[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 28 April 2023

28 April 2023

– Steve Hitchen

Air bp this week made some salient points about sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Firstly they pointed out that SAFs are a blend of sustainable kerosine (SK) and old-fashioned, but reliable, crude-based aviation fuel. Secondly, they have highlighted the challenges in finding reliable feedstock to make the SK portion. Securing commercial volumes of SAF has long been an issue for an industry keen to get going with a good turbine fuel replacement, and it appears that so far the science of SAF has streaked ahead of production capability. Aviation uses fuel in a volume that the average person in the street would just be unable to comprehend without plunging into bewilderment, and those volumes present a serious challenge to the SAF industry. Material has to be grown, and that takes time; manufacturers don't have the luxury of drawing on a bulk supply of raw material that has been accumulating over millions of years like the petro-chemical industry does. What we are learning is that ambition and capability often have a large gulf between them, and that fuel companies and their R&D departments can bridge the gap only when they find the right material to work with. The good news is that they are on the case.

"..there is improvement, but it's not enough and progress is too slow..."

CASA's Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey is well underway, and regardless of the results, is bound to produce more controversy. The surveys are sent to select people (point of controversy #1) and the statistics mashed through a methodology to produce a picture of what the industry thinks of CASA. The problem is that no matter what the result, many in the GA community will cry "rigged" if the outcome is anything but a serious slap for the regulator (point of controversy #2). The whole idea is often lost on some advocates. Alone, the results of the survey aren't really worth a lot no matter how many people are allowed to participate. It's only when the results are compared to previous surveys that a picture of progess starts to appear. For that to have any integrity, the same number and type of respondent needs to remain a constant. Without a constant, you can't measure anything. So far, the results of the satisfaction survey reflect the reality of the experience in dealing with CASA: there is improvement, but it's not enough and progress is too slow. The results of the 2020 survey (delayed after AOPA released the link to all and sundry – point of controversy #3) showed that 54% of respondents were satisfied with CASA to some degree: about half. For a regulator, that's not good enough. CASA will be hoping for a leap in that measure this year, and they might get it depending on two things: how the performance of DAS Pip Spence is gauged, and the impacts of the GA Workplan. Either way, when the results are made known later this year, get ready for more controversy.

Flight Design's C4 four-seat project was one of the most exciting announcements of 2011, but it has gone virtually nowhere for the last dozen years. First, it was delayed due to a re-write of FAR23, then Flight Design went into and out of administration. Now, it's finally back on track, re-badged as the F4. And it's still exciting! A four-seater that will squirt along at 145 KTAS, but won't cost the earth to buy, the F4 will step into the market behind a Rotax 916 engine. The original C4 prototype flew with a Continental IO-360, but the choice of the new Rotax is a logical one that may just be a winning point of difference in the eyes of buyers. The composite airframe and avionics are all state-of-the-art technology, so its only logical that the engine should be also. I agree, the 916 has yet to prove itself in practice, but then neither has the GE Catalyst engine and Textron has backed that for the Denali SETP. I have expressed my doubts about the performance of the 916 over the 915 engine, but am keen to see what Flight Design can make it do when the prototype F4 flies later this year. Then we'll know a lot more about both the airframe and the engine.

Australian Flying's latest issue, May-June 2023, is now on the newsagent shelves and is one of the most diverse aviation publications you'll find. It contains an M350 flight test, SBAS technology, maintenance, aero clubs and a bit of history. It is also the debut issue for Jim Davis' new column Right Seat Rules, which concentrates on the skill and science of being a good flying instructor, and also what students have the right to expect. If you haven't got your copy yet, place it at the top of your to-do list right now.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

Sandy's response to this week's LMH and that WOFTAM CASA survey?? - 

Via the AP emails:

Hitch has pointed to a number of the obvious concerns about CASA's Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey. This worn out idea is a waste of time and money as shown by the previous survey which tried to say that there was some half satisfaction by some half of the respondents.

Clearly there’s no real real effort to allow General Aviation (GA) its rightful place as an ordinary free enterprise industry contributing to our prosperity and security. One only has to go back to the hopeful days of the Forsyth Report in 2014 where some 35 recommendations were adopted by Government but never carried through by CASA. That review garnered 269 submissions from an excellent cross section of the GA community including submissions from most of the various aviation associations. The next call for submissions came from Senator McDonald’s Parliamentary committee which decided to delve into the woes of GA, an inquiry to take two years which fizzled out with practically no result at the last change of government. This one garnered only around 70 submissions. One could reasonably ask why bother with any surveys from any government source when experience shows that there will be no real progress until Parliament resumes responsibility and a Minister is persuaded to act.

Unfortunately the current dysfunctional, costly and extremely restrictive criminal sanction rules have been in place for so long there aren’t many left in the GA community who understand how much has been lost, and there’s many more who prefer to stay ‘under the radar’ for fear of running foul of the CASA police. It’s sad what’s happened, CASA’s surveys serve no purpose except to make work and look concerned.

If this was not true you would have the weight increase to 760 Kg in the low weight Recreational category, medical certification reform and individual instructors teaching flying. The latter without the complexities and expenses of the Air Operators Certificate, and all these measures should have been in place years ago.
    

MTF...P2 

[Kharon]

Dead horses and the flogging thereof..

Sandy - “One only has to go back to the hopeful days of the Forsyth Report in 2014 where some 35 recommendations were adopted by Government but never carried through by CASA.”

Don't know how much 'true belief' there was back in 2014; even the 'hope' was akin to an aircrew going down on a 'wing and a prayer'. The last whispered words of a rapidly diminishing industry. The Rev Forsyth and the Senators did their jobs, very well indeed; but: my Tote ledger showed – clearly – that those who backed the real end result were spot on.

Sandy - “That review garnered 269 submissions from an excellent cross section of the GA community including submissions from most of the various aviation associations.” The next call for submissions came from Senator McDonald’s Parliamentary committee which decided to delve into the woes of GA, an inquiry to take two years which fizzled out with practically no result at the last change of government.”

McDonald was always on a 'hiding to nothing' – bet 20 to win one – for the new government to carry the inquiry further; 50/1 odds on it was never heard of again in any meaningful way; once again, history and my tote proved the pudding. There is also a significant, well documented history of Australian aviation administration agreeing to 'do something' after inquiry and international heavy weight conference. The record clearly and unequivocally shows 'agreement' – 'lip service' – then a swift visit to the shredder for the actual proposal while the actual intent is quietly buried alongside other 'great ideas'. The rest of the world march on, from strength to strength under gold standard regulation and sane management – while Australia remains firmly stuck in the same old mud.

The chances of the current parliamentary crowd actually doing 'anything' are in the remote possibility realms of 'odds on'. Even the statistics on the humble forum clearly define the complete lack of meaningful interest. Take a journey back to last Estimates or even check the difference between the Lacking 'reads' and the Chester or McCormack numbers. King is virtually an invisible, silent spectre at the banquet, relying on the three 'Useful Idiots' to keep the lid on the mess.

One has to admire the tenacity, determination and hope of the Australian industry. Whether or not meaningful change, in any format, will happen under the incumbent government is IMO a forlorn hope. The mandarins won't blink unless the minister nods; the CEO's will continue to wallow in clover unless the mandarins get weaving; and, those at the coal face will simply toddle along behind the (ahem) 'leadership' acting as directed and in full rice bowl protection mode.

“Ample evidence M'lud; unimpeachable fact; demonstrable decline, rule of law decimated – and yet this evidence is to be disallowed and dismissed? How is that democratic? How can a government be disconnected from and so completely disinterested in an essential revenue generating industry, with a clear conscience, and remove all hope of essential reform ?”

Toot – toot.  (E&OE) tempus and temper fugit.

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 5 May 2023

5 May 2023

– Steve Hitchen

CASA's move to centralise regulatory functions and do away with certification teams was greeted with great spirit. It showed that CASA recognised there was a problem with inconsistent advice that the aviation community just couldn't work with, and this was a decent solution. This week, CASA performed a partial about-face and will send some regulatory functions back to the regional offices. According to Pip Spence, they've found some things are better served by people who know the local industry. The central office will still deal with most admin stuff, but complex issues of oversight and surveillance are back in the hands of the regions. Is anyone surprised by this? The national oversight model was excellent on paper, but in the real world the industry struggled to get answers because centralising the system resulted in centralising the overload. Not even the local CASA offices could get through. Something had to give. But the problems of inconsistency are most critical around the functions that have been dispensed back to the regional offices. Surveillance and operational issues have the greatest impact on AOC holders. In the past, that inconsistency has seen operators sent to the wall for no good reason. The challenge for CASA now is to devise a mechanism to ensure inconsistency in advice doesn't once again thrive.

"..that's a sentiment that I endorse with waving banners.."

