– Steve Hitchen
If Airservices and the Office of Airspace Regulation (OAR) implement the Bankstown Corridor exactly as proposed, it will instantly become the most dangerous patch of airspace in Australia. The ceiling is too low, the throat is too narrow and violations of controlled airspace (VCA) are virtually guaranteed by this design. Feedback on the design published this week confirms all of that. In sum, most people think a corridor is a good idea, but this design doesn't work. I think maybe Airservices, CASA and the department may be finally understanding that Western Sydney International is a pterodactyl among the pigeons: when it lands everyone else has to vacate the airspace or get eaten up. Building a major airport and clearing the airspace to accommodate it has been a major upheaval to all aviation in the Sydney basin, but only general aviation is being made to pay for that. The DoD keeps their airspace at Holsworthy and, except for a minor adjustment to the southern boundaries, Sydney International gets to keep all theirs. Bankstown loses virtually everything, driving up costs to an unsustainable point. A corridor might work, but needs to be higher and wider, and that means DoD and Sydney surrendering airspace, which in the scheme of things will still be a skerrick of the airspace that has been wrested from Bankstown.
CASA has come to the inevitable conclusion that sport and recreational pilots are safe enough to be granted access to controlled airspace, provided the skills and requirements match those of GA pilots. The consultation responses largely supported the new policy, or at least didn't oppose it. What this means is that RAAus-registered aircraft with properly qualified pilots at the stick will be able to use the likes of Tamworth, Launceston, Albury, Rocky, Mackay and so forth, and perhaps most importantly, Ballina from November next year. The new policy brings a lot of value to recreational aviation, but one thing may dilute that value: the need for at least a Class 5 medical and therefore an ARN. Will this be a show-stopper? For some RPC holders, I suspect it might. Recreational aviation has flourished precisely because of reduced CASA involvement, and many pilots are wary about CASA knowing anything about them at all; they don't want to be on CASA's radar. Although their ARN would have only the Class 5 information on it and nothing about their pilot certificate or qualifications, CASA even knowing they exist is a scary proposition. That's OK; no-one is making CTA/R mandatory, so for those pilots, nothing needs to change. For pilots who see the benefit of using controlled airports, passing through military airspace and transiting Class C, getting an ARN and going through the Class 5 education program won't be much of a hurdle. The starter's gun goes off some time next year, and the entire GA community will be watching to see how much recreational pilots embrace controlled airspace.
What I am looking forward to the most in 2025 is CASA's GA Workplan 2.0. Earlier this year, CASA called for ideas for a new workplan and the Federal Government committed them to it in the 2024 Aviation White Paper, even though it was always going to happen. The previous workplan delivered the Class 5 medical, access to CTA for RAAus, expanded privileges for flight examiners and a bevy of other things, so I am hanging out to see what they intend to tackle in the latest iteration. Mind you, there are some things outstanding from the previous plan that have proven thorny to introduce, most notably CASR Part 43 on GA maintenance. With industry support withdrawn, CASA is up against the wall when it comes to introducing it. Part 43 was supposed to have been done by Q4 2023, and now there is no deadline for completion. Hopefully, Workplan 2.0 will contain some innovative and progressive actions that won't be impeded by the need to sort the outstandings from Workplan 1.0.
That is LMH done for 2024. We go into our summer hiatus now, but we'll be back again on Friday 24 January completely restored and ready for what 2025 brings. I would like to take this chance to thank all those involved with LMH: James, Priscilla, Anthony, John, Andrew and Kreisha for their efforts throughout the year. My biggest thanks I will reserve for the sources, aviators, readers, subscribers and friends who keep my work as honest and accurate as possible. And then there is my partner, Sonya the Magnificent, who puts up with all my rants, stress explosions and moments of illogical raving that never see the light of day. LMH is made up of all of those people; I just work the keyboard.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch