A Gold Star Plug. - Printable Version

A Gold Star Plug. - Printable Version

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RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 10-25-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 24 October 2025

24 October 2025

– Steve Hitchen

I have often heard jump pilots saying how much fun they have flying the Cresco/750 XSTOL airframe once the jumpers have departed. It's been compared to fighter planes in its performance, especially on the return to Earth. Yesterday, NZAero extended to me the privilege of having a go myself. I understand now what the jump pilots have been saying to me. In the skies over Bendigo, pilot and director Dee Bond showed me exactly what this remarkable airframe was capable of. My take: it's a pilot's aircraft with the versatility of a Holden ute and the responsiveness of a aerobat. Being one of very few (or perhaps the only?) SETP available with stick controls, and fitted with a 900-shp PT6, it lends itself to serious flying fun. Think about this: the team has logged 70 flying hours around Australia including the Outback Air Race and crossing the Nullarbor. All of this was hand-flown; as the demo aeroplane is configured for jumps, it has no autopilot. That shows you how controllable it really is. Thanks to the team at NZAero for making their demonstrator available, and to Bendigo Flying Club for hosting. You can read more about this in March-April 2026 Australian Flying.

"..this new set of rules is very much in their playground.."

You can count the number of US LSA manufacturers on the fingers of one hand, but you can do that with European manufacturers only if that hand is holding a calculator. Although companies like Zenith, Icon, Vashon, Texas and Super Petrel have their markets, these models have nothing like the world-wide penetration of Aeroprakt, Tecnam, Pipistrel, Flight Design, Bristell, Alpi and so many other marques. This week, the MOSAIC rules to modernise LSAs came into effect in the USA, which may just galvanise some other US-based manufacturers to start prospecting in what is expected to be very rich vein. Cessna had a crack a few years ago with the ill-fated C162, and Piper made an even more flaccid effort with the PiperSport, but this new set of rules is very much in their playground, being more akin to GA aircraft than to LSAs of old. It wouldn't take much engineering to adapt the PA-28 airframe, and the C172 likewise, giving them a head-start on European manufacturers. However, within the halls of Wichita and Vero Beach, brains trusts will have been asking this question for months, possibly years: how do we get into this without bastardising our own markets for the four-seaters? We might get their answers next year, when I am expecting a flood of announcements about new models to hit the market. But, in Australia, there are other questions for our manufacturers to ask, chiefly, how do we maximise our opportunity given the dominance of the European aeroplane builders? The answer as I see it is to be first to market. Get the product out there before new Tecnams, Aeroprakts and Flight Designs start to land on our shores. If there is any country in the world that fits the MOSAIC ethos better than most, it is Australia, and opportunities like this come our way so very rarely.
I heard a chilling transmission yesterday when I was making my way up the Kilmore Gap to Bendigo. It was Melbourne Centre on 135.7 issuing a Safety Alert to two aircraft near Avalon that they would be in conflict with each other in one minute. Good work Centre, I thought. It chilled me to hear soon after Centre issuing a pained warning that the two aircraft then had only 10 seconds to avoid each other! It prompted me to ask a question: what the hell had those two pilots been doing for 50 seconds? As both VFR aircraft appeared to be in G or E airspace, Centre can't give them vectors to de-conflict; that is up to the pilots themselves. To do that, they first need to be switched on enough to cotton on that the call was directed to them. Co-incidentally, returning from Bendigo, I started a climb to clear expected rotors coming off the ridge NW of Kilmore. Almost immediately I heard Centre pass traffic to another aircraft in the same area as me on an unverified VFR paint climbing towards 4000 anticipating a conflict. I reckoned that was me. I called Centre, told them what I was doing and responded to a squawk ident request. I was indeed the paint in question. I stopped climbing. Deconfliction was established, and I got thanked for it. I don't know what became of the Avalon conflict, but I know for listening out and taking action, I arrived home much less stressed than if I'd been given a 10-second warning.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

Comment from 2 weeks ago:

Dave Prossor14 days ago

Not so far back the Government sold of all the non-major secondary airpprts. The attitude was sink or swim. If they closed the Feds could not have cared.

Since that time the Government has slowly come to the realisation that country people are entitled to and should have access to all the things that the city people have and get. Medical assistance, emergency aid during flood or fire, air flights to the big smoke. Flying Doctor. And much more.

It has taken quite some time for the penny to drop that country people are entitled to all those things that city people take for granted. Our Feds have slowly realised that country people needs and should have airstrips that are fit for purpose. Many votes are involved?

Granting big dollars to support country airstrips, and there should be many more, is not a case of the Feds being good guys and doing this. It is something that the Feds should have been doing a long time back and must continue to do.