AOPA Australia and SkyFuel/Viva Energy have embarked on a very ambitious project: a trans-Australia air race reflecting the 1976 Australian Air Race. That event was a classic that captured the nation to the extent that the start at Jandakot was televised. It was a shot in the arm for general aviation in the form of exposure to the Australian public. Reviving the concept for next year is an absolute blinder, but no-one should go into this thinking it's going to be easy. AOPA CEO Ben Morgan has made it clear that this is all about wanting to be involved in something fun rather than the dry, hard slog of advocacy, and that's a sentiment that I endorse with waving banners. AOPA has been focused on advocacy to the point of neglecting the other stuff a pilots' association needs to be. Advocacy is good, but the membership figures have been on the decline, because, I suspect, the reasons people sign-up are the very things the association has let slip. Aviation has a fun side; it's the reason most pilots actually get into the game, and AOPA Australia is showing an awareness of this and a desire to get involved. Hopefully for all those that are putting in the hard yards to get this off the ground, the general aviation community will embrace the adventurous spirit in which the 2024 air race has been conceived. Is it a crazy and outrageous idea? Yes! The best ideas almost always are.

Airservices Australia has released a draft Community Consultation Standards document, aimed at getting feedback about the way Airservices consults with the general public and aviation community. It covers mainly flight path and airspace change proposals, both of which have courted controversy in the past. Airservices consultation has become combative several times in the past, largely because of a perception of undue influence exerted by the airlines, usually to the detriment of general aviation. The big one is yet to be sorted out: the airspace design around Western Sydney (Lady-Bird Walton) International Airport. It has been decades since change of this magnitude has been forced on the aviation community, and there are so many stakeholders putting pegs in the ground that the airspace design could very well come out looking like a camel rather than a horse. The impact on both Bankstown and Camden has the potential to strangle GA operations at both those airports, especially if the voice of GA is not powerful enough to carry through the cacophany. Regardless of the best intent of this Community Consultations Standards document, it will be interesting to see how much it is adhered to when the final airspace design comes out.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

---

I note that Hitch has finally published Sandy's reply post to last week's LMH: see HERE

I also note that Mike Borgelt has spotted a CASAsexual has made comment in reply to Sandy on the Flying Oz article.. "CASA to introduce Part 66 Licences based on Exclusions"

Mike Borgelt7 days ago

I see that a CASA employee or a member of the "govern me harder, daddy" faction has joined the discussion.\

Charles, Sandy has *all* the runs on the board when it comes to GA.

CASA's public consultation is mere window dressing before CASA does what was already decided by it. The last Part 149 public meeting was held in the Sydney CBD at around 9 am which clearly makes it difficult to get to.

Further " let alone compensation for the the CASA smashing of Glen Buckley’s perfectly working flying school umbrella business."

Strange that, as the umbrella concept is what CASA insists upon for sport aviation. See GFA. A bunch of gliding clubs doing flight training under the GFA umbrella.

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Albo extends ADSB rebate program! -   

Via Oz Flying:

Federal Government extends ADS-B Rebate Program

16 May 2023



The Federal Government has extended the ADS-B rebate program by another 12 months as avionics shortages threatened to de-rail the scheme.

The subsidy program, designed to encourage ADS-B fitment to VFR aircraft, was due to end on 31 May this year, but has now been extended through to 31 May 2024.

Around $740,000 has already been provided under the program as of 30 April, supporting instalment of ADS-B systems in 635 aircraft.

"We’re grateful that the Australian government has continued to support this very important program that invests in airspace safety," said RAAus CEO Matt Bouttell in a commuique to members.

“Many of our members that own aircraft have already taken advantage of this program; however, with the continued shortage of available equipment along with a lack of qualified engineers to install the equipment, it really was necessary to extend the program for another 12 months to maximise its benefits.”

The subsidy program is open to owners of GA or recreational VFR aircraft to fit either panel-mounted ADS-B equipment or electronic conspicuity (EC) devices such as SkyEcho II. The scheme will rebate up to 50% of fitment cost up to $5000.

Key equipment such as the Garmin GTX335 remain difficult to source in Australia because of high demand in the USA.
Aircraft owners wanting to claim a rebate need to provide proof of installation and the equipment value.

More information is on the Federal Government's business website.

 
MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 16 June 2023

16 June 2023

– Steve Hitchen

LMH returns this week after a short lay-off. Since mid May, the website and newsletter have been in the custody of Kreisha Ballantyne, who did a sterling job of keeping us all up-to-date with the latest news from the world of general aviation. Thanks, Kreisha; you did a great job.

And now, straight back into it.

"..demanding medicals for CTA has been reduced to the status of a shibboleth.."

I am eagerly awaiting the next round of consultation documents on Part 67 (medicals). CASA has been promising what they have labeled Class 5, which is effectively a self-declared standard similar to that employed by RAAus. That means PPLs no longer need to go to DAMEs for a medical check every two or five years. But like everything aviation, it's not that simple. CASA has a bit of a perplexing issue to sort: access to CTA. A medical certificate of at least Class 2 has long been required for pilots to access controlled airspace, which is the main reason why Recreational Pilot Certificate (RPC) holders aren't permitted into CTA without obtaining an exemption ... that and the fact they've never been trained. RAAus is now pushing hard for its members to be allowed in CTA, without medicals, and they're pretty darned confident they'll get it. So will that privilege also be extended to PPLs who hold only the forth-coming Class 5? In the UK they have the Pilot Declared Medical (PMD) and in the USA BasicMed. Neither of these standards prevent holders from flying in CTA, and with the FAA recently issuing a report saying that BasicMed has had no impact on accident risks, it would seem that demanding medicals for CTA has been reduced to the status of a shibboleth. But that's my thinking, not CASA's. For that we will need to tap our toes for a bit longer until the Part 67 consultation papers arrive.

There seems to be much ado about something up in the Torres Strait, but bent facts are getting in the way of finding out exactly what that is. Here's what we know. CASA has stopped Skytrans from operating their RPT C208s into some island airstrips because runway safety factors can't be met. Senator Susan McDonald has asked in the chamber why CASA has closed the airports when those island communities desperately need the services. Some take-aways: this applies only to Cessna Caravans, not other types, and it applies only to RPT operations, not charter and not private ops. There are no "airport closures" as the aviation community understands that. It is also apparent that even Caravans can operate RPT into the impacted airports, just not at landing weights that make the service economically viable. CASA has dug in their heels and stated they won't compromise on the safety factors, but are working with Skytrans to see what can be done to restore the Caravan services. So am I wrong in saying this is not an airport issue, but rather an aeroplane issue? Cessna didn't design the Caravan as a specialist STOL aircraft, and at max weight has a reputation as being a bit of a runway hog. Other aircraft such as C206s and BN-2 Islanders can and do use those airports with aplomb, but the economics don't always stack up against C208 ops. I reckon what's needed is a turbine that is smaller and more economical to run than a Caravan, but will haul more than a C206. Where have I heard that before? Ah, yes, the GippsAero GA10. Except that it was nobbled badly by Mahindra, this machine would have been an ideal candidate for short haul RPT where runway safety factors are an issue. Alas, there is no GA10 (at the moment), so another solution will need to be crafted.

Aviation can take you to all sorts of remote places that can put you well out of reach of civilisation. But that doesn't mean you have to be out of touch. With a satellite communicator like Garmin's InReach Mini 2 you don't have to be out there on your own no matter where you find yourself. The best way to get your hands on one of those is via the May-June 2023 FlightStore competition. Australian Flying and FlightStore are giving away an InReach Mini 2 to one lucky reader. To enter this competition, all you need to do is fill out your contact details and answer one very easy question and an InReach Mini 2 could be yours. We're taking entries until 11:59 on 30 June, so there's time for you yet! Enter via the Australian Flying website.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 23 June 2023

23 June 2023

– Steve Hitchen

A home-grown sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry is very important to the future of aviation in Australia, so you have to hand some flowers to the federal government for announcing a grant program and for establishing the Australian Jet Zero Council to get things moving along. SAF production takes space and sunshine to grow feedstocks such as canola, which are two of Australia's greatest natural assets. We should be able to leverage that to ensure a reliable, economic supply of SAF for ourselves rather than rely on importing from an international market that is having trouble keeping up with its own demand. But keep in mind SAF is not a stand-alone answer; it is likely to form a blend with traditional fossil fuels as the jet fuel of the future. That means Jet-A1 is not dead yet and will be around for some time for engines not approved for SAF. How all that is going to work, plus other net-zero initiatives, are now the domain of the Jet Zero Council. This is a collective of the major players in the aviation industry designed to guide aviation into its future. They have a critical job to do, so let's hope they can work well together and not in the fractured way that so many aviation panels have done in the past.

"..we want regulation based on clear and present risk in all cases.."

