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Catching up off the Yaffa: Last minute Hitch.
My apologies to Hitch for I'd forgotten that with the new Oz Flying website format, that he'd put his weekly wrap on its own devoted page...
Anyway here is the pertinent segments starting from the week after the world's most boring bollocks election campaign:
Quote:July 07 2016:
..Is there more to be read into CASA's decision to delay implementing CASR Part 66 on small aircraft maintenance licensing? Ken Cannane and his team at AMROBA have been trying to get the regulator to understand how damaging this suite could be for years. Now CASA has acknowledged issues in the face of persistent evidence and is going back to look at it again. Contrast that with the implementation of Part 61, where CASA created unworkable regulation, delayed it whilst simultaneously blaming the aviation community, then signed it into legislation without any of the concerns being addressed. Part 61 is now nothing short of meaningless legislation, necessarily bolstered with a litany of exemptions just so the industry can continue to operate. It seems to me that CASA is determined not to repeat that with Part 66, which would mean that someone in Canberra is listening to the industry. We also need to throw bouquets in the direction of Ken Cannane and AMROBA for not giving up.
Neither major political party did aviation any favours in the lead-up to the federal election. The Coalition didn't release an aviation policy, and the Labor Party released their's only three days before the big vote. Does that put the ALP in the box seat for our affections? On face value, yes; surely some policy is better than no policy, so the white hat goes to the ALP. Not so fast, McFly! It takes but a quick scan of the ALP policy to see that they have simply micro-waved the hideous Aviation White Paper and served it up to us again. It tasted terrible the first time around! On the other hand, the Coalition was involved in the Tamworth rally and the TAAAF and Project Eureka meetings in Canberra, where both sides came away with some homework. According to my sources, responses had been formulated, but couldn't get to the status of approved policy in time, so were not sent out. We can but guess what the Coalition papers contain, but if it's anything above the level of the ALP document we can count ourselves on the plus side of the register...
Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...XXU2Xf1.99
July 15 2016:
AOPA has unashamedly chased youth with the appointments of Ben Morgan as CEO and Baz Scheffers as a board member. Both these men are enthusiastic flyers and aircraft owners; exemplars of both the base membership and the group of aviators most suffering in the current regulatory climate. Morgan is the man handed the sword to take the fight to Canberra, but for him the challenge is to learn how to get politicians to listen and temper the "match bearings and shoot" approach displayed in Tamworth last May. Certainly what AOPA has needed for some time is board members who will be a part of the general aviation community for many years to come, rather than those for whom the larger part of their flying careers are now behind them.
It would appear that the Regional Airspace Procedures Advisory Committees (RAPACs) have circled their wagons and dug in for a long battle with CASA over the frequency issues. Regular readers of Australian Flying will remember that CASA issued an advisory stating that if an airstrip is not marked on a chart, pilots should use the area VHF frequency rather than Multicom 126.7. Not only was this done without the RAPACs involvement, but also CASA subsequently told the RAPACs it had nothing to do with them. The issue of the right frequency has become quite emotional, even drawing threats of legal action from Dick Smith, who supports the Multicom. The RAPACs also support Multicom, and their arguments are quite potent, as has been laid out in a new website. Most interesting is that the RAPACs are CASA institutions, so does this mean a state of civil war?
Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...C1bQROE.99
22 July 2016:
Dick Smith farewelled his Citation yesterday with a "wake" at Bankstown Airport. The aircraft is off to the USA where it can operate in skies more conducive to the cost of the upgrades and maintenance it requires. One problem it seems is that general aviation in Australia is losing more and more momentum, enticing specialist maintenance companies to close local branches. A case in point: Dick had to send his life raft to Singapore for servicing because the local agent shut down. The cost of doing that exceeded $6000. To be fair, Dick did try to sell the Citation in Australia, but in the end had no option but to dispatch it to the States where costs are lower, regulatory hurdles are easier to climb over (or just plain absent) and the industry has a greater energy. This is not only a rich person's problem; the lower end of GA is also at risk of losing the support of overseas companies that no longer consider it viable to operate in Australia. The biggest threat, of course, is fuel. Will the energy in the local industry decline to the point that it's not worth the fuel companies shipping avgas here anymore? We talk a lot about how regulation is strangling the industry, but I believe a lack of support for GA is just as big a threat.
Dick's other issue was the requirement to go to ADS-B; the Citation simply couldn't do it. Avionics manufacturer Rockwell Collins has apparently gone home to the USA and at least one local company declined to do the work because they considered the aircraft couldn't be made compliant no matter what they did. Although many in the industry have been prepared to simply declare Dick wrong about that, the company that declined has more expertise in avionics than most in Australia. If they say it can't be done, I am prepared to accept their word for it.
So, with that in mind, VFR pilots around Australia are probably getting nervous over the news that CASA has started a project to entice owners to equip with ADS-B voluntarily. May I say, in the style of Corporal Jones, "Don't panic!" Firstly, CASA has the power to mandate ADS-B for VFR, but has not done so, electing instead to recognise the cost of doing so and explore low-cost non-TSO options. Has anyone noticed that this is almost a completely new approach from CASA? When was the last time a project started with the words (paraphrased of course) "This could be expensive, so we're going to see if we can change regulations to make it cheaper"? This is more significant that most people realise, because it is the industry that showed CASA how this could be done, and CASA has followed the path they were shown. You may call this "consultation"; I call it "participation", which is what the general aviation industry really needs and really wants. If the industry had been allowed to participate in Part 61, you wouldn't have had the regulatory mayhem that we have today.
I spent an hour yesterday morning talking aviation over a large mug of Cappuccino (I'm sorry, I just won't call it a "mugguccino") with CASA's new Stakeholder Engagement Manager Rob Walker. His job is piivotal if there is to be reform in CASA's relationship with industry. Let's get real: we distrust CASA so completely that we disengaged from them and are now very wary about going back! Walker has to build trust where not only did none exist, but there was quite a stockpile of distrust ... there still is a stockpile of distrust. Graeme Crawford in charge of the Aviation Group and Tracey Frey at the head of the Sustainability Group also have massive jobs, but all is for naught if Walker can't get the industry to engage. If that's the case, the status quo will remain, which is that CASA will have no idea what they are trying to regulate. Sorry about the pressure, Rob.
Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...rwhPWb6.99
29 July 2016:
Two weeks or so ago the first meeting of the Director's Advisory Panel took place in Canberra, and already there are worried looks coming from several sectors of general aviation. The DAP is a panel of representatives from all over aviation that brings knowledge and expertise together and puts it at the disposal of the Director of Aviation Safety. It's modeled after a similar panel used by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which anecdotal evidence indicates works well. The DAP consists of just about every aviation stakeholder you could think of, and as such falls within the bailiwick of Rob Walker, manager of CASA's Stakeholder Engagement Group. At the first meeting, RAAus CEO Michael Linke took on the Chairman's job and AMROBA's tireless Ken Cannane became Deputy Chair. It all sounds great, so why the furrowed brows? Well, there is no compulsion for DAS Mark Skidmore to take the advice given, and some groups don't like the sounds he's making, particularly his stubborn stance over the ADS-B mandate in February. Some see an advisory panel as worthless when the DAS has the absolute power to ignore anything but his own opinion.
Or you could see it this way: Skidmore has acknowledged in the past that CASA is lacking expertise in many areas, and the DAP could be used to put Spakfilla in those gaps. Such an advisory panel is something that GA in particular has lobbied for in the past, and now we've got it, there doesn't seem to be much point in eroding it before it gets a chance to be effective. For every furrowed brow, there is also a satisfied grin, depending on who you're talking to and what their own experiences dealing with CASA have been in the past.
How can you tell it's Oshkosh week? 1) everyone's in the USA but you, and 2) the aviation manufacturers that have been dormant for so long are suddenly out in the streets with their megaphones. The result is a litany of announcements about new products, aeroplanes and services to bring people into their stands at Wittman Regional Airport. Hence, this week Textron finally revealed the brand and name of their new SETP, ONE Aviation revealed plans for an upgraded light jet, Garmin announced the G5 STC and Cessna detailed the MTOW increase for the T206H.
Although not directly related to Oshkosh, it was a handy week for Tecnam to celebrate the first flight of the P2012 Traveller. This really is a huge step forward for Tecnam; they're introducing the first dedicated charter twin for many years, and doing at time when charter thinking is leaning towards single-engine turbo-props like the PC12, TBM 900/930, or the ubiquitous King Air series. But in many cases, for one reason or another, the new aeroplanes aren't options for some operators, so they've kept the old twin pistons going years after they should have been given their gold watches. Tecnam has come up with another option, to replace the old twin pistons with a new twin piston, and they're getting a lot of interest.
The SAAA has a very strong case in their petition to CASA for an exemption to medical requirements for pilots flying with a take-off weight below 600 kg. They argue, in different terms, that it is basically discrimination for RAAus pilots to be exempt from Class 2 medicals when pilots who take their administration from the SAAA are not. It's very compelling; how does the source of admin effect the medical safety of the pilot and the operation? All things being equal, there's no difference and the SAAA is not asking for anything not already the privilege of RAAus pilots. CASA, by delegating admin responsibility based on a magic weight limit, has set the mark, and if pilots are operating below that mark it's hard to see how they can justify continuing to discriminate. If the exemption is given, there might be a few pilots in the general GA stream putting their hands out for an exemption as well.
Uni student Ben Reddall is seeking input from pilots on how they use synthetic flight training devices (flight sims). The information he gathers is going into a minor thesis to be submitted to the University of South Australia. If you've got the time, he'd appreciate you going in and completing the survey he needs to get the thesis done. The survey is on SurveyMonkey here.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch
Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...zXITXmg.99
MTF...P2