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 10-31-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 31 October 2025

31 October 2025

– Steve Hitchen

In The Last Minute Hitch on 2 May this year, I had a shot at all our federal pollies over a lack of support for GA and in particular the 47th parliament's omission of a Parliamentary Friends of Aviation Group. This week it was re-instated in the 48th parliament, and rightly so by my account. Friends groups create bipartisan environments for politicians and industry advocates to meet and hold informal conversations about issues concerning industry sectors. It's a good way for opinions to mingle. The aviation group, if we're being honest, will focus more on airlines and airports, but GA will get a coat-tails attachment thanks to the involvement of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia. RAAA CEO and GAAN chair Rob Walker attended the launch, and his organisation is on record as saying they will stand as advocates for GA in the absence of a more vocal and active lobby group. The beauty about Friends groups is that the onus to listen is thrown back on the pollies; that is the very point of the groups. And as membership of any is not mandatory, we at least know they're in it because they have genuine interest in aviation. Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is a pilot herself, so the aviation community will be watching carefully to see if she has enough interest to join the group.

"..the government is trying to introduce a mandate the GA community is not in a position to accept.."

One topic that should be heavily debated by the Parliamentary Friends of Aviation is the proposed VFR ADS-B mandate. This is proving a controversial issue that is attracting some very visceral opinions; opinions that are dividing the private and recreational GA sectors into the yeasayers and the naysayers. The demarcation line seems to be around cost, which is one of the key points of the RAAus submission made public this week. Only the harshest critics would hold that ADS-B has not increased situational awareness and lowered the chances of traffic conflict, leaving cost as the primary objection to a mandate. That, and as RAAus has noted, a dearth of engineers qualified to fit equipment. For recreational aircraft, where weight is always a consideration, many owners will opt for Electronic Conspicuity (EC) devices rather than panel-mounted equipment, which doesn't need an engineer to install. But that's not a solution for everyone because EC devices can't be used for separation in controlled airspace. RAAus is perhaps right in their contention that there is information and issues missing from the discussion paper. I can't help but feel the government is trying to introduce a mandate the GA community is not in a position to accept because the complete gamut of impact is not fully understood. Hopefully, this consultation will correct that.

In 16 days time, the hourglass runs out of sand on the 2025 CASA Wings Awards nominations. By now, you should be at the polishing stage of your submission. By "polishing" I mean tightening the links between your contentions and the criteria for the specific category. That's how nominations are successful. Now in their 12th installment, the Wings Awards have honoured some of the most dedicated people and groups we have in general aviation, and each one of the winners owes something to the person or persons that nominated them. What that means is the nominator is a large part of the success of the nominee, and they need to play their part not only by making the submission in the first place, but making sure it is the best in its category. We hope to see your prospective Wings Awards winner in the short list soon.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 11-09-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 7 November 2025

7 November 2025

– Steve Hitchen

The new LSA regulations were always going to take some sculpting to fit into the Australian mold, if for no other reason than the cross-over of LSAs between RAAus and CASA. However, it seems there are parts of the regulations over here that also need some reworking to make sure everything fits. And it seems CASA is hitting the decks running, but can't move faster on this than standard bureaucratic speed. It would do no good to fast-track MOSAIC in Australia anyway; it will be Oshkosh next year before the first aircraft to the new standard can be registered. The GA community–particularly the manufacturers–are dead keen to see this implemented, and a new era in GA ushered in, so their impatience to get going with it is understandable. What we need CASA to do is make sure our regulatory regime is ready to go when the FAA pushes the button in July next year. That's where the phased implementation should work for us, but it may mean that RAAus has to be left behind temporarily to enable at least GA to go forward with the new aircraft. When or if RAAus catches up is still the subject of a lot of work behind the scenes on behalf of both CASA and RAAus; too much, in fact, to be allowed to hold back the rest of the aviation community.

"..this is not a brave new world into which REX 2.0 will go.."

After the Federal Government slung $220 million in the direction of REX and its pending suitor, I think other regional airlines are justified in asking "what about us?" RAAA CEO Rob Walker has been vocal in pointing out that REX is not the only regional airline in Australia, none of which are rolling in cash, yet still provide a vital service to remote and regional communities that would otherwise remain isolated. The $5 million allotted to airports to which REX owes money has only exacerbated the feeling of being left behind. Are these services not as valuable as those provided by REX, or do you have to hit the bottom of the well before someone throws you a rope? The latter is maybe fanciful thinking; Australian aviation history is coloured by regional airlines that bottomed out whilst the government did nothing more than send a condolence card. Sometimes not even that. But this ALP government is going all out. When Air T grabs the keys to the REX doors, they will be in possession of an airline and a name, and control of an ageing SAAB 340 fleet that the Australian government has caveats on. That's a brilliant deal for Air T, and one that is unlikely to have been struck were it not for the desperation of Team Albanese to keep REX plying their trade. However, I feel that this is not a brave new world into which REX 2.0 will go, but rather a fraught one that has broken more hearts than Farmer Wants a Wife. In the back of my mind I feel this is not an arrangement that is eternal given the parlous nature of regional aviation and the rachitic nature of the deal at hand. There are a number of failure points in regional aviation that are not negated purely by a change of ownership, and Air T will have to work some serious magic in order to justify the government's willingness to invest eye-crossing dollars; dollars that would have been very welcome at other regional airlines.

On Monday week nominations for the 2025 CASA Wings Awards will close. At that time the judging panel will convene to begin their deliberations. And, as is expected, sifting through submissions to find the most worthy winners will be a time-consuming and quite stressful one. But that doesn't mean the judges won't enjoy it. I have been on the judging panel since the very beginning, and one of the thinks I like about reading the nominations is the passion that comes through in the best ones. We get to learn so much about the amazing people that make up GA in Australia, and in the very end of it all we zero-in on the best of the best and anoint them as the winners for 2025. In truth, it's a satisfying job, and one that all of us are proud to perform. So if you haven't finished your nomination yet, impress us; we are waiting eagerly to read what you have to say.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 11-14-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 14 November 2025

14 November 2025

– Steve Hitchen

I made several errors on my last GA flight review, which was done in an Archer. They were simple things that really should have been second-nature to me. Nothing serious ... if you don't count embarrassment as serious. On reflection, I understood that each error was something that was a variation on the well-practised procedures that applied to my Tecnam. And this was after only 12 months of letting my GA currency lapse. I cannot image how foreign a simple Archer would have felt after 15 years! But at Porepunkah in May a pilot stepped into a type that they hadn't flown for exactly that period of time, and the variances between that aircraft and what they had been flying since came back to bite them hard. The more we fly a type, the more our hands, feet and brains become trained to it. They say if you don't use it you lose it, and when we stop using it the muscle memory becomes forgetful and concentrates on what it has learned since. The sight of a crumpled EC120 lying on its side should be enough evidence to convince you of that. Type currency is a good promoter of aviation safety and a barrier against flying misadventure; pilots should think of it as a crucial tool in their airmanship toolbox. Another is the courage to say "I'm not flying that, I'm not current."

There is a swell of opinion saying it can't be done

Difficult things take a long time to do, even longer if you want to get them right. I suspect this is what is driving the Office of Airspace Regulation (OAR) as they try to fashion some form of lifeline for Bankstown Airport. OAR's first effort in creating the Engadine Corridor was dumped early this year after industry feedback labeled it unworkable and probably unsafe. At the time, an alternative was promised mid-2025, and here it is November and the new plan has not yet been released. Will we see it this year? I would wager No at this stage, but wouldn't rule out a dump-and-run in the last working days before Christmas. The most likely reason we haven't seen it before now is that a practical, safe solution for a VFR corridor to Bankstown is not emerging easily thanks to the crunch of airspace caused by Western Sydney International. And I suspect OAR has been stung a touch by how quickly the GA community torpedoed their original proposal, generating a determination to get this as close as they can to acceptable before unleashing it on the world. But can they actually achieve that? There is a swell of opinion saying it can't be done; that too much airspace has been allocated to WSI to enable Bankstown to remain a training hub. I hope that is not the case, but fear OAR's next attempt won't come within a 747's take-off roll of providing much relief to what has become a besieged airport. My only disappointment is that I won't get a chance to present an analysis of this when it does come.

Here's why.

The last three years have seen a few changes in the editorial team at Australian Flying, with Kreisha Ballantyne taking on the print magazine, a new publisher in James Ostinga and new people joining the ranks of feature writers. There is one more change to come in 2025: me. My tenure as editor of the Australian Flying website and the weekly eNews is coming to an end in December, and as a consequence, The Last Minute Hitch will also cease. Kreisha Ballantyne will take on editing the eNews and website as well as the print magazine from early 2026, bringing her own style and fresh ideas to the site. It's bittersweet for me; I have been full-time with the magazine and website since March 2012, and although I have learnt so much and interacted with so many knowledgeable experts, it has been a taxing role. My plan now is to return to the role of freelance feature writer for the print version, so I won't be disappearing completely. You knowledgeable experts will still be seeing my name displayed when your mobile rings for a bit longer. The final LMH is due out on 12 December, after that you will all need a different way of finding out that it's Friday.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

Good bye LMH - Sad

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 11-23-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 21 November 2025

21 November 2025

– Steve Hitchen

Bankstown operators, pilots and aircraft owners will need to wait until the year has turned before they learn if the OAR has managed to craft a plan that breathes optimism back into their airport. OAR's revised proposal for a VFR corridor linking their airport to a practical training area has already been torpedoed once, which has left Bankstown on wood when it comes to the future of the training industry there. CASA has held some closed-door consultations with operators, and it looks like the new concept will be a one-way corridor. There aren't too many parallels for this in Australia without an accompanying contra-directional route somewhere, so I expect the design is more complex than that. But now I feel there is a need to put some pressure on CASA over this. Within the GA community there is an adage (and GA has plenty of those) that says "There is no Plan C". What this means is that if Plan A fails, Plan B must be fail-safe. This is where OAR is at right now: under an imposed demand for a corridor that the GA community can endorse as safe and use practically. Yes, this is totally unfair considering that OAR is not under any legal obligation to do anything. The demon in this drama is the Federal Government that gave absolute priority to Western Sydney International even though they were told repeatedly and forcefully what the impact on Bankstown would be.

"..All it does is redirect money from a struggling GA pool to government coffers.."

It was predictable that the Department of Home Affairs would quietly euthanise the idea of a single-issuing body (SIB) for ASICs and MSICs. Although it was the best and easiest solution for many issues extant in the ASIC process, it stood to put private companies out of business, and that fact that only Canberra and Adelaide Airports transitioned demonstrates what the aviation industry thought of the idea. Putting the SIB to permanent rest throws the obligation back onto Home Affairs to reform the application and issuing process to correct some glaring problems, one of which is to direct government effort to the areas of highest risk. Time to get real: if they want that outcome they could achieve it by removing the ASIC requirement for air crew, which has never since the ASIC scheme was spawned ensured any form of extra security. All it does is redirect money from a struggling GA pool to government coffers. The Aviation Safety Regulation Review (ASRR) of 2014 took the extraordinary step of recommending a review of ASIC demands even though it was outside the ASRR's scope, so strong was the swell of industry opinion against it. We should also not be ignoring that other jurisdictions around the world, including those who have been targeted, do not require an ASIC equivalent. The ASIC was born in the post-2001 crucible of fear over aircraft being used in terrorist attacks, and a review in a reasonable light of day is probably well overdue. However, governments tend to get drunk on income streams, so don't hold your breath.

Nominations for the 2025 CASA Wings Awards closed a week ago, which means that you have all done your bit and now its up to the judging panel to get to work. Over the next few weeks those of us on the panel will be reading, review, comparing, analysing and proselytising nominations in all categories until we come up some level of consensus over the winners. And if you think nominating is hard, you should try judging. Winners will be formally announced in the March-April issue of Australian Flying, which is due in your letter box mid February. And if you put in a submission to one of the categories, thank you. It doesn't really need to be said that without your contribution there would be no CASA Wings Awards.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

Oz Flying had a good week on the boards... Wink

Quote:McDermott C160s to provide Sovereign LAT Capability

20 November 2025

Reproduced with permission from the Aerial Application Association of Australia AAAA Quarterly Issue 3 2025 www.aaaa.org.au.
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Recognised as one of Australia’s pioneers in firefighting helicopters, AAAA member McDermott Aviation Pty Ltd is now the world’s largest operator of the Bell 214B and 214ST aircraft. Founded by John McDermott in 1982, McDermott started as an aerial application specialist company before evolving into the multi-faceted aviation powerhouse it is today.

John told the AAAA’s Quarterly that in October 2022, he had the opportunity to enter the fixed-wing large air tanker (LAT) arena, when he was offered three Transall C-160s. The aircraft John said, had "one careful owner – the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) – were in absolutely immaculate condition, and only had about 13,000 hours." The type is well proven, having flown thousands of hours for the French, German, Turkish and South African military.

McDermott purchased the aircraft, but one of the problems was only having until December that year to move them off the airport base. However, that was achieved with receiving a special flight permit allowing them to be flown to Australia.

John believes that the C-160, used by the Luftwaffe’s now-disbanded 63rd Air Transport Wing for its strategic and tactical transport capability, could have "almost been designed and built for aerial firefighting. It is perfect for flying low and slow, can carry a 16,000-kg payload, and was designed specifically to operate on short semi-prepared airfields."

John has worked with Queensland company Helitak Aerial Firefighting Equipment to fit the aircraft they would like to use as a tanker, VH-TIT, with a custom-made firefighting tank, designed and manufactured in Queensland.

"The tank is really easy to roll on and off," John said, "and takes only about 45 minutes to remove."

Helitak said in an interview with Australian Aviation in June 2025 that "the FT-series tank developed for the C-160s is the first of its kind for fixed-wing aircraft, providing 'rapid-fill, high-volume water and retardant delivery, tailored for Australian firefighting conditions."

Testing, dropping water out of the aircraft [was scheduled to] take place in late September, and John said, "the conversion has had no airframe or flight characteristic impact – our highly experienced international test pilot is very happy with its performance."

Certification, as a European derivative, was never going to be easy, but John concluded, "We are working towards the certification process: the aircraft is ready for use, pending certification."

The development of an Australian owned, managed and crewed fleet has been the subject of many reports since the early 1990s, when, following the 1993 Sydney bushfires, the proponents of the CL415 "Superscooper" brought an aircraft to Australia for a series of demonstration flights.

Most recently the Bushfire Royal Commission into the 2019-20 fires identified the issues around Australia not having a domestic LAT fleet, while highlighting the challenges of Australia being over-reliant on northern hemisphere aircraft.

The increasing duration of fire seasons in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and the increasing duration and severity of fire seasons in Australia, will make it increasingly difficult to share aircraft domestically, and to acquire aviation services when we need them, particularly at short notice.

"We, therefore, believe that there is merit in the Australian, state and territory governments together ensuring the development of a sovereign aerial firefighting capability of sufficient size and versatility to better meet national needs.

"This sovereign fleet," the report went on to state, "should focus on the development of a modest Australian-based and registered national fleet of VLAT/LAT aircraft and Type-1 helicopters, jointly funded by the Australian, state and territory governments, (which) will enhance Australia’s bushfire resilience."

AAAA CEO Matt Harper outlined the AAAA position on an Australian sovereign fleet.

"This is an excellent example of where the private sector, and in particular companies like McDermotts, have moved to fill the gap to develop a LAT sovereign fleet. AAAA members have already established one of the world’s premier sovereign capabilities in firefighting – fixed and rotary-wing aircraft operated and managed by Australian companies with locally based pilots having a great understanding of the Australian situation, our terrain, our weather and our fire management.

"We look forward to McDermotts bringing the C-160 online and making it available to Australian fire agencies."

