[Peetwo]

Final LMH for 2016 -

Hitch on 'storms in teacups' & TAAAF (magnificent 15) not mugs...


Via the Yaffa:

The Last Minute Hitch: 16 December 2016
16 December 2016

As you read this, you should have within reach the January-February 2017 print issue of Australian Flying. If not, go get as soon as you can before the Christmas readers buy them all. Our first mag for the 2017 year takes a look at the condition of the second-hand aircraft market, finds out what the World Gliding Championships are all about, and asks whether or not you are a gun at doing pre-flights. The hard-working Shelley Ross tells tales about doing her instructor rating (a yarn that will have you alternating between tears and laughter) and we present our flight bag guide, which should give you some Christmas gift ideas.

CASA has been very harsh on GA companies over paperwork issues that amount to storms in teacups

Before hitting the first keys to write this final Last Minute Hitch of the year, I sat and tried to come up with a better analogy than "storm in a teacup" to describe the kefuffle over the pages missing from the last issue of ERSA. It seems that some (not all) of the books are affected, which points at a printing or binding defect. I rang around some of Australia's pilot supply shops, and most of them indicated a small amount with errors. Most interestingly, some reported that this is not unusual; most print runs of ERSA have some books with pages missing. So, was it worth AOPA asking CASA for a full investigation and a "Friday 5.00 pm Show Cause Notice (SCN)" to be issued? After all, this ERSA problem is just ops normal and the missing pages are on the Airservices website anyway. Oddly enough, the answer is probably "yes". CASA has been very harsh on GA companies over paperwork issues that amount to storms in teacups, so it's very fair for AOPA to ask that a service provider be treated in the same way. But let's get real: there will be no SCN. What's keeping me on the edge of my seat is the explanation from CASA as to why, and whether or not it provides AOPA with a weapon to beat them with if CASA doesn't apply the same principle to GA operators in the future.

And if anyone has a better analogy than "storm in a teacup" I'd like to hear it!

P2 comment - Not a better analogy but, via P9...

Straws, and the grasping thereof.

Hitch calls it (for wont of better) a storm in a teacup, which is probably more consideration than it merits. So what, there are a few blank pages in the ERSA, which is, in all probability, a printers error and has SFA to do with ASA. Blast the printers if you must, but how, realistically, can the printer check every single page, of every single manual made?

TAAAF this week expressed disappointment in the standard of Minister Chester's response to their aviation policy paper released in April. It's hard to be anything but disappointed when the response was really nothing more than fresh air. Although the government has taken some steps (pushed through the ADS-B extension, extended the CAO 48.1 fatigue rules deadline, announced a GA study and issued a discussion paper about airspace protection), these are but baby steps to an industry looking for great strides. TAAAF is not a bunch of mugs pushing barrows with their own names on them; they are the single united voice for aviation that Darren Chester himself lamented the lack of at the Tamworth rally in May. They are gaining strength with numbers and together have the industry experience and street cred that the government lacks at most levels. So, their call for a national aviation policy is far from a cry in the wilderness; it's a roar from the bleachers that should not be ignored.

You may notice a change in the menu on the Australian Flying website. We've added a RECREATIONAL item to the menu bar. This is in response to the growing demand for recreational news and the ever-greying boundaries between GA and RAAus aircraft and operations. In 2017, I believe those boundaries will become every blurrier to the point where in many cases it will be hard to tell the difference were it not for the rego numbers. Our plan is to build the recreational content over time to bring you everything you need to know about this burgeoning sector. As they say: watch this space.

And as we approach the season of holidays, many of us will be plotting how we can spend large portions if it some distance above the surface of the earth. In the Sydney offices of Yaffa Media, the team that puts together the weekly Australian Flying newsletter will be taking a break for a month. This is the team that actually makes the newsletter happen, and they do a great job every week, in spite of the editor's propensity for making stuff-ups large and small. To Eric, Janusz, Joanna, Anthony and Andrew, thanks on behalf of the general aviation industry for your part in producing such a vibrant voice for aviation. See you next year; our first newsletter back is on Friday 20 January.

May your gauges always be in the green and your reindeer's nose always red,

Hitch

Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...By28zBQ.99

Catch you next year Hitch & don't get too fat on the choccy frogs...


MTF...P2