CASA is proposing to change helicopter
licensing standards for trainee
helicopter pilots in Australia which
would see student pilots able to
gain their licences in a shorter time
and without having to learn basic
instrument flying. In response to
industry concerns, the regulator
is proposing to amend the Part 61
regulations covering flight training
to include a 105-hour training option
for the CPL(H) that reflects the old
105 hour option in the Civil Aviation
Regulations (CAR) 1988, while make
training in basic instrument flying
optional. The proposal is to add a
105-hour CPL(H) option based on the
former special training course under
Part 5 of CAR.- Babcock Australasia’stwo new Airbus
Helicopters H175s which arrived in
Darwin on November 27 onboard an
Antonov An-124 have become the first
of type in the country. To be registered
as VH-NYJ and VH-NYI, the H175s
will be operated on contract from Dili,
Timor-Leste by Babcock Offshore
Services Australasia which will use the
super-medium helicopters to provide
offshore personnel transport, SAR and
medevac support for the Bayu-Undan
gas production operations in the
Timor Sea northwest of Darwin.
INDUSTRY
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)
plans to overhaul its aviation medical
requirements, allowing pilots flying
commercial operations with no
passengers to hold a less-restrictive
Class 2 medical certificate, and
private pilots flying with five or fewer
passengers in VFR conditions to only
hold a new aviation medical certificate
that meets commercial vehicle driver
standards.- Textron Aviation has unveiled the Cessna
SkyCourier 408, a new clean-sheet
regional-sized turboprop designed
to seat up to 19 passengers or carry
three LD3 containers. Global logistics
company FedEx Express is the first
customer with an order for 50 aircraft
and options for 50 more. Entry-into-
service is planned for 2020.
The chair of the Expert Reference
Group advising the federal
government on the ideal setup of a
national space agency, Doctor Megan Clark,
says the space industry represents
an “outstanding opportunity” for
Australia to create jobs and generate
economic activity.
GE Aviation has announced the
appointment of Keren Rambow as regional
general manager for South Asia
Pacific. Based in Sydney, she is taking
over from Max York, who was recently
appointed as CEO of GE Australia.- The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has
handed down its final report into the
ditching of a Pel-Air aeromedical
flight off the coast of Norfolk Island
eight years ago, which found the
Captain in command made a series of
missteps during the flight planning
process, while the operator lacked
sufficient risk controls in relation
to fuel planning and safety. The
investigation was reopened after heavy
criticism of the original final report
from a parliamentary committee
and in an independent review by
the Transportation Safety Board of
Canada. A Four Corners investigation
also highlighted serious flaws in the
way the original investigation was
conducted.
Airbus expects the total number of
aircraft flying within, into and out of
the Australia/New Zealand/South
Pacific region to expand from 749
aircraft currently to 1,358 by 2036, an
increase of 609 aircraft over the next
two decades as the lift in tourism and
the rise of the middle class enables
more people to take to the skies.
The figures represent a more upbeat
assessment of the region compared
with Airbus’s previous forecast for
Australia/New Zealand and the South
Pacific that was published in 2015.
In other Airbus news, the airframer
has named Rolls-Royce president
for civil aerospace Eric Schulz as the
successor to long-time chief salesman
John Leahy, who is retiring after
32 years with the company. The
54-year-old Schulz takes up his role
as executive vice president and chief
of sales, marketing and contracts for
Airbus’s Commercial Aircraft business
in January 2018.
Unmanned systems company Insitu
says it has signed a contract to
support Royal Dutch Shell company
QGC’s coal seam gas extraction
business in Queensland. As part of
the contract, QGC will use remotely
piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to
inspect wells, tanks, pipes and other
infrastructure in Queensland’s Surat
Basin. This would help cut down staff
travel across an area spanning some
700,000Ha by about 800,000km a
year, QGC says.
Artist’s rendering of the newly-
launched Cessna SkyCourier.
TEXTRON AVIATIONOne of Babcock Australasia’s
two new Airbus Helicopters H175s,
VH-NYJ, is offloaded from an An-124
freighter in Darwin on November 27.
BABCOCK AUSTRALASIA
Debrief