&..

Quote:Home Affairs abandons Single-Issuing Body for ASICs

20 November 2025

The Department of Home Affairs has quietly abandoned the project to create a single-issuing body (SIB) for Aviation Security Identification Cards (ASIC), but has said it will continue with some reforms.

In a statement posted to the departmental website, Home Affairs said that multiple issuing bodies would remain part of the ASIC processes, but that reforms were underway to make the procedure more efficient.

"The transition to a SIB will no longer continue in its original form," the department said. "Instead, we will progress a broader reform of the background checking framework, with a focus on increasing efficiency, streamlining processes and enhancing security outcomes.

"Issuing bodies will remain important partners in the development and implementation of reforms. AusCheck will continue to coordinate background checks for ASIC and MSIC applicants, while working with issuing bodies to implement interim enhancements.

"Lessons learned from the SIB transitions at Canberra and Adelaide Airports, and feedback from industry consultations, will shape these improvements.

"Longer-term, we will continue working with issuing bodies to define a future-state operating model that delivers an efficient, secure and modern background checking framework.

"We remain committed to early and transparent engagement, and we will consult with issuing bodies throughout the reform process."
According to a discussion paper published in November 2022, a SIB was needed because the existing regulatory model required government intervention and regulatory oversight, and had "inherent vulnerabilities in the current arrangements that are undermining the integrity of the schemes."

The department has not given a reason for discontinuing the SIB project, but with only Canberra and Adelaide Airports joining the program by the transition deadline, it was clear the aviation industry had not embraced the idea.

&..

Quote:ATSB sounds Corrosion Warning after Brake Disc Fracture

18 November 2025

The ATSB this week warned aircraft operators to consider their environment and take steps to combat corrosion after a brake disc on a Sling LSA fractured earlier this year.

VH-PPY was returning from a dual training flight at Moorabbin in February when the student and instructor heard a unusual sound coming from the right side of the aeroplane, and the brake effectiveness was reduced.

On inspection after parking, the instructor saw that the right-hand brake disc had fractured.

ATSB investigators attributed the fracture to corrosion, most likely caused by the aeroplane being parked outside at Moorabbin, which is only 3 km away from the salt-heavy environment of Port Phillip Bay.

“The ATSB’s examination of the brake disc identified severe corrosion had compromised its structural integrity to the point where it failed during normal braking after landing,” ATSB Director of Transport Safety Dr Stuart Godley said.

“This corrosion was not identified by those maintaining and operating the aircraft as having progressed to a point where failure of the brake disc was possible.”

Godley also said that corrosion was found on the brake discs of all seven of the operator's aircraft.

“Being parked outside and operated in the vicinity of a saltwater environment would have contributed to the corrosion development,” he noted.
“The effect of the environment was also demonstrated by the extent of corrosion observed on the brake disc assemblies of the other six aircraft in the operator's fleet.”

Investigators also found that VH-PPY had been fitted with unapproved aftermarket brake discs, which the operator has since replaced on all aircraft.

Godley said that the operator had had plenty of opportunity to detect the corrosion because the aircraft was inspected daily and about every two months by a maintenance organisation.

“As such aircraft operators and maintainers should take timely action to prevent the progression of corrosion, and replace parts before the serviceability of an aircraft is affected,” he said.

“Operators should also give consideration to their aircraft operating environments, and whether additional maintenance can be undertaken to limit corrosion development.”

The full Short Investigation report is on the ATSB website.

MTF...P2

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 11-28-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 28 November 2025

28 November 2025

– Steve Hitchen

"By God. That's what we should build!"

The quote above is attributed to Walter Beech, on the occasion of him first seeing Ralph Harmon's pencil sketch of a single-engined, low wing retractable with a nose wheel and funky V-tail arrangement. Beech did build it, and it came to be known as the Beechcraft Bonanza. That was in 1944 when the Second World War was not yet over, but Beech was looking to a future he was sure would come. The design became an aviation legend; a melding of speed, endurance and durability that kept it in production for nearly 80 years. But now the end has come. Textron Aviation, needing space for the Denali SETP, has deleted the G36 Bonanza and its twin sister the G58 Baron from the range. There's been an air of inevitability about this decision for some time. These two models were once the kings of the sky, but usurpers in the form of the Cirrus SR22 and Diamond twins have won the hearts and minds of the GA masses. At last quarterly count, the SR22 out-sold the G36 at a rate of 46 to 1. That's hard to come back from, so Textron's order to retire the Bonanza and Baron should really be a surprise to no-one. But the owners of legacy aeroplanes will continue their passion and enthusiasm for two of GA's greatest marques, ensuring the Bonanza and Baron are neither gone nor forgotten; they're just the last of the line.

"..it's a risk-free document that will angry-up only those that hate the primacy of safety.."

Statements of Expectations are presented to statutory bodies like CASA to make sure they clearly understand the policies and directions of the government of the day. They are legislative instruments that must be complied with. Ministers like issuing SoEs because it makes them look like people of action who are in control. But to score the right amount of political points, you must not only do, but also be seen to do. It's surprising, then, that CASA was handed its latest SoE earlier this month without any accompanying announcements from the minister. No hoo-hah, no fanfare; not a clarion in sight, not a nodding head in the background. Questions to the minister's office have yet to be answered. In the meantime, the new SoE is nothing the minister needs to distance herself from; it's a risk-free document that will angry-up only those that hate the primacy of safety. It continues to commit CASA to being relatively transparent and puts a lot of emphasis on engagement and consultation. The minister is also expecting CASA to create a regulatory philosophy and stick to it. There's also a demand that CASA take cost impact into account when regulating GA. Whilst this all sounds like a edict from on high, no minister is going to expect more than can be delivered, so SoEs behind the scenes are co-operative instruments that document agreed paths between the minister and CASA moreso than instructions. But being legislative, CASA is legally bound to the contents, which makes the SoE a statement of what the aviation community has a right to expect.

With Monday comes Summer; with Summer comes hot weather ... perhaps. After a disappointing Spring weather pattern, the forecast for the December-February period looks decidedly Australian: dry, warm with average rainfall in the south and east, and a warm but soggy wet season in the north. Putting that in an aviation context, we can expect thermals and blustery winds interspersed with thunderstorms, except in the north where the thunderstorms will be more prevalent. Keeping safe in the air in Summer is more challenging than other times of the year because the physiological impacts of heat are greater. We sweat more under the perspex-filtered sun and fatigue is more of a danger than during most times. The answer is to drink, drink, drink. Dehydration is our key enemy; defeat that and other the other threats are mitigated to one extent or the other. Flying in Summer brings its own levels of fun, but we have to be smart about it.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 12-05-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 5 December 2025

5 December 2025

– Steve Hitchen

Senators Collins and McDonald took CASA to task over V1-cut training in senate estimates this week. For those unfamiliar, this is a simulated engine-out on take-off in a twin, but the instructor actually pulls the power on one engine to see how you cope with the asymmetrics. But its not really a simulation; the asymmetry is real and so is the aircraft's abominable handling. Collins stated in the senate that more pilots have died doing V1-cut training than in the scenario they are training for. These senators have put me in the somewhat vacillating position of agreeing with everything everyone said. Yes, pilots and instructors put their lives on the line doing it; virtually no-one disagrees with that. It would be better done in simulators, again, total agreeance. However, the entire aviation community needs to work towards a solution, and I am not sure a sudden end to the practice as Senator McDonald has demanded is constructive. If people died because a pilot's skills were too rusty to cope with the startle and urgency involved in a genuine V1-cut, I am sure Senator McDonald would soon be sharpening the knives for CASA demanding the very thing she renounces right now. There could be some merit in reducing the amount of checking and training required or running the simulation not below 3000 feet AGL or some other mitigator. However, I'm sticking to my guns over the solution I first espoused in 2010: we need simulators that have high enough fidelity to transfer skills to the cockpit for twins of all sizes, not just the big ones. That means both the industry and the government investing eye-crossing dollars. Perhaps the senators would like to champion that into the next Federal Budget.

"..the disdain shown towards the needs of GA in that situation is to be repeated.."

Melbourne International's much-hyped third runway–34L/16R–is due to start construction next year, which will bring parallel runway ops to Melbourne for the first time. Although those ops are five years away, a proposal to modify control steps north of the city has been lodged with the Aviation Safety Engagement Forum (AvSEF). The document says the steps need to be lowered to allow ICAO separation standards for parallel ops. And as has happened with Western Sydney International, general aviation stands to be the great loser despite promises to consult and listen. The 3500 step is in danger of being lowered to 2500, which will invade the space used for circuits at the Macedon region airports like Romsey, Riddells Creek and Penfield. Romsey in particular has a circuit height of 2500 AMSL, which allows no margin to cater for student pilots flying solo-standard altitude tolerances. Stalls? Not a chance. We've been through all this before with the insidious situation imposed upon Bankstown, and apparently the disdain shown towards the needs of GA in that situation is to be repeated in the case of Melbourne's third runway. At the moment, this is not a change proposal from Airservices, but rather a flagpole exercise from consultant Trax Asia Pacific. That means the GA community has plenty of spleen-venting time before consultation gets serious, but only if we go to the mattresses now. This is relatively minor compared to Bankstown's predicament, but we need to make sure those lessons are learnt.

If not Paul Bennet, then who? Australia's most prolific air show pilot has stepped up to take over the endangered Illawarra air show, which has acquired its third different organiser in four years, resulting in the show going on under three names. In 2022, Bright Events organised the show under the Wings over Illawarra banner, in 2024 it flew under the AMDA Foundation brand Airshows Downunder Shellharbour, and under Paul Bennet will be named Wings over Shellharbour (WOS) for 2026. When AMDA Foundation surrendered the show after only one event, they promised to find a new organiser, and if you look around, Paul Bennet was probably the only option for the show's survival. Those who have been there will describe the heartache behind staging an air show; the hours, the problems, the personal cost, the regulations, the people-juggling, the financial constraints. And then it rains and you have to call it all off. If you're a commercial operation, staging an air show is not the way to make money, meaning organisers with this magnitude of experience are rare. But this air show is the largest in the Sydney basin and is worth fighting for, so kudos to Paul Bennet for stepping up and keeping WOS on the calendar. The date has been pushed out from March to May 2026, which puts it back on the original schedule that it had for years as Wings over Illawarra and gives the organisers a bit more breathing space before showtime.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 12-12-2025

The Last Minute Hitch: 12 December 2025

12 December 2025

– Steve Hitchen

You are reading the 495th and final installment of The Last Minute Hitch. But that can wait for a moment.

AOPA Australia recently took part in a flag-swapping ceremony with AOPA China at Aero Asia 2025. This isn't really much of a surprise given that Shanghai-born Li Zhuang, founder and CEO of the Chinese-accredited Pegasus Aviation School at Bankstown, is now a director of AOPA Australia. Forging international links is a good idea for AOPA Australia, and despite this move the organisation says it is committed firstly to advocacy for the GA community in this country. Personally, I would have thought the most logical international move would have been to re-affiliate with the International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (IAOPA) first in order to get a broader briefing on the international situation as it relates to the Asia-Pacific region. But in aero club bars around Australia, is this likely to be greeted with the same enthusiasm with which AOPA is spruiking it? An unusually low number of likes on the Facebook post promoting the ceremony seems to indicate a reticence for the GA community to embrace it. However, AOPA has never been an organisation to shy away from controversy, so keep your eyes on where this takes them.

"..the consultation process is a pipeline for change.."

CASA records show that there are currently 2200-odd holders of a Class 5 self-declared medical. During the consultation as part of the post-implementation review, only 164 people responded, of which 86 had a Class 5. That means only 4% of Class 5 holders responded to the consultation. In my mind, that's not enough. In the absence of co-ordinated, effective advocacy for private GA, consultation such as this is what substitutes, and is our opportunity to be heard and recorded in a formal manner. That doesn't mean if we speak up we automatically get what we want, but it does guarantee us a level of influence that is otherwise forfeited. In all consultations, CASA has more reason for change if there is a weight of consensus behind good ideas, and less reason for change if there isn't. In past years, consultation with CASA has been cursory at best; lip service to a requirement. Now, with the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) in place, the consultation process is a pipeline for change demands to reach CASA backed by a weight of GA community support. If it's there. If people don't get behind consultation in numbers, CASA has little option but to believe that only a fraction want change. That's why responding to consultation of any type by any aviation organisation is critical. It has become our advocacy, and we need to own it.

Today, the Australian Flying eNewsletter goes into its annual hibernation, to return in late January. However, The Last Minute Hitch won't be coming back this time; LMH is going into permanent retirement. Next year, the eNews and all content becomes the domain of editor Kreisha Ballantyne. Just as once I ran the whole show, now she will do the same. Nearly 14 years ago, then publisher Doug Nancarrow asked me to start writing an opinion piece to go with the weekly Australian Flying eNewsletter. In a world increasingly adopting defamation litigation as a means of striking back, the idea of putting my opinion out there generated a not inconsiderable amount of trepidation. Many writers will confess their shock when they first understand people actually read their stuff, and it has been no different for me. Sending LMH out each week was often like consigning it to a great silence, then I'd get an angry e-mail or phone call as evidence that people were reading it. Across 495 columns, I learnt that opinion can be a powerful tool provided it has two characteristics: it's fair and it's backed by facts. A simple formula that I stuck to every time, bolstered by an army of experts willing always to check my thinking and provide the background needed to shape thoughts into words. To those people (a rough count revealed no less than 120 of them), I say thank you for being a part of LMH. I owe any street cred to your guidance and support. I am not naming people because often the support has been confidential, but you will know who you are by the number of times my name has come up on your phone. You made LMH as much as I did.
Thanks is also due to the team at Yaffa Media–James, John, Priscilla, Anthony, Cameron, Stephanie and everyone else in the Surry Hills office–who played their part in getting LMH out like clockwork on a Friday. Nobody does it better. But I want to reserve special mention to the tireless, affable Andrew Murphy, the many aviation companies that believed enough to advertise with us and, naturally, my partner Sonya the Magnificent, who for 14 years had to counsel away all that trepidation.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

RE: A Gold Star Plug. - Peetwo - 12-13-2025

(12-12-2025, 06:23 PM)Peetwo Wrote: The Last Minute Hitch: 12 December 2025

12 December 2025

– Steve Hitchen

You are reading the 495th and final installment of The Last Minute Hitch. But that can wait for a moment.

AOPA Australia recently took part in a flag-swapping ceremony with AOPA China at Aero Asia 2025. This isn't really much of a surprise given that Shanghai-born Li Zhuang, founder and CEO of the Chinese-accredited Pegasus Aviation School at Bankstown, is now a director of AOPA Australia. Forging international links is a good idea for AOPA Australia, and despite this move the organisation says it is committed firstly to advocacy for the GA community in this country. Personally, I would have thought the most logical international move would have been to re-affiliate with the International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (IAOPA) first in order to get a broader briefing on the international situation as it relates to the Asia-Pacific region. But in aero club bars around Australia, is this likely to be greeted with the same enthusiasm with which AOPA is spruiking it? An unusually low number of likes on the Facebook post promoting the ceremony seems to indicate a reticence for the GA community to embrace it. However, AOPA has never been an organisation to shy away from controversy, so keep your eyes on where this takes them.

