[Peetwo]

Update: Thorny QON etc..etc..etc  

Which begs the question.....?

How much money did CAsA squander on CAO48.1?

Who squandered it?

Is the person who squandered it still employed by CAsA and in what capacity?

How much money was squandered on Consultants to decide 48.1 is a tin of worms?

Did the person who squandered money on CAO48.1 also have anything to do squandering money on the Part61 tin of worms?

How much money did CAsA squander on Part61?

When is the government going to accept money has been squandered by incompetent people, to produce industry killing regulations that harmonise with no-one;
and do not produce the stated aim of improving safety; nor managing risk other than reducing the number of hours flown by reducing the number of participants in the industry, forcing anything remotely innovative offshore; exporting Australia's maintenance offshore and moving whatever flying training into foreign owned monopolies; along with our airport infrastructure which benefits no-one least of all the punters who use those facilities?

Good QON you ask Thorny... However shouldn't we at least give Carmody a choccy frog? Because by default (with the release of the report) he is admitting (for once) that the CAO48.1 project was a waste of time, money and resources?

 Here is another rehash of the story, this time via the Oz:

Fatigue review’s wake-up call

12:00amANNABEL HEPWORTH

With longer and longer flights becoming more common, rules on pilot fatigue need upgrading.

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CASA told to revamp pilot fatigue rules

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has been told it could be more explicit on guidance for in-flight rest facilities for ultra-long-range flights amid the prospect of flights longer than 17 hours.

The independent review of the fatigue rules prepared for CASA notes the regulations don’t detail minimum standards for facilities such as bunks on ultra-long-range flights. Beyond the issue of the mega-long flights, the review recommends the adoption of flight duty period limits that are closer to international averages for the sector.

It also calls for a multi-tiered approach to fatigue risk management systems — which guide the design of rostering — with the most stringent requirements for commercial planes and cargo transport. This is aimed at ensuring that high compliance costs designed for large airliners are not imposed on less well-resourced operators.

The review, led by Melbourne-based consultancy Dedale Asia Pacific, also recommends revising or even doing away with the ­fatigue requirements for aerial agricultural operations. The development of the proposed new rules, reflected in CAO 48.1, were prompted by International Civil Aviation Organisation recommendations. It came after a series of accidents in which fatigue was considered to be a significant factor.

The Australian Airline Pilots Association has been critical of delays in the rules. But Regional Express recently warned that the changes to the fatigue rules had the potential to drive up operating costs .

CASA chairman Jeff Boyd said the review had confirmed the need to change from the old rules.

“The report provides a method to find an appropriate balance between fatigue risk and operational impact, and the board is seeking input from industry on potential implementation issues prior to finalising changes to the rules,” he said.

Also related to the Alphabets and from the Oz today :

Rural airstrips receive extra $7m


12:00amANNABEL HEPWORTH

Regional and remote airstrips are set to receive an extra $7m under measures being unveiled today by the federal government.

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Regional and remote airstrips receive extra $7m for upgrades

Regional and remote airstrips are set to receive a further $7 million in funding under measures the government will unveil today.

The Australian can reveal that Infrastructure and Transport Minister Michael McCormack will outline the 31 projects that will get money under the Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program, which funds work in isolated communities.

One of the biggest projects to receive funding will be for the up­grading of Camooweal airstrip in Queensland, which is used by Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft for the town’s weekly clinics and is the potential base for supplies and evacuation should there be a disaster in the region. The government’s $750,000 investment will be matched by funding from Mount Isa City Council.

Mr McCormack said remote towns and smaller communities “rely on good transport links to survive and thrive”.

“These airstrip upgrades will ensure continued access to essential, potentially lifesaving healthcare as well as fresh food, mail ser­vices and access to employment and education opportunities.”

Mr McCormack, who replaced Barnaby Joyce in the portfolio and as deputy prime minister last month, said he wanted to see the 31 projects under way “to make sure we deliver the infrastructure needed to boost local economies, support local needs and create more local jobs”.

The development comes as the Australian Airports Association has been pushing the government to beef-up the program.

The association has told Treasury the program should be ­extended for another four years in the May budget and should be ­allocated $15m a year.

The program was allocated $33.7m across four years in the 2015-16 budget.

Other projects that will receive announced funding today include Mapoon aerodrome upgrade in far north Queensland. That project will get $1.57m for works including clearing the airstrip, security fencing, a 250m runway extension and sealing the runway, taxiway and apron.

Also in Queensland, Quilpie will receive $210,000 in funding for pilot-activated lighting and an emergency power generator so the lighting can be operated in harsh weather.

Other work receiving finance includes the resealing and resurfacing of runways at Ivanhoe in NSW and runway resurfacing at Victoria’s Hopetoun.

&..

Virgin Australia’s advanced pilot cadets soon to take flight

Industry-wide efforts to ward off a looming pilot shortage have received another fillip with a group of Virgin Australia’s advanced pilot cadets to graduate today.

Members of the group, who completed a 22-week course at Flight Training Adelaide in South Australia, will take flying positions with Virgin on the ATR72 and Boeing 777 types.

Virgin group flight operations director Stuart Aggs said it was the first time in the history of the program that the advanced and ab initio cadetships had been done simultaneously. The ab initio cadets are due to graduate in November.

This, he said, was designed to widen opportunities for the cadetship program.

During the course, cadets had worked on aeroplane types including a Diamond DA40, Diamond DA42 Twinstar and Mudry CAP 10 aircraft.

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Qantas joins global hunt for pilots

Qantas Group has started a drive to recruit pilots amid a global scramble to secure pilots.

Amid expectations that hundreds of thousands of new pilots will be needed in the next two decades, Qantas says it is focused on building a long-term line-up for its airlines, which already employ 3500 pilots.

The move is the second external pilot recruitment campaign for Qantas in recent years.

Airlines within the Qantas Group have between them hired more than 600 new pilots in Australia since 2016, and want to recruit another 350 by the end of this year.

Airlines in the group, including QantasLink and Jetstar, are now taking applications, with roadshows due to be held across the country next month.

Qantas Group had started an internal recruitment drive for pilots wanting to move within the group before looking externally.

MTF...P2