Tabla de contenidos para May - June 2022 en Australian Flying

The senate inquiry into Australia’s general aviation industry has pushed out its final reporting date to 22 October 2022. The inquiry, which has been underway since late 2019 was due to table its final report on 17 March. Instead, the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport (RRAT) elected to issue an interim report on their findings on 30 March, with the inquiry set to continue taking evidence. Initially, the inquiry was due to report on 30 November 2021 after two years of hearings and submissions, but the pandemic restricted the ability to conduct business, so the final report date was extended to 17 March 2022, which was also not met. Since the report was self-referred in December 2019, the committee has received 74 submissions both public…

In aviation, very few good things happen after someone says "watch this!" So I was a touch apprehensive when instructor Michael Xeni took over the controls of WT9 1783 and proceeded to configure the aircraft for a rate of descent a dive-bomber would be proud of. We went down at ear-busting speed, but the aircraft was stable and pliable through the whole exercise. I learnt that the latest embodiment of this speedy Slovakian LSA is as docile as it is fast; an impressive combination at a time when people are looking for LSAs to perform better without sacrificing the ease of handling. My first encounter with an Aerospool WT9 Dynamic was in 2013, when I did a flight test for Australian Flying. Had you told me then that it would…

“As soon as you pass your PPL, you’ll never use it again!” To what piece of flight bag equipment is this oft-uttered statement by instructors referring? If you guessed flight computer–colloquially known as the whizz wheel–then top of the class for you. The humble old whizz wheel may be one of the few analogue pieces of equipment left in flight training. For an ever-increasing number of pilots, our cockpits, charts, maps– even our watches–are smart-based. However, as a non-digital piece of hardware, the whizz wheel still very much a useable item for students pre-PPL as well as for those studying for CPL nav and IREX (and in many cases before the flight tests, depending on the modernity of the instructor). As CASA does not allow iPads or programmable electronic equipment…

In December 2021 the safety regulator, CASA, made provisions within the Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 95.55 for Approved Self-Administering Aviation Organisations (ASAO) to administer lightweight aeroplanes up to and including 760 kg maximum take off weight (MTOW). Of course, from a Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) perspective we see this as a good thing in terms of potential to growth to our organisation, but we also believe it’s a good for the industry more broadly. From the very non-scientific straw-poll I’ve taken from friends and colleagues, I’ve ascertained that it is pretty rare for your average private aviator to have more than two people onboard for a typical flight. And given the capability of your typical 1970s four-seat single engine aircraft (e.g., Piper Warrior or C172), the dream of taking three…

Aviation giant Textron Aviation, which owns the Cessna, Beechcraft and Bell brands, has agreed to acquire Slovenian LSA and electric aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel, the two companies announced in March Pipistrel counts within its product range the Virus SW LSA, Alpha Electro trainer, Velis Electro and the 200-KTAS Panthera retractable GA single. According to Textron, Pipistrel will now have greater resources, technical and regulatory expertise and a global support network, enabling it to accelerate its development and certification of electric and hybrid electric aircraft. Once completed, Pipistrel will become part of a new business segment: Textron eAviation, which will focus on developing sustainable aviation systems. “Pipistrel puts Textron in a uniquely strong position to develop technologies for the sustainable aviation market and develop a variety of new aircraft to meet a…

Textron Aviation announced in March that the Federal Aviation Administration had issued the type certificate for the new Cessna C408 SkyCourier. Textron started the twin turbo-prop utility as a clean-sheet design in 2017, and was awarded the TC after 2100 hours in testing. "Achieving FAA certification for the Cessna SkyCourier demonstrates the expertise and hard work of our employees, as well as Textron Aviation’s continued investment in providing solutions for our customers,” said Ron Draper, president and CEO, Textron Aviation. “Our clean-sheet design brings to this segment what customers said they need: the ability to load, fly, unload and repeat with low operating costs and maximum cabin flexibility and efficiency. "We expect the SkyCourier to be a workhorse of the fleet for FedEx and many other customers around the globe…

Optimism, it is said, is a force multiplier. If there is any truth in that, RotorTech 2022 will be the largest boost the Australian rotary aviation industry has ever had. The industry is still facing significant issues and challenges to a more stable future, but the success of the 2021 conference and exhibition is fueling a belief that getting the industry together in one place to thrash out solutions is the best way forward; perhaps the only way forward. Slated for the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane 21-23 June, RotorTech is featuring on the aviation calendar for the second consecutive year, breaking the two-year cadence the event organisers have traditionally stuck with. Although there are pragmatic reasons for this, the industry groundswell to repeat the success of 2021 as…

