One thing
CASA doesn't lack is the courage to pick up a stick and ram it hard into the side of a large bear. They've done it again with their
rankings of regulatory burden.
CASR Parts 66 and
147 have been ranked low burden, whilst
CASR Part 145 has been ranked as medium burden. The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry may consider all of this as high burden in their review, if their past stance on these suites is any indicator. On the upside,
CASA has ranked
Part 67 on medicals as high burden. Those with long memories, however, will recall the
Byron days when the burden was officially recognised, resulting in nothing happening at all. Same under McCormick, so we have to question if this high ranking for
Part 67 means anything of substance. We have the opportunity to send
CASA our own rankings, but we need to be honest and resist the temptation to rank everything as high burden; that would give
CASA an excuse to ignore our input.
Richard Rudd and
Rob Cumming's Caravan to Canberra expedition highlights where the general aviation industry is at with the regulator: they've had enough.
Richard and
Rob will arrive in the capital this weekend bringing exactly that message on a mobile billboard. It's true that there is not a lot they can tell politicians that the politicians haven't been told before, and although they will get a sympathetic ear from supporters, they'll still get a deaf ear from
CASA. However,
Richard and
Rob are doing
something rather than just sitting and complaining, and you've got to applaud that.
Qantas Founders Museum has added a
Super Connie to their museum in
Longreach, The aircraft has been derelict in
The Philippines for years, so it will need a good clean-up and restoration before taking up its spot beside the
B707 and
B747 already there. The
Connie is a significant aircraft for
Qantas and a vital addition to their collection. What might have been nice is if the announcement had been about flying a
B767 up there instead of consigning them all to the graveyards in the
USA. There might still be time for them to consider this, although
Qantas might not feel the
76 deserves a place in their history, despite being their first Extended Twin Engine Operations (
ETOPS) aircraft and having the first glass cockpits in the
Qantas fleet. There's also the matter of money; they might still be able to sell some of them given the economy they still represent.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch