Legendary flying instructor and aviation pioneer Senja Robey MBE hung up her headset this week after a flying career spanning 67 years. Senja, an original member of the Australian Women Pilots Association has been teaching people to fly since 1962, and is no doubt personally responsible for the aviation careers of countless pilots. Senja was awarded an MBE in 1976 and was inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014 ... they're the stats. What the numbers don't tell is the story of a deep love of aviation and dedication to other people's flying careers that is paralleled by too few people in general aviation today. She set an example that many of us in general aviation would do well to follow; GA could do with more people like Senja. She has earned a happy retirement, and although her hands won't be on the controls in the right seat anymore, you can guarantee her heart will still be up there.
The Wings Awards are now officially open for nominations! This annual GA award scheme is now in its third year and has served to recognise people in general aviation who would otherwise soldier on in the shadows. With the backing of the Australian Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Wings Awards have become an important part of the general aviation community, and in many cases are the only way of rewarding people for their commitment to an industry we all love so much. However, the Wings Awards thrive on the public nominations, which is where you come in. If you've got someone that you reckon should have an award on their shelf, get onto the Australian Flying website and put together a great submission telling us their story.
We could hear some wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from the warbird community over the proposed new Part 132 standards, which seek to move warbirds out of the Experimental category and into the Limited category, then compel all warbird owners to join Australian Warbirds Association Limited (AWAL) as the administering body. The angst comes from a large number of warbird owners who won't want to join AWAL, but won't have a choice given that their particular aeroplane could be registered only as Limited in the future. Some will be able to switch to full CASA rego, but that can't happen unless the aeroplane type has a history of civil use. Case in point: a Mustang can go for full rego because they were certified civil in the early 1960s. With CASA clearly wanting to reserve Experimental for the Amateur-built Experimental (AB[E]) aircraft, warbird owners are now restricted to Limited and admin from AWAL. AWAL has been an option for them for a few years now, but many prefered to stay with CASA. Now the big handball is on, we can expect some serious frowning from warbird owners in the coming months.
Very sad news this week that Royal Queensland Aero Club (RQAC) has had to put up the shutters and invite administrators in. RQAC has been around in one form or another since 1910. Their recent history includes ownership of Airline Academy of Australia and Aviation Training Establishment for Aircraft Engineers. It was not that long ago that they announced a new campus at Toowoomba/Wellcamp. The financial books would have to be pretty complex with a number of income streams, so we can hope that the administrators are able to work a way to trade out of receivership. The last thing general aviation needs is another large group lost, but it is an example of how difficult it is to stay afloat in such a pressure-cooker financial and regulatory environment as the one that exists in Australia today.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch