slb

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/germany-three-dead-after-small-plane-crashes-into-house-after-colliding-with-hot-air-balloon/ar-BB17boIK?ocid=msedgdhp#image=2

I don't think it's been reported here yet, and I haven't been on the boards much to see if it has been mentioned elsewhere - but sadly the second occupant of the flight that is the subject of this thread, succumbed to his injuries.

 

So sorry to hear this news but it is a lovely gesture by the Club to put up a plaque in their honor at the Clubhouse.

RIP Ross and Steve. and condolences to the families and friends of these pilots.

CASA have a section for ramp checks and this includes the inspection of documentation, preparation for flight and your aircraft.

Ramp checks

Ramp checks explained for general aviation and sport pilots.

On Fly Rotax there is an area where you can do a search on engine number for all SBs etc. Rotax Aircraft Engines - Technical Documentation - Rotax Aircaft Engines Some will already be incorporated in your engine, depending on when it was manufactured, but it gives a good list as a start, then it is easy to keep up to date by enrolling with R.O.A.N who will send you an email with a link to any further SBs Rotax-Owner.com - CB Registration. Registration is free if you only need the email updates.

The Breezy Log was demonstrated in one of the RAAus PDPs and seems to have been developed for a school or maintenance facility with up to 80 aircraft. It can call up all relevant SBs etc for the different types of Aircraft within the school or maintenance facility. Looks and works well for that type of outfit but for the one pilot with one aircraft I cannot see that it would be practical to use. You need specific information for your particular aircraft, both engine and airframe. If it is LSA then the Aircraft Manufacturer is responsible for letting you know the relevant SBs etc for your aircraft so I would not be paying someone else to do it.

AOPA Australia CEO Ben Morgan yesterday wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison seeking an approval for recreational and private pilots to conduct flights for the purpose of running aircraft engines during the COVID-19 restrictions period.

 

That is great to hear. Finally someone in authority is seeking a definite answer for us all. Hopefully whatever response is received, it will be for any and all the States. Too confusing to have different rules of what you can and can’t do depending on where you live.

SAFA have issued the following statement:

Insurance:

Further advise received from our insurers stipulates that SAFA insurance policies require pilots to adhere to legal directions or requirements from the various levels of Government. SAFA insurance coverage (all policies) is not valid for operations or activities that breach government directions.

"Your"RAA just put out a timely "How to prepare your plane for a period out of the air". Just because you aren't "allowed" to fly your plane doesn't mean they aren't working in your interests. They might just be working a lot harder. Nev

It was such a shame that they opened with:

Oil Change: Get the engine up to operating temperature by taking the aircraft up for one last flight.

otherwise it would have been good

All of those organisations are complying with Directions from Chief Medical Officers under the powers of the State of Emergency.

Normal will not be normal for a few months.

What would you have them do?

With what Australia has done so far we have one of the lightest death tolls in the world; so far we've managed to avoid the blowout, which we know this virus can produce, where other countries have been caught and thousands of people killed. So far, our Health officials are able to report just double digit deaths each day.

Put yourself on the spot; How would you decide? If you let recreational aviators fly they have to leave home, may get some fuel, may get a quick coffee, may meet someone at the Club and have a chat, may get someone to help move aircraft in tha hangar, may use a toilet or chair or lean on the desk or pick up some paperwork or someone may come into their space. On the way home they may have a traffic accident.

Asymptomatic means a person who has the virus but is not showing any symptoms or feeling ill. They don't know they have it so they come out of the isolation the Health Officers put them into. There are many touch points there; and it doesn't have to be limited to the people you see; an infected person could have come in early in the morning and infected the toilet button; at one party 38 people were infected.

You only need one of those touch points to get sick, infect your relatives and the at risk ones could die.

Alternatively, although asymptomatic, you could infect people all the way through those touch points and they or their relatives could die.

So on the one hand, if you don't go flying, no one can die as a result of that journey; if you do fly you can kill someone.

As I said, put yourself on the spot; ask yourself how many people you are prepared to kill vs waiting a few weeks. Then ask your self do you really want the organisations above fighting with the Chief Medical Officers and taking up their time while they try to prevent the potential blow out. Puts a different light on it.

Sorry my post was poorly worded. I absolutely agree with you. What would be great is if RAA, SAA, SAFA etc. could give a clear concise message to all their members to say “No” you cannot fly for the following reasons in NSW/QLD, however at the moment you can fly if you reside in SA. Or whatever the States say at the moment. Then there would be no grey areas. Hence my plea to lobby on our behalf to have one clear statement for all pilots (as they have done for recreational boating)

Any word on the survivor yet? Or does no one care?

We all care.

And wish him all the very best, in particular under these trying circumstances for his family and friends who may be unable to visit him. Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery.

Wrt recreational flying activities, rusty planes & pilots, as well as student pilots these Crossbenchers call for change to 'nonsensical' coronavirus restrictions & Do driving lessons count as 'essential'? raises some interesting possibilities perhaps individually we could check with appropriate police and state health officials although membership association such as the RAA, SAAA, APOA, and others making these representions on our behalf may provide an integrated response.

