Are you grounded?

[Guest Maj Millard]

Got a call from an instructor friend of mine today who operates a Gazelle. had a new engine fitted earlier this year and the RAA office wanted further details about the engine refit.

 

Appears they could be tasked with specifically looking at the training fleet ??.......................................Maj...

 

 

[pylon500]

3500 aircraft, 5 working days a week (261 days, no holidays), an average of 13 expired rego's per day, but maybe more than 2 days to do ONE rego?

 

Things not looking good..........

 

 

[Guest john]

The current crisis of aircraft being grounded & causing a lot of hurt & pain amongst many members & organisations through no fault of their own but due to beauracracy & red tape which is creating undue stress & anxiety, there comes a time in these critical situations where one must try & forget the turmoil that is going on around them & look on the bright side so as to maintain their own sanity, which is why the retired husband "Darby& his good wife Joan" that were having breakfast with each other & discussing the days activities that were going to be attended to today made the following comments to each other:

 

Joan asked her hushand "what constructive activity are you going to do today love"

 

Darby replied "The same as what I did yesterday, but I havn't finished yet what I was doing yesterday"

 

Joan then asked Darby "what constructive activity were you doing yesterday while I was out all day in the heat doing the weekly shopping."

 

Darby replied "NOTHING".

 

 

[Guest airsick]

I've just had a chat with the ex Tech Manager and he informed me that within 3 days of the embargo there was something in the order 125 aircraft in the rego backlog. Only 8 days later when he left RA-Aus there was 400+. He says it wouldn't be unreasonable to think there's 1000+ now. When I questioned this he said that the lead up to the Christmas holidays and Natfly is the busiest part of the year. Only around 15 - 20% of aircraft are registered from Easter through to September according to him so the first quarter of next year is going to be looking pretty rough...

 

 

[slartibartfast]

So it looks like I won't be going to the Great Eastern fly-in. Bastards. At least they aren't being pressured into working long hours, missing holidays, making an effort. I feel much better.

 

Just bought some kit for RC Model flying. Not much bureaucracy capable of grounding that activity.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Ya know i can't help but think back on a statement that McCormick made just after he came into power about driving ultralights' back into the weeds from where they came from'. Wouldn't surprise me if all this has been engineered by him. Got a feeling that there are some major changes coming in the new year. None of them good.

 

 

[Powerin]

I was told as an answer to my question that "The RAA are not answering e-mails at this time because we are so busy" and it looks like they are not answering the phone either!

It begs the question...if they have registered exactly zero aircraft in this time, what are they so busy at?

 

They have no checklists available for either LSA aircraft or ultralight aircraft at this time because they have not had approval from Casa or from the person who is in there as a consultant to give anybody any advice ?

I find this strange as the requirements for registration of these aircraft types are shown in the Technical Manual! Or is this the root cause of all the problems? The Technical Manual, the document that controls all RAAus registrations, is wrong and incorrectly interprets the law??

 

 

[jamel]

They are on the ball as far as pilot certificates go! Weight Shift endorsement paperwork posted Monday, new plastic card in the mail today! Transfer papers for my new secondhand trike posted four weeks ago, still nothing. At least it is still registered, albeit in the previous owners name.

 

Sorry for you guys who can do nothing except pull your hair out :-(

 

 

[turboplanner]

Ya know i can't help but think back on a statement that McCormick made just after he came into power about driving ultralights' back into the weeds from where they came from'. Wouldn't surprise me if all this has been engineered by him. Got a feeling that there are some major changes coming in the new year. None of them good.

If he has, he has made some strategic mistakes which will expose it. Aren't they already under some questioning in the Senate?

 

 

[shu77]

Well I'm just a lowly club member, but I got the call from the CFI today to advise that the rego has run out and were stuck in limbo as well.

 

I guess its saving me money, but at the same time its costing them & stopping them running students through. Really not a fun predicament to be in.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

If he has, he has made some strategic mistakes which will expose it. Aren't they already under some questioning in the Senate?

I have heard this around the traps. Also some funding cuts as well. The senate thing has been running for quite some time, plus a lot of embarrassing Q&A's for CASA at the Coroners inquest into Barry Hempel's accident. Wont be long before MPs start asking why businesses like flight schools and manufacturers are going bust in their electorate.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Paul Middleton has posted on the RAAus News page:-

 

Aircraft Registration Update 7/12/12

 

December 7, 2012 | opsassist

 

We are working hard on this project with office staff resources redirected to the task plus volunteers and we are winning the battle with more outgoings than incomings each day. This is good news is we will keep at this pace until the backlog is cleared.

 

Even though we posted only two days ago on this matter, some information has come to light which may assist in speeding up the registration process.

 

When seeking registration renewals it is essential that you check the following information has been provided to the office:

 

• Photographs of the vertical registration numbers on the side of your aircraft and under the wing
   
   
  
• Photographs of the cockpit warning placards, including a placard for MOTOW
   
   
  
• Hours flown in the last 12 months
   
   
  
• Number of landings in the last 12 months
   
   
  

 

 

Unfortunately a failure to provide any item shown above will hold up the registration process.

 

Additionally, I wish to thank the volunteers who are giving freely of their time to assist us in the aircraft registration process.

 

Paul Middleton

 

Secretary RA-Aus

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

anyone know what MOTOW is...Im guessing a typo for MTOW (Maximum Take Off Weight) but dont recall that as being something that had to be placarded on the panel! If so why? its not an acronym that a non pilot passenger would understand and by the time the pilot is reading it Actual TOW should already be well and truely established and compared against MTOW!

 

<Sigh!>

 

 

[ahlocks]

Dunno. They've always wanted them though.

 

 

[dazza 38]

Paul Middleton has posted on the RAAus News page:-Aircraft Registration Update 7/12/12

 

December 7, 2012 | opsassist

 

We are working hard on this project with office staff resources redirected to the task plus volunteers and we are winning the battle with more outgoings than incomings each day. This is good news is we will keep at this pace until the backlog is cleared.

 

Even though we posted only two days ago on this matter, some information has come to light which may assist in speeding up the registration process.

 

When seeking registration renewals it is essential that you check the following information has been provided to the office:

 

• Photographs of the vertical registration numbers on the side of your aircraft and under the wing
   
   
  
• Photographs of the cockpit warning placards, including a placard for MOTOW
   
   
  
• Hours flown in the last 12 months
   
   
  
• Number of landings in the last 12 months
   
   
  

 

 

Unfortunately a failure to provide any item shown above will hold up the registration process.

 

Additionally, I wish to thank the volunteers who are giving freely of their time to assist us in the aircraft registration process.

 

Paul Middleton

 

Secretary RA-Aus

And why has this information been mentioned just now ? Im pretty sure that the photos of regos, cockpit placard have been a requirement for years. Not good enough .Somebody or bodies have supposed to check every new aircraft registration when the aircraft was first registered with the RAA. SO somebody hasnt been doing their job. Now what happens is, that a person who has done the right thing now suffers because their aircraft rego is stuck at the bottom of the pile, out of rego & could be grounded for the next couple of months.

Saying incomings is less than out goings is small comfort for the people who need their aircraft now for a FTF. All the messages so far coming from the RAA website in the news section sound to me like a "lets play down a severity of the problem and make it sound like it is not too bad".

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

CASA doesn't need a reason to impose a requirement, it's just the type of rubbish they thrive on and of course it keeps them in a job, and closer to that lucrative retirement.

 

A lot of this rubbish that we are still burdened with comes out of the old British CAA system, further confuluted and made even more confusing when adopted here, by our heros.

 

The sooner we throw the whole lot out, and go straight to the US FAR system, the better off we will all be one day..

 

There are already rumors internally in CASA that the new JAR based 66 system that they have introduced is even more confusing, especially where licensing is concerned.

 

Sorry, I've been dealing with them since 1968, and they've yet to get it right IMOP....the rubbish we are experiencing after the audit in the RAAus right now, is quite typical of a system that never has been right, and never will be.....'CASA bashing' ? you betcha.. and I've got 44 years experience with an antiquated system to back it up !...............Maj...