Problems can sometimes arise not with what was said, but in the way it was said. This week AOPA CEO Ben Morgan had a confrontation with CASA Principal Medical Officer Kate Manderson over standards for self-declared medicals. CASA is asking for an arbitrary MTOW limit to be set for the Class 5 medical, but Morgan stated that limits needed to be evidence- and risk-based. Things got heated and, according to Morgan, he told Manderson to "shove her technical working group". Regardless of whether or not an arbitrary limit is the way to go, this sort of approach to advocacy shows a deep level of frustration within Morgan, but it's doubtful that comments like this are consistent with the way pilots would like to be represented. A bridge the size of Westgate has been burnt here, meaning AOPA is currently on the advocacy outer, which may flow on to other working groups outside of CASA as well. Now that's has been said, was Ben Morgan right? Setting arbitrary limits without evidence of the risk is not the way the industry wants their regulator to operate; we want regulation based on clear and present risk in all cases. But in this case, and MTOW limit of, say, 2000 kg may be the only way we can move forward. CASA is a risk-averse organisation with strong political undertones, so for them the best way forward would be to change nothing. An arbitrary MTOW might very well be the easy way out, but it could be that the hard way out is never going to fly with CASA management. A good plan might be to set a reasonable arbitrary limit now, then spend a couple of years collecting data that justifies the removal of that limit later on. There is some support that this method works when you look at the RAAus MTOW limit and the stall speed limit for ASAOs. This issue has been going on for far too long, and now it's time to get it done, easy way or hard way.

Piaggio Aerospace administrators this week announced they were fielding 18 new suitors to buy the company. In January last year they rejected a short list of five and elected to go back to the market. In the meantime there have been significant new orders that will be very attractive to prospective new owners. Contrast that with Australia's GippsAero, which also has companies queuing before Mahindra with open cheque books, but no sale appears even close despite the Indian parent expressing a wish to get out. Why? Because there are no big Piaggio-style orders to boost the value of the company to a level Mahindra wants to fetch for it. And that's not a reflection on the company or the aircraft, but rather Mahindra's foolish decision to close the order books. None of this is news, but we are now nearly two years downrange of production ceasing, and you have to wonder how much longer Mahindra is going to cling to a company that is no longer part of their core business simply  because pride dictates. Surely something has to give soon.

July-August Australian Flying is latest issue to hit the streets and add to your collection. This time we've presented two new aeroplanes in the Tecnam P-Mentor and Pipistrel  Alpha Electro II. We've also examined wind shear, aviation's best books, biplanes and presented an interview with up-coming air show ace Jett Bennett. If you aren't one step ahead of us and already have it, get to your newsagent and grab a copy soonest.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 30 June 2023

30 June 2023

– Steve Hitchen

Electrical aviation has taken a couple of blows in the last month with Tecnam dry-docking their P-VOLT program and NASA canceling the X-57 Maxwell. With manufacturers around the world pulling out their Gold Trim Sheaffers to sign net-zero agreements, the industry really has been banking on electricity to help them stamp out carbon emissions by 2050. Whilst companies like Eviation and ZeroAvia are nose-down in electrical powertrain development, the admission from Tecnam that the economics of the current technology don't stack up is telling. It's one thing to develop something magical; it's another to make it marketable and practical. NASA worked with the P2006-based X-57 for seven years, and never got the aircraft airborne despite all the money they threw at it. It was a radical design to start with–14 electrical motors in the leading edge of the wing–but even though it's been scrubbed, the project team learnt a swag of stuff that can be passed onto the industry. What this all demonstrates is that the gulf between affordable, practical electric aviation and the state of development is probably wider than we thought it was.


"..the system failed to raise a red flag at a crucial time.."


The ATSB looks like it has been down a rabbit hole the size of the Grand Canyon in its efforts to find out why a DFO was built so close to a runway at Essendon. After five years of investigation and compiling a 146-page report, the ATSB has laid out all its findings, but tellingly has made no recommendations. Here's my summary as I see it. The DFO was built so close to runway 26 because CASA told them the OLS could be based on a 180-m wide runway strip, as was the width of the runway that had been published for a number of years. However, no-one can remember why the runway width was ever set at 180 m and no records can be found. Had the required 300-m width been enforced at that time, the DFO would have had to have been set back further, unless an exemption was granted. What all this tells me is that somehow, some way, the system failed to raise a red flag at a crucial time in the approval process. The runway width is still set at 180 m despite it being less than standards required because of the grandfathering provisions of Part 139. It's important to note that this grandfathering happened during the course of this investigation, and now shores up the legitimacy of the runway width. Despite sifting through the minutiae of Australian and international airport standards, the ATSB has been unable to flag any changes that could prevent such a thing happening again. And you can be assured that sometime in the future, one of the operators of the Commonwealth leased airports will want to build something closer to a runway than the standards allow. At that time, we will see if any lessons have been learned from the Essendon DFO.

Aviation advocates are fond of using the phrase "a race to the bottom" when talking about the current state of GA. Sometimes it's justified; other times it seems like a tool of emotional expression. However, when it is applied to the instructor crisis it is both appropriate and accurate. Australia is running out of flying instructors because we're running out of people to teach the new ones. Instructors beget instructors. Where the race to the bottom analogy comes into it is that GA is in the position where no potential solution is on the horizon and, even if the problem was taken seriously right now, it's unlikely to be implemented before the instructor pool dries up completely and we start importing. Critically, although there is recognition in the industry, no-one seems to know how to react to the alarm bells. What is the solution? Do we set-up an academy especially to train instructors? There's a lot of support for that, but it doesn't resolve the issue that instructing as a career is not very appealing when you consider the disconnect between pay rates and HECS debts. Clearly the solution, when it does emerge from hiding, will be something radical and imperfect, but even that is better than no solution at all.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 7 July 2023

7 July 2023

– Steve Hitchen

CASA's Robinson helicopter report has shown that, by-and-large, there is not much to report. There is no growing trend in accident/incidents with either R22s or R44s and the occurrence rate is proportional to the number of those types on the Australian register. Everybody back in your seats; there's nothing exciting happening. And that has me thinking. What triggered CASA to commission this report? It can only have been a suspicion that an adverse trend was developing, and given that suspicious minds are curious ones, a statistical study was the logical next step. Trends are indicators that something is changing, but when you look at all the causes of the occurrences, most of them are pilot-related rather than mechanical failures, which means the only trends that could have developed are poor airmanship or unreasonable pressures. These are human factors that aren't typically related to the brand of aircraft, so, having ascertained that there are no increasing trends with anything that comes in a Robinson box, perhaps the next report should look at all makes. And then start on fixed-wings.

"..The lack of accidents sort of hints at a nebulous risk to safety.."

RPT services to Mabuiag and Darnley Islands in the Torres Strait have been restored after Skytrans proved that their C208s could operate safety there after all. That should please Senator Susan McDonald, who went off like the Long Room at Lord's when CASA dug in their heels and refused to compromise over landing safety factors. I said back on 16 June that I thought this issue was more related to the aeroplane and making it work with economical loads than it was to the runway lengths. Skytrans proved the point with demonstration flights that, my cynicism drives me to say, were probably very similar to the flights Skytrans had been doing that CASA suspended. The proof had always been there in the many safe flights that had been conducted that way over the years. The lack of accidents sort of hints at a nebulous risk to safety, so is there scope in the future for passenger flights to continue whilst the concept is proven? CASA's own language talks about "validating" and Skytrans' "long safety record", which is not the tone you tend to use if you think aeroplanes are going to start bombing off the end of runways. CASA took a "no compromise" approach, which is what regulators tend to do–their regulations are their rules of existence–but when a community relies on a service, perhaps an injection of flexibility is not out of place.

This week the 2023 CASA Wings Awards opened for nominations. Every year these awards get more and more submissions, and recognising worthy winners is one of the most rewarding things we do. It becomes obvious when we tell the winners that these awards are valued by the aviation community; most react with a touch of satisfaction and several have displayed a decent level of disbelief. With the Col Pay Award in particular, we find that although the GA community has many people whose passion and dedication drives the industry, they are shy in coming forward themselves. That's where others come into the equation. Just about everyone in GA will know someone who deserves a Col Pay, or even Flying Instructor of the Year, but they rarely come forward themselves. It is up to another to put forward their name in the form of a nomination. We're keeping the collector open until 5 November, so you've got plenty of time to work on your submission. Keep in mind the criteria (on the Australian Flying website) and try to answer each question as completely as you can. Make sure your nominee is in with a good chance.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 14 July 2023

14 July 2023

If you want to get your point across to Airservices Australia about the back-up navaid network, you'd best get your skates on because consultation closes on Sunday midnight. This is a post-implementation review after CASA mandated GNSS as the primary source of IFR navigation in 2016, leading to a wide-spread deletion of NDBs, VORs and DMEs. The back-up network is there in case the US government ever pulls the plug on the GPS signal and we have to go back to stone-age IFR nav. That's a very unlikely scenario, provided we don't cheese-off the Americans by beating them in the pool at the 2024 Paris Olympics. A more likely situation, given the current world political environment, is that some nefarious power interferes with the signal and renders it useless. Should that happen, aviation will need to activate navigation Plan B pronto; hence, the back-up network. There is one other good reason for maintaining ground-based navaids: taking out the GPS signal will also kill the ADS-B, so the Australian Defence Force will need a method of navigation in order to respond to the threat given that ATC won't be able to help them en route. Whilst acknowledging the cost of maintaining the infrastructure, the back-up network will be a cheap out if it is ever really needed. The question of what type, where and how many is still a point of vigorous debate in the aviation community.