I wish RAA, SAA and SAFA would lobby on our behalf. After all RAA have 11,000 members, haven't they? They could do it on mass and through CASA, but nothing so far.

The following extract is from an Airwaves received by SAFA (used to be HGFA) on Monday 30th March

Tandem & Dual Occupant Operations:

The Federal Government has put in place and is now enforcing Social Distancing requirements, through the State bodies. Our insurer has advised that under the circumstances, Tandem and Dual Occupant operations are no-longer acceptable and therefore not covered under our insurances.

Fines for breaching these requirements are significant for an instructor (Business) and for the passenger (Client).

Insurance:

Further advise received from our insurers stipulates that SAFA insurance policies require pilots to adhere to legal directions or requirements from the various levels of Government. SAFA insurance coverage (all policies) is not valid for operations or activities that breach government directions.

It is a pilots responsibility to ensure that all facets of any intended flight operation are compliant at all levels.

AOPA has posted this

COVID-19: NO RESTRICTIONS ON FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOOLS

April 3, 2020 By Benjamin Morgan

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AOPA Australia CEO BENJAMIN MORGAN reports.

During this past week, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA Australia) has received numerous requests from flight training school business members seeking clarification with respect to the Coronavirus COVID-19 restrictions.

AOPA Australia has today received advice from Senator Susan McDonald, on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister, confirming that there are no specific restrictions or prohibitions placed on the operation of flight training schools, but notes that the COVID-19 situation in Australia remains fluid and the situation may change.

Flight training schools are reminded of the need for personal protective equipment and are urged to maintain strict transmission reduction measures at all times.

Flight training schools are also reminded of the need to remain up-to-date with their respective State Government and work place health and safety requirements.

Flight training schools seeking further information are invited to contact AOPA Australia CEO Benjamin Morgan – [email protected]

It doesn’t mention any social distancing requirement, which SAFA (after checking with their insurance brokers) quotes as the reason their members cannot take up passengers at the moment (thereby effectively closing their schools for the time being)

You beat me to it, Turboplanner. I was going to post this as an example but I think we’re waisting our breath.

TRAVEL INDUSTRY UPDATES

Recreational Boating in Queensland

As from Sunday, 29 March federal government direction is that public gatherings are restricted to no more than two persons, excluding household members, and that people should stay home unless they are shopping for essentials, receiving medical care, exercising or travelling to work or education. This applies to all activities that are not specifically exempted – boating is NOT.

In line with this, the Queensland government has advised that all non-essential gatherings should not go ahead and the government’s Chief Health Officer has directed that, as from 11.59 pm on Sunday, 29 March a person who resides in Queensland must not leave their principal place of residence except for, and only to the extent reasonably necessary to accomplish an itemised set of permitted circumstances.

The only ‘permitted circumstance’ in line with the Government which might reasonably be considered to include recreational boating is that of physical exercise. Unless you intend to go onto our waterways as part of your overall physical exercise regime, which is most reasonably interpreted as boating in a non-powered craft (ie paddle or such) you should not be undertaking any non-essential movement in line with government directions.

When the State of Emergency was declared in each State certain Powers shifted to the Chief Medical Officer/Chief Health Officer for that State. The RAA statement above is quite reasonable and at arms length from the sometimes daily changes made by the Chief Medical officers. The penalties have come in to deal with the people who just can't help themselves. The State Premiers have announced the decisions very clearly and unambiguously. In the words a Victorian Assistant Commissioner "You would have to have been living under a rock, or an idiot not to understand."

The NSW Commissioner of Police explained their approach this morning.

The Queensland Premier explained this morning why she had to have the Gold Coast beaches and several thouands car parking spaces blocked off.

The mood is rapidly changing against the clever dicks inventing ways to go outside the lock down conditions

No non-commercial flights should be taking place in Australia right now.

I agree but I don’t think SA have such strict laws as the others do at the moment with a max of 10 people per gathering, rather than 2 in VIC, NSW and QLD.

It would’ve been easier if all States had the same rules and timeframes. Easier for the police to enforce too.

I overheard two people talking outside Aldi asking why people were still flying (someone flew overhead) when they weren’t able to do anything. It’s only a matter of time before someone complains to the police and then they will follow up with fines

I know all the States have different lockdown rules at the moment, but are there any Flying schools that have managed to stay open and are still operating at the moment?

RAAus have not said any more than

As such RAAus strongly encourages pilots and flight training operators considering undertaking private, recreational, or flying training activities, to carefully review and to follow, the advice or regulations which have been published in relation to social distancing, travel restrictions, or any prohibited or restricted activity.

You should also consider your personal risk factors related to age, health status and other considerations, just as you would by using the IMSAFE check prior to flying. Flying is no different to any other activity and while it has not been explicitly mentioned as being exempt from any restrictions currently in place please keep these restrictions in mind when considering what to do.

COVID-19 advice and any associated regulatory requirements are made and published by Commonwealth, and/or State and Territory departments. Importantly, the advice and regulatory requirements may change very quickly and hence should be regularly monitored.

Different states and territories are enforcing these rules in different ways and the last thing we want to see is our members potentially receiving penalties a result of going for a fly. In NSW for example, if you travel to a regional location and you don’t live there or have business there (i.e. landing at an airfield just because you wanted to go for a fly) may see you end up with a fine of $11,000 if you’re an individual or $27,500 for your business. This was announced late into the evening of 30 March and we are sure there will be more announcements, both federally and in relation to individual states and territories. This rapid and frequent changing in policy makes it difficult to keep up.

Perhaps the safest thing to do is simply not go flying if you’re not sure. Our planes will still be here after this pandemic passes so let’s make sure we’re healthy and haven’t wasted valuable fuel money on pointless fines!

Michael Monck, Chair, and Michael Linke, CEO

RAAus

Update: (Victoria)

Meanwhile, Victoria Police have said the following about the learner driver's $1,652 fine, which has since been overturned:

While the fine was legally issued as gaining driving practice is not one of the four exemptions set out by the Chief Health Officer, discretion has been applied in this instance as we understand there was some confusion within the community around whether this type of activity was allowed.

 

The Chief Health Officer has made it clear that undertaking driving practice in the current climate is not an essential activity, unless the learner driver is gaining driving practice in line with one of the four exemptions. This includes when driving to purchase food or supplies or when travelling to work or education.

 

Every Victorian should now be well aware that getting into the car purely for the purpose of driving practice is not an exemption permitted by the Chief Health Officer.

 

We are asking all Victorians to abide by the Chief Health Officer's recommendations and stay at home where possible

All States are ramping up their on the spot fines now

Victoria

On Monday, a 17-year-old learner driver with her mother in the passenger seat was pulled over by police and issued with a $1,652 fine.

"We hadn't gotten out of the car, we weren't planning on getting out, we were just doing a loop around and coming home," Hunter Reynolds said.

"I was under the limit, had my L-plates on, so I was really surprised."

A police spokesperson said Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill was "following up the circumstances surrounding the incident".

"AC Hill will review the matter and see whether discretion could have been used in this instance," the spokesperson said.

But when Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos was asked about it at a press conference, she said driving lessons were not essential.

"There are only four good reasons to leave home and that doesn't include taking your child on a driver learning experience," she said.

"Unless you're driving to the supermarket with them to pick up your weekly groceries, you should be staying at home.

and you can go out to catch fish for your dinner and come straight back home again.

Recreational boating for leisure is not allowed at the moment.

Allowed in NSW, but not QLD. Especially in the lead up to Easter.

Why do they add the word "Exercise" if it is not a legitimate reason to be doing it.

because exercise is your stand up paddle boards and kayaks

Using your boat

You can go out in your boat, to travel to and from work or home, for EXERCISE or to fish.

Compliance and enforcement

We’re relying on boat users to exercise common sense. If you don’t need to be out on the water, then stay at home. Only boaties who have a legitimate reason should be out on the water.

Authorities will talk to those out on the water and communicate the requirements to them. We need everyone to help with the community response to COVID-19, and that means limiting the time you spend away from your home as much as possible.

Queensland Health, Queensland Water Police Service, Maritime Safety Queensland and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol all have responsibility to monitor behaviour on the water.

Maritime Safety Queensland now say recreational boating is not allowed

Recreational boating in Queensland during the Home Confinement Direction

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There are a range of scenarios where you may want to take a boat out.

Boaties should be aware that the information below is subject to change based on the latest advice from the Chief Health Officer.

Find the latest advice on the Queensland Government's COVID-19 site.

While we aim to answer your specific questions here, the first question you should ask yourself is: do you need to take your boat out?

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer has been very clear—if you don’t need to be out then stay at home.

That is now the law.

The same rules that apply on land also apply in our waterways, bays and out at sea.

If you’re looking for a loophole to leave the home, then you probably shouldn’t be heading out.

Very sad to hear. Condolences to the family.

Difficult time for everyone with the virus restrictions.

Does anyone know what aircraft was involved?

This afternoon 

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/men-swim-to-shore-after-plane-crashes-into-sea-off-fraser-island/ar-BBZqqn2?ocid=spartandhp

Two men have swum to shore after their plane crashed just off the coast of Fraser Island in Queensland's south-east.

Paramedics were called about 1.20pm on Thursday to treat patients for minor injuries in the Happy Valley area, on the eastern side of the island.

The men were being assessed on the beach.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman said they had a report that a Cessna 206 light aircraft had crashed.

“The ATSB is gathering further information into the circumstances of the occurrence ahead of determining whether to conduct a transport safety investigation," he said.

A safe and Happy New Year to everyone 

The HGFA (now SAFA) also hold maintenance courses which I believe are recognised by RAAus for L1. They have been mentioned in these Forums previously and in some of the SportPilot past issues.