areas of Flight Operations, Public Relations, Treasurer and Secretary.

We also managed to find numerous other students to help out with the next “Fly-In Drive-In� and the National Geographic Live Curious Quiz Night.

The students and myself would meet at least once a week in preparation for the Flight Around Australia. These students were a fundamental asset in coordinating this activity and hopefully they have learned some valuable life lessons from this exercise.

The Flight Operations department was coordinated by Kate Baldwin, who was assisted by Dominic Bulters, Luke Hodgson and Kieran McLean. The Public Relations department was coordinated by Elle Purvis, who was assisted by Corey Jacobson, and Joshua McNaughton.

The Treasurer was Sam Jonassen and the Secretary was Katherine Ide. At this point in time the Treasurer and Secretary were not conducting the full authority of their roles. They had been recruited to the team to assist in other areas initially, with the intention of taking up those roles in the future. Yes I had a plan. I wanted to develop Wings of Life into a Griffith University based club to provide students in the future with the opportunity of conducting similar activities to what I had been coordinating.

The growing Wings of Life team.

Douglas Field, Kieran Mclean, Luke Hodgson, Elle Purvis, Joshua Groth, Philip Endean, Ron Field (left to right).

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National Geographic

Live Curious Quiz Night A resounding success!

By Phil Close The National Geographic Live Curious Quiz night held at Woongooroo Estate on Saturday 2 April certainly was a night full of fun.

Eight teams of six vied for the winner’s mantle, with the team representing the ‘Council’, MEGAFISH, proving they had the knowledge to take out top spot.

Quiz participants were well fed throughout the evening with mains of beef in red wine on a bed of rice and apple crumble and custard for dessert.

Nibbles of cheese, kabana, biscuits, chips, dip and salsa kept all busy between rounds.

The night was organised, (in conjunction with Woongooroo Estate), by Doug Field, whose organisation Wings of Life benefitted from the evening.

This organisation provides much needed funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Doug will be flying a Spitfire, along with other aircraft, around Australia in June to continue the work for the RFDS.

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Various multi draw raffles were held between quiz rounds and challenges with some great prizes on offer.

A jaffle, iron, a hair dryer, a whole rump (provided by Stretton’s Butchery) and a flight simulator voucher to name a few.

Quiz master James, was provided by National Geographic along with some fabulous prizes. There were three rounds of questions punctuated by various physical challenges, such as building a tall structure with straws, pipe cleaners, blue tack and sticky tape, and making a paper plane to fly as far as possible.

The competition was close and all teams performed exceptionally well. The winners now go into a draw for $15 000 worth of travel in the Northern Territory and we certainly wish our winning team from Kilcoy the best of luck.

Locals getting into the spirit of the Quiz Night

Event Memories

“The Herpetologists” eager to commence the building

A prize worthwhile for the construction the night’s tallest structure

Heather and Tim (from Brisbane) enjoying their night

There was plenty of time for socializing between rounds

Doug Field explains to the gathering the Wings of Life philosophy

All ages participated in this fun-filled night

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Flying to greater heights Post Quiz Night

By Douglas Field After the great night out at the National Geographic Live Curious Quiz Night on Saturday the 2nd of April 2011, it was full steam ahead with preparations for future events. The “Fly-In Drive-In� was just over a month away and the departure date for the Flight Around Australia was fast approaching.

At this point in time the Griffith University students involved in the project were meeting at least once a week and the pilots once a month.

Joshua Groth was fortunate to get his hands onto a Piper Cherokee 6, which had the ability to accommodate four students who were helping in the preparations/planning of the Flight Around Australia.

These students had just found themselves participating in a journey of a lifetime!

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The Piper Cherokee Six piloted by Joshua Groth on the Flight Around Australia

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Fly-In Drive-In Flying high at Archer Falls

By Debbie Diplock The weekend at Archer Falls Airfield on Neurum Road was the place to be on Saturday 14 and 15 May. It was jam packed with memorable moments for all the family.

After my daughter’s birthday party on Saturday, I thought I’d be too tired to make it for a Saturday night of live music, dancing, camping overnight, followed by a day of watching aircraft and model aeroplanes However, by 4pm we had made the decision to go, and packed the car full of tents and blankets and set off towards the mountains. The venue was tucked away at the edge of Mt. Archer, which was once Archer Falls Winery, and has now become Archer Falls Airfield.

It turned out to be an excellent decision.

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We thought the band was fantastic. They played a great range of music, which catered for all age groups.

Once the children were put to bed, we came back to enjoy the rest of the evening. The local Woodford Wineries had supplied the wine, which set the mood for a fun night, where we were surrounded by warm and friendly folk and lots of laughter.

At the end of the evening, there were loud encores for the band to keep going as no-one wanted them to leave. The band consisted of Matt Powell, Andy Barra and Jenni Rickward. After their gig they sat down and had a drink with us all.

We had little time to absorb the beautiful scenery that surrounded us. The sun was going down and we only had a short time left to set up the tents before nightfall.

Eventually I made my way back to my tent, leaving the young ones to continue to party on. Unfortunately, I hadn’t packed enough blankets for a night in the cold mountain air, and I spent the night trying to get warm.

Once we reached the clubhouse, we let the kids loose and they found the warmth of the fire and friendly faces. The aroma of the burgers drifted past our noses, and as the children were starving, it wasn’t long before they were all eating the delicious burgers.

The next morning we made our way to the delicious smell of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast being cooked by three very cheerful male cooks. It went down well with the much-needed strong coffee.

We settled in to enjoy the band called Locus Wimple.

They were a young and very talented band. On talking to the band later in the evening, they told me they had volunteered to do the gig for free to help Doug raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Doug Field, the son of the owner Ron Field, has set up a web site called “wingsoflife.com.au” where he states, “Wings of Life is an organisation developed to raise funds and awareness for the Royal Flying Doctor Service”.

The children were awestruck by all the planes around the airfield. A lovely man called Peter Raffles, a pilot who was there to support Doug Field and his fund raiser, offered us a ride in his Cessna. After the squeals of delight from the children, I too was given the opportunity to “slip the surly bonds of earth and dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings”. Woodford is beautiful on the ground but quite spectacular from the air. I had never seen it from this perspective and I thank you Peter for such a lovely experience.

An Antonov An2 drops in for joy flights

I chatted with Doug Field about his mission. He is passionate about flying. He explained that he and seven others were planning a circumnavigation flight around Australia. As his web site explains “the aim of the flight was in line with their mission to raise funds and awareness for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, while honoring Barry Uscinski, a passionate aviator who recently passed away in an aviation accident. They would be visiting places of significance to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and to Australian aviation history, whilst also promoting youth in aviation”.

If the promotion of Aviation to the young was part of their mission, from the look on the children’s faces, it was a “mission accomplished”.

The aeroplanes used on the flight will be a Piper Cherokee 6, two Spitfire MK26s, a Jabiru, RV4, RV8, RV10 and a R44 Chopper. Those going on the trip are Doug Field, Peter Raffles (the man who patiently took us for a fantastic scenic flight), Dominic Bulters, who is studying Aviation at Griffith University, Joshua Groth, an extreme sports enthusiast, Rod Tizzard, who will take his sons and Dr. Jim Stacey as a passenger for parts of the journey. Dr. Jim Stacey, who once was a Doctor for the Royal Flying Doctor Service at Ayers Rock is offering his support and helping promote the trip.

The Hot Rod and Vintage cars and their owners came out to play and show off their magnificent cars. Again another reason for living in the best place in the world, Woodford and its surrounding areas. Great country people with community minded missions.

After the huge breakfast was digested, it was time for tea and cake. You could not fault the hospitality and the organisation of the day. Doug and his helpers were blessed with a perfect day. Not a cloud in sight and the wind from the previous day had all but disappeared.

The view of the four planes doing a formation in the sky against the magnificent mountains was spectacular.

The rest of the day was very enjoyable. Model aeroplanes were presented by their talented owners and flights kept coming and going all day. Watching the planes was history coming to life. It was a great experience for adults and children alike. Raffles were drawn throughout the day. Flights were won and bought so all could experience the delights of flying.

My friend’s daughter was randomly picked for a ride in the helicopter. She came back beaming from ear to ear.

A Chipmunk about to touch down

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Event Memories

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Peter Raffles’ Cessna 150

The Chipmunk formation

The An2 conducting joy flights

RFDS and K2 (event sponsor) banner’s

The powered parachute was a unique sight

A Kibitz from Caboolture

An outstanding Hot Rod

Matt Powell from Locus Wimple

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Event Memories

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Enjoying the festivities

The warmth of the fire was well appreciated

A Cessna 172

A Piper Archer backtracks for departure

One satisfied young girl after a flight in a chopper

A vintage Tiger Moth

The clubhouse

Hobbyist’s displaying their skills

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Flying to greater heights Post Fly In - Drive In

by Douglas Field The Fly In – Drive In on the 14th and 15th of May, 2011 was our last opportunity to make the public aware of our Flight Around Australia and the last opportunity the pilots had to meet up before embarking on this epic journey we had been planning for about a year.

Behind the scenes the University students were hard at work with the final preparations for the Flight Around Australia, making hundreds of phone calls and emails, as well as trying to maintain high standards in their university studies.

At this point in time, one task that required a significant amount of preparation was our media representation.

We were very fortunate with getting some excellent mentoring with this task by some young ladies studying journalism and public relations at our University. These girls were inspired by our project and were determined for us to succeed with the media during our journey.

They gave up hours of their time to help us with the writing of media releases, producing media kits, and working on interviewing techniques. We also received significant support from the Griffith University and Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) public relations team’s.

As Josh had aimed to provide free flights to numerous youth on our trip in an attempt to inspire youth in aviation, he was busily organising a campaign to raise funds for fuel which could cover the cost of providing these flights.

This saw myself work with the RFDS and Everyday Hero to produce a site which would allow the public to make online donations and be issued with a tax-deductible receipt. This site also provided a convenient method of keeping track of the funds raised for the RFDS and a way to manage donations without Wings of Life having the responsibility of this task. This was a very effective tool for our trip and is still being used today

by Wings of Life.

Just prior to the flight more University students gradually became interested in our activities and fortunately we gathered more assistance. This allowed us to develop a Ground Operations team in Brisbane that kept a close eye on the weather for us, insured the media and general public were kept up to date with our progress and if we had encountered any delays.

At this point in time Peter Raffles was rushing towards the completion of his Spitfire for the trip. Unfortunately he suffered problems with engine cooling, which could not be resolved by the departure date. Consequently he jumped on board the Jabiru to complete the trip.

This man’s hospitality during the trip was priceless!

Finally there was a lot of personal preparation for individual pilots with their aircraft, equipment, passengers, etc. This phase again highlighted the community’s support with the pilots receiving discounted survival equipment, free charts and many more fundamental items.

One of the final tasks that had to be completed before departure was the development of a web site that allowed the public to make online donations as this is a very convenient way for today’s generation.

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King Air (VH-FDF) from the RFDS Mt. Isa base

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Flight Around Australia In honour of Barry Uscinski

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Destinations Departed Brisbane: 24th June 2011 Day 1:

Brisbane ✈ Roma ✈ Charleville

Day 2:

Charleville ✈ Longreach

Day 3:

Longreach ✈ Winton ✈ Cloncurry ✈ Mt. Isa

Day 4:

Mt. Isa ✈ Alice Springs

Day 5:

Alice Springs ✈ Ayers Rock ✈ Tennant Creek

Day 6:

Tennant Creek ✈ Tindal ✈ Jabiru

Day 7:

Jabiru ✈ Darwin

Day 8:

Darwin

Day 9:

Darwin ✈ Victoria River Downs ✈ Kununurra

Day 10:

Kununurra ✈ Halls Creek

Day 11:

Halls Creek ✈ Derby ✈ Broome

Day 12:

Broome ✈

About

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Aims:

Objectives:

Wings of Life circumnavigated Australia in June-July of 2011. Aviation student Douglas Field lead a team of 7 aircraft around Australia, departing from Archerfield in Brisbane on June 24, 2011. The aim of the flight was to raise both funds and awareness for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) while promoting youth in aviation.

The flight was dedicated to Barry Uscinksi a passionate aviator who recently passed away.

During this flight the Wings of Life team visited places of significance to the RFDS and to aviation history.

When visiting these locations around Australia the team raised funds and awareness for the RFDS through coordinating community events (with other local organisations) and also provided free flights to youth, in an attempt to inspire youth in aviation.

Flying over Lake Argyle

Day 13:

Broome ✈ Port Hedland ✈ Karratha

Day 14:

Karratha

Day 15:

Karratha ✈ Carnarvon

Day 16:

Carnarvon ✈ Geraldton ✈ Jandakot

Day 17:

Jandakot ✈ Kalgoorlie

Day 18:

Kalgoorlie ✈ Esperance

Day 19:

Esperance ✈ Caiguna

Day 20:

Caiguna ✈ Forrest ✈ Ceduna

Day 21:

Ceduna ✈ Port Augusta ✈ Broken Hill

Day 22:

Broken Hill ✈ Temora ✈ Dubbo

Day 23:

Dubbo

Day 24:

Dubbo ✈ Tamworth

Day 25:

Tamworth ✈ Archerfield

Returned to Brisbane: 18th July 2011

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Barry Uscinski Born: 12/11/1935; Died: 21/11/2010

Personal Memories

By Walter B Wood I first meet Barry in 1953 when I enrolled at St Joseph’s College Brisbane. We lived in Camp Hill, just one street away from each other. Immediately we became firm friends. In his youth, he was quite the larrikin and great fun to be with; always getting into mischief, laughing, joking, telling yarns; and engaging in discussions about almost every topic under the sun. We played the violin together in the school orchestra and were both cadet pilot officers in the Air Training Corps.

Barry was a brilliant student and academic. He was dux of the College and achieved 3rd in the States examinations. At this time Barry’s father would not allow him to fly, however I achieved my private pilot’s licence before leaving school. Barry acquired his pilot’s licence in the mid 80’s when in England. Joining the Cambridge Flying Group he became a regular and an extremely skilled aerobatics pilot in the Tiger Moth. By the time Barry left College he could speak Polish and Russian fluently and a little Chinese mandarin. These he learnt from his father and the employees from his father’s engineering works at Coorparoo.

In 1954 Barry joined the Jesuit Order at Watsonia in Melbourne where he studied for 9 years before retiring from his religious studies. While at Watsonia, Barry achieved his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Physics. During this time he kept in regular contact, with brilliantly written letters describing his experiences and escapades.

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He was always a great story teller like his father. Once Beverley (my wife) and I spent a week in Melbourne, during this week Barry went AWOL from Watsonia by scaling the walls with makeshift ropes and meeting us in the street outside. He directed us to a number of local restaurants where he introduced us to the pleasures of the liqueur Dom Benedictine. We could not swallow more than a sip of the liquid so Barry helped us along by sculling all three glasses one after the other. How he scaled the walls of Watsonia on our return and climbed to his second floor room without serious injury confounds us to this day. Returning to Brisbane for a few short years after he left the order he completed a Masters degree in physics at the University of Queensland, before moving on to Cambridge University in the UK in 1965.

He was at New Farm in 1963 to see Beverley, me and baby Anne-Maree, set sail for PNG for a 9 years stay. Barry’s wonderful letter writing again kept us in constant contact. In 1964 Barry was the proxy Godfather for our son Dominic.

At Cambridge, Barry worked in the Mathematical Sciences. His research work was highly classified.

During the cold war NAT funded his research with solving the theoretical problems of Russian submarine detection in the North Atlantic under the polar icecap.

After the fall of the iron curtain, Barry’s research was funded by the EU and dealt with understanding of the ocean current dynamics of the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. His office was Spartan, and contained a table and chair, a white board, a computer for emails, and pencil and paper. His main equipment was his own brilliant brain.

Barry Uscinski in his Spitfire

In 1976 Beverley I and our 2 children visited Barry in Cambridge and met his wife Barbara and daughter Kasia for the first time. This was the first time we experienced Barbara’s wonderful hospitality, sense of humour, and marvellous Polish cooking. Barry delighted us by showing us around Cambridge taking us to places nearby noted as being the haunts of famous English poets including Lord Byron and his pet bear.

Whenever we travelled to the UK or Europe, Cambridge was always our base. Barbara would cook her sumptuous meals and Barry would usually take me flying in a Tiger Moth over Sussex and East Anglia.

He frequently became involved in verbal sparring with Beverley (who is a drama teacher and actress,) by quoting excerpts from Shakespeare; Shelley; Keats; and Byron; to see if she could recognize the origins of the quotations. Likewise whenever Barry or members of his family visited Australia they always stayed with us. While in Australia, Barry would fly Tiger Moth’s and Yak aircraft with Hempel aviation at Archerfield. I was frequently in the 2nd cockpit flying over Moreton Bay or the beautiful coastal hinterland.

Once Barry was in a local aerobatics competition and was in the middle of doing a slow roll in a Tiger when he suddenly dropped some distance out of his seat before his un-tightened seat belt took effect. He was in radio contact with the ground and was describing his manoeuvres as they were performed, everyone heard the loud “F—-” expletive that suddenly exploded from the speakers. Needless to say he was soundly chastised by the organisers of the competition when he returned to base after his performance. Barry has laughingly repeated that story many times ever since.

Barry and Barbara enjoy classical music (every time Barry came to Australia he would borrow my violin and relax by practicing a considerable classical repertoire) and last year while their guests in Warsaw, Poland, we enjoyed a presentation of the opera “Faust” and a fantastic open air piano recital of Chopin in the palace gardens.

We also knew Barry to be a skilled home renovator from the many changes he had made to his Cambridge home over the years. After taking delivery of his replica Spitfire 4 years ago Barry had a new hanger constructed with a 2 bedroom Air Chalet at Watts Bridge aerodrome near Toogoolawah. Over the past years during bi-annual visits to Brisbane to fly his Spit, Barry with his great friend Peter Raffles, painted the hanger and Barry skilfully installed all the kitchen and bathroom fittings in the chalet. Beverley on Barry’s invitation took over the task of furnishing and decoration of the unit. This was finally completed in time for Barry’s most recent visit to Brisbane. He was delighted with the colourful end result.

Barry had a great love for the Australian bush. During the late 50s and early 60s he bush walked extensively around Victoria and south east Queensland.

In recent times he was forever ranting about the spread of suburbia around Brisbane and the destruction of the neighbouring native bush, all of which were so readily visible from the air. He loved visiting the country towns in the Brisbane & Lockyer River Valleys and in partaking of the tasty home cooked meals in the nearby Toogoolawah pubs.

“Barry! You have always been the

best and most loyal of lifetime friends.

Farewell dear friend. May your spirit be forever free. May you continue to enjoy roaming the clouds and the blue sky with which you have always been as one”

Cambridge University

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Pilots

Douglas Field Aircraft: Call-sign:

Supermarine Spitfire MK26 VH-SFG

Short Biography: Douglas Field is the founder of Wings of Life and is currently 20 years old (2011). He was a boarder at St. Joseph’s Nudgee College and graduated in 2008. Doug was a passionate aviator from a young age, receiving his Recreational Pilot license at age 15 and now holds a Senior Instructor Rating, and a Private Pilot License with numerous endorsements. At present Doug is studying a Bachelor of Aviation at Griffith University and plans to graduate in 2012. He was very determined to lead this Wings of Life team to success!

Aircraft info: This Spitfire, VH-SFG, was built from a Supermarine Aircraft kit. This particular kit is a 80% reproduction Spitfire and wears the markings of Sqn Ldr Jan Zumbach.

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Ronald Field Aircraft: Call-sign: Co-pilot

Peter Raffles

Jabiru J230D 24-7141 Peter Raffles

Short Biography: Ronald Field Ron Field is the old and wise of the team. He spent many years in the jewellery industry and then went onto manage a small successful business in Caboolture. One day Ron heard this voice from above (no not god), it was a pilot yelling “G’Day” at him from a drifter, just above the trees. From this day forward Ron has been a passionate aviator. He has owned a handful of aircraft and his prized possession is his red Murphy Renegade that is known by many as “The Red Barron”. Over the last decade he has been developing an airfield know as ‘Archer Falls Airfield’ or to some as Aviators Paradise.

Short Biography: Peter Raffles Peter Raffles learned to fly in Shropshire, England in 1972. Peter immigrated to Australia in 1994, initially to Gayndah in Queensland and now lives on a property near Childers, from where he operates the Australian branch of his company. Peter is an active member of the Gayndah S.E.S. and is a keen pilot who has operated his Cessna 150 for 14 years, together with several other aircraft. He has an airstrip on his property. He piloted the Jabiru along with Ronald Field on the Flight around Australia.

Aircraft info: The Jabiru 24-7141 is a certified factory built aircraft. This particular model is a J230D, which is the company’s largest version that utilises their 6-cylinder 120HP engine. This aircraft is ideally suited for this trip having a great endurance and ample room for luggage.

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John Kean Aircraft: Call-sign:

Robinson R44 VH-JKO

Short Biography What do you want to do? “Fly a chopper”. 28 years of marriage and you would think she believes I’m still a kid. At 59, I needed a new challenge, I have never flown a plane myself but decided the finances and planets are in alignment.

Why not buy a Bell 47 helicopter and get my license? Sounds easy and it wasn’t. It tested me like nothing I have ever done. But here I was 60 and now a chopper pilot. Move on 3.5 years and 550 hours later and I am about to leave on my second major journey by chopper. I can’t wait. The advantage of a chopper over a fixed wing, I can take a toilet stop when I want.

Aircraft info: The Robinson’s R44 Helicopter has excellent reliability, responsive handling, and altitude performance, making it ideal for private, business, and utility applications.

It is equipped with a Lycoming O-540 carbureted engine, which gives the R44 a balance between performance and affordability.

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Trevor Mills Aircraft: Call-sign: Co-pilot

Tom Muller

RV8 VH-YGY Tom Muller

Short Biography: Trevor Mills Trevor Mills is 50 years old, and has been flying for 33 years (2011). He has owned more than a dozen aircraft over the years, and is currently flying a Pitts S1S and a RV 8 that he built himself over 11 years.

This aircraft won best home built at the previous Festival of Flight (2010). Trevor is also a Gliding instructor operating a Fournier RF5B motor glider at Caboolture for adventure flights and motor gliding endorsements. He also holds gliding engineering and survey/ repair qualifications. Trevor works for BP Oil as a Process Controller (what Homer Simpson does!).

Short Biography: Tom Muller I feel like I have been an aviation nut all my life. Got my pilots license before I could drive. Managed to get into the US Air-Force Academy and become an instructor in power and sailplanes (which I now have 2 B4s and the ximango, which confirms I am a soaring addict). Even though my medical specialty and board certifications are in ENT, Head and Neck surgery, undersea and hyperbaric medicine, I feel like a flying Dr. as I am a senior aviation medical examiner for FAA and have worked with NASA in medical operations support at Johnson Space Centre on the Shuttle and Space Station; Red Bull; as well as being the team MD for the US aerobatic Team in world aerobatic competitions multiple times.

Aircraft info: This immaculate RV8, VH-YGY, was commenced in 1998 by Trevor Mills and finished in 2010. This aircraft features a 200hp Subaru H6 engine, with a 4-blade carbon fibre propeller, which together are very smooth. It has a 150kt cruise, and a 175kt top speed.

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David Brown Aircraft: Call-sign: Passenger:

RV10 VH-LNL Leisa Brown

Short Biography David Brown is 42 years old, and a co-owner of a lovely Van’s RV10. David is an engineer with his own industrial automation company in Brisbane, and the aeroplane has been a very useful tool for his business and employees, as well as an excellent holiday vehicle for his wife Leisa, and teenage children Stephanie and Andrew.

Aircraft info: The Van’s RV10, registration VH-LNL, is the second aircraft David and Capt. Chris Murray have constructed and owned together. It is an IO-540 powered 4 seat high performance aeroplane and is equipped and approved for IFR flight.

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Rod Tizzard Aircraft: Call-sign: Passengers:

RV4 VH-ZTI Jack & Henry Tizzard, Dr. Jim Stacey

Short Biography Rod has been a professional pilot since leaving school and joining the military. After 15 years in the military he left and has been flying for major airlines since then. He wanted to get back to the roots of flying and so he purchased the RV4 that he flew around Australia with Wings of Life.

Aircraft info: Don Willams of St Pauls Minneapolis USA built this sweet RV4, VH-ZTI, it took him 19 years to build, completing it in 1996. On completion he found he had aged a little and was not able to fly regularly.

Rod bought the aircraft from Don and imported it to Australia in late 2010 and had it flying early 2011.

It is a delight to fly and simple to operate having a Lycoming O-320 with a fixed pitch metal prop. It gets along at 160kts on 29lts/hr, which makes for efficient flying.

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Joshua Groth Aircraft: Call-sign: Passengers:

Piper Cherokee 6 VH-BDG Elle Purvis, Kieran McLean, Dominic Bulters, & Luke Hodgson

Short Biography An inspired and enthusiastic individual, Joshua is passionate about flight and inspiring others. Joshua grew up in the mountains of Colorado, flying with family and friends from a young age. Joshua soloed in a J3 Cub and enjoys flying of any kind! At age 16 (2004), he flew with his cousin, Heather McRoberts and friend Scooter Mainero, on The Young Luscombes flying trip. This two-month flying trip was done in 1947 Luscombes and aimed to inspire youth in aviation, giving rides to many youth and distributing information on flight training to the youth who they met. Joshua has brought a side-goal to the Wings of Life trip, to “Inspire Youth in Aviation�. Joshua is now studying at Griffith University and plans to graduate in 2011. Four Griffith University Aviation students accompanied Josh in the Piper Cherokee Six.

Aircraft info: VH-BDG is a Piper Cherokee 6. This aircraft was loaned from a kind gentleman in Kingaroy. This aircraft is powered by an IO-540 and features club seating, making it the ultimate touring machine.