"..That leaves stakeholders stuck between a mushroom and a dark place.."

The process surrounding the Moorabbin Airport master plan is starting to smell similar to a 10-day old trout. Since then minister Barnaby Joyce rejected the first one in March 2022, stakeholders at the airport have been on tenterhooks over their future. A revised plan was sent to current minister Catherine King in March, but she called for more information resulting in Moorabbin Airport Corporation (MAC) withdrawing what is now called the fresh draft master plan (FDMP) and submitting a new one. But is seems only MAC and King know what's in it. MAC has said they won't be making the FDMP public until the minister approves it. That leaves stakeholders stuck between a mushroom and a dark place. Ironically, one of the reasons Barnaby Joyce originally rejected the plan was because stakeholder feedback had not been adequately considered. Now, those very stakeholders are wondering why they can't see the plan. You can't blame them for wondering what it is that MAC doesn't want them to know until after Catherine King has put her official seal on it. Why has MAC been allowed to submit an FDMP (the use of the word "fresh" implies something new) without the public and stakeholders being allowed to comment on it? Surely there is some yawning breach of procedural fairness going on that relegates the concept of transparency to the backbench. Or ... what if the FDMP contains something commercial-in-confidence? That has not been a feature of past master plans, so it's fair to assume that anything confidential is an extraordinary inclusion. Yes, that's pure speculation, but without knowing the exact contents of the plan, that's all stakeholders have left to do.

When recreational aviation was formalised in 1983, there was a very strong feeling within the aviation community that it should stick to operating from paddocks. After all, it wasn't real aviation and therefore shouldn't be in the same sky as real aviators. I could probably find a few people that still feel that way. But the two-stroke, rag-and-tube philosophy has changed in the 40 years since, and now a recreational aircraft can be more sophisticated than any "real" aeroplane and out-perform a few of them as well. The amateur Australian Ultralight Federation (AUF) has become the professional Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus), which it needed to do if CASA was going to place the amount of trust in them that they have. They are well and truly out of the paddocks and striding the halls of Canberra. That doesn't sit well with some in the GA community who argue that CASA shouldn't be farming out responsibility for any aviation sector to third parties. As each year grows, those voices are becoming fewer and weaker as RAAus increases in integrity with CASA handing over increased administration rights and capabilities. In September, RAAus is marking their 40th birthday with a gala dinner at the Australian War Memorial, and they have a lot to celebrate, with more to come, I expect, before the year is out.


May your gauges always be in the green,


Hitch

Comment in reply from Sandy...  

Editor Steve Hitchen is right to highlight and congratulate the RAAUS for forty years of helping Aussie aviators stay in the air. I for one will support anyone flying anything from a kite to an Antonov Mirya but I don’t agree that the RAAUS model is the correct way to regulate a section of General Aviation (GA). 
 
By splitting us CASA has effectively rid itself of some thousands of otherwise pesky private flyers, a divide and conquer ploy that’s been quite successful from its point of view. 
 
The truth is that GA has suffered from not having a smooth step by step pathway from the very light aircraft to the heavy iron. 
 
The very notion of creating an easier system and inducing people into very small aircraft built to an artificial weight limit, instead of built to a purpose, has created the poor situation where nearly all RAAUS aircraft are crowded up to the unreasonable weight limit of 600kg. Would you drive over a bridge that had to be built down to a specific low weight of construction or would you choose the one engineered irrespective of the weight of construction to take all vehicles? 
 
Truth is that often the maximum all up 600kg aircraft are being used for missions that heavier aircraft would perform more efficiently and usefully. Heavier aircraft are particularly more suited to travel flights for range, carrying ability and handling in Australia’s often windy conditions.  
 
Hence the almost completed move to 760kg., which only begs the question why not a higher weight to allow four seat aircraft? The more increase to higher weight reminds of that famous quote about the higher doth the ape climb the more he doth show his backside. 
 
Government should regulate for the good of the whole community, it should not create monopoly companies that may over time become self interested, human nature at play, see independent regulator CASA itself, no longer in a Department of Government, as an example. See its disastrous effects on what used to be a buzzing GA industry. 
 
This is not to decry the efforts of  RAAUS and well done in the environment that Parliament has decreed, and for many pilots not having to deal with CASA’s arcane medical certification process RAAUS is a welcome alternative, albeit as it is restrictive in terms of aircraft size and ability. 

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 21 July 2023

21 July 2023

– Steve Hitchen

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King last week issued CASA with her list of expectations for the next two years. The Statement of Expectations is a legislative document that CASA is obliged to comply with; anything in there is not negotiable; most of the negotiating would have been done before the first draft. If you thumb through it, you'll develop the impression–as I did–that this minister expects similar things of CASA that the previous minister did ... right down to the Key Initiatives, which I would argue can't be initiatives at all if they were initiated previously. You can only initiate something once. There are some minor differences in language and the occasional new expectation that weren't in the 2022 SoE, but largely it's the same. Except for one stand-out: the requirement for CASA to co-operate with the white paper process. That was to be expected; the white paper is concreted into ALP policy and all agencies–Airservices and the ATSB included–will be required to contribute as experts in the aviation field. Whether or not the white paper reflects any of that expertise when it is published can't be answered yet. The same goes for the experts within the aviation community. The last white paper ignored the expert input to the extent that the white paper and the preceding green paper were totally unrelated to each other. It's one thing to expect co-operation, but when it comes your way you really are obliged to take note of it.

"..It comes after 20 years of proof that the LSA category is safe.."

Aviation people who understand what the MOSAIC project means are very excited right now. They know that this could be the watershed moment that propels general aviation in Australia into a prosperous future. MOSAIC is the FAA's program to redefine Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) to take advantage of technology developed over the past 20 years. It paints a picture of new aircraft build to fly at 1360 kg with retractable gear and turbine engines that don't need to be type-certified. This is a complete removal of the onerous and costly requirements for type certification under FAR Part 23. It comes after 20 years of proof that the LSA category is safe and efficient. MOSAIC unlocks a lot of potential, but it is very easy for people to misunderstand. Firstly, it doesn't mean that your LSA can suddenly be flown at 1360 kg; the factory limitations will still apply. Secondly, it doesn't mean that you can re-register your Piper Warrior as an LSA just because you want to. It is still a type-certified aeroplane. Thirdly, it doesn't mean that RAAus automatically gets an MTOW increase to 1360 kg. Under the ASAO rules, RAAus will still be limited to 760 kg. For RAAus to take advantage of the new LSA definition, CASA has to be happy to increase their upper MTOW limit again. That may never happen. An LSA can be registered with CASA as well, so we could find ourselves in a situation where LSAs over 760 kg may need to be on the VH register and not with RAAus. That could all change a few years downrange from now, which is the most exciting bit about all this: the potential for revolution within GA that we haven't seen in 40 years.

The Federal Government has been meeting with the UK over the Jet Zero Council, an idea that mimics something similar set up in the UK three years ago. Given that, and the net-zero ambitions for 2050, it's no surprise that both countries have shared ambitions. However, I see a bigger one here: the UK could become a very good customer of ours if we come up with a desirable product. Key to net zero is the widespread adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and for that you also need the widespread manufacture of SAF. The world's inability to produce SAF in serious volumes is holding back the industry, but it's a problem for which Australia could be a potential solution. SAF manufacture relies on space and sun, two things the UK is not flush with that we have on our side. If the Australian government's Jet Zero Council and $30 million investment in a local  industry are successful, Australia could be a major supplier of SAF to the UK. I'd almost bet the idea was bought up at those meetings, even if only fleetingly.

Are you onboard with our July-August Flightstore competition? This time we're giving away a David Clark H10-60H premium helicopter headset. All you need to do is sign-up for the Australian Flying newsletter and you're in the running to win, thanks to Flightstore.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

Sandy comment in reply to LMH on SOE! - 

Via Oz Flying: 

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King last week issued CASA with a new Statement of Expectations (SoE).

