Cleaving a Gordian knot.
If the legend is true (and even if it ain't) - you have to wonder at the time, effort and money poured into its manufacture; countless man hours, cart loads of material all needing to be tested; then the design of the thing, countless man hours and probably some 'heated' discussion amongst the intelligentsia, artisans and officials. Time, money and effort poured into creating a thing of little practical or intrinsic value. Then, despite all, legend has it that 'Alexander' simply drew his sword and sliced through the thing - end of. How I wish the complex knot of Australian regulation could be sliced through so easily; what a difference it would make to this nation.
"Well?" said he.
"Do you not find it interesting?"
"To a collector of fairy-tales.”
But, 'we' do not exist in a faerie tale, there is little whimsical about running and managing aircraft, pilots, engineers or even the fuel truck and loaders etc. Nothing at all. It is, standing alone, a complex, potentially dangerous undertaking.
“It's complicated."
"Yes, until someone explains it to you!”
The 'law' which governs aviation on a global scale is, as you would expect, designed to cover many elements, and as such, while it may appear complicated, it is designed to be 'universal'. Once the basic tenet is 'understood' it is easily adapted to suit a particular element of the proposed operation. Fuel load for example, universally accepted and complied with - (for the most part). The ICAO do a superb job in the main and those nations which adopt and comply with IACO are 'free' of the need to generate their own unique rule set. That notion is counterproductive, expensive and creates an additional redundant complexity. Australia provides a classic example of this make-work redundancy, to the detriment of the industry for the convenience of the current Minister to dodge any and all responsibility for an important industry. Thus, the clearly defined universal rules are manipulated and confounded to provide a 'unique' level of complexity and inflexibility which creates unique problems of compliance and the ever present threat of acquiring a criminal record. But, IMO, the real heart breaker is revealed when an outfit like the FAA do the heavy lifting and produce a thing like the MOSIAC breath of fresh air.
If the legend is true (and even if it ain't) - you have to wonder at the time, effort and money poured into its manufacture; countless man hours, cart loads of material all needing to be tested; then the design of the thing, countless man hours and probably some 'heated' discussion amongst the intelligentsia, artisans and officials. Time, money and effort poured into creating a thing of little practical or intrinsic value. Then, despite all, legend has it that 'Alexander' simply drew his sword and sliced through the thing - end of. How I wish the complex knot of Australian regulation could be sliced through so easily; what a difference it would make to this nation.
"Well?" said he.
"Do you not find it interesting?"
"To a collector of fairy-tales.”
But, 'we' do not exist in a faerie tale, there is little whimsical about running and managing aircraft, pilots, engineers or even the fuel truck and loaders etc. Nothing at all. It is, standing alone, a complex, potentially dangerous undertaking.
“It's complicated."
"Yes, until someone explains it to you!”
The 'law' which governs aviation on a global scale is, as you would expect, designed to cover many elements, and as such, while it may appear complicated, it is designed to be 'universal'. Once the basic tenet is 'understood' it is easily adapted to suit a particular element of the proposed operation. Fuel load for example, universally accepted and complied with - (for the most part). The ICAO do a superb job in the main and those nations which adopt and comply with IACO are 'free' of the need to generate their own unique rule set. That notion is counterproductive, expensive and creates an additional redundant complexity. Australia provides a classic example of this make-work redundancy, to the detriment of the industry for the convenience of the current Minister to dodge any and all responsibility for an important industry. Thus, the clearly defined universal rules are manipulated and confounded to provide a 'unique' level of complexity and inflexibility which creates unique problems of compliance and the ever present threat of acquiring a criminal record. But, IMO, the real heart breaker is revealed when an outfit like the FAA do the heavy lifting and produce a thing like the MOSIAC breath of fresh air.
Hitch - "The one generating the most buzz at the moment is MOSAIC. Despite the absence of any flat promise to implement the FAA version verbatim, I suspect this one is going to consume a lot of attention and resources in the coming months."
ICAO compliant nations will simply slot the new program into their rule set and the light aircraft industry will blossom; good law, sensible law, easily complied with law. Watch 'em flourish at speed. Then, if you can stand it, follow the Australian system at work, read and despair as a great, sensible work is mangled, convoluted and converted to Criminal law, while everyone else just gets on with it.
Hitch: -'There are no earth-shattering surprises from Canberra in the 2025 GA Workplan, which probably shows us that the new system of consultation combining public feedback with ASAP and the TWGs is functioning as advertised. We are not surprised because the initiatives CASA is embarking on are the very things we gave them."
Aye well, fingers crossed Hitch, but please, don't hold your breath mate. The wheels of those particular gods grind slow, and there's always lumps in their final product. It would be a very good thing if we too had an 'Alexander' to slice through the Gordian knot of Australian (ahem) legislation; just cut it - ayup; it surely would.
“Ah—that’s the beauty of higher education, sergeant. Never use two simple words when one really complicated one will do.”
Time to scavenge the 'off-cut' box; cleaned up the work bench (planed flat etc) and so the small nest of four drawers which lives at one end was put outdoors and, forgotten. Of course it rained, bucket fulls, so I must bid farewell to an old and trusted workmate and make a new one. Such is life for the simple minded.
Selah-.-