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Have you missed the following updates published on our website last month? Announcements Community service flights New requirements for pilots flying Community Service Flights will come into effect on 19 March 2019. The requirements establish a new minimum standard to ensure that the people that use these flights are afforded an appropriate level of safety. Visit the CASA website for more information. Aerodrome regulation made into law A comprehensive revision to CASR Part 139 was made on 21 February 2019, with the accompanying Manual of Standards due to be made shortly. The regulation does not commence until August 2020, allowing for CASA to provide support to the aviation community to fully transition by August 2022. New booklet explains recommended radio procedures We’ve published a new booklet called Be heard, be seen, be safe, to ensure all pilots and flight instructors understand the correct radio procedures to use in Class G airspace, including non-controlled aerodromes. It is available on the Online CASA Store. New edition of Human factors for pilots kit now available The 2nd edition of safety behaviors: Human factors for pilots updates both the content and format of the first edition, with 10 booklets, a workbook and videos. The kit, launched at Avalon, is available for ordering through our Online Store, or you can download a copy and watch the videos on the CASA website. Consultations Proposed amendments to CAOs 40.7 and 82.7 We are seeking feedback on proposed amendments to CAOs 40.7 and 82.7. The amendments propose new commercial pilot experience and training requirements for the balloon size classes, and the experience requirements for a chief pilot of an AOC holder. Don’t miss the opportunity to make your comments count, provide your feedback via our Consultation Hub by the 13 March 2019 deadline. Modernising the fatigue rules Consultation on the proposed CAO 48.1 Instrument 2019 has closed. The summary of consultation – summarising the feedback received – will be published next month. However, you can read the responses to our consultation where permission has been granted to publish. Exemptions Changes to use of pre-hiring drug and alcohol tests An exemption (CASA EX 42/16) that allows the use of pre-hiring drug and alcohol tests has expired and been replaced with a new exemption – CASA EX29/19. To find out more, visit the CASA website. Guidance material CAAP 166-01v4.2 – Operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes The policy in relation to the appropriate frequency to use in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes has been finalised and is now reflected in CAAP 166-01 v4.2. View the CAAP on the CASA website.

It is much harder to create with IPS than it was with Xenforo

Sorry but there isn't any Sunday morning email anymore.

There seems to be only 2 things I can do make the site perform faster and one of them was to bring it back to an Australian server which was done last night...it is now hosted on a dedicated server here in Sydney. Also compared to the old Australian server I have gone from a E3-1270 v2 processor to an E3-1240 v6 one plus the ram has been increased from 8gb to 32gb. The 2nd thing I can do will take a lot of work over the next month so I will let you know when that is done as it will be a major impact on the site but will make the site extremely fast even for those in the country and outback

Hi Mate, is the site any quicker for you now?

From CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Shane Carmody Improved standards for community service flights are being introduced to enhance public confidence in the safety of these important services. We have now set new minimum standards for pilots operating community service flights, identified the kinds of aircraft that can be used and set out appropriate maintenance and operating requirements. The new standards were put in place following consultation with community service flight organisations, pilots, the broader aviation community and the general public. The centrepiece of the new safety standards is a requirement for pilots to have appropriate flying experience before they undertake community service flights. These new safety standards take into account the special nature of community service flights, which can be very different to private flights. These flights can put a lot of responsibility and sometimes considerable pressure on pilots. It is only fair to the pilots, patients and carers to ensure there are appropriate safety standards that go beyond those required for everyday private flying. CASA does not believe these standards will have an adverse impact on the majority of community service flights, as most pilots already tend to be more experienced. Noting the occurrences, accidents and fatal accidents in community service flight operations, we believe it is appropriate for these steps to be taken. There were more than 200 responses to our consultation on the issue and we carefully assessed all the feedback before making significant amendments to the original proposals. One of the major changes was to remove proposed engine maintenance requirements, which we concluded would have been too onerous. It is important to understand these conditions only apply to pilots conducting community service flights. To be considered a community service flight, the flight must be brokered by an entity for a charitable or community service purpose. Find out more about community service flight conditions. Best wishes Shane Carmody Latest news Plain English guide to new regs coming A key step has been taken in the development of a plain English guide to the new Part 91 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. Extracts from the guide to the new general operating and flight rules have been released for comment. The extracts show how the guide will provide information on complying with the regulations in simple and concise language, using effective graphics to explain requirements. CASA is asking pilots to assess if the extracts are easy-to-read and understand, retain the true meaning of the regulations and strike the right balance between technical accuracy and simple writing. Copies of a brochure containing the Part 91 plain English guide extracts will be released at the Avalon Air Show and are being distributed at CASA’s AvSafety seminars for pilots during March and April 2019. A version of brochure is also available on CASA’s web site, where feedback can be lodged. Once the guide is completed it will mean pilots will not need to refer directly to the regulations to understand and comply with the general operating and flight rules, although the regulations themselves will remain the legal reference for compliance. The guide is primarily intended for general aviation pilots and flying schools. Go to the Part 91 extracts and provide feedback. New safety tool for pilots An expansive, updated and improved resource kit for all pilots on safety behaviours has been produced by CASA. The revised safety behaviours kit will become a must have tool for pilots at all levels of flying. The kit includes ten booklets covering a range of topics relevant to individual pilots and small air operators, a workbook with practical exercises, discussion areas and reference material and a suite of videos containing interviews with aviation experts and practitioners. Topics covered include safety culture, human performance, communication, teamwork, situational awareness, decision making, threat and error management, human information processing and design and automation. A central theme of the kit is that while it is impossible to eliminate all errors, consequences can be successfully mitigated by understanding human factors principles. The kit can be obtained through CASA’s online store, with the videos available both online and on USB. Order your safety behaviours kit from the online store. Right radio use in non-controlled airspace There’s plenty of information available for pilots on radio procedures in non-controlled airspace. This is important following CASA’s clarification of the appropriate VHF frequencies to use in the vicinity of aerodromes in class G airspace. In many situations in non-controlled airspace CASA recommends using the area frequency. However, in the vicinity of uncharted aerodromes, pilots have discretion to use the most appropriate frequency that ensures safe operation. This can be MULTICOM 126.7MHz. The latest procedures are set out in a revised radio procedures booklet, available from the CASA online store. They will also be contained in the Aeronautical Information Publication to be released in late February 2019 and a new Civil Aviation Advisory Publication. All pilots operating in non-controlled airspace should refer to these resources to ensure they operate safely. In the booklet ‘Be heard, be seen, be safe’ there is information on radio carriage, frequencies, when broadcasts must and should be made and how to make effective broadcasts. Order a copy of the radio procedures booklet. Fatigue management progress There was a strong response to the latest consultation on proposed new fatigue management rules, with 331 people and organisations lodging feedback. CASA is now analysing the feedback, along with input from a fatigue technical working group. The issue will be considered by the Aviation Safety Advisory Group in March 2018 before CASA reaches a final position. CASA is aiming to make the Civil Aviation Order 48.1 instrument on fatigue as quickly as possible, with transition to the new requirements scheduled to be completed by March 2020. Many high capacity air operators are in the process of developing fatigue risk management systems and Qantas has begun a 12-month trial. The latest consultation on new fatigue rules followed an independent review of fatigue requirements, which made 24 recommendations. The proposed flight duty period limits incorporate key scientific principles. These include protecting sleep opportunity prior to duty, prescribing maximum flight duty periods to limit time awake, reducing flight duty periods for start times that impact pilot ability to sleep or require duty during the window of circadian low and permitting extended flight duty periods with crew augmentation and appropriate rest facilities. Find out more about fatigue management. Revised aerodrome rules are here Revised regulations covering the operations of aerodromes have been formally made. The revised Part 139 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations includes a range of changes to the rules covering aerodromes to reduce complexity and costs and improve operational flexibility. The revised regulations and associated manual of standards will not take effect until mid-2020 and there will be transition arrangements. One of the key changes is the move from existing aerodrome certificates to a ‘scalable certificate’. The premise of scalability is that busier airports with more aircraft and passenger movements will face higher regulatory requirements. There are technical changes in the manual of standards to more closely align Australia with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and recommended practices. The new regulations are more outcome-based, so aerodromes can be responsible for how best to achieve safety requirements based on their own individual circumstances. To help airports manage the changes, and in acknowledgment that some older aerodromes were built as far back as World War II and beyond, CASA is updating grandfathering provisions for some existing aerodrome facilities. These aerodromes can still operate to existing standards until they make the decision to upgrade or replace a facility. An important change for many airports under the new rules is the requirement for registered aerodromes to produce an aerodrome manual. CASA is redeveloping the aerodrome manual template and will have an online manual building tool to provide step-by-step guidance. Registered aerodromes without a current manual can build one quickly using the online tool, which will have pre-loaded text and guidance material. Find out more about the revised aerodrome regulations. In Brief The 2018 edition of the aircraft maintenance engineer careers guide has been released. It provides helpful tips on how to become an aircraft engineer; how to get a licence and where to go for the appropriate training. The guide will help people becoming engineers to maintain high standards of aviation safety. Get the guide now. Air operators and Part 141 certificate holders were given more time to comply with the new fuel rules. However, from 28 February 2019 they must comply with the requirements of the new regulation and the fuel instrument. Find out more. The summary of feedback on the proposed new rules for rotorcraft air transport operations in Parts 119 and 133 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations has been published. The feedback indicated broad aviation community support for the proposed changes. The proposed rules introduce safety enhancements such as an adaptable rotorcraft code of performance, flight and other crew member training and checking requirements and scalable safety management systems. Read the feedback. Guidance material on the design, development and delivery of passenger safety information has been updated. There’s new information on safety briefings for passengers on helicopter and balloon flights and guidance material concerning cabin baggage and portable electronic devices. Read the Civil Aviation Advisory Publication. The Bureau of Meteorology is moving its aviation meteorologists into two new aviation forecasting centres in Brisbane and Melbourne. These centres will deliver most aviation services across Australia by mid-2020, using the very latest advances in observational and modelling capabilities. There will be no change to the number of meteorologists employed and aviation operators across Australia will receive a greater level of service irrespective of where they are based. Find out more about the Bureau changes. Fourteen pilot safety seminars CASA’s popular AvSafety seminars for pilots will continue during March 2019. The seminars focus on developing pilot skills in three key areas – communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. A practical scenario is used to explain the concepts of threat and error management. Pilots work through relevant defensive flying behaviours aimed at addressing human factors challenges encountered in single pilot operations. At each seminar pilots will be given special cards with key information on communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. The cards can be kept in a new AvSafety resource folder to build a library of critical safety information. Cards and folders are only available to people who attend AvSafety seminars. Extracts from the new plain English guide to the Part 91 operating and flight rules will be available at seminars during March and April 2019 for review and comment. In March 2019 seminars are being held at: Cooma Point Cook Broken Hill Deniliquin Swan Hill Kalgoorlie Bundaberg Maryborough Mildura Innisfail Latrobe Valley Mareeba Bairnsdale Albany. Book a place at a pilot safety seminar. Engineering seminar CASA is holding an engineering safety seminar in March 2019 at Maryborough. The seminar will cover a range of topics including leadership and mentoring for aviation maintenance engineers, specialist maintenance certification, Flight Safety Australia maintenance articles and a regulation review update. Engineers, heads of airworthiness and maintenance, other people from airworthiness organisations and maintenance training personnel will all benefit from attending the seminar. This is a great professional development opportunity, allowing people to talk with CASA maintenance experts and ask questions. The Maryborough engineering seminar is being held on Wednesday 20 March 2019 at the Maryborough Aero Club. Find out more and book a place at the Maryborough engineering seminar.

All fixed...

The video should display and fit to the screen size you have. In other words it will shrink to a mobile phone display and expand automatically to fit on a 24 inch 1680 x 1050 monitor size.

Do you mean something like this: So as you can see it works in the forums but obviously not in a reply post withing the video library. I will look into it and see if that is possible

AvSafety seminars for pilots and engineers March 2019 Enhancing pilot skills in a Dynamic Environment In 2019, CASA’s Aviation Safety Advisors (ASAs) will run a series of AvSafety seminars—Enhancing pilot skills in a Dynamic Environment. This seminar will discuss how knowledge of human factors in three essential pilot skills will enhance aviation safety. Communication Situational awareness Threat and error management Using practical examples, the seminar will look at enhancing the skills involved with radio communications around aerodromes and maintaining situational awareness in a dynamic and changing environment. The seminar will also introduce the role of threat and error management and discuss techniques to complement the technical aspects of flying an aircraft. The seminars are an ideal opportunity for you to interact with your ASA, discuss local issues and ask questions of the regulator. Register now via Eventbrite. Attendance is free. Locations and dates are as follows: Cooma Wednesday 6 March Register Now Point Cook Thursday 7 March Register Now Broken Hill Wednesday 13 March Register Now Deniliquin Wednesday 13 March Register Now Swan Hill Thursday 14 March Register Now Kalgoorlie Friday 15 March Register Now Bundaberg Tuesday 19 March Register Now Maryborough Wednesday 20 March Register Now Mildura Thursday 21 March Register Now Innisfail Tuesday 26 March Register Now Latrobe Valley Tuesday 26 March Register Now Mareeba Thursday 28 March Register Now Bairnsdale Thursday 28 March Register Now Albany Friday 29 March Register Now The presentation includes references to the CASA website. Please feel free to bring your tablet or smartphone to follow the information live. New Engineering knowledge development—awareness through education If you work in airworthiness and aircraft engineering, we want to keep you up to date with changes, advances and the high level of safety knowledge you require. This is a complex discipline, so if you’re an engineer, operator, trainer, HAAMC or CAMO, we want to help you have access to the latest best practice, information and resources. You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with CASA and ask us questions. Some of the topics that this series of seminars will focus on are: leadership and Mentoring for AMEs. specialist maintenance certification. flight Safety Australia maintenance articles regulation review update. Your Aviation Safety Advisor will be available to discuss Part 66 license questions and issues both during and after the presentation if required. Register now via Eventbrite. Location and dates are as follows: Maryborough Wednesday 20 March Register Now A list of all seminars and more information is available on the CASA website. Help make the skies safe for all, attend a CASA AvSafety seminar in 2019.

Yes, I tested it by uploading an mp4 file from my Samsung phone and all ok so unless Apple does anything different with their mp4 files it should be all ok...but please note the 20mb file limit and that the speed of playing a locally hosted video file compared to the massive YouTube world wide infrastructure which is much much faster

Hi All, I have updated the Video Section of the site that is found in the Media Section (click Media on the main menu then Videos in the sub menu). It is much much better, a lot easier especially when adding YouTube, Vimeo etc videos. If there is a web site of videos like YouTube that you want added then please let me know...you can also add Facebook videos. When you add one the system will automatically get the title and thumbnail plus more from the video url you are adding making it very easy. You can now even add your own videos directly into the Video Library here however please note that I have capped it at 20mb file size as anything bigger would be a strain especially on the user as the video doesn't get compressed when uploading so it is always better to upload your video to YouTube and then add the YouTube link into our Video Library. Now I can start moving all our existing videos into the Video Library as I feel it is now much better than the last one...enjoy

Tried to board the plane that I was moved to but they said I am unable to board...they're trying to sort it out...bloody deathstar

Talking to jetstar now and looks like I have lost my seat and they are only going to compensate me $12 for the inconvenience

I gave up on jetstar and have been flying Tiger without any real problem...the latest my flight out of Sydney was ever delayed was about 40mins and I never had my early Monday morning flight cancelled...BUT...I thought I would try jetstar again, first flight back with them is this evening and already received an SMS saying my flight has been cancelled. I have had to be moved to another flight and looks like I have lost my 1F seat that paid extra for. STAY AWAY FROM JETSTAR

Hi All, well it has been some time now using the new software platform of IPS after moving from Xenforo and everything I think is starting to come together and settled. The 3 months I gave it is up so I want to hear if you are still happy with the site software now. The next 6 months was planned to be the development of everything for the site followed by the final solution to my dream for the long lasting future of this great resource. So please vote in the poll and post anything here that you would like to say about the site and thanks always for your comments on how I can do things better

Announcements New edition of Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Careers Guide now available We’ve published a new edition of the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Careers Guide. This edition provides helpful tips on how to become an aircraft engineer; how to get a licence and where to go for the appropriate training. Visit the CASA website to download your copy. Consultations New registration and accreditation scheme for drones Consultation is now open on CASA’s proposed new registration and accreditation scheme for drones. We are proposing to introduce a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) registration and RPA operator accreditation requirement as a way of monitoring the safe and lawful operation of RPAs, commonly known as drones – and we want your feedback on the details of the scheme. Modernising the fatigue rules Public consultation on the draft CAO 48.1 Instrument 2019 closes soon. Don’t miss the chance to have a say on our proposal to modernise Australia’s fatigue rules by 10 February 2019. Visit our Consultation Hub and make sure your feedback is counted by the closing deadline. Advisory Circular defect reporting Consultation has opened on draft AC 20-06 v1.0 - defect reporting for aircraft and aeronautical products. This AC replaces Civil Aviation Advisory Publication (CAAP) 51-1(2). This AC introduces information on defects that do not need to be reported to CASA and applies to aircraft maintained under CASR as well as CAR. Visit the Consultation Hub to provide your feedback. Summary of consultation on proposed Part 101 MOS We’ve published the summary of your feedback to the recent consultation on the proposed Part 101 (Unmanned aircraft and rockets) Manual of Standards 2018 which provides details on the rules for commercial and professional drone operators. Summary of consultation on CD 1804OS – proposed changes to the rules for rotorcraft air transport operations – Parts 119 and 133 We’ve published the summary of your feedback on our recent consultation on the proposed changes to the rules for rotorcraft air transport operations. Exemptions New exemption for flight examiners We’ve remade the exemption CASA EX146/16 to allow certain flight examiners to conduct a flight test for the grant of a commercial pilot licence (CPL). View the new exemption (CASA EX159/18) on the Federal Register of Legislation website. Projects Project approvals We’ve approved the following two projects this month: Project OS 18/08 - Amendments to CAOs 40.7 and 82.7 to align with CAR Part 5 and balloon class definitions in regulation 5.01 of CAR Project US 18/09 Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) registration and RPAS operator accreditation scheme Project closures We’ve closed Project OS 09/24 – Early implementation of some proposed CASR Part 61 Policies via CAO.

That's actually good news that there has been no negative impact on speed by changing servers. The reason I say this is that we were using a very efficient software platform Xenforo and moved to a more resource intensive solution of IPS. Next we moved from a local Australian server based in Sydney to a server based in Los Angeles USA which would mean a big impact in speed due to latency i.e. the time it takes for the data to go from the US to Australia. The US server has higher spec's than the Aussie server and for only a little more costs so the higher spec's has been enough to overcome the latency which is good. The other good thing is that this was a strategic decision as well...having the server in the US allows the site to be more appealing in terms of speed for Google and all the potential new international users. So overall it has worked...if necessary I could look at doubling up the SSD drives into RAID 0 as forum sites performance comes from, and in order of, Disk Drives then Ram, then Processor Cores/Threads and lastly Processor frequency (speed). Database solutions need to get the data off the disk as fast as possible and then hold as much as possible in ram. This data and PHP functions need as many processor cores/threads to process the data that is given to it. The spec's of the new server are currently [LA] Intel E-2176G, 16GB DDR4 ECC, 500GB NVMe S 970, 1gbps port, 30TB out, IPMI, /29 Note the 500GB NVMe S 970 is the Samsung SSD and are the new types and the same as the 2 I have in my local PC set in RAID 0 for development...they are the best Drives you can get. Thank you all this that voted in the poll as information like this really helps me to do a better job for you all

Thanks mate and I also forgot to mention that Flying Clubs and Schools and Aircraft Manufacrurers, Distributors/Agents and things like that are ALWAYS welcomed to post in the forums about what they are doing and offering as I see them as an important part of our aviation community

That's ok as it is not commercial to you...the point is I don't want people to use the site as just a means to make money for them greedy selves when I have done all the work and paid out all the money to provide the site...I hope you can understand that and if in doubt at any time just simply ask, I respect that. Remember we have the Classifieds for members to sell their own private stuff, we now have the Supplier's Section for the Commercial stuff, let's try and keep the forums for community discussions of interest and help each other. Many years ago I had a user register and then start to saturate the forums with their products, this I didn't like as all they saw the site for was a way to make money for themselves without anything else, this is what I don't like and will stop.