 

 

[Blueadventures]

the cold hard facts are that once RAA has accepted and transmitted a payment they are obligated to honour their part of the contract...If the documentation is not in order why have they accepted the payment , and will the service provided be dated from the due date or the date on which the registration was actually renewed??

Pehaps the next renewal will be twelve months from the process date note the now past renewal due date.

Cheers Mike

 

 

[Harv]

I reckon the best place for us to direct our energy is at CASA, its board (or even particular individuals within the agency that are personally responsible for this intractable situation, if you happen to know who they are); the Department of Infrastructure; federal and local MPs; and dont forget the opposition. I've copied in a list of email addresses for all the Senior Executives (and MPs) that carry the aviation 'baton' in this country (that I know of) - at least at a federal level. A quick Google search will unearth them.

 

The only way to get us 'ungrounded' is to get CASA to be reasonable with RA-Aus and their approach to the audit and arrive at some sensible alternatives to the current situation. Sure, there may well be/have been some admin deficiencies at RA-Aus; and we can probably all be accused of being either a little confused at some point about what the Techincal Manual and its previous carnations really required/meant, or complacent, or just down right ignorant of the paperwork that gets us in the air. After all we're mostly in this for the fun of it. I think the reality is, the vast majority of our registered (or currently awaiting renewal) aircraft are perfectly legal and only missing a photograph or two on their paper work. The aircraft (and individuals) that have caused the bigger problems for RA-Aus are outliers (there is politics in every 'club', just seems to be a little magnified in the aviation sense) - this is why CASA needs to be much more circumspect and grown up about what they are trying to achieve here (i.e. is someone really trying to stitch RA-Aus up? - after an exercise like this, you would have to start to think very seriously about their modus operandi, wouldnt you?).

 

These people will no doubt have triage systems for managing their email, but I know from experience - they see everything that is sent to them - they might even be readng their email on their Blackberries, in bed.

 

[email protected]

 

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[Guest Maj Millard]

At least our old friend Middo is in there doing his best to sort things out, and keeping us informed.

 

He has been with ULs in this country since day dot, and it is good to still have him on staff, in whatever capacity.

 

For those who wern't around back then, it was Paul Middleton and one Trevor Burns (who now resides at Airlie beach) who got permission for some very early ULs to land on the lawn in front of the old parliment house in Canberra. These were the days of max 500 ft height restrictions, and no permission to fly across a public road. The show that day in Canberra (and the resulting press) gave ULs some ligitimacy in this country, and they have gone gangbusters ever since.

 

As an interesting footnote also, Trevor Burns was Australias' first CASA parachuting inspector, and also the first tandem skydive 'passenger' ever in this country. Tandem system designer Bill Booth was his 'Tandem master'...when certifying the gear for use in this country.

 

My hats always been off to you both, Paul and Trevor..................................................................Maj...

 

 

[Powerin]

And why has this information been mentioned just now ? Im pretty sure that the photos of regos, cockpit placard have been a requirement for years.

Exactly Dazza, it's all in the RAAus Technical Manual...except for the mysterious MOTOW (or even MTOW). Photos (and weights etc) are only required for first time registrations though. Only the hours and landings and a statement of any changes to the aircraft are required for renewal (according to the manual).

Obviously the photos are one of the vital pieces of data needed for registration that they have been missing in some cases. No wonder they've grounded everyone....missing photos are such an incredible risk to aviation safety it's a wonder we are still all alive!

 

 

[flyhi]

Pehaps the next renewal will be twelve months from the process date not the now past renewal due date.Cheers Mike

Interesting. If it is renewed from the past due date then you won't have been unregistered at all !

 

 

[Keenaviator]

MOTOW, I've got one and it works great :)

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MO-TOW-MOTORBIKE-CARRIER-TRAILER-REPLACEMENT-MOTOW-/170946307199?pt=AU_Motorcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27cd31a47f&_uhb=1

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Major. Since day dot? The game started long before he turned up.

 

 

[Teckair]

Major. Since day dot? The game started long before he turned up.

Mmm and think about where we are now.

 

 

[ave8rr]

why do landings and hours flown in the last 12 months matter???

GA aircraft (incl experimental) owners are requested this info every year. I think it is for statistical reasons. I guess RAAus pass this info on.

Cheers