The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) this week published some of the feedback to the CASR Part 91 General Operating and Flight Rules proposals.
Part 91 will replace more than 100 documents such as regulations, orders, supporting instruments and exemptions, combining them into just two documents. It will retain the existing rules with a small number of new rules which CASA says are designed to enhance operational flexibility and safety and increase compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
CASA received 116 submission to the proposed regulations, with a majority of respondents supporting all the main changes. Some proposals had slightly higher percentages that indicated some amendments were needed.
Among the proposed changes to be incorporated in Part 91 are:
- Amending the fitness-for-duty rule to reinstate the eight-hour rule and add a prescriptive blood alcohol level requirement
- Amending the cruising level AGL requirements from 1000 ft AGL to 1500 ft AGL to provide appropriate alleviation in the reduction of the AMSL height from the current 5000 ft AMSL to 3000 ft AMSL
- Amending the requirements regarding taking off and landing into wind at the non-controlled aerodromes to permit cross wind training
- Amending the simulating emergency requirements to be conditional on the flight conditions (IMC) and not the flight rules (IFR)
- Ensuring that the existing requirements for carrying passengers in experimental amateur-built aircraft continue without the need for further approval.
- Amending the requirement for flight instruments for experimental amateur-built aircraft to clarify that the approval process for installing equipment in day VFR and night VFR aircraft is not intended to become more onerous or complex
- Amending the back-up battery requirements for EFIS fitted to experimental amateur-built aircraft to 60 mins duration
- Clarifying requirements to reflect that aircraft operated VFR by day only are not required to fit or display anti-collision lights or navigation lights.
CASA has also published a list of general responses to feedback concerns and what the regulator intends to do about them.
The full list of publishable submissions and CASA responses is on the CASA website.