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Cherokee 6 Passengers

Dominic Butlers

Elle Purvis

Dominic Butlers Dominic Bulters is 19 years old and currently a 2nd year student studying a Bachelor of Aviation and Graduate Diploma of Flight Management at Griffith University in Brisbane. Originally from the small town of Gove/Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory, Dominic first became interested in Aviation at the young age of 4. Living in a small isolated community and seeing firsthand the benefits and necessity of aviation in outback Australia it quickly became a passion and ambition for Dominic to become a pilot. After Dominic has graduated from his degree he plans on heading back up to the Northern Territory to work in General Aviation.

Elle Purvis Elle is currently (2011) in her second year of the Bachelors Degree of Aviation at Griffith University, Nathan. Unlike most of the people involved in Wings of Life, her background in Aviation is rather limited.

Appointed as the Public Relations Manager, her role was to organise all the media, accommodation, transport, events, sponsorship and promotion for the Flight Around Australia.

“After seeing a majority of the country and from gaining some valuable life lessons through my involvement with Wings of Life, I believe that I would be quite content working out West for some years.” However, it is a goal of Elle’s to obtain her floatplane rating and eventually be able to enjoy both aviation, and coastal life.

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Cherokee 6 Passengers

Kieran Mclean

Luke Hodgson

Kieran Mclean Kieran is currently (2011) in his second year of academic study in the Bachelor of Aviation with Griffith University. After finishing his senior certificate and travelling throughout areas of Australia, Southeast Asia and parts of New Zealand he realised what better way to see the country and the rest of the world than by air.

Aviation has always been a passion of his and he has always had a desire to fly commercially. At the completion of the Griffith Aviation program Kieran wishes to obtain his floatplane rating and fly floats in the top end of Australia before, perhaps operating overseas.

Luke Hodgson Luke is currently (2011) studying his second year of the Bachelor of Aviation at Griffith University. He has done a limited amount of flight training outside of the Griffith Programme to date; however, he looks forward to fulltime flight training available in the third year with the university degree and has taken up gliding in the mean time.

Aviation has always been a passion for Luke from a young age and he has numerous goals, including flying for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

After Luke graduates from the Griffith Aviation Programme, he looks forward to the challenges of flying in this massive country (Australia); however, he wishes to fly General Aviation overseas shortly after graduation as he “believes it is the best way to see different landscapes and cultures of the world.�

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Other helping hands Joshua McNaughton Helped with: Public Relations Since birth there has been a battle for my affections between aircraft and any vehicle on the ground.

If it could be driven and made a lot of noise I’d be interested, I drove a tractor before a car. Being a pilot is the best way to fly but I’m still undecided on what’s better.

Kate Baldwin Helped with: Flight Operations Kate’s first experience with the aviation industry was when she started Recreational flight training at the age of fifteen. Six years later (2011), she is studying at Griffith University and working towards becoming a commercial pilot.

Kate highlights that “this year I have had the pleasure of working with some amazing aviation enthusiasts as part of my involvement with Wings of Life. I was lucky enough to be given the position of Flight Operations Manager for the Flight Around Australia. All members of the team put a great deal of work into the flight, and it was an honour to work with the team to raise money for such a great cause.

Ground Crew Whilst the Wings of Life team was circumnavigating Australia they had an outstanding ground based team in Brisbane who kept a close eye on their progress. Through Satellite Tracking and Wireless Internet the ground base team were able to update the pilots on any inclement weather ahead. This good communication also allowed the ground base team to keep the media and general public up to date with the teams progress and if they had encountered any delays. This team consisted of Katherine Ide, Josh McNaughton, Corey Jacobson and Thales Calil.

Members of Wings of Life: Rod Tizzard, Ron Field, Josh Groth, Doug Field, Peter Raffless, Domonic Bulters, Kate Baldwin, Jim Stacey (left to right).

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Reflection on the Flight Around Australia

By Douglas Field The Wings of Life Flight Around Australia, departing from Archerfield on the 24th of June and returning on the 18th of July 2011, has been a life changing experience for myself. It has been an absolute pleasure coordinating an activity of this scale. I recognise that I have been extremely fortunate to have this opportunity and consequently I will endeavour to share it with as many as possible. During this trip there have been numerous highlights for myself, as well as some unforgettable experiences and certainly some valuable lessons learned.

The number one highlight for myself was the abundance of community spirit throughout Australia.

At every destination we were welcomed with open arms, great food and great conversations. This was highlighted by the Country Women’s Association who prepared cakes, coffee’s and other delicacies. At many of our destinations. It was evident that they had spent numerous hours on preparation and thank you for this.

There were numerous occasions where people would go out of their way to help us. This was emphasised when I encountered problems with my aircraft. We were offered hangars for the night, tools, transportation, accommodation and great assistance. One example of this was when I suffered a catastrophic engine problem in Perth. Carey Paterson, the Community Fundraising Coordinator of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Western Operations, housed Dad (Ron), Peter and myself for two nights, while we decided on the best option with the Spitfire.

We had a great time in their company and shared many great stories over some fine red wines. Their generosity made us feel right at home. There were many more instances similar to this one.

The RFDS is a non-for-profit charity that employs many people financially, but all of the employees have a heart of gold and clearly love being associated with such a great outfit. I have found that the RFDS manages to bring people together and makes the community spirit prosper. If John Flynn had the opportunity to look at what his creation has developed into, he would be a very proud man.

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Another highlight was the scenery that we flew over.

The best way for me to describe the scenery to friends and followers, is giving them the example of when they open a magazine from National Geographic or similar nature on Australia’s outback. Our eyes were constantly absorbing similar images to these. Some of the most outstanding sites would include the bare open deserts that extend beyond the eye could see, and the massive scars in the earth both natural and man-made.

The Super Pit (the largest open cut gold mine in Australia) of Kalgoorlie was an extraordinary site for all. This pit is an astounding 3.8 km long, 1.5km wide, and 600m below the earth’s surface. Sights like this although quite amazing to see, also highlighted the impact humans have on the earth. In our day and age humans move more dirt then the planet moves naturally! I kept asking myself are we exploiting our natural resources? Is the future wealth of this country secure? Should we be looking more into renewal energy and are we as humans simply ignorant to the energy that we waste on a daily basis? I feel as if this topic will be one, which I will delve into in the future. I personally aim to insure that future Australian’s have the opportunity to live in the beautiful country we are blessed with today.

Other amazing sites would clearly include Ayers Rock, Bungle Bungles, Kakadu National Park with the Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls, the Ord River, Lake Argyle and our beautiful uninhabited coastlines. There are some areas were you could literally spend weeks looking around and the Kimberleys would be one. These are definitely places that I will visit again and share my experience with others. We are blessed to have such a picturesque country.

Having the opportunity to visit numerous aerodromes around Australia provided an excellent opportunity for myself to see the versatility of the aviation industry.

