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Agree that Thursday was wet so numbers were really low on that day. Friday was a nice day. We got caught out with the $10 parking fee. A notice about it didn’t appear until Saturday. A few people were upset about the on the day entry fee but to be honest I could have given my tickets to someone else to use as they were never checked. Attendance on Saturday was much lower than I expected. Some of the vendors we were talking to are expecting to make a loss overall. The seminars I attended were good (I didn’t bother with the meet the team ones). The camping under wing was a long way from the venue itself so we didn’t see those apart from driving past, on the way in. Watching the aircraft depart, most seemed to be VH registered on the Saturday. I would definitely go back. The venue was nice, we could wander around and see all the aircraft. The vendors were all good and the air display was good, but I agree about the food area. We could’ve done with some bench tables, and why would they put the children’s area with bouncy castles in that area and in front of some of the vendors? I don’t think it was advertised enough to non-RAAus people and other flying organisations. I think they were definitely expecting more to attend.

Only $15 for the three days for RAAus members at the moment but will get more expensive after tomorrow apparently "Discounted Ticket Pricing Ends Thursday" was the latest email from RAAus.

also of note is that our Aircraft are deemed safe in the event of an engine failure, unlike GA and we are all taught to fly with that in mind. Might help in some small way especially if the HGFA could back that up for you in writing.

Is he also a LAME?

Are we going to have a Tech Manager though, if Jared Smith is going to be the new Head of Airworthiness and Engineering. Sounds like Technical has evolved in to Engineering now.

Thank you GraemeK and KP. I tried copying the title of the email, but wasn't able to for some reason. Couldn't agree more. I think Darren would enjoy not having to go to the Office, and would probably prefer to work from home and consult on a few things for RAAus. Does any one know if Lea Vesic is the Safety guy who attended the PDPs? If so, he seemed pretty switched on. If not, what happened to him?

Finally it has been announced. Darren will be a consultant to RAAus now and remains the CASA authorised person --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technical Department We have made some changes within the technical department at RAAus. Darren Barnfield has changed positions and is no longer a full time employee with RAAus. In his five years as Technical Manager with RAAus Darren delivered a suite of positive and lasting changes. The most notable of these improvements was a completely re-written technical manual. In addition to a new technical manual, Darren delivered the modification and repair approval process (MARAP), thereby allowing RAAus members to modify aircraft to ensure ongoing compliance and airworthiness. Behind the scenes Darren was also a champion of new ideas that both innovated how RAAus tackled the complex world of aircraft maintenance, but also showcased maintenance and engineering in a fun and interesting way. From kit planes for kids to learn about aeronautical design, to our practical L1 training program, Darren was a champion of knowledge sharing. With that in mind, we have rearranged how our Technical Department operates. We’d like to advise that Jared Smith is our new Head of Airworthiness and Engineering. Jared will now lead our team in the office, which includes Leanne Cabrera and Mary Miller. Also assisting Jared will be Darren, who will consult with RAAus on a range of topics including MARAP applications, L1 training, 262AP(5) approvals and other engineering specific works. Jared will also tap into the technical advisory network, a panel of experienced engineers and LAMEs. Our technical team is certainly well resourced and ready to meet the ongoing demands of our now 3,300 strong aircraft fleet. Operations Department Jill Bailey continues to head our Operations Department, but with a new title. Jill’s role will increasingly become more Flight Training School focused and her title is now Head of Flight Operations. Jill will be supported by Momota Touli and Kellie Tattersall in Operations with member, instructor and school enquiries. Neil Schaefer will move to a new role progressively as his focus turns to member education, innovation and school audits. Innovation and Improvement We’d like to introduce two new faces to the RAAus family. Lea Vesic joins us and will take carriage of our safety portfolio, overarching education and member training portfolio and audit framework portfolio. Joining Lea will be Cody Calder, with Cody’s focus being project management and research and analysis across all sectors of RAAus. Both Cody and Lea hold RAAus as well as commercial pilot licenses. See September’s Sport Pilot for their biographies. Janelle Wayling remains in her critical role of safety co-ordinator.

No need Just go to Darrens Facebook page and he will tell you he has resigned from RAAus and went to Brisbane to start work with CASA. After that he is back in Victoria flying the helicopter It has already been stated in this forum that when asked, the RAAus they said he was on leave.