The SoE will ensure CASA understands what the minister expects of them for the next two years. They are legislative documents that the regulator must abide by.

"From licensing pilots and registering aircraft, to overseeing aviation safety and awareness, CASA help ensure we share the skies safely – whether for travel, freight or recreation," Minister King said.

"Ensuring aviation safety remains the highest priority is strongly reflected in the new statement, which also outlines expectations surrounding transparency, engaging stakeholders and communities, and supporting the delivery of 18 important initiatives."

The 18 initiatives laid out in the SoE are:

• release public exposure drafts of regulations before submitting them to the minister for signing
  
• present a forward regulatory program each year
  
• consider the impact of regulation on the aviation community and regions
  
• work with Airservices and Defence to develop OneSKY
  
• support the new flight information system for uncrewed aerial vehicles
  
• provide oversight for major aerodrome projects
  
• provide sufficient resources to Western Sydney Airport, noting the opening target of late 2026
  
• work with the department and Airservices on modernising airspace management
  
• work with Geoscience Australia and Airservices on implementing SBAS
  
• work with the Australian Space Agency to advance space policy and industries
  
• work with government agencies on long-term funding models, whilst minimising regulatory cost
  
• work with the department on mutual recognition of Australian designs, innovation and certification internationally, and the automatic recognition of licences and approvals
  
• identify ways to promote flight instruction in regions and as an export industry
  
• support the department in preparing the Federal Government's Aviation White Paper
  
• allocate sufficient resources to the Industry Complaints Commissioner and consider all findings and recommendations
  
• conduct regular surveillance activities as defined in the Civil Aviation Act.
  

"These aviation safety-bolstering initiatives include measures to modernise airspace management, implement satellite-based augmentation systems in the aviation environment, share safety information, and advance Australia’s space policies and industries," Minister King said.

The SoE also requires CASA to exercise good corporate governance and to collaborate and consult with the aviation community, the department and other agencies such as the ATSB.

The full 2023 Statement of Expectations can be downloaded from the Federal Register of Legislation.

Plus from last week's LMH:

"...Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King last week issued CASA with her list of expectations for the next two years. The Statement of Expectations is a legislative document that CASA is obliged to comply with; anything in there is not negotiable; most of the negotiating would have been done before the first draft. If you thumb through it, you'll develop the impression–as I did–that this minister expects similar things of CASA that the previous minister did ... right down to the Key Initiatives, which I would argue can't be initiatives at all if they were initiated previously. You can only initiate something once. There are some minor differences in language and the occasional new expectation that weren't in the 2022 SoE, but largely it's the same. Except for one stand-out: the requirement for CASA to co-operate with the white paper process. That was to be expected; the white paper is concreted into ALP policy and all agencies–Airservices and the ATSB included–will be required to contribute as experts in the aviation field. Whether or not the white paper reflects any of that expertise when it is published can't be answered yet. The same goes for the experts within the aviation community. The last white paper ignored the expert input to the extent that the white paper and the preceding green paper were totally unrelated to each other. It's one thing to expect co-operation, but when it comes your way you really are obliged to take note of it...."

Sandy's reply to LMH:

"..Mention is made that CASA is obliged to adhere to the Minister’s Statement of Expectations because it is an instrument of legislation. Unfortunately there are no sanctions for non compliance. We’ve seen, over and over for years, how Aviation House can drag out the implementation of obviously worthwhile reform measures, medical certification a case in point. 

Having being goaded into following the USA’s highly successful BasicMed certification for private pilots CASA came up with its overly restrictive Basic Class 2 ‘reform.’ This reform was touted to answer our legitimate calls to lower costs and unnecessary visits to health professionals and allow more pilots to keep flying. Our Basic C2 is supposed to be based on the heavy commercial vehicle drivers licence standard, but does not allow a ‘conditional’ approval. This means that, as one private pilot explained, he could drive a tanker full of avgas with his ‘conditional’ driver medical through any city of Australia, but this wouldn’t allow flying his private aircraft. 
 
Apart from other nonsensical Basic C2 restraints, such as not allowing operations under the efficient and safe Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) category, thus inducing pilots to drop their currency for IFR, we have the inexplicable facts that civil aviation law has permitted the gliding fraternity for more than 70 years to fly with no aviation medicals, no problem.  The same goes for the many thousands of pilots in two seat low weight category for the last 40 years, and now instead of fixing the Basic C2, CASA is making slow show of contemplating the introduction a new self declared medical standard when the truth is that safe to drive a motor vehicle is safe to fly. 
 
All of the above much to the chagrin of those who have to jump through CASA’s medical hoops at great expense, and, like myself, whose specialists advise that some of CASA’s requirements are not necessary. What a pity for Australia’s struggling General Aviation industry that the Minister doesn’t use another part of the Act that allows Ministerial Directions, a far more explicit term than the vagueness of mere ‘expectations.’..."

Well said that Man! - 

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 4 August 2023

4 August 2023

– Steve Hitchen

It's only natural that there's a lot of buzz about the GA world internationally about MOSAIC. If you're not up to speed, MOSAIC is an upgrade to the definition of light sport aircraft that will permit much heavier MTOWs, retractable gear and all sorts of engines. What this does is free-up manufacturers to design more robust and capable aircraft without having to go through full certification to FAR23. The intended and expected impact of this new standard is that manufacturers can now incorporate new technology and modern safety features without having to worry about slashing the useful load of the aircraft. So who is it that benefits the most. Private owners, for one, who will now have a selection of more capable aircraft to park in their hangars. But I believe the biggest benefits could be realised by flying schools. GA schools have faced heavy fleet-replacement decisions for years now, caught between keeping ageing trainers in the air or investing Powerball-level dollars in buying new trainers. The theory that existing LSAs could be used as primary GA trainers hasn't really been taken to heart by schools around Australia, but those built to the new definitions might be more attractive. They'll be more versatile, stronger and cheaper; cheaper because manufacturers won't be saddled with the FAR23 certification costs that are generally loaded onto aircraft sell prices. A much needed refreshing of Australia's GA training fleet may be just around the corner, thanks to MOSAIC.

"..If the task is not completed, the competency is not demonstrated.."

Have I told you about my first ever solo nav exercise? 1989, Longwarry Airport, Victoria. The instructor dispatched me on a flight south to Phillip Island, east to Yarram, north to Latrobe Valley and west back to Longwarry. I stuffed it up. Near Wilsons Promontory, I found cloud sitting on the high ground that stopped my eastward path, so I put in a flight plan amendment and reversed my course. Much unhappiness was expressed on my return because I'd failed to complete the exercise. However, I advanced to the next stage because the nav had taught me how to assess cloud, how to make a decision that kept me safe and how to amend a plan in the days of full-reporting VFR. I also learnt that diverting around the range to the south would have been a better idea. Today, because of the competency-based requirements of CASR Part 61, I wouldn't be advanced despite learning such valuable lessons because instructors are given no discretion. If the task is not completed, the competency is not demonstrated and the student can't be advanced. The result is that nav exercises must be canceled if the instructor is not 100% certain they can be completed. To do so condemns the student into paying more money to repeat the nav. Sending a student out to have a look and make their own decision is not part of ab initio training in the Part 61 world. It creates a training environment where the only lessons learnt are those dictated by the regulations. Safe aviation takes a lot more than simple compliance, it takes ad-hoc decision-making skills that are best developed from having to use them. I still use the lessons from my first solo nav. I would have learnt nothing if I'd been told to cancel, or, indeed, if the flight had gone perfectly.

The clickers on the turnstiles at Oshkosh must have sounded like Geiger counters at Chernobyl. More than 677,000 people went through them this year, blowing away the old record by 20,000 heads. There were also 848 exhibitors (another record) and an average of 148 runway movements per hour, or 2.5 every minute. Airventure, for all the years it's been around, is still growing. That's what enthusiasm and demand give you. We've always lamented the lack of something similar here in Australia, but every attempt seems to come to not much. Of course, that's never stopped us trying. Even next year Fly'n for Fun and Ausfly are both slated for the NSW western plains in Autumn. The AMDA-backed Fly'n for Fun is on 12-14 April, but the closest we've been to an announced date for Ausfly was a teaser made by organisers that the date will be finalised soon. Other than that, not a lot is known thus far about either event. We could use some snippets of information to whet our enthusiasm soon. However, I'm going to go out on a limb now and predict that attendances will be shy of those at Oshkosh, but I guess that's not much of a strain on my crystal ball.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

---

Sandy's comment in reply, via AP emails - :

Loved the story of our Editor Steve ‘Hitch’ Hitchen’s first solo nav exercise. 
 
It was perhaps twenty-five years ago I heard a news item on ABC radio that CASA was introducing a new world beating method of teaching people how to fly. 
 
Wait for it, an entirely new concept…..’competency’ based training! 
 