This is important to myself, as it is an industry that will play a significant part in my future as a current student in the Bachelor of Aviation degree at Griffith University.

Uluru as seen from the air

On this trip I had the opportunity to see numerous General Aviation and Defence Force operations, as well as meet the pilots and discuss the good and bad attributes of their jobs.

This experience changed my view on General Aviation operations and how I plan to make my way through the aviation industry. Initially, I had been given the impression that General Aviation operations were generally poorly managed, with aircraft and standards below satisfactory. This trip demonstrated that other’s information is useful, but must not be relied on solely, to form your views. There is no supplement for investigating yourself. A lot of the operations I came across were very well managed, the aircraft were well maintained and the pilots conducted themselves in a very professional manner. This type of operation is something I would be proud to be apart of.

Stopping in Tamworth was a great opportunity to catch up with cadets of a similar age, conducting their Basic Flight Training and gain an insight to the defence force operations. Most of the cadets had studied at the Australian Defence Force Academy, but some had also entered by direct entry. It appeared they all really enjoyed what they were doing and also getting payed to learn fly was one major highlight for them. Overall one thing was clear in both the civilian and military operations that all of the pilots loved their jobs simply because they were flying. This is something I can relate to well and I am sure other aviators will agree. It doesn’t matter what you fly, as long as you fly.

Conducting this trip with five other students from the Griffith Bachelor of Aviation degree and with numerous other aviation enthusiasts has prospered some very strong friendships. We all still keep in touch on a regular basis and we like to keep each other updated on our progress and any new adventures that we are considering. Looking back, I couldn’t have been more blessed to travel with a better bunch of people.

This included my Dad, Rod Tizzard an ex RAAF and current QANTAS pilot (he had a wealth of knowledge to offer), the other Griffith students (who were interested in absorobing the knowledge) Trevor Mills, David Brown (who have great knowledge of aircraft and engine’s, being experimental builders) and Peter Raffels who kept us all smiling with his regular vocabulary that consisted of “jolly good, cheerio, chaps” and other pommy terminology.

Through participating in this trip I have developed a significant amount of aeronautical experience and learned some valuable lessons. Flying the Supermarine Aircraft MK26 Spitfire for the majority of the trip around Australia really honed my flying skills.

I believe flying a “stick and rudder” type aircraft and exploring its limitations (within the aircraft’s envelope) under appropriate instruction is fundamental for any pilot to develop adequate experience. This experience will allow the pilots to conduct their flying operations in a safe manner, especially when they are carrying passengers. This experience is relevant; despite what type of aircraft the pilots aspire to fly in the future.

The concern of pilots with inadequate experience is highlighted in a recent inquiry into the airline cadetship schemes of today. The concerns lie with low hour pilots, flying in the right seat of A320’s or similar type of airline transport aircraft. The airlines argue that through their cadet programs they can train their pilots specifically for their occupation as an airline pilot, similar to the techniques utilised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The training organisations offering these cadet programs are often referred to as “sausage factories”. Why? The volume of students they pump out, with bare minimum hours. With the amount of students moving through their courses and the amount of instructor’s (note these instructors change regularly) required to train them, how could these training organisations possibly train their pilots to the standard of a regimented outfit like the RAAF?

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I personally would not like to be a passenger on an airline where the pilot has approximately 250 hours of total aeronautical experience (with a large contribution of this conducted on simulators). As far as I am concerned there is no supplement for experience, as long as the individual pilot has discipline when not under instruction!

A recent incident that highlights the need for experience, especially with heavily automated aircraft was the incident with a QANATAS’ A380. The pilot’s received a significant amount of automated warnings, but with the time available they had to disregard the ones, which they believed were lower risks. These pilots managed to land the aircraft back on the ground safely.

Could someone with 250 hours do this? Or do they have insufficient experience? I’ll let you answer that one yourself.

Flying the Spitfire has contributed to developing this experience. This aircraft if not respected, is a machine that will kill you! Like the original Spitfire this aircraft has very similar flying characteristics and due to the elliptical shape wing, at the stall a wing drop can be

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Yellow Water billabong in Kakudu National Park

experienced, with little warning. The wing drop is not significant in straight and level flight, with power at idle, but once load is applied during a manoeuvre this wing drop can be dramatic, and comes without warning.

Regularly pilots can find themselves spinning towards the earth with no idea of how to recover. Conducting an Emergency Manoeuvre Training (EMT) course with Phil Unicomb in Maitland prior to flying this aircraft were dollars well spent and I could not recommend the course more highly to any pilot, regardless what aircraft they fly.

Pilots should explore their aircraft limitations (note: I am not saying go and attempt hammer heads in a 172, but explore the limits of your aircraft within its envelope and most importantly while under instruction) especially if you own or fly a high performance aircraft. Pilots should regularly explore flight situations other then straight and level flight! Do you know how you act when you’re in an aircraft subject to considerable g-force and the ground is rushing at you at a great rate? Maybe you had no intention of being in this situation, but it is possible. Maybe an EMT course is something you should be considering.

I still speak to pilots on a regular basis and when I discus aircraft stalling, the first term you here is airspeed, followed by airspeed and then some more airspeed! Wrong! If this is what you think I would advise doing some more reading for your own safety. This is not particularly the pilot’s fault, but the instructor who taught them. Stalling is one area in the aviation syllabus that I continue to see poorly taught and overlooked.

There is no supplement for experience. With increased experience comes increased safety. That is if pilots don’t become complacent.

Encountering a real emergency like the piston ring failure in my Spitfire, 25 nautical miles from Jandakot, has provided myself with the opportunity to see how I react when confronted with a real emergency. It is reality and if a pilot goes through their career without an emergency, they are quite fortunate. Touching back on the cadet pilots of 250 hours flying jet airliners, I think the most damage I had done to an aircraft in 250 hours, was a broken tail spring, which was the result of wear, not poor piloting.

As the Spitfire is an experimental aircraft I have been fortunate to re-engine the aircraft with my father and develop a better understanding about the aircraft systems I read and study on a regular basis. Nothing sinks in better then when your actually holding an engine component in you’re hand, servicing it and then re-installing it.

This trip has been one, which I will never forget. I would encourage all pilots that are looking to build hours to get out and try something similar to what Wings of Life has done. Possibly even consider making Wings of Life the beneficiary for your next trip. As long as your project has similar aims and objectives of raising funds and awareness for the RFDS and/or promoting youth in aviation we are more then happy to have you on board. This trip has displayed outstanding community spirit, the best scenery of Australia, an insight into the aviation industry, developed priceless aeronautical experience and best of all, new mates.

