Dick Smith! Cancel this Ridiculous Wake Idea.
old Akro:
absolutely right, they have been bought off by CASA.
One of the problems with Australia is that government (and especially the public service side of government) only listen to peak bodies. And our peak bodies have failed us. They have failed us badly.
Dicks approach
Dick,
Firstly, i have an enormous amount of respect for you, and what you have done for our Country, and your passion. Make no mistake, i am an advocate.
But please, i feel your disregard for the Military influence in CASA is unwarranted and disrespectful. I have no Military experience or connections whatsoever. I do know that any person who was prepared to stand in front of my family or your family and perhaps pay with their life, quite simply is entitled to a certain level of respect. Sweeping statements about Military Personnel being a cause of problems in CASA is not justified.
Dick. I have my Business because as a Kid i saw your face on the stores and it clicked that real people own Businesses. It sparked that desire. It was instrumental in creating it. That same Business only exists today because of the capabilities of ex Military people at CASA to "get it".
These people have the same passion for our Country that you do. Lets keep it professional. Constant criticisms that they are responsible for our woes, is way off the mark in my opinion.
Firstly, i have an enormous amount of respect for you, and what you have done for our Country, and your passion. Make no mistake, i am an advocate.
But please, i feel your disregard for the Military influence in CASA is unwarranted and disrespectful. I have no Military experience or connections whatsoever. I do know that any person who was prepared to stand in front of my family or your family and perhaps pay with their life, quite simply is entitled to a certain level of respect. Sweeping statements about Military Personnel being a cause of problems in CASA is not justified.
Dick. I have my Business because as a Kid i saw your face on the stores and it clicked that real people own Businesses. It sparked that desire. It was instrumental in creating it. That same Business only exists today because of the capabilities of ex Military people at CASA to "get it".
These people have the same passion for our Country that you do. Lets keep it professional. Constant criticisms that they are responsible for our woes, is way off the mark in my opinion.
Glen b, I disagree strongly with your characterization of the military as heroic warriors, it is a very dangerous belief. In my experience, most of the air force is there to get free training that can later be sold in the private sector. Less so the Navy and Army.
The American characterization is "too lazy to work and too scared to steal". British law also treats the military as "citizens differently armed". World wars one and two were in part caused by German and later Japanese misplaced reverence for their military caste.
Alternately you can put me on a pedestal too for standing ready to defend you against the Vietnamese hordes all those years ago.
To put that another way, save it for Anzac Day.
The American characterization is "too lazy to work and too scared to steal". British law also treats the military as "citizens differently armed". World wars one and two were in part caused by German and later Japanese misplaced reverence for their military caste.
Alternately you can put me on a pedestal too for standing ready to defend you against the Vietnamese hordes all those years ago.
To put that another way, save it for Anzac Day.
heroic warriors
"heroic warriors" has got nothing to do with it. it's about Professionalism, Ethics, appreciation of structures, reporting, accountability, analysing, competence, procedures etc. All of this exposure and experience that we miss out on in GA, in my humble opinion. and Respect!
"heroic warriors" has got nothing to do with it. it's about Professionalism, Ethics, appreciation of structures, reporting, accountability, analysing, competence, procedures etc. All of this exposure and experience that we miss out on in GA, in my humble opinion. and Respect!
In CASA there is no established and well defined structures and procedures. They may be Volumes published but everyone, including ex-military types, operate in their own world and with their own interpretations of the publications, both internal and public. This not only exists between Canberra and the Regions, but between the Regions and even extends to between staff in the same region.
How do I know? I only had 30 years of operating in the GA sector and 20 years of direct face to face dealings with the all the regions. When one had to start asking in which Region a person was or intending to operate, things started going downhill.
I am now glad I am out of it.
Dick's earned the right to make it as he sees it.
As a GA airport and aircraft owner operator, flying school CFI, twin training and licence testing approvals, CP for IFR charter and RPT operations I have watched for 30 years, with dismay, the death by a thousand cuts of what should be a growing industry. On top of this safety is suffering.
Excessive and prescriptive regulation, heavy handed bureaucratic administration and a new rule set, inappropriately made part of the criminal law, is applied after a 26 year gestation period. This extraordinary and unworkable rule set now requires a suite of exemptions which are being hurriedly promulgated to prevent a complete collapse of General Aviation, especially flight training.
Safety suffers because of confusion, what is exactly lawful and what is not?
Safety suffers because we do not utilise experienced personnel. There's too much time consuming and wasteful paperwork coupled with insufficient incentives to remain in a shrinking industry.
Safety suffers because lack of activity has pushed up avgas fuel prices and caused closure of refueling facilities all over Australia thus reducing options for safe fuel endurance, and increasing costs.
Safety suffers because more just drop out of legal flying. When you live way out in the bush, faced with SIDS, biennial flight reviews and expensive medicals no imagination is needed to see what will happen.
Safety suffers because costs and impossible regulation reduces flying hours, recency drops off, pilots simply get out of practice.
I believe we should systematically list and repeatedly get out the message that there must be incentives, attractive remuneration is a prerequisite, and part of a healthy industry. There are too many road blocks, like the instructor who is still trying since November to achieve a flying school permit. She had to part with an $8000 fee to CASA, for what? She is already qualified. In the States she would have been working since November with no fee gouging. The flying school she is trying to reestablish was operative for at least 40 years to my certain knowledge. The previous incumbent now works for guess who. Last I spoke to the applicant the permission was on hold because the CASA official dealing with it went on holiday. Preventing someone from working is against human rights. CASA has effectively taken the money under false pretenses and keeping her dangling is completely unacceptable.
The model of an independent Commonwealth body with minimal Ministerial oversight is a failure. The Board of CASA have been removed from policy formation and the CEO, the oddly styled 'Director of Air Safety' (sitting on cloud 9 with a baton?) has virtually unfettered power, thus making the Board impotent and redundant.
It is more clear than ever that the only way forward is political action and publicity from Dick is greatly welcomed.
Wren
and...
Safety suffers because we fly less
Safety suffers because we have no navaids for training / practice anymore
Safety suffers because less people / aircraft are IFR because of Pt 61 & ADS-B
Safety suffers because airports are dropping being licenced and / or have IFR approaches because its too expensive.
and...
Safety suffers because we fly less
Safety suffers because we have no navaids for training / practice anymore
Safety suffers because less people / aircraft are IFR because of Pt 61 & ADS-B
Safety suffers because airports are dropping being licenced and / or have IFR approaches because its too expensive.
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With the money the Mcbanks send to offshore tax havens every year one can only imagine what aviation infrastructure could be.
yesterday Sydney was compromised by heavy fog, Brisbane today.
Almost every airline aircraft operating to these airports today are capable of CAT 111 approaches, yet Australia as a whole does not enjoy what the rest of the world enjoys.
Europe, in winter would grind to a halt without low vis procedures.
Yesterday and today considerable amounts of money got pissed up against the wall with multiple diversions, expense and inconvenience to travellers because our airport owners see more value in parking lots than using any of their ill gotten gains on public infrastructure.
How many emergency approaches are conducted every year in Australia to CAT 111 minima on CAT 1 ground aids? Would the Mildura event have occurred if Adelaide had CAT 111 equipment and procedures in place? The holes in the swiss cheese are inevitably lining up.
Our secondary airports much the same.
The Murky Mandarin engineered the delivery of secondary airports into the hands of development sharks. Greed and corruption the end result. Bankstown alone has descended into a lawyer fest. Law suites at twenty paces to divide up the spoils.
When the Secondaries were publicly owned they cost the government NOTHING, public land, publicly administered returned the government a modest profit every year under the FAC. Today millions are being spent on lawyers to decide who gets the mega bucks out of development of what was public land reserved for aviation.
The same principles devoted to "privatising" secondary airports could be applied to our national parks. Now wouldn't Mc Bank just love to get hold of them.
It is corruption at its finest.
yesterday Sydney was compromised by heavy fog, Brisbane today.
Almost every airline aircraft operating to these airports today are capable of CAT 111 approaches, yet Australia as a whole does not enjoy what the rest of the world enjoys.
Europe, in winter would grind to a halt without low vis procedures.
Yesterday and today considerable amounts of money got pissed up against the wall with multiple diversions, expense and inconvenience to travellers because our airport owners see more value in parking lots than using any of their ill gotten gains on public infrastructure.
How many emergency approaches are conducted every year in Australia to CAT 111 minima on CAT 1 ground aids? Would the Mildura event have occurred if Adelaide had CAT 111 equipment and procedures in place? The holes in the swiss cheese are inevitably lining up.
Our secondary airports much the same.
The Murky Mandarin engineered the delivery of secondary airports into the hands of development sharks. Greed and corruption the end result. Bankstown alone has descended into a lawyer fest. Law suites at twenty paces to divide up the spoils.
When the Secondaries were publicly owned they cost the government NOTHING, public land, publicly administered returned the government a modest profit every year under the FAC. Today millions are being spent on lawyers to decide who gets the mega bucks out of development of what was public land reserved for aviation.
The same principles devoted to "privatising" secondary airports could be applied to our national parks. Now wouldn't Mc Bank just love to get hold of them.
It is corruption at its finest.
Wren
and...
Safety suffers because we fly less
Safety suffers because we have no navaids for training / practice anymore
Safety suffers because less people / aircraft are IFR because of Pt 61 & ADS-B
Safety suffers because airports are dropping being licenced and / or have IFR approaches because its too expensive.
and...
Safety suffers because we fly less
Safety suffers because we have no navaids for training / practice anymore
Safety suffers because less people / aircraft are IFR because of Pt 61 & ADS-B
Safety suffers because airports are dropping being licenced and / or have IFR approaches because its too expensive.
Safety suffers because people are driving when they'd be safer flying.
And...
We don't train enough home grown pilots to supply our airlines, hence they are on the 457 workers visa list. Not ideal and the training money and GA wages prior to the pilot graduating to airlines should retained within Australia.
Australia suffers from a higher government deficit. All those CASA public servants(?), say 400, being conservative, in excess of necessity, could be working in productive areas in private enterprise, quite apart from the hundreds of millions down the drain from sheer incompetence. How can circa $300 million be spent on a regulatory reform program over 28 years, still not finished, the last tranche a disaster, not be noticed?
We suffer from lack of freedom which leads to lack of innovation and the enjoyments of flying that we used enjoy in spades.
We suffer from fewer landing grounds because of less activity. Look for Google Earth popular destinations as I have and pick out the now unused private airstrips.
We suffer from being induced into the low weight category aircraft (LWCat) because of an easier medical and maintenance requirements. This a truly retrograde policy which dictates to designers to build down to a ridiculously low weight. Hats of to all those who have made the best of it, and there are perfectly designed low weight aircraft for particular use. Trouble is nothing disguises the truth that many aviators would be far better remaining with conventional GA aircraft. Where do you put the esky in a LWCat? How does a plus six footer fit into the average LWCat? Where's the range? They cannot fly IFR but a C150 can because it is strong enough. Thousands have gone to the low weight category simply because of a reasonable regulatory regime. Ironically a regime that is a near copy of what pertained during the great days of growth in VH GA of the 60s and 70s.
Many individuals have suffered at the hands of an all powerful bureaucracy in a manner that would not pass accepted legal norms.
To hide from the situation and trust the regulator to behave in a rational matter flies in the face of a disgraceful history spanning at least 30 years. A wake every week at an airport near you would be great. Awake Australia Aviation is our hope but without change 'a wake' will be very appropriate for GA as a whole.
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Akro
I have posted this before. If you took your reinvestment in motor cars over the same tim period since your Seneca or whatever was built, you would have many hundreds of thousands to spend on re-equiping.
The argument is fatally flawed. You are miles in front yet you want it for free. It makes no sense.
His situation is more severe than most, but we all face significant issues with the implementation of ADS-B. We just spent somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 the value of our aircraft to make it ADS-B compliant - with zero safety benefit.
The argument is fatally flawed. You are miles in front yet you want it for free. It makes no sense.
via Jabawocky:
...The argument is fatally flawed. You are miles in front yet you want it for free. It makes no sense.
...The argument is fatally flawed. You are miles in front yet you want it for free. It makes no sense.
At any rate. As I've noted before, ADSB needs GPS and GPS is just what the islamic nutters need, a drone bomb targeting system that we have no viable defense against at this time.
As an example, a couple of days ago Israel fired off a couple of patriot missles at a drone and missed! I dont yet know if they isolated the GPS signals to send the drone off track though I'd imagine the whole exercise probably cost Israel many hundreds of thousands of dollars... and the drone likely cost the terrorists a few hundred dollars and a couple of easily replaceable 'martyrs'.