For some years, general aviation (GA) has been asking for less complex maintenance rules that reduce costs, and I’m pleased to report we are moving to deliver on that this year. As Australian Flying goes to print, we are hoping to start the consultation process on Part 43 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) governing maintenance of private and aerial work aircraft. Much work and consultation has already gone into this process, as you will see as it unfolds, and it will benefit operators and Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (LAME) alike. While it has been some time coming, and we appreciate this has been the source of some frustration, my hope is that we can now focus on the progress that has been made. The aim was to base the…

In 2018 CASA announced that, for aircraft engaged in private operations and airwork that they would “incorporate the adopted FAR regulations into the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) with as little amendment as possible…” Like many of you, I’d hoped that this meant what it said, but CASA did precisely the opposite. I recently asked CASA if it was mandatory to replace a small spring in a landing gear actuator that is the subject of a manufacturer’s Service Bulletin (SB). The FAA says it is not mandatory. CASA’s response was a masterpiece of logical irrationality. “The manufacturer’s service life and servicing recommendations are not mandatory unless specified in the airworthiness limitations section of the maintenance manual or type certificate applicable to the aircraft, engine or component “ … As…

AOPA Australia CEO Ben Morgan believes the general aviation industry has no hope of recovery until the government does something about problems at federally-leased airports. Commenting on the Aviation Recovery Framework released last December, Morgan said the framework was disappointing because it failed to address what he saw as key issues, and singled out the impact of privatised and council-owned airports on the decline of GA. “If you want to address the decline of GA and create a rapid response to get aviation moving, at the top of the list you need to tackle privatised airports, as tough as that one is,” he told Australian Flying. Although the framework included a review of the Airports Act 1996, which is due to sunset in 2024, the timeframe has not impressed AOPA,…

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority amended the contentious regulations covering community service flights (CSF) in March this year. CASA released the modified rules after a community survey and consultations with Angel Flight and Little Wings. Key changes to the requirements for pilots and aircraft conducting CSFs are: • removal of an additional 100-hourly maintenance requirement for aircraft conducting CSF flights above that required for private flights • the requirement for a pilot to have completed a landing within the previous 30 days in an aircraft of the type being used for the CSF has been clarified. The original intent that a landing can be done on the same day as the CSF has been incorporated • pilots that hold a medical exemption for a Class 1 or Class 2 medical…

General aviation operations have always been a mixed bag of personal and business fortunes (or misfortunes). In attempting to provide an overview of what COVID has done to that mixed bag, well, it appears, there’s the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Australia is a big country; girt by sea. Two years of COVID relentlessly battering the system, has exposed just how big, and how girt, it really is, and how much we rely on the aviation network to keep this big country connected and moving. But did the country rely on aviation, or general aviation? With federal financial assistance as a measure, you’d be inclined to believe it was the airline industry. Sure, it was gravely ill, but was the government handing money to an unconscious patient to…

Consistent with world-wide trends, Australian operators report a massive upturn in demand for charter services, as those who can avoid airline cancelations, crowded terminals, and aircraft with people of unknown COVID status. The desire to fly privately, setting your own timetable, and destinations, has never been stronger. Operators report that the cashed up “grey” baby-boomer market for outback, safari, and see-the-country tours, is also strong and rebounding fast. Charter flying can be the well-worn, hours, experience, and career building path to bigger and better things, like flying for the airlines. For others, it is a fun-filled and varied flying life they wouldn’t swap for quids. In non-legal terms, charter pilots fly non-scheduled flights of people and/or freight for financial reward. Timing and route are tailored for customers, be they organisations…

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Western Australian companies Aviair and HeliSpirit have formed a partnership to deliver eVTOL capability to Western Australia. The companies ordered up to 50 Eve Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft for delivery from 2026 on. Embraer-owned Eve will supply the first zero-emission aircraft, which will bolster the combined fleets of over 50 rotary and fixed wing aircraft in current operation. HeliSpirit Managing Director Michael McConachy said the company was looking at ways to improve on its carbon emissions and reduce its footprint. "This year marks 20 years of HeliSpirit being eco-accredited as a green travel leader, entering us into the Eco Tourism Australia Hall of Fame, so this is great timing to commit to significantly reducing our carbon footprint by operating zero-emission electric aircraft.” Eve eVTOLS are also expected to have…