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Quote:MTF...P2The BITRE GA Study report was released in December 2017 after a 12-month study.
GA Study Report reflects Reality: Industry
30 January 2018
The BITRE GA Study report released in December last year is an accurate representation of the current state of the industry, but provides no answers, according to two of Australia's largest lobby groups.
The report came after a 12-month study into the GA industry by the Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics, which presented several conclusions and opportunities for government action.
Ken Cannane, Executive Director of the Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Business Association (AMROBA), said the GA Study report accurately presented the current challenges facing the general aviation community.
"AMROBA is of the opinion that this study provides a fairly presentable report of the situation confronting general aviation in Australia even if it does not provide the answers to fix the decline that our members principally place on regulatory reform over the ages," he said.
"What the study clearly identifies is it is time for economic regulatory reform that will lower on-going costs to all aspects of the general aviation sectors including providing regulatory services in a timely commercial manner. Like the FAA modernisation of their regulatory environment, this study economically supports the transfer of CASA engineering functions and responsibilities to industry entities.
"AMROBA’s only concern is that this study could be used by the public service to not make the economic reforms that are necessary to create a sustainable and safer general aviation industry that would also meet government expectations of jobs and growth."
Cannane did express disappointment that the study failed to identify what he considers the root cause of the GA downturn: the removal of independent flying instructors.
"When I was in the CAA, we knew in the mid 1990s that the removal of the (ANR) independent flight instructor in 1988 was the real reason for the decline in pilot training/numbers," he said.
"Until re-introduced, based on the FAR Part 61 model, private flying and flight training will continue to decline. Independents kept flying clubs and regional access to flying training.
"They were the heart of GA."
Greg Russell, Honorary Chairman of The Australian Aviation Associations Forum (TAAAF), said the study report not only reflected the reality for GA, but also highlighted the magnitude of the regulatory reform needed.
"What the report has done is recount a lot of what we already knew," he said. "Yes, the fleet's ageing and that's not getting any better, and there's has to be some strategies to help the industry start the process of rejuvenation.
"The issue of access to airports, and a myriad of things related to training and small private pilots out of some of these bigger airports. This has been an issue for some time.
"But for me one of the bigger conclusions relates to the safety regulator, and I think it just points again to the job that's ahead of CASA in terms of the reform program and its impact on the industry, and GA in particular."
Russell also said that a flagging GA sector has had a knock-on effect right across the entire aviation industry, which underlines the importance of GA
"We've looked in the past at various sectors of the aviation industry–the domestic, the regional and GA–and there's been a view that they are quite distinct sectors, when in fact they are a continuum, and an important continuum in the industry. A healthy GA is increasingly going to mean a healthy aviation industry right across the board."
When asked if the BITRE GA Study was the plan of action GA needed for recovery to begin, Russell was reserved in reply.
"There's a feeling of healthy scepticism still around the whole process," he said. "We'll study it further and consider the conclusions."
Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/lates...TfdRB39.99