Gidday monocoque.
I did a search of CAR 5.172 and came up with the "previous" requirements for the ATPL.
#Aeronautical Experience:
1500 total flight time of which 750 must include...
- 250 hours PIC (may include 150 hours ICUS)
- 200 hours cross-country flight time (to include 100 hours PIC or ICUS)
- 20 hours crfoss-country as pilot in command
- 75 hours instrument flight time (may include not more than 30 hours ground time)
- 100 hours of flight at night
The remaining 750 hours may be flight time logged in aeroplanes, powered aircraft, or gliders. The 750 hours may include up to 200 hours logged as flight engineer or flight navigator.
By following your link it appears that CASA have recently modified the regs, but have not updated all the links. I noted the differences now are...
- 500 hours as ICUS
- at least 250 hours flight time, consisting of at least 70 hours as pilot in command and the balance as ICUS...
If the 500 hours ICUS requirement is REAL ICUS and not merely the logging of command time just because it's the F/O's sector, then that's fine, but somehow I think CASA are now trying to cover up their previous incompetance. About 3 years ago the Air Transport Operations Group, a snug little pro airline management division in CASA formulated a document aimed at allowing this rediculous practice (the logging of ICUS from the RHS). It supported it's case by refering to ICAO annex 1 that allows this practice if for the purpose of attaining a higher grade of pilots licence.
The 500 hours ICUS that was the bugbear of airlines with cadet schemes and a Low Capacity AOC, and which the ATOG document was formulated to facilitate, is to satisfy the requirements of the AOC and has nothing to do with the attainment of the "Higher grade of pilots licence". Oooops! D!ckheads!!! The AFAP were all over this at the time, and exposed the authors of this retarded document for the incompetants that they are. So what do they now do, CHANGE THE REGS TO SUIT!
. Then they neatly reduce the total non ICUS command time required to fit in with the 70 hours non ICUS command that these schemes usually provide. Game set and match.
So on the surface it appears that CASA have taken a responsible line in increasing the ICUS requirements of the ATPL from 250 hours to 500 hours because of the reduction in the non ICUS requirements from 100 hours down to 70! The reality of course is that they have have used and abused their position to serve the desires of short sighted airlines and in doing so have reduced the quality of the Australian ATPL
UNBERF#CKINGLIEVERBLE!!!