Please NOTE that Commercial Advertising is now allowed here at Recreational Flying (.com) as long it is aviation related and IS CONTAINED IN THE SUPPLIERS SECTION ONLY. No commercial advertising is allowed in the forums and we are strict on this as we don't want to see the community discussions plagued with advertising posts. Also note in terms of Pilot Supplies please don't create commercial entries in the Suppliers section for Pilot Supplies Stores as this will conflict with our very own Clear Prop Store, hope you understand

Hi All, it gives me great pleasure in announcing that we now have a completely new dedicated section for Suppliers in the Aviation industry to promote their wares, products and/or services to everyone in the aviation industry...pilots, aircraft owners and even business to business in the industry. AND GUESS WHAT....IT IS ALL FREE!!!!!!!! The only thing I ask is that any commercial entries do not conflict with our own Pilot Supplies Store Clear Prop and if in doubt please just simply ask first. But, this new section will allow users to add commercial entries into the site for not only for site registered users but also all the thousands of visitors that come to the site who are not registered (and why not??????) So Recreational Flying now allows commercial content which I hope will help everyone in the flying community so get on to everyone you know, your LAME, your Flying School, the accommodation place you like staying at, the places of interest, the places that give you the best service and prices etc...get them all to come here and add their business in the new Supplier's Section. Oh, there is also a Supplier's News component where they can announce any special deals they have going or new product releases etc and much more...let's all please try and make this the best Yellow Pages service in aviation...just click on the Suppliers link in the main menu column and let me know of any enhancements you would also like me to try and make for you...as always, thanks for your support

A couple escaped uninjured after their light aircraft made an emergency landing at a beach in Jeffreys Bay on Wednesday. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said the Plettenberg Bay pilot and his wife were found safe at the beach. "The pilot had landed on the beach in an emergency landing during a flight from Port Elizabeth to George following suspected motor failure," said the NSRI's Paul van Jaarsveld. Van Jaarsveld added that the crew joined the police, Kouga Fire and Rescue Services and the Eastern Cape government's Emergency Services personnel who had already been activated by the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre. Van Jaarsveld said the incident was being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority. The light aircraft reported to have landed on the beach in an emergency landing. (Supplied) In June, two people were killed when a light aircraft crashed near Midrand, Johannesburg in a residential area. The victims were the pilot and a gardener.

From CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Shane Carmody Successfully finalising outstanding projects and regulatory changes has been a priority since I stepped into the position of CEO and Director of Aviation Safety. It was very clear there were too many issues which had simply dragged on for too long. This situation was not fair on the aviation community and meant CASA resources were continually being juggled between ongoing commitments and the need to address new issues and challenges. It made it harder to make progress on organisational, regulatory and service improvements. As we launch into 2019 the good news is very substantial progress has been made on outstanding projects and reforms. The new suite of flight operations regulations has been made, the aviation medical system has been reformed, new training regulations are in place and the policy on low level frequency use has been settled. We have a new and improved approach to safety surveillance and the transition to the new sport aviation regulations is underway. Of course, there is still much work to be done in relation to many of these issues, but we have jumped significant hurdles that in the past have slowed us down. A key benefit of our achievements, which have been made with the contribution and co-operation of a raft of people across the aviation community, is that we can spend more time and effort focusing on the future. We can identify further improvements and reforms that will contribute to better aviation safety outcomes and seek better ways of doing business and delivering services and safety support to the aviation community. One area in which more will be done is the delivery of online services for functions such as licensing and aircraft registration. Being a regulator means there will always be critics. Some will say we are too prescriptive, too heavy handed and not flexible. Others will say we take too long to deliver outcomes and are not closely enough engaged with the aviation community. At times these comments may be true, but I can assure everyone we will be working hard in 2019 to be the best possible aviation safety regulator for all sectors of the aviation community and the broader Australian public. Best wishes Shane Carmody Latest news Book now for special Avalon safety forum It’s time to book a place at an important safety event at this year’s Avalon air show. CASA, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Airservices Australia are presenting the FlySafe 2019 Aviation Safety Forum. A range of safety experts will share their knowledge on positive safety reporting cultures and will work though responses to a hypothetical accident at a busy airport. The hypothetical will bring to life the roles each aviation agency plays in learning from accidents and improving safety. FlySafe 2019 is a first for the Australian aviation community and is open to Avalon air show trade visitors, exhibitors and conference delegates. The program includes presentations from Airservices CEO Jason Harfield; ATSB Chief Commissioner Greg Hood; and CASA CEO and Director of Aviation Safety Shane Carmody. The forum will also hear from Group Captain Nigel Ward, Director of the Defence Flight Safety Bureau, and from the Chief Commissioner of New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission, Jane Meares. The forum is free, but places are limited. The forum is being held on Thursday 28 February 2019. Book a place now at the Avalon air show FlySafe 2019 forum. Drone registration and accreditation scheme Consultation is underway on the details of a proposed comprehensive drone registration and accreditation scheme. CASA is planning to introduce the drone registration and accreditation scheme progressively in the second half of 2019. Under the proposal all commercial drones will need to be registered, while recreational drones weighing more than 250 grams will be registered. The cost has yet to be determined by CASA. It will depend on whether the drone is flown for fun or profit. It is likely to be a $20 or less annual fee (per person) for recreational drones and for some model aircraft operators. There will also be an annual registration fee likely to range from $100 to $160 per drone for each commercial drone. Accreditation will involve online education, based around a video, and an online quiz. All recreational drone flyers 16 years and older will need to be accredited, as well as drone operators in the excluded category, which includes under two kilogram commercially operated drones. Accreditation will need to be renewed every three years. It is proposed that people will need to be 16 years or older to register a drone, with younger people needing to be supervised by a person over 18 years old. The Federal Government has supported the introduction of a mandatory accreditation and registration system for drones. This was in a response to the recommendation from a Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport inquiry. Find out more about proposed drone registration and accreditation and have your say by 22 February 2019. Drone surveillance underway Data on drone activity near major aerodromes is being collected to inform CASA’s development of new remotely piloted aircraft safety strategies. CASA has engaged a contractor to conduct the surveillance during the first half of 2019. The surveillance will be carried out progressively at mainland capital city airports, as well as around Sydney Harbour, a known drone hotspot. Drones will be monitored at locations near aerodrome boundaries and in and around approach and departure paths. At Sydney Harbour drones will be monitored that infringe restricted airspace. In most instances, the drone surveillance equipment can see where a drone is operating, as well as showing where the controller and operator is located. The technology also provides the serial number or ID of the drone where available. While the drone surveillance is initially being conducted as a trial to gather data, it may be used by CASA for enforcement of the remotely piloted aircraft safety regulations. Keep on top of smoke and fumes Detailed guidance is now available on the management of odours, smoke and fumes during flights. The advice is valuable for all charter and regular public transport air operators. About seven per cent of aviation occurrences relate to fumes and smoke, so it is important for operators to have strategies and processes in place to mitigate risks and respond to events. Cabin crew members need to know how to recognise and respond to fumes and smoke, particularly fumes from air supply systems. Operators should ensure cabin crew training covers the sources and types of on-board fumes, recognising the presence of oil and hydraulic fluid fumes, the potential for impairment, procedures to apply in fume events and the reporting of fume events. Sometimes oil fumes do not smell like oil and may typically be described as