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Hands off the accident scene Report laser strikes Flight planning - not a quick once over Summer flying Performance checking of supercharged radial engines Keeping low-use radial engines safe and serviceable Too much noise in the CFZ, too little in the MBZ The risk to safety through mispronouncing te reo Māori VRPs Slow down those radio calls Overdue. Now what? Currency and competency Lookout The insider threat to aviation A chat with the Young Eagles Stunning but imperfect Making advisory circulars more ‘participant-friendly’ Interference to GNSS receivers highlights vulnerability The CAA talks drones Woodbourne busts Classic Fighters is back. Here's how to get there safely Missed the ADS-B deadline? Competence or just confidence? A beacon can save your life The senior pilot I learned about distraction from this. And stress. And workload. 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Q300s at uncontrolled aerodromes Strip flying Go-arounds Strip flying - first, get some proper training 'Uncontrolled' doesn't mean you Animals on the strip Flying around animals Taxiway signage changes Aerodrome signs 101 Aerodrome markings 101 Anticipate and integrate at North Shore On watch for wildlife With aerodrome safety, size doesn't matter Bird strike Safety in the circuit Standard overhead join A stable approach A blunt message What the heck is UNICOM? Changes for the agricultural sector Tuning into ag Ag rules Farming out 'Wall of wood' - Keep that lookout Ag aviation accident stats - a good news story Owning an aircraft on 1 July 2015 Aircraft hire - getting the basics right Identifiable paint schemes and call signs Unique personal call signs Electrical load analysis - does your aircraft need one? Experimental Change of ownership Amateur-built aircraft So you want to fly a gyro? 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Not drowning in the tech Final call for ADS-B How to teach Met Free MetFlight GA WX matters Avoiding thunderstorms Murky flying Reading the weather Sharing your view of the weather Space weather How's your MET knowledge? Flying around volcanoes Wake turbulence - The invisible threat Icing What happened here? Sifting the lessons from the wreckage Learning from Kaikoura Aircraft icing A new hazard - bird-scaring lasers Wires - Working to get them down Wires - Got a whole heap down Be wire aware Spot the wire It's all on the line Anti-wire strike tech High safety Things that jeopardise your lookout A special edition of Vector Dip 'n check Bird strike - anything could happen Reporting defects in mods Be aware of date mix-ups Wet wet wet Worth their weight in gold - cockpit video recorders Your family doesn't want to have to meet us Who's really flying your aircraft? 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Wake turbulence – The invisible threat

All aircraft create wake turbulence, and usually the size of the aircraft is a good measure of how much wake it creates.

There are some exceptions, however, and we cover this in the newly updated Good Aviation Practice (GAP) booklet, Wake turbulence.

Helicopter wakes may be of significantly greater strength than those from fixed-wing aircraft of similar weight. The strongest wake turbulence can occur when the helicopter is operating at lower speeds. Some mid-size or executive-class helicopters produce wake turbulence as strong as that of heavier helicopters.

The GAP booklet, Wake turbulence, revised November 2022, contains more information about helicopter wake turbulence.

GAP: Wake turbulence [PDF 1.2 MB]

Accident to a paraglider in France

The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) France investigated an Accident to a paraglider involving Airbus EC135 T2 PLUS on 11 May 2019 at Le Conquet France(external link)

To support the report, the BEA produced the following video, which provides animations and explanations of helicopter vortices. It shows how the vortices affected the paraglider canopy, causing a collapse.