[Peetwo]

LMH 3 Nov '17: Tribute to Ben; 6D's waffle & Multicom progress -

Via the Yaffa:

– Steve Hitchen

Perhaps the most surprising phone call I have ever answered started with the words "G'day, Steve. It's Ben Sandilands." I had been editor of Australian Flying only a few months and I was still in an amorphous period that was a mixture of being completely lost and panicking daily about whether or not I was doing justice to the mag's name and reputation. Then, out of nowhere, comes a phone call from a man who I knew was among the luminaries of aviation journalism in this country. What could Ben Sandilands want from the rookie editor of a GA magazine? This is the man who who regularly exposed the bones of industry leaders, politicians and regulators with his cutting, insightful analysis. His Plane Talking blog on Crikey was widely considered the go-to publication if you didn't have the skills needed to read between the lines of company press releases. He wasn't always popular with those on the end of his pen, mainly because his arguments were constructed like fortresses, and even if you didn't agree with him, you had no option but to respect his conclusions. All he wanted to do was tell me that he thought I'd done a good job with my first couple of issues. For years I presumed someone in the industry had put him up to it, but since, others have told me that this sharp-tongued, crusty curmudgeon that so many people respected was not past encouraging others to follow the aviation journalism path. Ben died last Friday. Over the ensuing years I had very little contact with him; general aviation was not his main focus. The last time I saw Ben he was in his natural environment: sitting down the very front of a press conference throwing a very-well considered and awkward question at an off-balance Alan Joyce. He was a joy to watch in full flight, and his loss leaves aviation journalism with a giant-sized hole in it
 

the minister might just be trying to get a mob of startled kangaroos to bounce in the same direction

Darren Chester has again called for industry unity in order to take a consolidated view on aviation into the coalition cabinet room. I am afraid the minister might just be trying to get a mob of startled kangaroos to bounce in the same direction. General aviation is a diverse industry, and athough knitted together with a common passion for flying, the demands and needs are varying, which inevitably draws very different views. The issue is compounded by self-proclaimed experts who are so blinkered they consider any thought that conflicts with their own as being bad for aviation. This is what our regulators and legislators have to deal with, and I really don't envy them the task of working out who the true experts are. I suspect this is one reason why Canberra is so keen to deal with The Australian Aviation Associations Forum (TAAAF) nowadays; they are at least an attempt to be united. But even within TAAAF there are divisions, most probably because TAAAF reflects the very diversity in aviation that is causing the clash of views in the first place. We are, by our very nature, a fractured mob.

That's not to say we are at loggerheads with ourselves over every issue, and the responses to the low-level frequency discussion paper were united enough behind the Multicom to convince CASA to change their advice. Do not be deceived by what might seem a trivial matter; there were people within the regulator that were very staunch in their support of the the Area VHF as the most appropriate frequency, so to have public opinion sway the regulator against their own people is a very big deal indeed! So to whom do we throw the bouquets? I am going to credit the Regional Airspace and Procedures Advisory Committees (RAPAC) with going to war over this, and former CASA CEO Mark Skidmore, who recognised enough merit in both arguments to send the matter to a discussion paper. However, all this means is that we are on the turn and heading for home; we are not over the line yet. The change needs to go to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) before the CAAP advice is altered, and that means more consultation and feedback. Given the strength of support coming from the DP, it is hard to see the Area VHF proponents making any headway from here on in, but certainly there is still resistance to be encountered.

Graphical Area Forecasts (GAF) start next Thursday. This is a big change to the way we are delivered vital information, so it is up to every pilot to make sure they are very familiar with what they are seeing next time they download weather from NAIPS. In anticipation of the change, we included a comprehensive review of the GAFs in our November-December print issue of Australian Flying. Written by Andrew Andersen, who was part of the industry working group that helped develop the GAF, it will give you everything you need to know about the new system. So, if you haven't managed to get yourself on a flying school seminar or other avenue of learning, get a copy of Australian Flying and bone-up on what you'll need to know from 9 November onward.

May your gauges always be in the green,

Hitch

Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...18f4Cd2.99

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& a comment:

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  Mike Borgelt • 2 hours ago
  If Darren Chester wants to do anything sensible, most could unite behind, just adopt the FAA rules. Going with EASA was a disaster and a bad mistake.
  There's no way we should be required to be united. We pay politicians to make those kinds of decisions where there are competing views.
  

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And a comment from Sandy on last week's LMH:


Sandy Reith • 6 days ago

Dear Steve, regarding naivety; your ‘mea culpa’ for past (optimistic?) unrealised hopes will definitely be a caution proven by inaction and feet dragging by the regulator into the foreseeable future. If CASA can’t revise what were, at least, fairly workable rules in the space of 30 years would anyone consider that this is a capable organisation?

The awful truth is that CASA is completely incapable and has wasted what should be a vibrant and growing industry. Millions down the drain, businesses down the drain, jobs down the drain and many individuals crucified on the CASA alter, an alter, Aztec like, of unfettered power.

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& from Scotty on Carmody's "We've learnt from the past":


Scotty • 4 days ago

CASA has no incentive to change, a draconian monopoly of lawmaker, judge and jury nothing will change, nothing has changed and to expect change is pure fantasy. CASA has no skin in the game, until that changes, nothing else will.

MTF...P2