mouldy/musty or dirty socks. Hydraulic fluid often has a distinctive and recognisable odour that is described as acrid, unpleasant or pungent. Training should include standardised odour descriptors typically used for air supply system-sourced oil and hydraulic fluid fumes, so aircrew can effectively communicate and report the presence of fumes or smoke. Find out more about managing fume events. Five airspace reviews released A number of reports from airspace reviews have been released. These cover airspace around aerodromes at Rockhampton, Mackay, Wagga, Launceston, Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. The reviews found the airspace arrangements at each location are fit for purpose. At Wagga there are some concerns from airspace users about the mix of traffic operating in a common traffic advisory frequency environment. However, there was little support for the re-establishment of a control tower and risk analysis does not support the move. The review found there should be continuing consultation between airspace users to reinforce local procedures and communication between aircraft, as well as continuing education and information campaigns by CASA. At Alice Springs the review found there were opportunities for better management of traffic, while at Launceston changes could be made to the common traffic advisory frequency coverage. The Ayers Rock review noted Airservices Australia considers there is merit in conducting a trial of lowering Class E airspace to enhance service delivery to instrument flight rules aircraft. Airspace users – including visual flight rules aircraft – could benefit from fitment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast avionics. Go to the Rockhampton/Mackay, Wagga, and Alice Springs airspace reviews. Go to the Ayers Rock review. Go to the Launceston review. Night aerial fire-fighting makes history History was made in early 2019 with the first night aerial firefighting operations used to combat an out-of-control bushfire in Victoria. The Rosedale blaze in East Gippsland burnt through 12,000 hectares in less than four days in a fast-moving fire front. A total of 60 water drops were made at night on the fire, using helicopters equipped with a snorkel system that collects water from nearby dams and lakes. Aircraft crews also used night vision goggles to map out the fire, helping to provide detailed information to firefighting crews on the ground. CASA has given approval for night firefighting trials by Emergency Management Victoria, allowing aircraft to fight blazes for up to four hours after dark if they have been fighting the same fire during daylight hours. There are now two certified night fire-fighting operators, Kestrel Aviation in Mangalore and Coulson Aviation in Ballarat. Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp, said the helicopters were deployed as part of the continuing trial into night fire suppression operations in Victoria. Mr Crisp said the Rosedale fire was a good example of a fire that could benefit from night operations and indications were that the operation went well, with further opportunities to learn. Seminars to support pilots CASA’s popular AvSafety seminars for pilots will continue during 2019. The current round of seminars focuses on developing pilot skills in three key areas – communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. A practical scenario is used to explain the concepts of threat and error management. Pilots work through relevant defensive flying behaviours aimed at addressing human factors challenges encountered in single pilot operations. At each seminar pilots will be given special cards with key information on communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. The cards can be kept in a new AvSafety resource folder to build a library of critical safety information. Cards and folders are only available to people who attend AvSafety seminars. In February 2019 seminars are being held at: Shepparton Melbourne Strathalbyn Jindabyne Nowra Somersby Roma Temora Forbes Lethbridge Adelaide. Book a place now at your local AvSafety seminar. Engineering seminar CASA is holding an engineering safety seminar in February 2019 at Essendon. The seminar will cover a range of topics including leadership and mentoring for aviation maintenance engineers, specialist maintenance certification, Flight Safety Australia maintenance articles and a regulation review update. Engineers, heads of airworthiness and maintenance, other people from airworthiness organisations and maintenance training personnel will all benefit from attending the seminar. This is a great professional development opportunity, allowing people to talk with CASA maintenance experts and ask questions. The Essendon engineering seminar is being held on Thursday 14 February 2019. Find out more and book a place at the Essendon engineering seminar. Flight instructor workshop A flight instructor safety workshop is being held in Darwin in February 2019. The workshop includes case studies, discussion topics and group exercises. Some of the topics covered will be maintaining good situational awareness in the training environment, anticipating student actions, understanding Part 61 requirements, use of GPS in the instructional environment, online resources for instructors and students and maximising the benefit of flight reviews. CASA’s aviation safety advisers will run the free workshop, which will include time for questions and feedback. The Darwin workshop is being held on 6 February 2019. Book your place now for the flight instructor workshop. In brief Consultation is open until 10 February 2019 on revised proposed new fatigue management rules. The proposals are of interest to holders of air operator's certificates, Part 141 certificate holders and some flight crew licence holders. Comment on the proposed fatigue changes now. A new printed edition of the very popular Visual Flight Rules Guide is now available. The guide features plenty of diagrams, charts and maps to support easy-to-read information on all visual flight rules operations. Get your copy now. The fourth annual printed edition of CASA’s Flight Safety Australia magazine is out now. The 2018 Flight Safety Australia Collectors' Edition is a bumper collection of more than 50 stories published in the online magazine during the year. Get your copy of Collectors’ Edition now. An updated airworthiness bulletin on the calibration of compasses is available. This includes advice on calibrating and compensating aircraft magnetic compasses, as well as providing data on the maximum allowable deviations to enable compasses to be maintained to their type design. Read the compass bulletin. Keen to find out more about the proposed new general aviation maintenance regulations? Watch a video now of a presentation on what the proposals mean for the general aviation sector. Go to the video.

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