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Event Memories

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RFDS Open Day in Dubbo

The Jabiru having starting problems in the cold mornings

Qantas Link Dash 8 at Charleville

Josh smiling as usual

A great turnout at the Broken Hill RFDS Base

The Spitfire being prepared for its trip across the Nullarbor by road

A view from the Spitfire

Kinchega National Park

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Event Memories

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Flying above a thin layer of cumulus clouds

Some of the beautiful Southern coastline

Jim Stacey by Rod’s RV4 in Caiguna

Doug ready for departure

The fleet in Broome

Keith Russell’s Spitfire from Port Hedland

A view from the Cherokee 6

Rod and son Jack ready for departure from Archerfield

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Flying to greater heights Post Flight Around Australia

By Douglas Field Founding Wings of Life has been a rewarding experience and one, which I am proud of. Originally I set up Wings of Life to satisfy the requirements of my 3rd year project in the Bachelor of Aviation degree and raise funds for a charity. Obviously Wings of Life has developed far beyond a personal project, and has provided myself with significant personal benefits.

Coordinating the activities conducted by Wings of life including the Fly In’s, Trivia Night, and the Flight Around Australia alone have been a rewarding experience. The recognition, satisfaction, and selffulfilment associated with successfully conducting these events are an added bonus, making every minute of effort, worth it. Examples of these bonuses include other professionals in the industry, family, and friends that shake your hand and say “well done”, knowing that you have inspired someone (like the others involved in Wings of Life), watching an RFDS aircraft fly over head and knowing that in some way you have contributed to their services, and knowing that the legacy of John Flynn lives on.

As a 20 year old, I believe the activities and roles we our involved in, have a significant affect on moulding and establishing the foundation for our future character. Through directing the activities of Wings of Life I have learnt a significant amount about managing people and managing an organisation. Wings of Life has highlighted the importance of the processes involved in setting up a team, setting goals, and monitoring a teams progress.

Firstly setting up a team is fundamental to achieving any goals. Selecting the right people for the job is critical as Josh Groth and myself discovered when forming a team for our Flight Around Australia.

As Josh and I didn’t have the ability to employ people from the working force we turned to the students of Griffith University to volunteer their time. We conducted numerous presentations in an attempt to get people on board. We were successful in getting students involved, but unfortunately there was not an abundance of assistance. We had to utilise what we had.

Prior to forming the team, Josh and I had spent some time in considering what positions were required and the type of people we needed to fill these roles. We produced applications for the interested students; this provided us with background information on our candidates.

Utilising this background information, we assembled a team for our Flight Around Australia. The critical component here was selecting team leaders for the different sectors of our team (selecting the right tool for the job).

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Now that we had our team we needed to set goals.

Setting realistic goals with deadlines is critical to achieving anything. Working with the team leaders we recognised what we needed to achieve and set clear deadlines. Ensuring that these goals are achieved is a challenge and requires the team leaders to delegate jobs. This has to be done in a fashion, where those individuals who are being delegated the jobs are pleased to do them. This is difficult to achieve. Good leaders will recognise the strengths and weakness of their team members and then utilise this to their advantage.

If is important to make realistic goals and not be optimistic! This allows for better reflection of your activities and then makes it easy to identify areas for improvement.

As a team leader it is fundamental to monitor the progress of the individuals in your team to ensure they are on track and if your goals need to be re-evaluated.

This process is critical otherwise you will find yourself close to deadlines with a significant amount of work to be done. Unfortunately one sector of our team found themselves in this situation. There are two options here, one you can conduct your activities poorly, or two, a lot of hard work goes into getting back on track.

Acting as the Director at this point in time, I was not prepared to conduct the Flight Around Australia in any other way, then a smooth operation. There were a lot of people who were relying on myself to insure my team had completed the appropriate tasks prior to our departure. Consequently a few members of the team had to pick up the load. This saw them make sacrifices in other areas. This highlights the importance of monitoring your teams progress closely, re-evaluating if necessary, to ensure that your goals are achieved on time.

Through forming a team for the Wings of Life Flight Around Australia and now an Executive Committee for the Wings of Life Club, there have been numerous challenges, and mistakes, but fortunately nothing I would classify as a failure. The greatest challenge we face is the lack of involvement. This is a problem for all organisations where people are expected to donate their time. What you must do is work within your means.

Also relying on donations and contributions from the public to conduct your activities is difficult. With limited resources to conduct your activities you must be careful to where you allocate them. The best method is to reduce the overheads through methods like sponsorship etc. This also posses a challenge as seeking out sponsorship is time consuming and difficult (as a majority of the time you will be declined).

Cloud formations as seen from the Cherokee Six

When there are limited people to complete the current tasks at hand, this makes looking for sponsorship difficult. You must find a balance! Like most clubs, you will evidently find a few hard workers that are its backbone.

The only way for a club to combat this dilemma is to increase their members and encourage them all to actively contribute in achieving the club aims and objectives. Clubs needs to be active and seen by the community to be contributing. This will inspire others to join.

Portraying the right image to the public is largely dependent on your club’s culture. The clubs culture starts with the founder. If they manage to inspire others though their work and it is clear what their aims and objectives are, those who follow will hopefully do the same. There are numerous ways in which you can instil culture into your club, but leading by example is the best way. If the leaders of the club convey to the rest of the members “this how we do it” in a good manner, they will follow. It is important for the Executive Committee to be familiar with the clubs constitution and ensure that the activities of the club are conducted in accordance with this.

One fundamental asset that will significantly contribute to a well functioning club is good communication and making everyone feel like they are apart of the team. It also important to reward the efforts of those who put in the hard yards when possible.

I am adamant that through my participation in Wings of Life and that through the roles and responsibilities I have held, have significantly contributed in developing myself personally. I believe I have developed into a better person, a person who is ready to take on the responsibility of the working force and lead many other teams in the future to achieving their goals.

With the amount of effort I have put into Wings of Life, it would be disappointing to see it dissipate, with my graduation from the Bachelor of Aviation.

As outlined previously Josh and myself always aimed to develop Wings of Life into a registered club with Griffith University. We are proud to say that we have achieved this, with the assistance of the other students interested in seeing the work of Wings of Life continue in the future. Being a club of Griffith University will provide Wings of Life with significant benefits including, an Executive Committee whose leadership roles change regularly (1 to 3 years), and access to funding.

Wings of Life’s aims and objectives are now highlighted by raising funds and awareness for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and inspiring Youth in Aviation. As a club Wings of Life will continue to host events, members will conduct speeches to inspire youth, and our website will be a hub for young aviators to communicate with each other, gain information on scholarships and an insight into aviation career options.

Most importantly Wings of Life will continue to be an asset to the aviation industry, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Griffith University and youth in aviation.