"..the consultation process is a pipeline for change.."

CASA records show that there are currently 2200-odd holders of a Class 5 self-declared medical. During the consultation as part of the post-implementation review, only 164 people responded, of which 86 had a Class 5. That means only 4% of Class 5 holders responded to the consultation. In my mind, that's not enough. In the absence of co-ordinated, effective advocacy for private GA, consultation such as this is what substitutes, and is our opportunity to be heard and recorded in a formal manner. That doesn't mean if we speak up we automatically get what we want, but it does guarantee us a level of influence that is otherwise forfeited. In all consultations, CASA has more reason for change if there is a weight of consensus behind good ideas, and less reason for change if there isn't. In past years, consultation with CASA has been cursory at best; lip service to a requirement. Now, with the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) in place, the consultation process is a pipeline for change demands to reach CASA backed by a weight of GA community support. If it's there. If people don't get behind consultation in numbers, CASA has little option but to believe that only a fraction want change. That's why responding to consultation of any type by any aviation organisation is critical. It has become our advocacy, and we need to own it.

Today, the Australian Flying eNewsletter goes into its annual hibernation, to return in late January. However, The Last Minute Hitch won't be coming back this time; LMH is going into permanent retirement. Next year, the eNews and all content becomes the domain of editor Kreisha Ballantyne. Just as once I ran the whole show, now she will do the same. Nearly 14 years ago, then publisher Doug Nancarrow asked me to start writing an opinion piece to go with the weekly Australian Flying eNewsletter. In a world increasingly adopting defamation litigation as a means of striking back, the idea of putting my opinion out there generated a not inconsiderable amount of trepidation. Many writers will confess their shock when they first understand people actually read their stuff, and it has been no different for me. Sending LMH out each week was often like consigning it to a great silence, then I'd get an angry e-mail or phone call as evidence that people were reading it. Across 495 columns, I learnt that opinion can be a powerful tool provided it has two characteristics: it's fair and it's backed by facts. A simple formula that I stuck to every time, bolstered by an army of experts willing always to check my thinking and provide the background needed to shape thoughts into words. To those people (a rough count revealed no less than 120 of them), I say thank you for being a part of LMH. I owe any street cred to your guidance and support. I am not naming people because often the support has been confidential, but you will know who you are by the number of times my name has come up on your phone. You made LMH as much as I did.
Thanks is also due to the team at Yaffa Media–James, John, Priscilla, Anthony, Cameron, Stephanie and everyone else in the Surry Hills office–who played their part in getting LMH out like clockwork on a Friday. Nobody does it better. But I want to reserve special mention to the tireless, affable Andrew Murphy, the many aviation companies that believed enough to advertise with us and, naturally, my partner Sonya the Magnificent, who for 14 years had to counsel away all that trepidation.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

Sandy in reply to Hitch

Via AP emails:

Quote:Steve,

About your latest LMH, sorry to see that your last epistle hasn’t included one powerful reason people don’t engage with the CASASTROPHE’s consultations.

That is very obvious, CASA have only given lip service to consultation and the General Aviation (GA) community have been cowed into compliance and having spent great effort, unpaid, making submissions in years gone by into various government inquiries into aviation for zero real reforms.

The 2014 Aviation Safety Regulation Review, is a good example. Some hundreds of submissions, then 35 out of 37 recommendations accepted specifically or in principle. But what actually happened?
Need I elaborate? Next inquiry received far fewer submissions. Why would people waste their time?

You might revisit my Change.org petition of some 3000 signatures and hundreds of written submissions to get a good feel for how our GA people view the regulatory regime of the independent corporate CASA that has 2/3rds destroyed GA.

I make the “2/3rds” claim advisedly, having created my GA business (from 1968) on my own airport as Chief Flying Instructor, plus Chief Pilot and Maintenance Controller for charter and RPT services. Over the intervening decades I’ve watched how hundreds of flying schools have closed, and so we lost hundreds of experienced instructors and LAMEs (maintenance engineers). From 1968 until now our population has doubled and we are much wealthier, but GA has either shrunk, especially training, or not grown, therefore 2/3rds destruction is a fair conclusion.

The “little option” that you postulate for CASA to act overlooks what it’s supposed to do, which includes creating or improving the regulations to benefit aviation.

With respect, your reason, quoted below, for CASA to stand still on its extremely complex and ill reasoned suite of unique Australian rules, inappropriately migrated into the criminal code, and created in conjunction with hundreds of ICAO exemptions, I find difficult to grasp.

“If people don't get behind consultation in numbers, CASA has little option but to believe that only a fraction want change.”

I’d put to you a question, if you asked 100 GA people “do they think CASA does a good job with sensible regulations?”

I think we both know you’d be lucky to find one or two GA people of that 100 that would agree, or who viewed CASA positively.

You would certainly receive a large number whose description of CASA wouldn’t bear printing. But this is what will continue until aviation is administered via a Department with a responsible Minister, as the Westminster model of democracy demands by principle.

Regards,

Sandy

Illustration, pamphlet and photo of my scheduled service to Tasmania operating in the 1980s and 1990s.

MTF...P2