Is Managerialism coming to RA Aus?

[Keith Page]

Circumstances change Don. The issue at the moment is who is charting our future and is it pilot/ builder small cheap planes orientated. CASA was at one time set out to knock us around as "they" didn't agree with the concept of building planes from stuff you could buy from Bunnings, and an emphasis on doing it cheaply. WE have weathered some severe storms. No one has in the remotest sense been accused of anything criminal. In our condemnations of the "sins" of the past (so called) THAT should be remembered. Most behaved with good intentions. Nev

The home builders are slowly becoming irrelevant. Getting more and more like mini GA.

Look down the track a bit. What happens when everything is mini GA and no home building?

 

KP.

 

 

[facthunter]

It's not a matter of nostalgia or a return to the past. If it's nearly all planes being "off the hook", and reims of paperwork to cover every move, I won't be in it, after many years indeed.

 

Being involved in building and maintenance by predominantly the owner, (not forced but permitted, and facilitated) is to me "of the ESSENCE" to "recreational" flying. People commit to that, and are "involved" with their "bird" otherwise flying can be just another pastime of a transient nature in competition with so many other costly "toys" you can purchase and think are the answer to a perceived boredom or attention deprivation syndrome and provide fulfillment of some kind., that you can simply just buy. Nev

 

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

Well said Nev, and I reckon that it is the market these days which demands factory-built. I would be interested to know how many kits ( or plans-built ) there are underway now compared with ready-built purchases.

 

Personally, I feel a bit sorry for the ready-built buyers because they will never have one of the greatest experiences in life, which that first take-off in a plane you built yourself. And every take-off after that is better too.

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Hmmm... I wonder ...

[-Rod-]

Did somebody miss the *fact* that the business of RAAus Ltd is Aviation?Nobody is in business to do business. Every business that survives does so because they are good at managing the business they are in. RAAus does not have multiple layers of middle managers. It is a lean and efficient organisation and almost the antithesis of CASA.

 

And, if irc, the ONLY prerequisite for being a director of RAAus Ltd is that you must be a PILOT!

 

Give me a pilot who has strong management experience in preference to a pilot who has no management experience any day.

 

RAAus Inc almost ceased to exist under the control of a Board of pilots with *no* medium to large business management experience. They almost managed RAAus into oblivion. Our reputation in the industry hit rock bottom with hundreds if not thousands of aircraft grounded.

 

How soon we forget!

 

By all means re-elect the old guard and ride the downward spiral and have the registrations debacle Mk2.

It is interesting that those current RAAus board members calling for a more business focus for the Board (and there is nothing wrong with that) are the same ones that have advocated RAAus continuing to operate at a loss. This is not a good business practice and not sustainable. We are not talking thousands of dollars, its a hundred thousands dollars plus, year after year. The current budget also plans to operate at a loss.

 

On the aircraft registration compliance issue this matter is and was managed by RAAus Managers, the RAAus Tech Manager with oversight by the CEO. The reports the Board were receiving from the Managers at the time were that RAAus was completely meeting its requirements and from CASA that RAAus was compliant. It was not until a RAAus manager left RAAus and took up a role with CASA that non-compliance issues were being reported. The Board responsibility was to fix the problem. With new administrative procedures, a very expensive database upgrade a new Tech Manager and a new CEO's the problem has been resolved.

 

Day to day administrative matters were (and still are) the responsibility of RAAus full time paid staff. Under the old RAAus the executives took on the next line of responsibility to ensure compliance issues were being met, followed closely by the full Board. Blaming the Board for creating this problem is nearsighted, blaming the RAAus Board for not fixing the problem would have been valid however, clearly, this is not the case as compliance issues have been fixed.

 

Rod Birrell

 

 

[DrZoos]

My L2 application has been on the desk 9 months...not happy

 

I know they have been snowed under and I accept that

 

And I think in virtually every other area they have done a fantastic job... but it it excruciatingly painful waiting 9 months for a phone call or email