From the Regions

The plan is to begin with 20 indigenous students in the first year of a two-year program, so the second and subsequent years would have 40 students undergoing training.

The training would be in two stages with some RAAA flying training organisation members being invited to participate up to commercial level and stage two being provided by the RFDS, resulting in a multi-crew ready graduate endorsed on the King Air B200/350.

The training would be funded by a combination of existing government programs and some generous philanthropic individuals.

Some RAAA members have already indicated that they would consider employing successful graduates, making this not just a training exercise for the sake of training but rather training for employment.

Fatigue watch

The recent RAAA technical working group and board meeting was held in Adelaide. We had a number of excellent technical presenters including Mark Holmes from Circadian Australia.

Mark presented on a product called the Rediband which records quality and quantity of sleep, and gives the reader an objective readout of the wearer’s fatigue levels. The score is the product of a biomathematical fatigue model developed by the US Army research lab through 25 years of applied research. It is relied upon by a number of agencies including, notably, the US Department of Transportation and the US FAA.

Sector risk

CASA has held the first Sector Risk Profile (SRP) workshop on Helicopter Medical Transport operations. Participants included LifeFlight, CareFlight, Babcock Mission Critical Services Australasia, Toll Helicopters, Queensland Government Air and the RAAA.

And at the time of writing I am attending the SRP on Aeroplane Medical Transport operations.

Any regulatory response by CASA to the identified hazards is likely to have a flow-on impact to potential AOC holders upgrading from Charter to CASR Part 135 operations.

It is important to participate early in this process and to advocate for the adoption of a wide range of relevant mitigators that are available, other than settling for more regulation. This approach has been demonstrated to be very effective in the Large Aeroplane (more than 98-seats) SRP workshops.

CASA is looking at a further 12 months extension, along with a range of other options, including the eminently sensible option of self-insuring! There is a six person task force made up of CASA, Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development and Department of Finance representatives studying the issues.

Engineering standards

The Engineering Training Action Group is making sure and steady progress with all stakeholders now agreed on a high-level articulated position from which to proceed.

Article 37 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, ratified by Australia decades back, places an obligation on Australia to adopt the minimum aircraft maintenance engineer training standards promulgated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

ICAO promulgates the minimum standards in a training manual that specifies standards not only for the aircraft maintenance engineer, but also the training organisations themselves.

CASA therefore must, under the Civil Aviation Act, publish requirements consistent with the Convention. The Industry Reference Council will ensure that reviews and outcomes are equivalent to the minimum standards published by ICAO.

Aviation is a global industry and needs internationally recognised qualifications so the maintenance, repair and overhaul industry can compete in international markets.

TAAAF

Membership of the The Australian Aviation Associations Forum (TAAAF) continues to grow.

The membership now includes: The Aerial Application Association of Australia (AAAA), Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA), Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia (AAAA), Australian Aircraft Manufacturers (AAM), Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS), Australian Business Aviation Association (ABAA), Australian Certified UAV Operators Inc (ACUO), Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA), Australian Warbirds Association Limited (AWAL), Australian Women Pilots Association (AWPA), Aviation Innovation Network (AIN), Aviation Law Association of Australia & New Zealand (ALAANZ), Aviation Maintenance Repair & Overhaul Business Association (AMROBA), Flight Test Society of Australia (FTSA), Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus), Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA), Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia (RFACA).

Plan to be there

The program is almost finalised for this year’s annual conference, to be held from October 25-28, at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. Please plan now to attend what is the premier aviation convention in Australia.

While we will always invite the Minister responsible for our industry to open the event, we have changed the line-up slightly to provide extra opportunities to hear from more subject matter experts.

The plan is to begin with 20 indigenous students in the first year.