The heavens split asunder at this most momentous giant leap forward into a completely new era of flying training devised by the geniuses in Aviation Hearse, oops typo, Aviation House. Like a great flash of lightning it dawned upon me that all of us Australian instructors, including CFIs like myself, would need total re-education because, believe it or not, we thought we were teaching and qualifying pilots to fly competently already. 
 
It’s truly amazing that the whole of Australia’s pilot community weren’t brought back for remedial training to achieve CASA’s idea of competency. Little did I realise, as Hitch flew over my airport at Phillip Island that fateful day (for Hitch it seems a great lesson well learned), how lucky we were to fly at all because no one outside CASA had ever thought about teaching competency in flying before their genius lightbulb moment.  

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 11 August 2023

11 August 2023

– Steve Hitchen

Am I the only person who thinks the Albanese government is doing the aviation white paper all arse-about? So far, the process has been to call for submissions on the Terms of Reference–itself a weird thing to do–then go straight to the green paper stage after some chats with industry bodies. When exactly does Ashley Average get to have some input to the green paper? The answer, apparently, is not at all. The chance will be there after the green paper has been released, but it will be much harder to get issues into the stream if they are not mentioned in the green paper ... unless they are politically attractive. This is not to say that the government has been ignoring the industry; to be fair they have been canvassing issues with representative groups and associations, but this is giving off an odour of covert skullduggery, because the wider GA community is not involved nor made privvy to these conversations. It may be that everything is above board, but we have no way of knowing that. The previous Labor white paper, which turned out to be junk, at least gave us a chance to have an individual voice in the green paper that preceded it. Our only hope is that the advocates that have been consulted remembered the little people of the GA community in their discussions.

"..This places RAAus as the primary advocate.."

RAAus is yet to get the green light from CASA to administer the new 760-kg Group G category of aircraft, but already RAAus has set their sights on even larger aircraft thanks to the FAA's NPRM on a new definition of LSA. This does look a bit like trying to run before you've proven you can walk, but that's exactly what the GA community needs RAAus to do. Lyrical sounds coming from CASA are dropping hints that the regulator will adopt the new ASTM standard once it's written, which will be a watershed moment for both general and recreational aviation. But, even though they may prefer not to admit it, CASA will need help from the industry in making it happen, and I can guarantee you now they'll turn to RAAus as the prime source of that assistance. And why not? RAAus actually sits on the ASTM committee that will write the standard, and by the time it's ready to implement, they will have significant influence via the Technical Working Groups. This places RAAus as the primary advocate for non-commercial aviation in Australia. There's good and bad in that. Good in that they have demonstrated a degree of preparedness to advocate for private GA to the extent that there's no conflict with the interests of their members. Bad in that these conflicts are certain to arise, meaning GA will be left without an advocate in some cases. Really, it's unfair on RAAus to be expected to shoulder GA advocacy in those circumstances, and organisations who have traditionally claimed to be the voice of GA need to pull their weight. Should RAAus be granted the full extent of MOSAIC, we can expect their membership and influence to increase by around 50%. Both they and the GA community need to be prepared for that.

The knives are out for GippsAero over the 2019 crash in Sweden. I want to pause for a minute and remember that nine people died in that crash, which is a shocking tragedy that has devastated the families of those that lost their lives. I think I can safely speak for the GA community in expressing our condolences. Now, those families are suing the manufacturer of the Airvan 8 involved because they say the flight manual didn't give sufficient guidance on how to safely off-load parachutists. The legal language in the filing is more complex than that, but that's the guts of it. In fact, the flight manual contained a supplement on parachute ops that said no more than five jumpers can congregate aft of the leading edge of the door. According to the Swedish investigators, control of the Airvan was lost because all eight parachutists headed for the door at once, shifting the CoG aft and causing a stall. It is critical to note that the Swedes made no adverse findings nor recommendations for GippsAero to act on, and that no design faults in the Airvan were found. It all comes down to the content of the flight manual and nothing else. This actually puts the content of all flight manuals in all aircraft on trial. Flight manuals set the limits of safe operation; anything outside that and you're a test pilot. Many flight manuals contain broad statements about safe operations rather than go millimetre prescriptive, presuming the pilot and operator have some aerodynamic knowledge and a sense of self preservation. If this case is successful, it may force a revision of all flight manuals to take into account injudicious operation of the aircraft.

We at Yaffa Media are very pleased to present the GA community with the latest issue of Australian Flying. This one, September-October 2023, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the very first issue, which was produced in 1963. We've made this a special collectors' edition that look back on our heritage, but also looks forward to the future of general aviation as well. From the very beginning, Australian Flying was a child brought-up by a community, and all of the Australian GA industry has the right to be proud of the publication that each and every member contributed to in some way. Make sure you get this issue into your collection soonest, as a reminder of your own contribution to the magazine's heritage.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 25 August 2023

25 August 2023

– Steve Hitchen

Apparently there is opinion being expressed in the GA community that Australian Flying is just an apologist for CASA. If I am right about the headwaters of this, it springs from deep frustration with CASA and a feeling that anyone who supports anything CASA does is not on GA's side. That's a position that Australian Flying just can't adopt. We have to be balanced and fair with everything we do, and that means saying what we like about CASA as well as what we don't like. Sometimes that gets me a phone call. That's OK; the conversations are always respectful because both sides understand the position of the other. Rarely have I changed anything, and if I did it's because something I said was proven to be wrong. Right now, I don't have much bad stuff to say about CASA because they haven't done much worth commenting on. In the background they are dealing with the Part 67 Medicals reform, Part 103 Recreational and Sport Aviation, RAAus access to CTA and the new 760-kg Group G. All of this requires policy change, which traditionally is the slowest type of action within CASA because of inertia and the reticence of legal advice. When all of this drops down, I'm sure I'll have plenty to say–good and bad–which is likely to earn me some more phone calls.

"..how far is the department prepared to go?.."

This week Minister Catherine King asked Archerfield Airport to redo their master plan on the grounds that it didn't establish a strategic direction. What's going on? Not long ago, Minister King also threw Moorabbin's master plan back as well. Does this mean we are entering a much yearned-for era when the government is going to hold the leased-airport operators to account? Various ministers going back to the early days of the Howard Liberal government tended to view master plan approvals as a rubber-stamping exercise, which resulted in much loss of infrastructure and aviation space on airport grounds. Credit needs to go to Barnaby Joyce who first rejected the Moorabbin plan, which I suspect has opened the eyes of the department to their responsibility to make sure the airports are protected. But how far is the department prepared to go? There is a lot of non-aviation investment in these airports and as airports they are not cash cows; meaning the operators will always want to place investment where the returns are strongest and fastest. It's only a matter of time before one of these plans envisages huge investment at the expense if a viable airport. Only when an impasse is reached will we see the true limit of departmental strength.

Pacific Airshow Gold Coast looks to have found a winning formula: an airshow held on a beach where the patrons can swim and walk the sand whilst admiring thing in the air. All the videos and photos so far show a very happy gathering blessed by perfect weather. I am feeling confident in saying it will be back again next year. But like all air shows, there are some grumpy comments coming from behind the scenes about a seeming lack of organisation and communication in some areas, and a definite lack of carparking and jammed feeder roads into and out of the Gold Coast. It will give Pacific Airshows a lot to work on for 2024, especially the things that are a given in the USA that don't necessarily work over here. And naturally, the general public were looking forward to a lot more fast jets given the publicity in the build-up. Despite all this, the show has won some fans who doubtless are already planning their attendance next year.,

Father's Day is bearing down upon us again, and for those that need a gift for Dad, Australian Flying has your back. This Father's Day we're offering a 12-month print and digital subscription for only $45.00. That equates to a 25% saving. Even if you need to renew your subscription and it's not strictly for a Fathers' Day, go ahead and take advantage; I won't tell anyone. Check it out here on the Great Magazines website.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 1 September 2023

1 September 2023

– Steve Hitchen

After the coroner's findings into the Lockhart River C404 crash, the pressure will be on CASA to mandate TAWS for passenger-carrying aircraft with more than six seats. They resisted doing so after the tragic 2005 Metro crash when 15 people were killed, but now 20 people have died in 18 years trying to get into that airport, CASA will likely be forced to act. But the types of aeroplanes in the frame here are not PC-12s or King Air 360s–their avionics kits are usually state-of-the-art coming out of the box–but veteran C400 series, Chieftains, Navajos, Queen Airs and their peers. The panels of many of these types are now a patchwork of old and new; traditional clocks complemented with the odd GNS 430. Getting TAWS into them is not going to be a simple task in most cases. And many of them now are employed running between benign regional airports, although the accidents at Benalla and Mount Hotham should not be ignored. In implementing a mandate, CASA will need to push against ICAO and the practices of most other countries in the world except Canada, so this is not a fait accompli.

