[Peetwo]

AMROBA latest newsletter - Volume 14 - Issue 4

1. GA Future Depends on More Pilots.

The government’s 457 Visa decision places more pressure to adopt the FAA cost-effective pilot training system.

Grow more pilots. The most significant thing we can do is to increase the number of active pilots. More pilots means more customers, which means more airplanes and more avionics and more gas and more parts. It also means lowered cost through economies of scale. Bigger markets equal smaller prices. A big lowly populated country needs flexibility in pilot training.

Embrace the innovators. GA is a conservative industry, entrenched in old, out-of-date practices and burdened by overwhelming regulation. We still see an industry that think the best way to train a new pilot is in an airplane twice the age of their average student. In a culture where toddlers are often using iPads and video games that have more computing power than the flight management systems on many aircraft, it is going to be very hard to entice potential pilots with 1940’s technology.

2. Why do Aviation Regulations Reverse the Onus of Proof?

When I started in aviation the burden of proof, when “safety” was jeopardised, rested with the regulator to prove by identifying an unsafe practice then finding the non-compliance or breach of the Act, Regulations or Order requirement. Justifying that “safety” had been jeopardised in the “opinion of the Inspector” was only upheld in AAT if the Inspector had the expertise to convince the courts – not always easy. What we now need is a Minister to direct that there should be no reverse onus of proof in the Act and Regulations (something that was once "normal legislative form") or that "strict liability" shall not be used where any measure of pilot/LAME decision making is involved, because it violates the definition of "strict liability" in the Criminal Code.

3. CASR Part 66 underpinning standards must be high priority.

CASR Part 66 should be identifying licences that meet Annex 1 (international standards) and the licence, however called, that do not meet Annex 1. One of the most important issues confronting maintenance is coming to terms whether we have a ‘recognised’ trade within the NVET system or whether we have a mixed trade/profession because of the application of the EASA knowledge based AME licencing system. There are three parts to the skilling of our workforce that are combined so that all parts suffer.

Practical trade skills underpin the ability of the workforce but these skills vary whether you work in an airline system that does not need some skills or an aircraft/component overhaul sector that needs all the practical skills to do repairs, modifications, etc.

International AME knowledge requirements for the avionic and mechanical maintenance should be separated from the current practical competency based training and treated more as ‘profession’ training that can be tested by examination. Basically what CASA Basic Examinations did in the past!

Licensing knowledge is a step above the AME practical/knowledge as identified by the ICAO AME training Manual. One of the real issues confronting the maintenance training is the underpinning skills/knowledge that a person needs when entering the aviation industry.

KC on 457 issues...

Reference post off the Alphabets thread:

RAAA on disbandment of 457 visas -

By RAAA CEO Mike Higgins, via the Oz: 

Unintended consequences of 457 visa changes could ground airlines

REX have invested heavily in a pilot training school. Picture: Grahame Hutchison.

• Mike Higgins
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM April 28, 2017
  

Update: REX on 457 visa disbandment.

Via the ABC online...

457 visas: Airlines warn loss of foreign pilots could 'tear apart' fabric of regional communities

By Gavin Coote
Posted Fri at 5:48pmFri 28 Apr 2017, 5:48pm


Photo: Regional Express is warning the scrapping of the 457 visa may force it to axe some services. (Graham Tidy: Reuters)

Regional aviation operators are warning that a decision to axe the 457 temporary working visa could spell the end for some air services in regional Australia.

The Federal Government is introducing a new temporary skilled visa program, reducing the number of eligible occupations.

Under the changes, pilots would no longer be eligible.

Regional Express (REX) said it relied heavily on the 457 visa to attract experienced captains due to a drainage of Australian pilots going to work at bigger carriers domestically and abroad.

Chief operating officer Neville Howell said it could have dire consequences for regional Australia.

"On the thinner routes, some of the marginal routes that we're operating, it could very well mean that we have to cease those operations or indeed reduce the frequency," Mr Howell said.

"That has all sorts of implications to the people in those remote communities."
Mr Howell would not say which routes could be potentially scrapped.

"I don't want to start hypothesising and jumping to conclusions in terms of which routes in particular, but suffice to say on some of the runs where we're not getting a great deal of passengers we would have to look at that first of all," he said.

"The other runs like, for example Orange and Griffith and so forth, those numbers are fine. But it is the thinner routes where our passenger uptake is not particularly good."