"Two Patriot air defence missiles were fired towards a drone which infiltrated Israeli airspace in the central Golan Heights. The drone returned to Syria," the Israeli army said.
Ynetnews News - Patriot missiles fired at aircraft in Golan Heights
Drone Expert Concerned by Failure to Shoot Down UAV That Penetrated Israeli Airspace - Israel News - Haaretz
We set up Oz airspace to be reliant on a GPS based ADSB system and when the first terrorist drones start wandering in over the Oz coast there will be aviation chaos when the civvy GPS gets turned off. Likely, because we've become reliant on GPS, most of the light aircraft will be banned from the east coast regions that have heavy jet traffic. i.e., where most of the light aircraft are based.
It is compleat and utter idiocy to bring in any GPS based system until such time as the GPS guided terrorist bomb drones can be neutralized. In fact I'd think it were criminal to do so as the implementers of the system should know of the terrorist bomb threat and I'd think they'd have to be getting some sort of kick-backs to be still working on it at this time..
"...Commercially available drones have the potential to be converted into flying bombs capable of hitting targets such as nuclear power stations or the prime minister’s car, a report by a security thinktank has warned..."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...rity-thinktank
.
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"Happy people are our best ambassadors so if you've been an AOPA member for a long time, please tell your friends who aren't members what we are trying to do to make flying easier in Australia. We need membership as political capital to show the regulator and their political masters that we represent a large body of pilots who wish to be heard at the highest level.
That can only come from having a large membership"
Aaron Stephenson, AOPA Australia CEO April 2015
He gets it and notwithstanding the rather dismal effort so far to achieve any significant growth in numbers joining AOPA, the fact remains the day you give up and predict you can't succeed (as Dick Smith plans to announce on Thursday) is the day you are defeated. That's the day its all over.
No team ever pulled off a win by announcing imminent defeat. Champions are those who turn a dire situtaion into a win.
Call it off Dick and how about forgetting this nonsense that GA has no future. It does have a future and it will get brighter the more effort and innovation people are prepared to put in. How about getting behind AOPA, help them set and achieve serious targets for new memberships with a base of circa 20,000 members in say 3-4 years. Invite overseas speakers to highlight the national economic benefits of simpler regulation. Definitely invite media and politicians to these addresses which now sets out a vision for aviation in Australia that is too good to ignore. A vision that attracts revenue from holidaying foreign pilots, reduces unemployment and creates work opportunities and develops commercial enterprises. General aviation has an enormous potential to deliver a massive boost to our economy. There's so much more than just these few ideas.
But it can only start from a positive foundation that is properly presented to those people who need to buy in to this vision - politicians, state and local governments and potential new participants. Once a tipping point is reached you achieve success and regain control of the GA future.
Call it off Dick.
That can only come from having a large membership"
Aaron Stephenson, AOPA Australia CEO April 2015
He gets it and notwithstanding the rather dismal effort so far to achieve any significant growth in numbers joining AOPA, the fact remains the day you give up and predict you can't succeed (as Dick Smith plans to announce on Thursday) is the day you are defeated. That's the day its all over.
No team ever pulled off a win by announcing imminent defeat. Champions are those who turn a dire situtaion into a win.
Call it off Dick and how about forgetting this nonsense that GA has no future. It does have a future and it will get brighter the more effort and innovation people are prepared to put in. How about getting behind AOPA, help them set and achieve serious targets for new memberships with a base of circa 20,000 members in say 3-4 years. Invite overseas speakers to highlight the national economic benefits of simpler regulation. Definitely invite media and politicians to these addresses which now sets out a vision for aviation in Australia that is too good to ignore. A vision that attracts revenue from holidaying foreign pilots, reduces unemployment and creates work opportunities and develops commercial enterprises. General aviation has an enormous potential to deliver a massive boost to our economy. There's so much more than just these few ideas.
But it can only start from a positive foundation that is properly presented to those people who need to buy in to this vision - politicians, state and local governments and potential new participants. Once a tipping point is reached you achieve success and regain control of the GA future.
Call it off Dick.
I will make a major announcement re supporting AOPA when the income from the aircraft sale comes in. Remember I said I will be giving all of the money away .
However until there is some new direction from the elected government re reducing all unnecessary costs the industry is doomed for all but the airlines and wealthy individuals.
Huge losses take place every year in the value of GA businesses and when the CASA predicted $30 m hit comes in from the unique transponder mandate for all IFR aircraft in Feb next year even more damage will be done ,
However until there is some new direction from the elected government re reducing all unnecessary costs the industry is doomed for all but the airlines and wealthy individuals.
Huge losses take place every year in the value of GA businesses and when the CASA predicted $30 m hit comes in from the unique transponder mandate for all IFR aircraft in Feb next year even more damage will be done ,
wren 460 wrote:
"Safety suffers because lack of activity has pushed up avgas fuel prices and caused closure of refueling facilities all over Australia thus reducing options for safe fuel endurance, and increasing costs."
I'm on your side too. But where are all these now closed refuelling facilities? That's not my experience over the last 30 years.
More importantly, Dick. What's on the Thursday lunch sandwich menu?
"Safety suffers because lack of activity has pushed up avgas fuel prices and caused closure of refueling facilities all over Australia thus reducing options for safe fuel endurance, and increasing costs."
I'm on your side too. But where are all these now closed refuelling facilities? That's not my experience over the last 30 years.
More importantly, Dick. What's on the Thursday lunch sandwich menu?
wren 460 wrote:
"Safety suffers because lack of activity has pushed up avgas fuel prices and caused closure of refueling facilities all over Australia thus reducing options for safe fuel endurance, and increasing costs."
I'm on your side too. But where are all these now closed refuelling facilities? That's not my experience over the last 30 years.
More importantly, Dick. What's on the Thursday lunch sandwich menu?
"Safety suffers because lack of activity has pushed up avgas fuel prices and caused closure of refueling facilities all over Australia thus reducing options for safe fuel endurance, and increasing costs."
I'm on your side too. But where are all these now closed refuelling facilities? That's not my experience over the last 30 years.
More importantly, Dick. What's on the Thursday lunch sandwich menu?
Akro
I have posted this before. If you took your reinvestment in motor cars over the same tim period since your Seneca or whatever was built, you would have many hundreds of thousands to spend on re-equiping.
The argument is fatally flawed. You are miles in front yet you want it for free. It makes no sense.
I have posted this before. If you took your reinvestment in motor cars over the same tim period since your Seneca or whatever was built, you would have many hundreds of thousands to spend on re-equiping.
The argument is fatally flawed. You are miles in front yet you want it for free. It makes no sense.
One double engine and prop O/H on the Seneca example would have bought me just about all the cars I've ever owned, not to mention the squillions spent on aircraft maintenance. Even then you are talking chalk and cheese, I think we are talking commercial flying ops which is very different to private car ownership if that's relevant.
I do think that it's important to frame the discussion in a positive way rather than focusing on the negative. We need to be saying how it could be so much better if the rules were more coherent rather than running around saying that we are all doomed.
Sometimes this industry is its own worst enemy. I always talk to people about how I love to fly and if they show any interest will happily take them for a flight. I took a friend for a flight and he loved it. Not short of a few bob and recently retired he decided to learn to fly. Turned up at one of the well respected flying schools at Camden. He went for a TIF and loved it. Afterwards, the instructor/operator chated about the licensing process but basically ranted on about how casa would take weeks to issue a student pilot license, would lose the paperwork and with the changes to part 61 wasnt sure if the industry would survive 6 months. On the way home my friend called the sailmaker and droped $30k on a new set of sails for his yacht. Why bother with flying if it's all so hard....
Sometimes this industry is its own worst enemy. I always talk to people about how I love to fly and if they show any interest will happily take them for a flight. I took a friend for a flight and he loved it. Not short of a few bob and recently retired he decided to learn to fly. Turned up at one of the well respected flying schools at Camden. He went for a TIF and loved it. Afterwards, the instructor/operator chated about the licensing process but basically ranted on about how casa would take weeks to issue a student pilot license, would lose the paperwork and with the changes to part 61 wasnt sure if the industry would survive 6 months. On the way home my friend called the sailmaker and droped $30k on a new set of sails for his yacht. Why bother with flying if it's all so hard....
I am using a local Bk small business to supply lunch for 50 people. Costing over $1000 so hopefully will be good. Latecomers will have to go to the airport shop - oh I forgot. It closed down