"..In most cases, that's a recipe for failure.."

VET funding for flight training needs to undergo serious scrutiny in the short term future to decide whether it really is fit for purpose. The more I dig around the issue the more I am convinced that it's not. This is the scenario where students enrol for a diploma or certificate with a TAFE college, which then farms out the training to a flying school that is a registered training organisation (RTO). Alternatively, students can enrol directly with the RTO if that RTO offers certificates courses. There are so many problems with this structure that it's hard to go through them all, but the lack of ability to conduct remedial training is one that impacts the quality of the finished product. Funding, it would seem, doesn't cover the extent of remedial training needed, which puts at risk students' ability to consolidate before going on to the next phase. In most cases, that's a recipe for failure. The proof lies in the laments of airline recruiters who bemoan the lack of basic flying skills that have traditionally been relied upon from someone holding a CPL. I am convinced that the problem lies not with the flying schools, but with the way funding is allocated and the determination that only courses that end with a recognised tertiary qualification can be funded. Shutting out the Part 141 schools that don't offer certificate or diploma courses is ignoring the value of the 200-hour syllabus and the qualification that it brings: a CASA CPL and 50 more hours experience. It's time for some serious scrutiny.


I was disappointed to read the AOPA letter to members, because it shows they are sticking to the strategy of rebuilding their membership base by showing how good they are at shouting at the devil. Advocacy and activism are needed from AOPA Australia, but it can't be the only string to their bow or they will recruit only those people who engage with aviation at that level. AOPA's message is that membership has dropped because they didn't pursue renewals during COVID because members were "doing it hard". Presumably those hardships were shared with the members of the AWPA, but that organisation didn't experience a membership plunge the way that AOPA did. Their members hung tough. It's easier to keep a customer than to get one back, so perhaps AOPA should have sent out renewals; the response might have surprised them. I think it's time the AOPA board re-focused on why people join associations and what they value in their membership, then create a forward-looking strategy that contains much more than just advocacy.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 8 September 2023

8 September 2023

– Steve Hitchen

Green by name, green by nature. The Federal Government's 2023 Aviation Green Paper leaves no doubt that the entire aviation industry and community in Australia will be expected to get behind the net-zero emissions by 2050 target. The paper is even sub-titled Towards 2050. That's no real surprise given the recent investment in SAF manufacturing and the creation of the Australian Jet Zero Council, but I fear the GA community could be left behind in all this. Whilst SAF is being touted as the green solution for kero-burners and turbo-props, electric power is clearly nominated as the preferred propulsion for GA and recreational aircraft going forward. The paper seems to ignore the potential of burning SAF in diesel engines as a power source for GA. Electric power capability is hard to evaluate at the moment, because the only working examples have limited practicality despite the marketing hype. SAF in diesels is technology closer to reality, and developing a home-grown powerplant should be high on the agenda of any government truly serious about supporting manufacturing in Australia. 

"..All this represents a new era for Bankstown.."


Bankstown Airport is going to have an international airport built in the middle of its training area, and no amount of lobbying and consultation can change that. And despite promises of listening, there is virtually no avenue for GA needs to be taken into account. You can't blame those privvy to the confidential meeting at Bankstown for coming away feeling despondent. Without a practical training area close, training costs are set to soar and sessions lengthen. Whereas training colleges funded through HECS or VET funding have the potential to load those costs onto the fees, the impact of doing so could be suicidal for smaller organisations not in either of those scheme. For them, closure or relocation are the only options, albeit unpalatable ones. VFR private pilots will also be impacted given the greater need for airways clearances to transit the WSA CTA. For some that will be a doddle, until a refusal offends and sends them on a circuitous route to their destination. People get sick of that quickly, which could result in exoduses of private aircraft to Warnervale or Wedderburn ... if they can. And these are only the immediately obvious impacts: others will flow on, such as the effect of fewer movements on Bankstown's economic model. All this represents a new era for Bankstown; one in which the GA community needs to start thinking about now and put in place strategies to get the best outcome, given that WSA is certainly going to be built.

At last Moorabbin Airport has an approved master plan. The process has been drawn out since April 2021 and involved a lot of blood-letting, back-pedaling, cajoling and second-guessing. But, as someone said to me, the devil is in the detail, which stakeholders are still trying to extract given they've been presented with a 338-page document that has no executive summary. The fact that the plan has taken so long to be delivered and was thrown back at various time by both sides of federal politics betrays how much was wrong with the original. But it has had one positive effect: it galvanised the stakeholders of Moorabbin Airport to rally to the call. The 2015 master plan had foretold the loss of taxiway/apron infrastructure, but operators had been so detached that they were surprised when it was enacted. This time, solid community action spurred two ministers into looking closer, resulting in greater scrutiny and saved infrastructure from further destruction. Let this stand as an example for stakeholders at all the other leased airports. Is this plan better for GA than the last one? I don't know, I haven't finished sifting through it either. 

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

The Last Minute Hitch: 15 September 2023

15 September 2023

– Steve Hitchen

CASA is moving on with the GA Workplan; the latest being the consultation on modular licences for engineers. This is an attempt to combat the lack of engineers by getting newcomers out into the industry sooner, rather than hold them back in training whilst they study engineering aspects they are less likely to use. It's not a miracle cure, but it is something. Several of the workplan promises are in place, with others still under construction. The big outlier at the moment is Part 67 on medicals, which has a promised date of sometime past Q2 2023. We're in that period now, so technically we should be expecting the proposal any day soon ... or not. Part 67 represents one of the largest and most difficult reforms CASA has ever contemplated, because despite evidence supporting the self-assessed medical, there is still a lot of resistance within CASA and the DAME cohort. I think we'll have to learn how to wait like Vincent Lingiari for this one–it is one of the oldest touted reforms on the books–and in the meantime be thankful the rest of the workplan is still coming through. 

"..GA is not currently match-fit to take on net-zero.."

Both the AAA and the RAAA have given first-glance approval to the green paper, but crucially point out that although the government is hell-bent on net-zero by 2050, reforms and innovations are needed in other areas, and the meticulous methodology of the white paper process can't be permitted to stifle that. AAA points to the need to examine policy and regulatory settings, and the RAAA wants actions now, not sometime in the next five years or so. White papers, experience has shown, generally reflect more party policy than industry input despite all the consultations and round-tables. And when you want your policy to win the day you have all the time in the world. And you sure as hell don't want to examine regulatory settings; if you did, you might actually take into account the interim report on the impacts of regulation on the GA sector. The predominant industry fear is that important reforms crucial to the survival of GA will become victims of the government's stampede to net-zero. The point is that GA is not currently match-fit to take on net-zero, and if important reforms like training and protection for all airports are ignored, GA will be in no state to contribute to green targets.

RAAus held their 40th anniversary dinner at the Australian War Memorial on Saturday night, but unfortunately circumstances kept me away. It looked like a doozy of a night. They have plenty to celebrate: 40 years of developing and strengthening aviation in a recreational sense. Over the years they have been the subject of repeated attacks on their right to exist, which I must admit bewilders me. In the beginning, I understood the argument the CASA should take administrative responsibility for all sectors of aviation, and even expressed the opinion that the licence should be the same, but with a max MTOW endorsement. Now I recognise the folly in that. RAAus has managed to simplify administration for recreational owners and pilots; CASA could ever have done that. CASA makes rules and applies rules; that's their thing. They see the relationship between rules and aeroplanes and the relationship between aeroplanes and people. RAAus has proven very adept at that over the years, which is a major lynchpin in their success. 

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

[Peetwo]

Oz Flying summary on Class 5 consult -

Via the Yaffa...

CASA Invites Feedback on Class 5 Medical Self-declaration
30 October 2023


CASA has announced the long-awaited industry feedback consultation hub for the proposal of a new Class 5 medical self-declaration policy.

The Class 5 medical will allow private pilots to self-assess and self-declare without requiring a medical assessment if they meet fitness requirements and operate in accordance with specified operational limitations.

The policy aims to improve accessibility to a streamlined medical self-certification pathway for the general aviation and recreational aviation community.

To support the implementation of the new Class 5 medical self-declaration, there will be comprehensive guidance material for applicants, certificate-holders and healthcare practitioners.

"We are proposing to enact the policy through an exemption instrument to the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASRs). This will enable industry to access the new Class 5 medical self-declaration as soon as practical," said CASA in a media release.

The proposal has been developed with input from the aviation community, including the aviation medicine technical working group and is also one of the initiatives CASA's General Aviation Workplan for simplifying health arrangements. 

The Technical Working Group consists of representatives from across the aviation community bringing diverse and different perspectives, AOPA's CEO, Ben Morgan, departed the group in June due to a clash with Principal Medical Officer Kate Manderson. Morgan said he did not support the TWG's attempt to recommend an arbitrary weight limit on self-certification and accused Manderson of "doing what's easy, not what's right."

