Coalition Pilot Licencing Review Meets With Department Interest

“From what the industry has told me and especially that sector involved with sport aviation, there is an incredible amount of unnecessary regulation which has no effective influence on safety at all. I believe that government and certainly the Department of Aviation, should be encouraging more people to fly because of the unique geography of Australia, rather than trying to regulate beyond the point where safety can be affected. A review of pilot licencing is just one of the Coalition’s proposals to eliminate that unnecessary regulation. ”

It is certainly unusual to hear this sort of talk coming from a politician, but is even stranger, given the recent debate concerning the industry/Department antipathy, to hear that the Department is also thinking of a licencing shake-up, following much prompting from the industry and most recently through the Report of the General Aviation/Department of Aviation Study Group.

Paul Middleton, Senior Examiner of Airmen with the Flight Standards Division of the Department, says that now the Department has more or less ‘cleared the desks’ with the instrument flight ratings, it will be able to proceed with a full review of licencing.

One Departmental proposal which is scheduled to be in place by February 1st, 1987, is that ‘provisional’ Student licences will be issued by Chief Flying Instructors, once the student has completed an approved medical examination. This would mean that training could start immediately, without the normal delay for the licence to be issued from the Regions. The Aviation Medicine Branch of the Department would still have to check the results of the medical, but if these were OK, the ‘provisional’ Student lie ence would be confirmed while training continued. Certainly, this would eliminate the annoyance of a delay in the commencement of training and as the Student would be flying under the supervision of an instructor, there is no ‘safety’ issue.

It is interesting that both the Department of Aviation and the Coalition perceive a need for a ‘Recreational Pilot’s Licence’ and that even though the Department’s ideas are still in the very early developmental stage, they are similar to those of the Shadow Minister.

The Department envisages the Recreational Pilot’s Licence (RPL) as being similar to the present Restricted PPL, although without the area restriction and with the curriculum containing some meteorology and navigation. Ideas on limitations that the licence might need include operations only being permitted outside controlled airspace (OCTA) and below 5000′. The Department is also looking at the need to limit the size and performance of the aircraft that could be flown with this licence, with a maximum of four seats being a likely guideline. The APL could also be used as a stepping stone to the PPL, which would remain much the same as it presently is.

The Department also intends to review commercial licencing to bring Australia’s licencing into line with overseas practice. This would include a basic commercial licence which would stand alone from the APL and the PPL and some form of Air lransport Pilot’s Licence which would essentially be an amalgamation of the present Senior Commercial and ATPL. Again, the Department’s ideas were only at a very rudimentary stage and Paul Middleton gave assurances that the full process of consultation would certainly be pursued in any review.

Another initiative which the Department is looking at is the adoption of a new type of licence itself, moving away from the present card book type, to a plastic card, similar to that in use in the United States. The credit card type licence would include a small medical certificate which would indicate the period of validity of the licence and which was replaceable after each medical examination.

The Department also envisages a review of pilot licencing commencing in early 1987, with the issuing of an Aviation Aegulatory Proposal (ARP) for industry comment and believes that if the entire process could be completed within five years, then they would be doing well.

The Shadow Minister, Mr Lloyd, indicated his support for the Department’s review: “As long as industry consultation is meaningful and can actually be seen to be influencing Departmental thinking, so that we don’t end up with a complicated system which has as many shortcomings as the present one and which takes no account of ways to foster aviation in this country. ”

With both the Coalition Parties and the Department of Aviation talking about a review of pilot licencing, including the establishment of a Recreational Pilot’s Licence, it seems there is at least a reasonable chance of improving the present system