The 2019 Aviation Industry Awards take place this Friday July 12th at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin and it has been announced that Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin, will be the 2019 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to the Aviation Industry award.

Colm’s achievements are extraordinary: under his direction, Dubai Duty Free has become a retailing giant with annual sales turnover of US$2.015 billion in 2018 and is a recipient of 700 industry awards presented by international, regional and local entities, which bear testimony to its retail success. The retail operation covers over 38,000 square metres of retail space at Dubai International Airport and currently employs 6,200 staff, including 25 of its original 100 staff recruited in 1983. By the year 2020, it expects business to be in excess of US$3 billion a year, employing between 9,000 and 10,000 people.

Colm McLoughlin was born in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, Ireland in 1943 and is one of five, with two elder brothers and two younger sisters. He attended the village Boy’s National School and Garbally College, where he excelled in sport including hurling and tennis and went on to play rugby for Co. Galway.

Colm began his retailing career in London in the 1960’s working for the popular high-street chain of Woolworths, before moving back to Ireland to work for Shannon Duty Free. As General Manager of Shannon Duty Free, Colm was one of a team of ten from Aer Rianta who moved to Dubai in 1983 at the request of the Dubai Government, to set up Dubai Duty Free.

Following the successful opening of Dubai Duty Free in 1983, Colm was asked to remain as General Manager of the start-up operation, which in its opening year had a turnover of US$20 million. Colm later became the Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, which is one of the leading airport retailers in the world with sales turnover of US$2.015 billion in 2018. Employing over 6,000 staff, Dubai Duty Free is widely regarded for having set the benchmark for the duty free industry in the region.

In July 2011, Colm was named Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free and its subsidiary businesses, which include The Irish Village both in Garhoud and in Riverland Dubai, The Century Village and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, home to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Colm’s remit also includes the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, which is owned and developed by Dubai Duty Free and is managed by the Jumeirah Group.

In July 2012, Dubai Duty Free successfully raised a US$1.75 billion loan facility to finance the expansion plans at Dubai International Airport. The facility received strong support from a syndicate of 26 international, regional and local banks. In 2013, a further facility for US$750 million was raised.

On a personal level, Colm McLoughlin has received many top awards which reflect his outstanding leadership qualities. These include the Frontier Lifetime Achievement award which was presented to Colm in 2004 by Frontier magazine, making him only the second person after Dr. Brendan O’ Regan, the founder of the airport duty free industry, to receive this accolade. In 2000, Colm was the first non-UAE National at the time to receive the Most Distinguished Employee Award from the Dubai Government Excellence Awards. In October 2014, Colm was presented with the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award for Business and Education category, making him one of a select group of people, and the first Irish person living in the UAE to be recognised by the Irish government for his outstanding contribution to Irish business and communities abroad.

In 2017, Colm was presented with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from CEO Middle East Award and the Gulf Business Award for “Retail Business Leader of the Year” for the second consecutive year. In addition, Colm was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by the Middlesex University Dubai, for his contribution to UAE society and his outstanding service to the aviation sector as a key player in the region’s retail sector for 34 years.

In 2018, Colm was awarded with “Charity Champion of the Year” at the annual Duty Free News International Global Travel Awards for Travel Retail Excellence held in London. Colm was also named as one of the 50 Most Influential Expats in the UAE, in a list released by Forbes Middle East Magazine. Colm was also honoured with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at The BURJ CEO Awards organised by CEO Clubs Network held in China and the MENAA “Best Business Leaders Award” for the third time in December.

More recently, Colm was honoured by the Kildare County Council in Ireland for his contribution to Co. Kildare through Dubai Duty Free’s sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby over the last twelve years and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open which was held in The K Club in 2016.

A keen philanthropist, Colm established the Dubai Duty Free Foundation in 2004 and since then has supported 39 local and 52 overseas charities including Hand in Hand for Haiti, The Moodie Report Great Travel Retail Educathlon, Smile Train and the construction of 32 houses in the DDF GK Village, located in the province of Leyte, Philippines. Colm is married to Breeda and has three adult children and two grandchildren. His son lives in Dubai while his two daughters and grandchildren live in the UK.

