Straw poles and Hollow men.
Every once in a while there is s serious 'sit-down' - just the houseboat crew, mostly to examine correspondence received related to serious matters. Opinions are as varied as those who write 'em. Once a level of 'concern' is expressed from a serious number then decisions have to be made. Aunt Pru's in box has been full every day lately; two topics creating the avalanche: to wit, the latest deceptive motherhood statement from Spence and the latest offering from Each-way Hitch.
It is probably easier to deal with the 'Hitch' matter first as the selected response to his latest article sums up the feelings of many (i.e. most). There is a serious call to strike the AFM forum from the board, defeated by a very slim (anorexic) majority. The old adage of tents and pissing direction won the round; it was also considered unfair to compare Hitch to the likes of Phelan and Sandilands (RIP) for there is non. The following comment pretty much sums up the majority opinion of the Hitch scribble's; from one of the fellahin who was there at the beginning and has a good grasp on the Part 149 sleight of hand, as drummed by Spence. Hitch needs to check his gauges; they don't look too Green from here.....
Steve,
With the greatest if respect, "that they (CASA) effectively invented the ASAO idea" is simply not true. Then Minister John Sharp's "CASA Review" Program Advisory Panel (PAP) decided to borrow the idea from the New Zealanders including even the Part 149 name. This was 1997.
It is a measure of CASA's enthusiasm for the idea that, 25 years later, we still have not got a workable Part 149, largely because CASA have changed the original intent and complicated/bureaucratised it almost beyond belief - with associated imposed costs and restrictions.
CASA largely turned Part 149 into a vehicle for the rigid bureaucratic intervention and control of organisations that have already proved their worth over many decades, without heavy handed intervention by CASA and their predecessors.
You mention the GFA, they have been around since shortly after WW11, RAA for 40 odd years. All the long existing SAOs, all the members of ASAC, have commendable records.
If the CASA CEO is fair dinkum, she will go back and look at the original concept in 1997, and the original draft Part 149. The answers to the problems of the present Part 149 are all there.
Regards,
Bill Hamilton.
Vice Chairman, CASA Review and PAP, 1997-1999.
Which brings us back to Spence as the purveyor of the 'new' Part 149; as manipulated by the same back room crowd. 149 in concept and honest execution is a good deal for those it was intended for, the Gliding Federation as a stellar example. The other end of the scale is the RAoz v AOPA dichotomy. Then there are the costs to consider, then the liability, then tax payer relief from burden of CASA impost and the increased revenue, free of responsibility that 149 could generate. 'We' have no doubt that Spence is a thoroughly decent human being, as easily deceived as the next. There are many, much bigger problems within the aviation world than Part 149 which deserve immediate executive attention. Putting 149 out there is seen as a distraction from the major topics and even as a foil against the CASA shambolic performance witnessed by all during the sorriest, lame excuse for an inquiry on record.
Perhaps if some attention was given to the elephant in the room; the Act - then some serious expertise and industry knowledge was brought in, then maybe CASA could set about it's task in a professional, honest, well intentioned manner instead of the current fear driven hubris.
Every once in a while there is s serious 'sit-down' - just the houseboat crew, mostly to examine correspondence received related to serious matters. Opinions are as varied as those who write 'em. Once a level of 'concern' is expressed from a serious number then decisions have to be made. Aunt Pru's in box has been full every day lately; two topics creating the avalanche: to wit, the latest deceptive motherhood statement from Spence and the latest offering from Each-way Hitch.
It is probably easier to deal with the 'Hitch' matter first as the selected response to his latest article sums up the feelings of many (i.e. most). There is a serious call to strike the AFM forum from the board, defeated by a very slim (anorexic) majority. The old adage of tents and pissing direction won the round; it was also considered unfair to compare Hitch to the likes of Phelan and Sandilands (RIP) for there is non. The following comment pretty much sums up the majority opinion of the Hitch scribble's; from one of the fellahin who was there at the beginning and has a good grasp on the Part 149 sleight of hand, as drummed by Spence. Hitch needs to check his gauges; they don't look too Green from here.....
Steve,
With the greatest if respect, "that they (CASA) effectively invented the ASAO idea" is simply not true. Then Minister John Sharp's "CASA Review" Program Advisory Panel (PAP) decided to borrow the idea from the New Zealanders including even the Part 149 name. This was 1997.
It is a measure of CASA's enthusiasm for the idea that, 25 years later, we still have not got a workable Part 149, largely because CASA have changed the original intent and complicated/bureaucratised it almost beyond belief - with associated imposed costs and restrictions.
CASA largely turned Part 149 into a vehicle for the rigid bureaucratic intervention and control of organisations that have already proved their worth over many decades, without heavy handed intervention by CASA and their predecessors.
You mention the GFA, they have been around since shortly after WW11, RAA for 40 odd years. All the long existing SAOs, all the members of ASAC, have commendable records.
If the CASA CEO is fair dinkum, she will go back and look at the original concept in 1997, and the original draft Part 149. The answers to the problems of the present Part 149 are all there.
Regards,
Bill Hamilton.
Vice Chairman, CASA Review and PAP, 1997-1999.
Which brings us back to Spence as the purveyor of the 'new' Part 149; as manipulated by the same back room crowd. 149 in concept and honest execution is a good deal for those it was intended for, the Gliding Federation as a stellar example. The other end of the scale is the RAoz v AOPA dichotomy. Then there are the costs to consider, then the liability, then tax payer relief from burden of CASA impost and the increased revenue, free of responsibility that 149 could generate. 'We' have no doubt that Spence is a thoroughly decent human being, as easily deceived as the next. There are many, much bigger problems within the aviation world than Part 149 which deserve immediate executive attention. Putting 149 out there is seen as a distraction from the major topics and even as a foil against the CASA shambolic performance witnessed by all during the sorriest, lame excuse for an inquiry on record.
Perhaps if some attention was given to the elephant in the room; the Act - then some serious expertise and industry knowledge was brought in, then maybe CASA could set about it's task in a professional, honest, well intentioned manner instead of the current fear driven hubris.