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Media Clippings

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Thankyou

By Douglas Field Since the formation of Wings of Life in June 2010, a lot has been achieved. This is not the effort of one man, but the efforts of many. I would like to take the time now to thank those who have made a significant contribution to the success of Wings of Life.

Importantly I have also made some new friends though this project. Many friends of similar interest.

One friend in particular is Joshua Groth. Josh has made a significant contribution to Wings of Life and without him; Wings of Life would not be what it is today.

Firstly and most importantly I would like to thank my father for the effort and support he has provided to myself in ensuring I could achieve my goals. He has been there every part of the way, though the thick and through the thin. He has kindly provided Wings of Life access to his airfield in Kilcoy (Archer Falls Airfield) to host their future events.

I would like to acknowledge those who have contributed to the success of our Flight Around Australia. There were literally hundreds of individuals who contributed. Those in particular included Mike Greasley and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Country Women’s Association, who kept our bellies full of the finest foods, those who helped out when aircraft maintenance was required, the random acts of kindness like the free taxi rides. Thankyou Australia for your support!

My other family and friends have been outstanding.

Some of these individuals are always showing their support by attending our events and helping out in anyway possible. My sister Sheril Field kindly donated hours of her time in initially setting up the website.

The website was later worked on by Thales Calil a Griffith University Student who has done a fantastic job in making the site more user friendly. A friend of mine from the early days of high school, Ben Tuckey has made a huge contribution to Wings of Life through developing the logo, event flyers/posters, other graphic design related matters, and this portfolio!

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The students at Griffith University in the Flight operations and Public Relations sectors who conducted a majority of the trips planning must also be recognised. It is these students who make the “heart� in Wings of Life.

Finally I would like to recognise those who have contributed in any shape or size. These include those who have donated raffle prizes, provided a helping hand at a BBQ, pitched a tent etc. Your contributions are appreciated and are fundamental to the success of a small club like Wings of Life.

Sponsors

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Testimonies David & Leisa Brown Leisa and I had the pleasure of joining up with Doug and the Wings of Life team on their Around Australia fund raising trip in July 2011. While conducting our own trip along an almost identical path, we met up with the WoL folk as often as we could. Doug and his team did a fantastic job at organising the event, which despite the usual challenges of weather and a few technical issues along the way, they stuck to their programme and credit to them for doing so.

The fund raising for the RFDS is a very worthy cause and I admire the hard work and generous support of Doug Field, his father Ron Field and all the participants involved. The RFDS provides a wonderful service to the people of Australia, and a service unequalled elsewhere in the world. To be giving of so much time and effort to supporting their work is an enormous credit to these people, and the results are an outstanding achievement accordingly.

Combining these events with a University degree in Aviation curriculum is no easy feat and here again they seem to have excelled.

We had an awesome trip travelling this great country, and sharing part of it with the Wings of Life crew has been something of a bonus that not everyone has the privilege of experiencing.

Dominic Bulters After travelling around Australia with the Wings of Life team I can confidently confirm that Wings of Life is an excellent organisation full of young, motivated and ambitious people who strive to put others above themselves.

A great cause and a great organisation. Thumbs up Wings of Life.

Joshua McNaughton I knew when I started university that I wanted to involve myself in extra-curricular activities. I had no idea what I had signed up for after joining Wings of Life. It was straight to business, it has been challenging and demanding on my time but I haven’t stopped having fun and I’ve learnt far more than I imagined. It has given me the confidence to go forth and achieve just about anything.

Kate Baldwin I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Wings of Life team. The experience has presented many unforgettable memories that were shared within the team. I would like to especially thank the assistant flight leaders for their hard work and reliability. It was a pleasure working with you all. Finally, my favourite highlight would have to have been the send off festivity at Archerfield where the planning was complete and the idea of the trip became a reality.

Peter Raffles Douglas Field, who conceived and is President of the Wings of Life project, has shown himself to be a good organiser and leader, well capable of selecting competent lieutenants. The flight around Australia kept well to the plan and finished on the intended date, only two hours late due to the weather out of Tamworth. On his departure from Perth Jandakot in his Spitfire, whilst over ‘Tiger Country’, Doug suffered what appeared to be an engine fire. Doug calmly declared a ‘Mayday’ (I was flying at the time and heard all the Radio Transmissions) and safely returned the aircraft to Jandakot. It turned out not to be an engine fire but a broken piston ring, the blow-by from which forced a large quantity of oil into the air intake, resulting in a great volume of smoke. Had it been a real engine fire, it would not have ended well as Doug had trees and rocks below him and would have been unable to reach Jandakot.

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Trevor Mills I completed the trip around Australia with the Wings of Life crew. I found them all to be enthusiastic young aviators and a pleasure to tour with. The mammoth task of organising a group to do this type of adventure and fundraising event cannot be understated. Doug Field and his team worked like the proverbial “well oiled machine”.

The operational planning and documents supplied were first class and well thought out.

Doug Field’s motivation to raise much needed funds to support the Royal Flying Doctors Service, showed maturity well beyond his years. His ability to attract like-minded aviators and assemble a working team is to be admired.

The world of aviation is full of young dreamers, very few with the ability and stoic determination to execute a plan of this enormity. In commendation of the Wings of Life trip in 2011, I look forward to the next trip in 2012.

Luke Hodgson Wings of Life is right up my alley so I got involved with the club in early 2011. The activities offer the opportunity to do my part in contributing to, and learning more, about the industry and getting involved with my potential future employee - the RFDS. A perfect example of an activity is the – well heard about – circumnavigation around Australia aiming to promote youth in aviation (by offering free joy flights for those under 18 years of age) and raising money for the RFDS. I can say that Wings of Life has certainly applied a lot of my knowledge gained by the Griffith Aviation Programme, and the challenges with the club certainly have its rewards!

Kieran McLean After hearing what Wings of Life was all about and what they aimed to do I decided to get involved and have been involved with Wings of Life since March 2011. I have definitely gained a whole lot from the experience to say the least. I look forward to future events and fundraisers and also seeing Wings of Life achieve everything the organisation aims to accomplish.

Elle Purvis I initially became involved with Wings of Life when I heard that their aim was to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. As it is my ambition to eventually fly for the RFDS at some point throughout my career, this seemed like too good an opportunity to get involved in the service, as well as give something back to a good cause.

Having the opportunity to be part of a team that flew over 60 hours around some of Australia’s most remote country and be welcomed by members of each townships community was amazing!

Best of luck Wings of Life with your future endeavours!

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Continuing to be an asset to the Aviation Industry, Youth in Aviation, & Griffith University

Douglas Field (Founder)

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