By Mike Ryan

Our Mid-Summer Fly-In was scheduled this year for Saturday the 22^nd and Sunday the 23^rd of June. Saturday went ahead as planned, however due to poor weather conditions, the Sunday event was postponed, but will be rescheduled to a later date to be confirmed.  Keep an eye on the website for updates.

The first arrivals came by road on Friday evening and set up camping in the field. Gyrocopter, EI-BSG, was assembled and had its first flight of the event. Volunteers were busy helping and setting up for the morning. Being the longest day of the year, a local microlight, EI-EPK, flew in around 9.30 pm for a cup of tea and chat before heading off again.

Saturday morning was a little more cloudy than expected at the field, but much better than our nearby Waterford airport friends who reported a 1000ft cloud base and were unable to fly until the afternoon.  The weather further inland with headwinds gave a slower start in the morning, but by 11 o’clock aircraft started to arrive and things got underway. Runway 18 was active and the winds at the field were south easterly. As the day improved and the sun shone, pilots took advantage of this and went for flights in the local area, some towards Wexford and others along the coast.

Our new clubhouse which arrived only days before had been put in place and was up and running due to the hard work of our volunteers. Tea, coffee and buns were on the go constantly. The BBQ was fired up around 12:30 and food was served between 1pm and 8pm. Aircraft were arriving in stages throughout the afternoon and later into the evening but most were able to meet up with friends, have a chat and catch up.

A total of 25 aircraft arrived over the course of the day with the last, EI-GGE, flying in at 7:45 pm from Limetree. Thanks to all who came and supported us on the day and everyone who helped in making this such a successful event. Hope to see you all for our next fly-in.

List of Aircraft – photos provided by Ken Meegan

Based

D-KIAH https://flic.kr/p/uGLxWy

EI-BDX Rollason Druine D.62A Condor https://flic.kr/p/2eqA9TX

G-CIUI Best Off SkyRanger 912 https://flic.kr/p/2eqAVKk

Visitors (Apologies for incomplete list, as some late arrivals were not photographed and are not included below)

EI-ANY Piper PA-18-95 Super Cub https://flic.kr/p/2giKsvG

EI-AYR Schleicher ASK-16 https://flic.kr/p/2giT8NQ

EI-BSG Bensen B.8O Gyrocopter https://flic.kr/p/2giNJyC

EI-DIY Vans RV-4 https://flic.kr/p/2giN71a

EI-DOB Zenair CH.701 STOL https://flic.kr/p/2giPekR

EI-FDF Urban Air UFM-10 Samba XXL https://flic.kr/p/2giPFbT

EI-FDO Jabiru UL-D Calypso https://flic.kr/p/2giU4cJ

EI-FGU Best Off SkyRanger 912S https://flic.kr/p/2giTBCH

EI-GGE BRM Land Africa Citius (no link available)

EI-GWY Cessna 172R https://flic.kr/p/2giQHyh

EI-GWY Cessna 172R https://flic.kr/p/2giTs6b

EI-JIM Urban Air UFM-10 Samba XLA  https://flic.kr/p/2giNaQ5

EI-SMK Zenair CH.701 STOL https://flic.kr/p/2giMs5A

EI-SYM Vans Rv-7 https://flic.kr/p/2giMyot

EI-SYM Vans RV-7 https://flic.kr/p/2giST1H

G-BBTH Cessna 172M https://flic.kr/p/2giNqoo

G-BRTJ Cessna 150F https://flic.kr/p/2giRyoX

G-BRTJ Cessna 150F https://flic.kr/p/2giTSqi

G-CGPN SOCATA Rallye 100ST https://flic.kr/p/2giLNjR

G-ESTR Vans RV-6 https://flic.kr/p/2giLzaQ

G-FFEN Cessna F150M https://flic.kr/p/2giRKEQ

G-FFEN Cessna F150M https://flic.kr/p/2giTNny

N370WC Piper PA-32  https://flic.kr/p/2giRVtF https://flic.kr/p/2giTCZr

An Eagle’s Odyssey – my decade as a pilot in Hitler’s Luftwaffe by Johannes Kaufmann, 233 pages HB, no illustrations, Greenhill Books £19.99, ISBN 1784382531

I have been an avid reader of pilots’ biographies and autobiographies for well over 50 years. Only a handful of these have concerned German airmen, with most of these being the well-known aces of two world wars. This is the story of an ordinary (though exceptionally skilful) line pilot and is all the more interesting for that. His writing style is easy and readable, precise and detailed, almost as if he was preparing briefing notes. No doubt praise should also be given here to the sensitivity and skill of the translator, John Weal. The story is set in its context with brief references to the pre-war political situation as it developed and later to the war as it progressed.

After leaving school, the author was an apprentice in an aircraft factory for nearly five years before joining the Luftwaffe in 1935. The opening chapters are fascinating in respect of the depth and level of training given to pilots of this generation, as indeed is the following chapter on his first squadron posting, in which he writes about the mixture of a tightly controlled routine during the week and the much greater latitude allowed at weekends, to fly off by themselves. A comparison may be made to the inter-war RAF as being the ‘best flying club in the world’. At this stage he had progressed to the He 51 biplane fighter.

He was soon back in the training machine, as part of the Luftwaffe’s expansion programme, this time to qualify as an instructor and receive promotion to Unteroffizier (Corporal) – in stark contrast to the RAF practice with regard to pilot ranks. The next three years were spent as an instructor, gaining a multi-engine licence, becoming an Advanced Military Pilot and an aerobatic display pilot, as well as being given the opportunity to fly in a wide range of military types from vintage to the latest products.

His first experience of operational flying was brief, being seconded to fly a Ju-52 for a week, taking troops to assist in the annexation of Austria in 1938. He was then posted on a course to learn blind flying, from which he qualified as an instructor in 1939. He describes the syllabus in some detail, which I found immensely interesting.

In September 1939 he went back to operations briefly, this time participating in the invasion of Poland but still in the transport role. A year later he was assigned to a most unusual task, out of Le Bourget, collecting, testing and assessing the suitability of captured French aircraft. At around this time he made a very perceptive comment, one of several which illuminate his story. I would urge the reader to find them on pages 69, 95, 176, 184, 186, 211 and 215. There are others, this is but a selection.

He persuaded higher authority that he should be transferred to ops and became, in 1941, after the appropriate training, a Bf 110 pilot flying dive bombing and strafing missions on the Eastern Front, where the weather, the continual moves from one temporary landing ground to another and the confusing nature of the battlefield were far greater problems than those posed by any Russian fighters. After a tour of duty, conversion to the totally useless Me 210 and a spell at the Air Warfare Academy, he went back to the front again in the region of Stalingrad and finally left Russia at the end of 1942 after 158 combat sorties.

In early 1943 he converted to the Ju 88, which he really liked, and became an instructor again. He commented that by this stage of the war, the basic training for young pilots had become much less thorough, which certainly added to his burden. A year later, freshly promoted to Hauptmann, he became commander of this 50 aircraft unit. Six months later he was posted as Staffel Kapitän to fly the Bf109G. In a plan conceived by General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland, the Luftwaffe had effectively given up offensive air ops to concentrate the bulk of its best pilots on combating the USAAF heavy bombers. The author soon found that the US and RAF fighters were much more dangerous opponents that the Soviets. German losses mounted as ever more desperate measures were taken – including a couple of missions escorting schwarms of suicide aircraft, which rammed their targets.

Considering all of the above, I found it quite remarkable that in December 1944, he was sent on a Fighter Formation Leadership course! He spent the last few months of the war back with his unit, fighting not only the Americans but also the Russians, as the two fronts drew ever closer. His last flight with the Luftwaffe was on 1^st May 1945, a weather recce over Berlin, making a grand total of 212 missions, 5918 flights in his logbook and 13 aerial victories.

This is a very enjoyable and enlightening book which could only have been enhanced by the inclusion of generic photos of the types he flew and the locations he flew out of. There are six partial photos on the front and rear of the dust jacket but that is all. Given that there are a dozen blank pages at the end of the book, an index would have been extremely helpful. A map or two would also have been useful. I would also like to have seen a chart of his progression through the ranks. These fairly minor quibbles aside, I thoroughly recommend it.

Cessna 750, EI-LEO, operated by Gain Jet Ireland has been cancelled and has gone to the Netherlands as PH-NNX. It has been replace in the Gain Jet fleet by Embraer EMB-135BJ, EJ-CORE. Alan Dwyer.

