Smooth landing?

CASA announced the move to FAA Class D procedures in December last year, which replace GAAP at six airports around Australia and 11 existing Class D aerodromes around Australia. While the procedures are broadly based on FAA procedures, the airspace designation criteria now reflect those used by IACO. CASA says that this brings Australia into line with worldwide standards, and should make it easier for overseas students conducting training at former GAAP airports. Unlike the former GAAP changes, CASA also invited submissions as part of the process of forming the new procedures.

While welcoming the consultation, some parties say that their suggestions have been put aside. “We put in our submission but we can’t see that any of our suggestions were taken up by CASA,” Royal Aero Club of WA president Jack Gregor told Australian Aviation shortly before the change to Class D at its home airport of Jandakot. “Of course we don’t know what happened with others. However we can’t see much difference between what CASA put out for discussion and what was adopted. In short there was enough time for us to comment but not much seems to have been taken aboard.”

During May, CASA conducted over 60 seminars around the country to educate pilots on the changes to procedures, while it also released a number of printed materials and e-learning resources for all pilots to make themselves aware of the new procedures. A number of aero clubs, flying schools and operators at the affected airports also conducted a number of in-house seminars to ensure that their pilots were prepared for the changes.

“At the workshops I attended it was clear most pilots believed the new procedures are a positive move and do not impose any onerous requirements or create impediments to smooth operations,” CASA CEO John McCormick said in the May issue of CASA’s The Briefing newsletter. “Naturally, some people had questions about the details and raised issues worthy of discussion.”

GAAP approach points have now changed to VFR approach points, and are no longer mandatory but are recommended entry points into Class D airspace. As such, it is expected that the majority of pilots will still choose to use the entry points to enter the airspace. A speed limit has also been added for Class D airspace, with pilots not to exceed 200kt indicated unless authorised by Air Traffic Control.

Separations have also changed, with aircraft flying VFR within the Class D zone now responsible for ensuring sufficient separation to avoid wake turbulence from heavy aircraft. ATC now provides separation for aircraft operating IFR and special VFR. Special VFR flights will be separated from other special VFR flights when the visibility is less than visual meteorological conditions (VMC).

Surface movement control will also be reintroduced at former GAAP aerodromes, which will require pilots to seek clearance before moving from the apron onto the taxiway, and at any time when crossing s runway. Pilots will also be required to gain clearance to take off, enter the circuit or transit through the airspace.

Another change is the requirement to maintain two-way communications with the tower, while there are abbreviated radio calls are now possible. ATC may clear the aircraft to enter the airspace by simply acknowledging the transmission with the aircraft’s callsign.

Pilots will also be able to operate IFR in VMC class D conditions, reversing the previously mandated requirement to operate as VFR within the GAAP zone. Pilots will also be able to depart or arrive in VFR and later change to IFR, which in some cases may allow them to lessen delays due to the requirements of ATC to provide separation.

At the same time, procedures at non-towered aerodromes (NTA) have also changed, with CTAF-Rs effectively now being taken over by new NTA procedures. Aircraft using NTAs must now carry and use radio at all certified and military aerodromes, with the affected aerodromes shown in the latest ERSA.

Different categories of aircraft will also fly at different standard circuit heights. Low performance aircraft, which are designated as those with a circuit speed of 55 knots or less, will fly a standard circuit height of 500ft above the aerodrome. Medium aircraft with circuit speeds between 55 knots and 150 knots, which includes most piston-engined GA aircraft, will fly a standard circuit height of 1000ft above the aerodrome, while high performance aircraft such as jets and turboprops will fly a standard circuit height of 1500ft above the aerodrome.

Pilots using NTAs are now also required to broadcast the name of the aerodrome, aircraft type and callsign, position and pilots’ intentions “whenever it is reasonably necessary to do so to avoid a collision, or the risk of a collision, with another aircraft.”

At the time of writing, the new Class D procedures had only been in operation for a few days, but early indications were that the system appeared to be working. While minor incidents were reported at some airports, most operators reported that the implementation of the new procedures had largely gone smoothly, with many noting that the communications put out by CASA helped to gain some clarity for a number of pilots.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told Australian Aviation that from its perspective, the changes have been handled well by the industry. “We have been out observing operations at both Class D and Non Towered Aerodromes, and overall it appears to be running very smoothly,” he said.

Immediately after the implementation, CASA has made a point of seeking feedback on the changes to Class D and NTA, with Gibson noting that it has put a link to a contact page on the front page. “There are a handful of emails where people have asked questions essentially, and generally that’s what we’ve found at the workshops as well,” said Gibson. “There was very rarely criticism, it was more about people asking questions about detail which is good.”

Nevertheless, there are some concerns about how it may perform during the winter period, particularly with the requirement for ATC to provide separation for special VFR and IFR traffic. “We worry that Airservices have the resources to handle multiple Special VFR aircraft. Jandakot is a high density airport and Controllers might face far more demands than they are used to,” said Gregor.

So far though, Airservices has not reported any major impacts on its operations from the increase in services being offered by ATC as a result of the new procedures.

CASA has also given some comfort that there will be a review and some refinements could be made to the procedures. “Our observations, and feedback from pilots and air traffic controllers, will be examined by post implementation reviews of the changes. These reviews will identify any areas that may need fine-tuning to further improve procedures,” said McCormick.

During a seminar attended by Australian Aviation, CASA and Airservices staff noted that there were already issues that would be examined as part of the post-implementation review, which would possibly lead to some changes, particularly in regards to required radio calls when entering adjacent Class G airspace.

The industry is also likely to be keen to make its submissions as part of this review process. “We are keeping good records for the post implementation review in case any of the rules need to be tweaked,” said Gregor.

For the moment though, CASA appears satisfied with the implementation of the new procedures by pilots across the nation. “We’ve got no evidence of people having problems with the new procedures or being particularly opposed to them, it’s just a matter of everyone getting used to doing a few things differently,” said Gibson. “We’ll continue to go out and observe operations at locations to make sure that’s happening.”