May 01, 2010
From the President
Our AGM will be held at the Sportsman Club at Bankstown on Saturday the 22nd of May at 11:00 am. This is an opportunity for members to attend, and talk to the directors. AOPA is your organisation and, we welcome your participation and comments. After the AGM we will hold a short board meeting followed by luncheon at the club. For catering purposes we ask that you please register your proposed attendance with Kylie at the AOPA office.
Brian Hannan has decided to stand down from the board. Brian has worked tirelessly for AOPA and general aviation, and the Cessna SID resolution was just one of Brian’s many achievements. Nominations for board positions have closed and Jesse Dargan our Administration Manager and Election Returning Officer will be announcing the make up of the new board.
My planned flight to New Zealand for Warbirds over Wanaka had to be cancelled. I was hoping to meet up with our New Zealand AOPA colleagues, however an unexpected health issue put paid to that. I will be expanding on that in this issue as I intend using my experience in dealing with CASA medical people and my problem as a guide to others who may face a similar situation.
We are making good progress with Airservices Australia and the ASTRA committee. Andrew Andersen has contributed significantly via a very well researched and written submission, which we believe the committee will adopt as its model for the future of enroute and terminal navigation as we move to greater reliance on satellite based navigation systems.
We have a number of significant challenges in the year ahead and it is interesting that AOPA USA have the same concerns that we have. Craig Fuller, President of AOPA USA gave an interview to Avweb at Sun ’n Fun. Fuller said on Thursday he is working toward four aims: to restore the pilot population, to protect community airports, to improve GA safety and to upgrade GA’s image. He also spoke at length on Next Gen the modernisation of the ATC system. AOPA USA supports modernisation of the ATC system, regarding it as important that they support ATC as it moves forward to a satellite based system, however they are working with the FAA to try and minimise the cost impact to their members. He also said the FAA is installing ground receivers for ADS-B and helicopter operations are now using ADS-B in the Gulf of Mexico with receiver units located on oil-rigs.
Redundancy is a concern and they are working with the FAA to ensure that as people become more dependent on satellite systems, there is additional satellite capacity available to provide that redundancy. This week one of the WAAS satellites went down, the impact was minimal, but it has affected coverage in Alaska where the system is relied on extensively and has focused attention on the redundancy issue.
Craig Fuller also discussed the future of leaded fuel, continuing pressure from the EPA will mean that 100LL fuel will be phased out within the next decade. Fuel companies and engine manufactures are all working towards having a substitute fuel within that time period. We in Australia need to watch this development closely.
Their concerns with a declining pilot population mirror our own, the global financial crisis has had an immediate impact, but the overall decline has been ongoing over many years. I believe increasing regulatory complexity; airport closures and security imposts have all contributed.
Airports are no longer the friendly relaxed places they used to be. We now have security systems in place that seem to be designed to keep out those that have a legitimate reason to be there, while contributing nothing to prevent the real villains from making mischief and unnecessarily restricting general aviation operators who pose no real threat.
Where aviation is competing for the leisure dollar many people see other pursuits such as boating as far more friendly and less intimidating. We need to work to minimise the regulatory burden and if we must have a security system in place, let’s make it more practical and aimed at the security risk.
Like AOPA USA, we had hoped that the Light Sport Aircraft movement would enable more people to become involved in aviation. A recreational licence would be a good stepping-stone, for those that aspire to move up the licence ladder. CASA seem to have put that one in the too hard basket. We will continue to push for the recreational licence – I understand New Zealand has introduced the licence.
These are all matters that will occupy your new board after the AGM on the 22nd May 2010; I look forward to welcoming those members who can attend at the AGM.
Phillip Reiss
AOPA President