Click on the registration for more information about each aircraft

Additions

F-GOTO, A330 of Air Carabis has gone to the Irish register as EI-GOT. Alan Dwyer.

Cancellations

9H-QAA was the first aircraft for Malta Air, Ryanairs’s new wholly owned subsidiary. It is ex EI-FZI and retains the Ryanair colour scheme for the moment. Alan Dwyer.

Change of Owner

BRM Land Africa EI-FLH has had a new owner and was last noted in Tibohine Airfield, just outside Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon. Mark Dwyer.

Cessna 172R EI-GWY now operates for the Waterford Flying Club. It was originally operated by the Galway Flying Club (hence the reg) before being operated for several years by AFTA in Cork. EI-GWY replaces Tecnam P2002 EI-GIS that was written off in an accident earlier this year.

Entry Point North are recruiting Simulator Pilots for their Dublin Aviation Training Academy. The company offer a wide portfolio of training and services to aspiring and operational air traffic controllers, air traffic service officers, air traffic safety electronics personnel, administrative personnel and other aviation-related personnel. They have bases in Ireland, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Spain and Belgium.

This is a needs basis role with the potential to go to full time. Interviews will be held next week so please forward your CV to Grainne Hurley at g.hurleyconsulting@gmail.com or call me on 087 6426477 for more information on the role.

Congratulations to the 2019 Winners at the Aviation Industry Awards. The winners were revealed at the black-tie gala awards ceremony on Friday night at the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin.​ There were 19 awards announced on the night from categories right across the aviation industry in Ireland. The 20th,  Outstanding Contribution to the Aviation Industry, was announced in advance and was awarded to Colm McLoughlin Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free. See the full list of winners below!

In Construction Package 2 Update released recently by Dublin Airport, they have said substantial progress has been made in the construction of North Runway since the last update in April.  Site clearance has been completed and almost 50 percent of the runway’s sub-base has been laid in preparation for the two separate layers of concrete to be added later in the programme.  The earth and materials from the original 11/29 Runway have been recycled for use on perimeter roads.

Poor weather conditions encountered during May and June resulted in some lost time on the earthworks operation. The daa have agreed with the planning authorities to trial a two-hour daily extension to site working hours between 7pm and 9pm, Monday to Friday, from late-July until the end of August.

When the runway is complete it will measure 3.1km and is estimated it will support the the creation of 31,200 new Irish jobs and generate €2.2bn in additional economic activity by 2043.

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Aircraft Update:

Good progress is being made on the new International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) widebody painting hangar in Shannon. Construction began on the €22m hangar on October 2018 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

According to a representative for IAC, the decision to construct a new painting hangar in Shannon was based on customer fleet profiles for Airbus A380 aircraft, as well as the ability to accommodate all aircraft under development such as the A350-1000 and B777X. When a wide body is not being repainted, a combination or narrowbodies can occupy the hangar. Existing customers include Aer Lingus, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways.

The company plan to add 108 staff to its Shannon site which will complement its existing two narrowbody hangars. Worldwide, IAC operates 12 locations across Europe and the Americas with eight widebody facilities and up to 36 paint lines.

International Aerospace Coatings (IAC) was formed in 2014 following the merger of Leading Edge Aviation Services, Associated Painters, and Eirtech Aviation. In 2017, both companies agreed to come together under one brand, IAC. The company paints up to 1,000 aircraft globally each year.

A General Aviation Report (GAR) form is required to be submitted by GA pilots who intend to fly to or from the UK (including Northern Ireland). With the exception of submitting through SkyDemon or using the AOPA service, GAR forms have always been a challenge to submit which involved faxing or attaching excel spreadsheets to emails. The UK Border Force have now launched their own online GAR Submission Website and are currently looking for feedback. Once you have registered, you will be able to:

• Submit GARs online quickly and easily
• Upload supporting documents, to help make travelling through the UK border even easier
• Manage all your GARs from a single platform
• Save your previous details, making submitting future GARs even quicker
• Create draft GARs for future travel
• Receive confirmation of GAR submission.

From our brief testing of the service, it looks good and you can also submit a form via a Smartphone which is a huge benefit. Unfortunately the restrictive notification periods remain in place which require all flights to and from the Republic of Ireland and the UK to be notified at least 12 hours in advance.

