Australian Division
Copyright 2005
Royal Aeronautical Society
Australian Division
| Australian Division News
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Australian Division Annual Reports The Council of the Australian Division presented the Annual Report and Financial Statement for the year ending 31 December 2006 at the Annual General Meeting held on 14th April 2007. Copies will be be posted to all Members and Fellows. Lawrence Hargrave Award- 2007 The winner for 2007 is: In recognition of his personal contribution in the field of automatic flight control of unmanned flight vehicles- but notably the Nulka overing rocket decoy system now in service with three navies as the primary means of protecting thos ships against missile attack' The award was announced by Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, during the opening ceremony for Airshow 2007 on 20th March. in front of a crowd of some 200 media and industry representatives. The actual presentation ,in the form of certificate and medal, was made by the President of the Division, AVM Peter Nicholson AO, at the AIAC12 Dinner the same evening. Malcolm's wife, Penny, the Presidentof the Society, Gordon Page, and Division Councillors were also present. Lawrence Hargrave Memorial Restoration Sponsorship The Australian Division is continuing to support the maintenance of the Lawrence Hargrave memorial in the Waverley Cemetary, Sydney, New South Wales. Hargrave died on 8th July 1915 aged 65 years. (The grave also commemorates the death of his son Geoffrey Lewis Hargrave who was killed in action at Gallipoli in May 1915 and Brenda Hargrave who died February 1891 aged 9 months). The Lawrence Hargrave Website from the Engineering Library at Monash University contains interesting information about this famous Australian. Joint Board for Aerospace Engineeering AVIATION IN AUSTRALIA TO BENEFIT FROM REGISTRATION OF AEROSPACE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) Australian Division and the Institution of Egineers, Australia (IEAust) have announced extension of the National Professional Engineers Register (NPER) to provide recognition for engineers practicing in the aerospace industry. Aerospace engineeers and employers are advised that the eligibility criteria and procedures for registration are available at this site Australian Division Annual Lecture Prize Lecturers to the Branches have the opportunity to submit their work for this annual award. Conditions applying are available from the Branches. Lectures submitted are also eligible for consideration for inclusion in Australian Aeronautics.Australian Aeronautics The first of a revised presentation of this Division publication was distributed to all financial members of the Division at the end of 2006. It presented papers from Branch lectures and recent conference presentations from Australia and New Zealand.Australian Aeronautics was first published in 1979 through to 1998. In an editorial to the latest issue the editor Dr. Tracie Barber pays tribute to the work of Professor Doug Archer who was editor throughout that period.Additional copies are available from Division Administration at $20 per copy including postage. (phone: +61 2 9523 4332 or e-mail: austdivision@raes.org.au)
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE A number of members have sought help in relation to obtaining insurance for Professional Indemnity (PI). Such insurance is required by consultants for many types of contracts. There are a number of important points to note before seeking insurance cover for work in aviation. Firstly it is recommended that the insurance is sought via an insurance broker. There are two reasons for this. The insurance industry coverage in Australia for PI covering Aviation professionals is small. In some cases, there are only one or two companies which will even consider PI for Aviation professionals. In addition, if the information required is provided in the wrong manner, without professional insurance broker advice, the original (sometimes inappropriately worded and formatted) background will be noted in the small underwriter market for such insurance, and is then hard to have corrected. Examples of such brokers are: Chris Bovill Risk & Insurance Consultant Melbourne +61 3 9859 7933 Finn Foster & Associates North Sydney +61 2 9957 2544 Companies that are known to provide PI insurance for aviation activity in Australia are QBE and Zurich. It is still advisable to apply through an insurance broker experienced in PI insurance applications for aviation. If your aviation consulting includes work outside Australia, then you may be advised to obtain coverage from overseas. Some people have applied for PI insurance to London based firms. It is worth remembering that aviation is an expensive and costly business, and accidents however caused tend to have large insurance payouts. Those considering work in the USA should take special care when obtaining PI .insurance. RAeS Australia Division has approached RAeS London for assistance. RAeS members in the UK have encountered similar problems and RAeS are endeavoring to assist where possible Engineers Australia has received reports of similar difficulties facing some of their members, and in some non aviation disciplines. EA will be conducting briefings of selected insurance companies in Australia in 2007, particularly about professional engineering activities. RAeS intends participate in the briefings to provide an aviation background. This will attempt to provide some greater degree of comfort about risk management and mitigation in aviation and technical activities. The EA web site provides some information which may be of assistance.
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