Who cares?
Three little Faery tales, insignificant in themselves, but put together with hundreds of other tales make them very significant as they put a spotlight on the fetid pox that infects the Australian aviation industry.
Though not a virulent pox, its acts rather like HIV, slowly over decades breaking down resistance and weakening its host while it grows ever stronger and unassailable.
My first tale is of a gentleman who many years ago obtained a restricted Pilots licence. He had no ambition to enter the commercial field, neither did he want to travel. His home airfield and its joining training area was all he needed to enjoy his hobby, flying for him was a bit of fun, to be savoured and enjoyed on the six or so times a year he indulged himself.
Occasionally he'd take the missus or his kids for a ride or a friend. I had heard he was nothing flash in the skills department but was a very thorough and safe pilot.
All was good over a lot of years. Then he had a break from flying for whatever reason but decided to restart his hobby, so he booked for a biennial flight review with his local flying school.
Where it all came unstuck was he hadn't transferred his licence to a Part 61 licence. When his instructor looked at the dreaded MOS and the reg's it soon became apparent that this wasn't going to be just a biennial flight review. To recommence what he'd been doing for decades, under part 61 now required a raft of new courses and exams and "competencies" he'd never heard of, which were going to run him into hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
He decided he didn't like flying that much and I guess is looking for a new hobby.
How many thousands are there over the years who have come to the same decision? Bugger this its all too hard!
But nobody cares.
Not far from the entrance to Bankstown airport off Marion Street sits a tiny little brick building with a hanger next to it not much bigger than a garage. Been there for as long as I can remember, which is a long time. The gentleman (and he is a gentleman), who occupies this edifice is, now was, an overhauler and back in the day, a maker of propellers.
He's been declared by CAsA a "Not a fit and proper person" which effectively shuts down his business. Maybe it's an age thing that decided that, he is an octogenarian, or maybe he's been a naughty boy and forgot to put a tick in the right box on one of the thousands of forms that are now required to comply, easy enough to do especially for an old fella who was brought up to value workmanship over administration.
But it is sad to see a lifetime of experience just written off like that, there are a few people no wondering where to send their prop for overhaul.
All is not lost.
Our intrepid feisty octogenarian has put his middle finger up in CAsA's face and said F%CK you. He's moving his prop overhaul business to the Phillipines. So all you prop people out there don't despair, you'll soon have your props back being looked after by a man with decades of experience and skills. He'll be passing his knowledge on to Philippine kids
and why not, it seems Australia doesn't want it. Another upside, Prop overhauls will probably be cheaper there without the mountains of paperwork required here.
There goes another Australian business offshore.
But nobody Cares
Been a bit of scuttlebutt about Emerald Airport allegedly closing an unsealed cross strip.
Seems like the New part 139 reg's require all runways to be sealed where RPT operates. Airport owner says can't afford that so, they are intending to close the cross strip. Bid safety benefit in that? Don't think so.
I had a think, I do occasionally, which begged a question.
Have the standards of RPT pilots degenerated to such an extent that they can no longer distinguish between a grass cross strip and the main runway? Na couldn't be. There are rumours of one who had a go at a coal terminal, but they eventually worked it out, for the life of me I couldn't imagine a safety issue that cross strip would generate.
So on what Safety grounds "because safety is their imperative, did CAsA put that in their reg's?
I can think of a lot of Airports where RPT operate with unpaved cross strips. Will these have to be closed?
All passing strange
But who cares
Three little Faery tales, insignificant in themselves, but put together with hundreds of other tales make them very significant as they put a spotlight on the fetid pox that infects the Australian aviation industry.
Though not a virulent pox, its acts rather like HIV, slowly over decades breaking down resistance and weakening its host while it grows ever stronger and unassailable.
My first tale is of a gentleman who many years ago obtained a restricted Pilots licence. He had no ambition to enter the commercial field, neither did he want to travel. His home airfield and its joining training area was all he needed to enjoy his hobby, flying for him was a bit of fun, to be savoured and enjoyed on the six or so times a year he indulged himself.
Occasionally he'd take the missus or his kids for a ride or a friend. I had heard he was nothing flash in the skills department but was a very thorough and safe pilot.
All was good over a lot of years. Then he had a break from flying for whatever reason but decided to restart his hobby, so he booked for a biennial flight review with his local flying school.
Where it all came unstuck was he hadn't transferred his licence to a Part 61 licence. When his instructor looked at the dreaded MOS and the reg's it soon became apparent that this wasn't going to be just a biennial flight review. To recommence what he'd been doing for decades, under part 61 now required a raft of new courses and exams and "competencies" he'd never heard of, which were going to run him into hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
He decided he didn't like flying that much and I guess is looking for a new hobby.
How many thousands are there over the years who have come to the same decision? Bugger this its all too hard!
But nobody cares.
Not far from the entrance to Bankstown airport off Marion Street sits a tiny little brick building with a hanger next to it not much bigger than a garage. Been there for as long as I can remember, which is a long time. The gentleman (and he is a gentleman), who occupies this edifice is, now was, an overhauler and back in the day, a maker of propellers.
He's been declared by CAsA a "Not a fit and proper person" which effectively shuts down his business. Maybe it's an age thing that decided that, he is an octogenarian, or maybe he's been a naughty boy and forgot to put a tick in the right box on one of the thousands of forms that are now required to comply, easy enough to do especially for an old fella who was brought up to value workmanship over administration.
But it is sad to see a lifetime of experience just written off like that, there are a few people no wondering where to send their prop for overhaul.
All is not lost.
Our intrepid feisty octogenarian has put his middle finger up in CAsA's face and said F%CK you. He's moving his prop overhaul business to the Phillipines. So all you prop people out there don't despair, you'll soon have your props back being looked after by a man with decades of experience and skills. He'll be passing his knowledge on to Philippine kids
and why not, it seems Australia doesn't want it. Another upside, Prop overhauls will probably be cheaper there without the mountains of paperwork required here.
There goes another Australian business offshore.
But nobody Cares
Been a bit of scuttlebutt about Emerald Airport allegedly closing an unsealed cross strip.
Seems like the New part 139 reg's require all runways to be sealed where RPT operates. Airport owner says can't afford that so, they are intending to close the cross strip. Bid safety benefit in that? Don't think so.
I had a think, I do occasionally, which begged a question.
Have the standards of RPT pilots degenerated to such an extent that they can no longer distinguish between a grass cross strip and the main runway? Na couldn't be. There are rumours of one who had a go at a coal terminal, but they eventually worked it out, for the life of me I couldn't imagine a safety issue that cross strip would generate.
So on what Safety grounds "because safety is their imperative, did CAsA put that in their reg's?
I can think of a lot of Airports where RPT operate with unpaved cross strips. Will these have to be closed?
All passing strange
But who cares