To register and submit a GAR online, please visit www.gov.uk/submit-gar

Galway Flying Club are proud to announce that they have won the General and Sport Aviation Award, for the second consecutive year, at the Aviation Industry Awards 2019. These prestigious awards recognise excellence in the Irish and International aviation sector. The awards took place last Friday, the 12th of July, at the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road in Dublin. Fortuitously, this year is the centenary year of the historic Alcock and Brown transatlantic flight which landed in Clifden Co. Galway in 1919 so it’s been a big year for aviation in Galway.

The club, which is Ireland’s oldest flying club (this year celebrating 73 years of continuous operation) and operates out of Carnmore airfield (formerly Galway Airport), also took first place in this category in 2016 once again beating off competition from both general aviation and commercial enterprises.

Galway Flying Club is a totally voluntary club and winning this award demonstrates that, through the commitment of its members, it continues to maintain the highest levels of safety, training and professionalism comparable with the very best in the aviation world.

The club currently has 105 members, made up of PPL (private pilot license) members, student members and seven exceptional flying instructors (who together have amassed over 175 years of instructional experience!). Last year the club operated over 1,000 flights without incident in our Cessna 172 aircraft and had 5 of our members successfully achieve their private pilot licenses.

While the club goes from strength to strength, our continued operation is dependent on continued access to the invaluable runway and club facilities at Carnmore (formerly Galway Airport). Facilities without which Galway Flying Club would cease to exist! Therefore we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Galway City and County Councils, local representatives and the local community for their valued support and we look forward to working with them in the future as we build on this success.

Main photo shows Dr. Ronan O’Higgins (second from left), Aviation Industry Awards Judge, presenting the General & Sport Aviation Award 2019 to Ray O’Donnell, Sue Baird and JP Randles of the Galway Flying Club.

Aircraft Update:

A screenshot from FlightRadar24 of the first flight.

Airbus A321-253NX/LR, D-AYAV, (which will become EI-LRA) took to the air yesterday Saturday 20th July for the first time. The flight took 2 hours 13 minutes and operated from Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (EDHI/XFW) with a touch and go at Hamburg Airport (EDDH/HAM) along the way. The photo above was taken by Dirk Grothe.

The A321neo for Aer Lingus were originally to be delivered in time for a 1st July launch of the Dublin-Hartford route. This was delayed along with the Dublin-Montreal service which was due to begin on 8th August. The airline have not published a delivery date for the aircraft yet, saying only they expect the first two aircraft by ‘late summer’. Four aircraft are due by the end of the year.

The Kilkeel (Derryogue) Fly-In took place on Saturday 20^th July. Despite the blustery westerly breeze, an impressive 52 aircraft made the trip to the field with aircraft arriving from all over the country. There was an excellent BBQ and at 1500 the Search and Rescue Sikorsky S92 arrived and put on a short display. Follow Me Aircraft Marshallers were on hand to ensure the airside area was kept safe. Thanks to Ian Thompson and Gerry Barron for the photos below.

Savannah S EI-ICP and Skyranger Swift EI-FXW enroute to Kilkeel from Limetree. Gerry Barron.

Land Africa Citius on the way home from Kilkeel. Gerry Barron.

A line up of visiting aircraft. Gerry Barron

A line up of visiting aircraft. Gerry Barron

EI-GHR ICP Savannah S. Ian Thompson.

G-CGUU Skyranger Nynja 912S(1). Ian Thompson.

G-CIZU EV-97 Eurostar SL Microlight. Ian Thompson.

EI-FBY BRM Land Africa Sport (Citius). Ian Thompson.

G-CDCT Aerotechnik EV-97 TeamEurostar. Ian Thompson.

EI-EOU Evektor Aerotechnik A.S. Eurostar SL. Ian Thompson.

EI-GHS ICP Ventura. Ian Thompson.

G-KLYE Skyranger Swift 912S(1) . Ian Thompson.

EI-MIR Roko Aero NG 4HD. Ian Thompson.

G-BUUX Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee. Ian Thompson.

N535TK Maule MXT-7-180 Star Rocket (M7). Ian Thompson.

G-IRAY Best Off Skyranger 912S(1). Ian Thompson.

EI-DFM Evektor Aerotechnik EV-97 Eurostar. Ian Thompson.

Busy Apron. Ian Thompson.

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