Call for immediate moratorium

Mr Howell said the Government needed to place an immediate moratorium on the changes until a well-considered replacement list of occupations was drawn up.
"If indeed changes need to be made, okay. But to just completely cut the legs off without consultation it doesn't make a great deal of sense," he said.

"It will undoubtedly tear apart the socio-economic fabric of many of the smaller regional cities that are heavily reliant on our services for medical, educational and business links.

"It's mindless policy-making. There is a shortage of that skilled labour."

In March, REX grounded six of its aircraft after a plane travelling from Albury to Sydney lost one of its propellers mid-air.

Why the 457 visa is going


After two decades and tens of thousands of visas, the 457 visa category has been abolished. But what was it and why does this matter?

The Regional Aviation Association of Australia echoed REX's concerns, saying Northern Territory operator Chartair had already grounded three of its largest aircraft because of a shortage of captains.

But its CEO, Mike Higgins, stopped short of backing calls for a moratorium.

"What we're saying is that we're happy to work with the Government to do a review," Mr Higgins said.

"We feel that while there are some professions that are exempt, for example real estate agents, hairdressers and so forth, it's breathtaking that captains and aircraft engineers who are in dire shortage have been excluded.

"It's going to cause a great harm. We're very hopeful that we can sit down and have a sensible discussion about the way forward, particularly with experienced captains."

& from KC, via AMROBA... :

1. GA Future Depends on More Pilots.

The government’s 457 Visa decision places more pressure to adopt the FAA cost-effective pilot training system. Pilot training just cannot provide the number of pilots commercially needed. There has always been poaching by larger operators but today, Australia does not have the capability to provide or attract enough pilots. Without the 457, industry will suffer.

CASA managed regulatory reform has failed to produce jobs in aviation, especially by removing the flexibility of learning to fly.

Grow more pilots. The most significant thing we can do is to increase the number of active pilots. More pilots means more customers, which means more airplanes and more avionics and more gas and more parts. It also means lowered cost through economies of scale. Bigger markets equal smaller prices. A big lowly populated country needs flexibility in pilot training.

Ans. Adopt FAR Part 61 independent flight instructor system.

Embrace the innovators. GA is a conservative industry, entrenched in old, out-of-date practices and burdened by overwhelming regulation. We still see an industry that think the best way to train a new pilot is in an airplane twice the age of their average student. In a culture where toddlers are often using iPads and video games that have more computing power than the flight management systems on many aircraft, it is going to be very hard to entice potential pilots with 1940’s technology.

Ans. Computerised distant learning to meet international knowledge training standards.

Be willing to change. The current pilot population and industry infrastructure must be willing to adapt to the times. This means changing attitudes and behaviours, especially government public servants. We must embrace our communities, support our airports, open our hangar doors and fence gates. We must share expenses, share ownership, share responsibility, and continue to create a culture of safety first.

Add to these points the following:

Provide training for the future. Australia has one of the best climates and huge open airspace that should be accommodating major aviation international training industry for pilots, engineering, and maintenance for the Indo/Asia/Pacific region. Update training to meet the needs means adopting cost effective international training standards. Australian pilot, engineering and maintenance global training providers should be registered with ICAO.

Streamline training. With the current use of IPads from a young age, new students should be able to download the full ‘knowledge’ elements of maintenance training when the person starts training. This system should also enable on-line examinations. Only the practical elements need direct student/trainer involvement.

International equivalent licence and certificates. Pilot and AME licences should be based on meeting these international training standards and their licences should state they meet the Convention Annex 1 standards. This is the first step to once again having Australian LAME’s being accepted internationally. Academic qualifications that meet the Annex minimum standards. This also complies with Article 37 of the Convention.

Domestic only licences and certificates. The Convention places an obligation on Australia to adopt international training standards for personnel (Article 37) BUT the Convention also provides provisions (Articles 39 & 40) for ‘licences’ for personnel that do not meet the international standards AS LONG AS the ‘licence is endorsed as not meeting the international standards. This is the international standard that is used for the maintenance authority system that should be classified as a limited licence.

These Articles are what CASA and its predecessors also used to issue limited, experimental etc. certificates to aircraft.

These provisions means CASA can promulgate applicable personnel standards to maintain aircraft that do not meet an international type certification standard, like recreational and ex-military aircraft, to operate within Australian airspace. The Convention also enables such aircraft to fly to another country if that country gives permission.

MTF...P2