Back in 1969 I was seconded to the RAAF Directorate of Flying Safety and almost immediately thrown into the deep end with absolutely no training and told to get my backside to East Sale where a Macchi had gone in and both pilots dead. I was told to arrange my own transport but get there quick and have an interim report out within 72 hours days in case any political issues came up in Parliament. My boss was Wing Commander Jack Kinnimont DSO DFC and Bar who flew obsolete Brewster Buffalo's against the Japs. A delightful chap.
A Dakota got me to East Sale and I was led like the sacrificial lamb to the wreckage of the Macchi by the Commanding Officer CFS Jimmy Wilson. He was glad to have a DFS "expert" on the scene. Little did he know I didn't have a bloody clue where to start. DFS produced it's own equivalent of Aviation Safety Digest in those days and that was also one of my jobs. It was called "Spotlight" and the content was mainly text with appropriate photographs and was distributed to all RAAF Units. We also did "Crash Critiques" and I did one on the Macchi accident. The RAF produced a much superior product which it called "Air Clues"- but we did the best we could considering we were amateur journalists as well as pilots.
"Spotlight" magazine is still the now Department of Defence primary aviation flight safety magazine. But like the present Flight Safety Australia magazine it has become the domain of graphic designers with double page pictures with colour ridden slogans. One article I have in front of me from Spotlight is called "When the bubble bursts" and the colours are quite blinding in the apparent form of the sun bursting and a Hornet just escaping the holocaust and next page a series of bullet points headed "What factors reduce margins between the bubbles?"
The magazine cover is a klaidascope of colour with a dramatic depiction of a pilot wearing his crash hemet and a seemingly bionic eye with the huge headline "Humans in the Machine." Page 25 is a full page copy of of a Defence Poster 2007/14 with a odd looking character holding his or her head and looking totally stuffed with the title "Are you getting enough?" and further down it says in large print "Quality sleep is essential in maintaining physical and mental wellbeing." It states the bleeding obvious...
Across the page is a depiction of a chap in a yellow shirt, black trousers, red and black striped tie and a airline type eye cover (the idea is he looks tired but seems to me he is enjoying a rest in Business Class) because he is sprawled in an arm chair and at the bottom of the page it says the article is courtesy of the Flight Safety Foundation Aero Safety World.
Of course there is a centre-fold with a weird scene set up like a computer game and its called "Pilot Skills Tester - High Intensity Game -fun for player with good skill level and at the bottom of the childish graphic design artwork it says "Prioritise the pilot skill inputs on the left, right and above, when faced with flying challengers and avert "dropping an egg" - dropped eggs lose points. The winner keeps flying with all their eggs in their basket."
Huh??
At least Flight safety Australia is not THAT bad..
It is surely time for the producers of these magazines to go back to basic good journalism and offer quality flight safety information which includes real accident reports where pilots can learn from others' bitter experience. Captain Marvel type glossy pictures and silly slogans do nothing for the cause of flight safety.
Directorate of Defence Aviation and Air Force Safety please take note.
All this wasted space which could have been filled with a thoughtfully written accident reports. Seems Flight Safety Australia and Spotlight have both gone the same road of mediocracy.