It also asks the question as to what is happening regarding the roll out of the practical courses for L1 which have already been announced by management, both at their meetings around Australia plus the email news. Also the seminars at our fly in at Cessnock. Are they going to be affected by the lack of tech support now?

Mmm not sure what to say to this

Court action? That would be expensive I would think. The aero club has just held a wings and wheels there so I expect the council saw a missed opportunity to collect both on landing fees plus parking fees. Will stop a few people flying in if it goes ahead. Will cost a bit to fly in and park up airside for the next wings and wheels. The council may make some money out of the warbirds though. No doubt the council should charge the cars for parking too. In fact that would make them more money than the landing fees

Quite a few negative comments on RAAus Facebook page already from members.

I have just typed Freedom to Fly in to Google search and it came up with a Freedom to Fly Display Team, a Fear of Flying course called "Freedom to Fly" plus several others including AOPA and then Wikipeadia states: Freedom to Fly is the third studio album by guitarist Tony MacAlpine, released in 1992 through Shrapnel Records (United States) These are all websites up and running, so I guess RAA could soon be getting some fees to offset any increases to us until at least 2027

You would normally expect to be in a job longer than 1 week before being able to implement changes. May be RAA sent him there to help speed things along? If so I would expect to see him back at RAA as if nothing has happened. It would be a big job to fill the gap if he does not go back after all he is/was the National Technical Manager at RAA plus the only CASA authorised person for LSA as far as I know. Big shoes to fill.

Maryborough qld have held wings & wheels before, at least two or three that I remember with the Warbirds. May be a first for the Ford club though?

an AME is also a fully qualified ex-RAAF maintenance person who hasn't, or doesn't want to work for a commercial entity. Neither CASA, not RAA really recognises an AME. You can become a L2 because of your background, but nowhere in the documentation does it mention an AME. The paperwork always refers to a LAME. Most RAA owners want to maintain their own aircraft, which is a good thing, but there are L2s out there who do not own a maintenance facility and cannot earn enough to warrant continuing for much longer. Always there to answer questions, but no-one wants to pay for this. Increased liability is one issue, but as long as you only carry out the work you are both qualified and competent to do, there should be no issues. RAA insurance for maintainers? those who are not regularly employed cannot afford the premium for this. Again it has all been put in place for those who have a commercial operation, not the single L2 on his own. Even if RAA conduct the training, you have to have enough people in the area who want you to do the maintenance and are willing to pay you.

Does it have a QR Code on it? I thought they were going to follow the HGFA where it is a permanent card, but you scan the code to check your qualifications.

Thanks everyone. I finally managed to buy tickets! Problem was my internet security. It did not like the ticket side of the web site so would not take me to the buy your tickets page. Yesterday I used an ipad instead and it worked straight away.

RAAus are rolling out the L1 practical courses and then they are going to start on the L2s. As you say, I think it will all take time, but nothing is crystal clear, as yet as to what the plan is for all members

What are the stats though? 3344 aircraft on the register for 10,000 members. Only 1000 maintainers which is split between L1s and L2s. Not sure which way round it was but say 300 L2s and 700 L1s. So, 1000 all up allowed to do some sort of maintenance. So what do the other 9,000 members do?

I wish I was going to Oshkosh again this year :( but unfortunately I was referring to the RAAus version, (now called AirVenture Australia) which is being held at Cessnock in September

Thanks I will try again tomorrow

I have been trying to buy tickets after receiving the eNews from RAAus saying the tickets are now on sale but the website just freezes. Has anyone managed to buy RAAus discounted tickets yet?

True Kasper. I think RAAus/CASA are looking to keep the new categories the same as GA so that the lower end of GA can be either GA or RAAus in future, with the same requirements with maintenance etc. for both. LAMEs can now complete modules to become Light Sport LAMES and I guess this is where RAAus are heading with the L2s, with them ultimately becoming Light Sport LAMES. OK maybe if you have a full maintenance business, but for most it would not be economical to do so. They said it would be explained in the PDPs but it wasn't mentioned at the one I attended. The only item on the agenda for L2s was talking about logbooks which we did not need to know about as they are checked every two years at the renewal stage.

You could try Ned McIntosh at Wollongong, he is listed on the BAI list quoted above. He should be able to give you a contact for the hangars there.