CASA is moving forward with regulatory changes to CASR Part 61 after forming a co-operative partnership with the Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA).
In a statement released yesterday, AHIA outlined the actions taken to improve Part 61, particularly for the helicopter industry.
"By a co-operative partnership with CASA, the AHIA and other industry members, CASA is moving forward with legislative changes to streamline regulatory provisions as a result of the post-implementation review of part 61," the statement reads.
"AHIA President Peter Crook sees this as a positive step closer to the industry contributing at a high level to legislative content for the betterment of the aviation industry."
Communication between AHIA and CASA has benefited from a meeting held in Sydney on 6 May, in which CASA DAS Mark Skidmore and senior flight standards and licencing staff met with AHIA president Peter Crook and lead Part 61 review team member Ray Cronin.
Peter Crook has since been appointed to the Minister's Aviation Industry Consultative Council, and Ray Cronin to the Joint CASA/SCC Flight Crew Licensing Sub-committee.
Changes made to Part 61 include as part of the review process are:
- Low level recency and flight review requirements extended to two years
- Sling, Winch and Rappel endorsement certifications and flight review requirements
- Expansion of the 61.040 approvals for flight testing and flight reviews to include a broader spectrum of approved persons and instructor qualifications to place specialist operational assessments within the upper level experience for each activity
- Student pilot recency requirements have been relaxed from 15 days to 30.
Other issues high on the priority list include:
- A pathway to allow an Australian ATPL(H) to be obtained
- Amendments to the Part 61 MoS
- The transition requirements for a firefighting endorsement for experienced firefighting pilots
- The development of a multi-engine class rating for helicopters
- The input to the development of CASR Part 138 (aerial work for both fixed-wing and rotary)
"With other significant amendments in the pipe line these actions demonstrate industry input is now being taken seriously and it adds faith to those who want to contribute but may feel held back by the frustrations of the previous environment," the AHIA statement says.