CASA has maintained for several years that pilots operating in CTA would always need Class 1 or Class 2 medical certificates, but the requirement has been brought under scrutiny by the projects to permit PPLs to fly on self-declared medical standards (Class 5) and to grant Recreational Aviation Australia's (RAAus) pilots access to CTA. 

RAAus CEO Matt Bouttell told Australian Flying in June that he believed his members would be able to fly in CTA without needing the Class 2 medical that is currently required of PPLs.

"As far as the medical is concerned, RAAus has been operating safely with our self-declared system for 40 years, so much so that CASA is looking at emulating this," he said. "On this basis I am confident that RAAus pilots will have access to CTA without the need for a Class 2 pilot medical."

If Bouttell and RAAus get their wish, it will be very hard to see how CASA could continue to demand that PPLs still require a medical in CTA.

Submit your feedback here.


Access to CTA for Sport and Recreation Aircraft

In conjunction with to the Class 5 medical consultation portal, CASA is also seeking a separate consultation on access to Class C and Class D controlled airspace for sport and recreation aircraft. 


"We are seeking feedback on a discussion paper about controlled airspace separately as part of our commitment to facilitate greater operational opportunities for sport and recreational aviation activities when safe to do so, as outlined in our General Aviation Workplan," said CASA in the same media release.

Claiming comments from the industry has fed back that sport and recreational aviation’s access to controlled airspace is too restricted, the consultation will inform future policy on access to controlled airspace.


Topics for discussion


Pilots operating in controlled airspace currently must meet standards in relation to:

• pilot competencies
  
• radio competencies and English language proficiency
  
• medical fitness
  
• aircraft equipment
  
• priorities for airspace access.
  

These aim to ensure pilots can operate in controlled airspace safely.

Discussion Paper (DP) 2314OS examines the various requirements for users of controlled airspace and controlled aerodromes in Australia and the objectives underpinning the requirements.

CASA is seeking input on whether:

• the objectives are appropriate and reasonable
  
• the current requirements reflect the objectives
  
• there are alternative ways we could achieve the objectives.
  

The controlled airspace discussion paper is available here:

The Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD) used in the UK and BasicMed in the USA both have restrictions on operations without medical certificates, but neither of them bar operations in CTA.

In March this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a review report into BasicMed after three years of operation. The report showed "no difference in accident risk between flights conducted by pilots operating under BasicMed and flights conducted by pilots holding third-class [Class 2 in Australia] medical certificates."

The report also found that BasicMed had no impact on the slow decline in general aviation

Industry feedback will inform the finalisation of the proposed policy, supporting documents, and the regulatory review process.

Some commentary so far, via this UP thread - HERE:

Possum1

Consultation open: Class 5 medical self-declaration

Email to complete Class 5 medical self-declaration survey arrived today 27 October, 2023 from CASA. There are three documents to provide a background for what the survey is about totalling 179 pages! This is before I even start the survey! I would contend that if I am capable of this volume of study, and then successfully complete the survey, that this would qualify me for a Class 5 self-declared medical.

There are still "Medical limitations that exclude pilots with certain conditions from the Class 5 medical self-declaration" included. On the other hand, the TWG was, "comfortable in not recommending a mandatory medical assessment by a health professional," and they also noted that, "that a previously cancelled medical certificate should not exclude a pilot from a Class 5 self-declaration as it is a separate medical standard."

CASA sees Class 5 as a replacement for the RAMPC medical, so what, if anything will change?

Will anything change? Is AvMed planning redundancies or redeployment of their staff?

The proposal to allow suitably qualified sport or recreational pilot into Class C & D airspace might get up as the TWG has stated that the ability of pilots to fly in controlled airspace should remain only an issue of pilot training and competency.

---

aroa

3 docs and 179 pages for starters. I’ll lay a bet that’s the first indication this will be a long convoluted process and the usual dogs breakfast.

---

Possum1

CASA's proposal is that "Pilots are not eligible for a Class 5 ... if they have previously had a Class 1, 2, or 3 aviation medical certificate refused or cancelled." This is in direct defiance of the Technical Working Group's statement(Second Report 3 August, 2023), "that a previously cancelled medical certificate should not exclude a pilot from a Class 5 self-declaration as it is a separate medical standard."

CASA also includes this proposal in their list of excluded medical conditions as if having a medical certificate refused or cancelled is somehow a medical condition in itself.

---

Clinton McKenzie

As usual, the wrong process being run by the wrong organisation. A bunch of ordinary medicos with delusions of being world-leaders in ‘aviation medicine’ have, as usual, been let loose to reinvent the wheel and will, as usual, produce something that isn’t round.

---

First_Principal

...A bunch of ordinary medicos with delusions of being world-leaders in ‘aviation medicine’ have, as usual, been let loose to reinvent the wheel and will, as usual, produce something that isn’t round.

I don't know these people, and wish to be clear that I cast absolutely no aspersions, however your comment brought the following couple of quips from Dave Barry to mind:

'If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be 'meetings.' ...and... 'Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other large organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot actually masturbate'

FP.

---

Clinton McKenzie

Re meetings and that second quip, CASA Avmed's 'complex case management meetings' are a classic example. There's a neat slang term for them which encapsulates the gist of the second quip, but I won't be so crude as to post it.

As to the broader process of medical 'reform', the protracted and unnecessary 'consultation' on the way to implementation of the pre-conceived ideas of the people running the process are the problem. The wrong process being run by the wrong organisation.

The process should be an analysis of data, not a survey of individuals and interest groups. That analysis should be done by disinterested experts in data analysis, not by people who have a direct personal interest in the outcome.

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Oz Flying today -

In News this week, CASA proposes changes to sport and recreation aircraft rules, Airservices announces airspace restrictions for the Newcastle Air Show, the Australian government opens round ten of the remote airstrip upgrade program, Bankstown Airport receives a $130 million investment for precinct upgrades and an academic paper reveals the GA sector is grounded by red tape.

Our Friday flying video takes a look at the top 5 cheapest LSAs of 2023.

As Steve is on leave, there will be no Last Minute Hitch this week.

Are you up to date with the latest print issue of Australian Flying? Have a look here and see what's in store for you.

Want Australian Flying in digital form? Get it right here on Zinio!

May the wind forever be in your favour,

Kreisha Ballantyne
Editor

Plus:

General Aviation Sector Grounded by Red Tape and Sky-high Costs
10 November 2023


Red tape, over-regulation, spiralling costs and a vacuum of government policy are putting significant pressure on the general aviation sector in Australia, according to a survey of industry chiefs.

Ageing infrastructure, thin profit margins and conflicts over airspace allocation are all contributing to pessimism in the non-airline civil aviation sector that employs thousands of people.

In a new paper published this month in Case Studies on Transport Policy, aviation experts from Queensland and the University of South Australia (UniSA) outline the issues plaguing the industry, most of which come down to a lack of policy direction in aviation.

The sector includes training, aeromedical, emergency response and charter services in rural and remote communities.

Interviews conducted with the principals of 21 aviation organisations reveal that outside of regulation, the main concerns are the costs associated with operating premises and airport infrastructure.

“A user pays model to cover airport costs is having a direct impact on the sustainability of enterprises that are operating on low passenger volumes without a change in their overheads,” says lead author Dr Lucas Tisdall, CEO of Flight One Academy.

“There appears to be scant recognition of the community and economic contribution that the general aviation sector makes in Australia,” Dr Tisdall says.

Rising maintenance costs to ensure the safety of an ageing fleet of aircraft, smaller profit margins, and growing urban encroachment on airstrips, are other challenges.

UniSA Professor in Aviation Shane Zhang says the increasing popularity of drones used in a range of applications – from fire-ant mapping and fauna surveys through to real estate development and recreational photography – is also causing tensions.

“The emergence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of transporting patients and passengers introduces new risks,” Prof Zhang says. “Is the automation of such transport at the expense of pilot employment, involving a major re-engineering of international safety systems, worth the cost of development?” he asks.

Aviation chiefs say more federal government assistance is needed to support innovation and investment in the sector, given the average age of general aviation aircraft and the capital cost of new, cleaner technologies, before broader issues like CO2 emissions from aircraft are addressed.

The researchers say the feedback highlights both problems and opportunities.

“It is clear that the current policy and regulatory frameworks are not addressing the sector’s long term needs.

“Approximately 70% of respondents say there is no clear vision for general aviation in Australia, citing bureaucracy and over-regulation as major obstacles, but they are keen to consult with regulators to find common ground,” Dr Tisdall says.

The researchers intend to explore more effective regulatory regimes in the US and New Zealand, where governments and the general aviation industry work more closely.

MTF...P2