Presidential Ponderings
To thunderous applause P2 (David R) welcomed everyone to the meeting and announced that on this day in...
1868 - the QWERTY keyboard was invented. Named after the first six letters on its upper letter row, it was the brain child of American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes. It was originally developed for early mechanical typewriters to separate frequently used letter keys, preventing the machines' swinging typebars from jamming when struck too quickly!
Directors' Reports and Member Announcements
David R:
- Bookings for the Ruby Changeover are now up to 60, please book asap so you are not disappointed https://www.trybooking.com/DMESB
- Tree planting on Sunday morning at Piney Lakes - contact Kelly G for more information 0419 941 629
- Jim Walker (ex member) was awarded an OAM in the Kings Birthday honours.
- Next week is our Club Forum so please bring along your ideas, suggestions etc on how you would like to see our Club move into the future.
Angus:
- Fundraising committee meeting after breakfast.
Joy:
- District Changeover is on Saturday 11 July at the Mercure Hotel, Perth. https://www.trybooking.com/DMOCS Let's support our District.
- 18 July ABBA night hosted by Canning River RC, details in Events.
Brian J:
- Club service meeting after breakfast.
- Membership directory being prepared as pdf please ensure we have all correct details.
Diana:
- Winner of two Awards - well done Dianna!
Wayne M:
- Last clean up for the season on Sunday 14 June, near Manning Road. Park in Gillon Street. Scroll down to Events for map.
Raelene:
- Michelle Lovkis is in hospital, Get Well card circulating for your good wishes, and will drop off an orchid later today.
Guest Speaker : Michael Blues, Former Chief Pilot Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
Michael gained his Commercial Pilots licence in January 1969. He commenced with the RFDS in 1973 based at Carnarvon and Port Hedland, before moving to Jandakot in 1978
He became Chief Pilot of RFDS WA Section in 1992 and Western Operations in 1999. As well as being a Line pilot, Michael was involved in Training and Checking.
When the RFDS introduced the Pilatus PC-12 in 2001 he ferried seven of the aircraft from Switzerland to Australia.
In addition to his active flying duties, Michael served ten years on an aviation degree advisory Committee and advising the Department of Planning and Infrastructure (Aviation Section).
He was awarded an Order of Australia medal in June 2014 for services to the community and RFDS. After a forty four-year career with RFDS, he retired in 2017.
Michael took us through his career and the development of the RFDS in Western Australia, emphasizing aviation safety, operational practices, historical origins of RFDS, aircraft evolution, and modern medical retrieval capabilities.
The creation of the RFDS is attributed to John Flynn, a Presbyterian minister who founded the Australian Inland Mission. In 1917 stockman Jimmy Darcy was injured from a horse fall at Halls Creek. An emergency operation was performed by the Halls Creek postmaster using a penknife with morphine, guided by a Perth surgeon via Morse code relayed by radio operators.
The operation succeeded but Darcy died due to complications. The publicity led medical student and army aviator Clifford Peel to write a four-page letter proposing aircraft for medical reach and the RFDS was born.
The first RFDS aircraft was a De Havilland DH.50 biplane leased from QANTAS and operated the inaugural flight on 17 May 1928 from Cloncurry, Queensland. Over the years the aircraft have progressed through the Cessna 180, Beechcraft Baron, Beechcraft King Air 350 to the current Pilatus PC-12 turboprop and PC-24 jet.
Upon joining the RFDS, Michael received a minimal “five booklet” listing station names, distances, tracks, and occasionally whether an airstrip existed.
There were an estimated 720 general aviation airstrips in WA at the time (town sites, stations, cattle properties). He identified significant safety gaps, e.g. obstacles like aerials and trees that were not documented. Michael drew rough maps for each station noting obstacles and enlisted other pilots to contribute. This led to producing a comprehensive airstrip directory, later computerized with coordinates, elevations, radio frequencies, and pertinent local information.
Early documentation used manual loading sheets listing aircraft call signs, empty weights, fuel capacity, oil, medical equipment, total weight, and payload capacity. This transitioned to computerized systems showing configurations and center-of-gravity markers.
Hazards continue to involve landing on roads and remote station strips where soft earth incidents can cause costly damage.
Historical bases included Cloncurry and Broken Hill (famed by “The Flying Doctors” TV series. As Michael noted, many depicted flying sequences were illegal—e.g., cloud descents to low altitude over roads).
Current WA bases are Broome (Kimberley regional centre), Port Hedland, Meekatharra, Kalgoorlie and Jandakot. The state government is considering a Geraldton base, as the RFDS moves about 700 people from Geraldton annually (almost two per day). Typical operations involve about 28 flights per day, with a peak recorded 44 flights in 2016.
Michael took us through many examples of aircraft configurations, from the original one stretcher plus nurse/doctor, dual “suicide doors” on the Beechcraft Baron to the cargo door patient loading on the PC-12.
The current Stretcher system is
The Bariatric capability can transport up to 285 kg patients (first patient weighed 289 kg).
The three bariatric units cost $1,000,000 total and interface with St John ambulances.
Six Neonatal units (preterm/post-term babies with difficulties) were purchased, each unit costing $600,000. These also have the required ambulance compatibility.
Michael also gave an overview on the Medical Chest System:
- Stations communicate with doctors via a special frequency.
- The doctor directs station residents to the medical chest compartments A, B, or C and specific item codes (e.g., A12).
- The patient reads label and the doctor instructs dosage.
- Controlled substances (pethidine, morphine) included with only four instances of theft reported in speaker’s tenure. (Attempted aircraft break-in at Port Hedland by an individual seeking drugs, with window smashed and aircraft out of service for two weeks).
A Fine(s) Time...
Wayne the Elder was charged with relieving everyone of their hard-earned dollars...
- All old Wesleyans - having attended the best college in Perth
- All parents of sons or grandsons who attended Wesley
- Lyn M - that Beanie is not quite the right colour!
- Geoff L - paying queue was too long so he went walk-about and forgot to go back.
- Margaret H - for having a wodge of tickets and the temerity to sit next to the Fines Master who did his best to relieve you of the burden.
- Holden Owners - past or present, the car was voted the hottest car in 1956 with 43% of all cars sold in Australia being a Holden!
Winner of Heads and Tails
2 x H&T, 1 x T&T, but Brian Adams grabbed the grog again with an H&T!
Attendance
40 attendees in all, including guest speaker Michael Bleus and visitor Elizabeth Adamson from Toodjay.
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