By Derek Royal 

At an interesting crossroads

The Avalon air show provided the key players in GA and recreational aviation with a golden opportunity to compare notes, identify industry problems and to develop strategies. Indeed, grass roots aviation finds itself at an interesting crossroads, with both seeking ways to improve their appeal and to develop pathways for pilots of all persuasions.

Jonny is just 15 years old but for the past two years he has been training as a pilot at his local flying school. In fact, Jonny soloed in a glider on his 15th birthday and he’s now aiming to go solo in his trusty Piper single when he turns 16. Jonny’s inspiration to begin flying training was his first visit to the Avalon Airshow with his dad when he was 11.

“That was awesome,” Jonny remembers. “From that day I knew I wanted to be a pilot. My dad has always been mad about aviation and he’d take me to flying shows as a treat. But that first Avalon show was incredible. It’s definitely what got me hooked on the idea of being a pilot.”

To pay for his flying lessons, Jonny works in his local supermarket and earns a few dollars doing chores around the house - every cent he earns goes towards his flight training. The young man’s ambition is to earn his commercial licence by his eighteenth birthday and to then apply for the Air Force. His dream is to be a RAAF fighter pilot.   

Luke is a year older than Jonny and he too wants to be a pilot. But unlike Jonny, Luke is flying the RAA route which he hopes will one day take him to the left-hand seat with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Luke is flying a Jabiru at a recreational flying school and not a Cessna through a GA organisation for two primary reasons: money and equipment. 

“I’m flying through an RAA school and training for a recreational licence because at the moment it’s more affordable and the aeroplanes I fly are new,” Luke says. “I can learn to fly in a new recreational aircraft such as a Jabiru for a fraction of the price it would cost me to fly a clapped out 1970s Piper or Cessna at a GA flying school. At this stage I just want to fly for fun, so the choice is a no-brainer.”

These days, kids with a fascination for flying like Jonny and Luke are rare. And there are several reasons for this. For instance, youngsters today virtually need to be entertained 24/7, with the variety of entertainment options available far greater than ever before. Then there’s the fact that flying has become just as common as any other form of transportation, such as catching a bus or a train; and because of this, the glamour once attached to being a pilot has diminished significantly.
Last but not least, light aircraft have a tendency to make people nervous. Talk to non-aviation people and most of them couldn’t imagine flying in “something as small as a Boeing 737”. How would they feel stepping into a two or four-seat single?        

TASMANIA
Flying schools face many challenges but according to Sam Merlo, CFI at Tasmania’s Aero Club of Southern Tasmania (ACST), replacing the school’s ageing fleet is a biggy. “The business just doesn’t provide sufficient income to sequester funds for purchase of newer aircraft,” Sam tells Aviator.

There are also a few other challenges specific to ACST and Tasmanian aviation in general. Weather is one. “Around 50 per cent of our ab initio bookings are cancelled due to weather,” Sam says. “Tasmania is a great and challenging place to learn to fly but we just have to be patient with the weather. Having a small population base also means limited numbers want to learn to fly.”

Then there’s maintenance of aircraft, which, according to Sam, is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain locally.  “Most maintenance is now done through a mainland company which may sometimes mean delays in obtaining essential maintenance,” he says.

Other concerns for Sam include a suitable airport location and facilities within ACST’s economic capabilities, plus an increase in operating costs.

“Our operation is run by a professional organisation whose staff maintain careful oversight on students and members,” he says. “I believe it is run well with a high emphasis on safety. The increasing burden of paperwork and meeting various regulations and new requirements in detail may detract to some extent on the amount of time given to practical safety training for members. An example is compulsory drug and alcohol testing.”

In general, economic pressures due to increases in land values, airport costs, costs of maintenance and replacement of aircraft, force organisations such as ACST to work with minimal financial resources. This may have an impact on safety by stretching resources and care needs to be taken to see that any adverse effect from economic pressures is minimised.

Sam is also concerned about the quality of potential flight instructors.

“I do notice that there are some core skills and knowledge lacking in some of the younger pilots coming though looking for jobs with brand new commercial licences. I attribute this to the commercial pressures of fixed hour courses, and the push to get the course done and to start on the next batch of fresh candidates. Areas like aircraft general knowledge, practical situational awareness, airmanship and crosswind training are few big areas that need improvement.

“Unless we can preserve the aero clubs and small flying schools GA may have a very different look in the future as a lot of the new commercial students going through these days are very attracted to the idea of completing an airline cadet course and bypassing the GA commercial sector. There would still be the need for light GA but due to the reduction of qualified pilots willing to fly in the light GA sector we might be in a situation where it prices it’s self out of the market and is not sustainable.”

So how can GA improve?

“By insuring that ‘the teachers’ are qualified and have some practical experience to pass onto the future of GA. We need to work within reality. GA is never going to have the budget of a domestic airline, so the measures that are required to run and administrate a GA business must be realistic so that it can be sustained economically and practically.”

CALOUNDRA, QLD
RECREATIONAL aviators enjoy their small piece of paradise and if we were to believe everything we read, pilots with GA qualifications are flocking in droves to their local RAA training school to see what all the fuss is about. In doing so, such pilots apparently leave behind rickity old GA aeroplanes for speedy, comfortable state-of-the-art recreational lights; dump GA’s excessive, convoluted rules and regulations and best of all, can still afford life’s little luxuries after paying for the privilege to fly. So what are recreational flight standards ‘really’ like? And is recreational aviation as safe as everyone in their tight little community makes it out to be?

Geoff Larson, CEO at Queensland’s Freeflying Emerald Caloundra Base, tells Aviator that flight training standards in recreational aviation are high.

“I believe our safety is second to none, we have an operations manual that is concise and works hand-in-hand with the relevant CASA publications. Our organisation strives to maintain its position at the forefront of sport and leisure aviation and we’re always breaking ground with the regulators, which brings more privileges for our members. I just ask that the members treat such privileges with respect.”

In the past five years, Larson says there have been changes in the industry, including increases in ceiling height and maximum takeoff weight. “All of these (changes) required many hundreds of hours of work from our board and officials. No doubt they are still working on many more changes for the future.”

So what does the future hold for grass roots aviation?

“It is no secret that RAA is growing at faster pace than GA, so I guess somewhere along the line RAA and GA could actually become one,” Larson says. “There is an increasing number of GA pilots coming to us and converting to RAA. They’re surprised that most of their GA endorsements can be carried over to the RAA Pilots Certificate as well, and in most cases conversions can be done in five hours, give or take.”

GA CHALLENGES
IT goes without saying that the biggest challenges facing GA are cost-related. For the majority of flight training organisations the issue of aircraft replacement “must” be addressed at some point in the future. However, how many flight training organisations are making, or are indeed in a position to make, provision for aircraft replacement? The average age of aircraft used for training is reportedly in the order of 25 to 30 years. As such GA has old aircraft which, while maintained to high standards, are expensive to maintain relative to more modern aircraft. 

Another serious consideration is fuel. The majority of general aviation aircraft are powered by engines requiring leaded fuel (AVGAS) and at some point in the future, economic if not environmental considerations, will limit the availability of AVGAS. How much of an impact will this have on the industry?  

In a similar manner, operators, whether private or corporate, are being exposed to an increasing range of costs which have, historically, not been part of the general aviation scene: air services charges, landing and parking fees all of which must be recovered through the cost of training. There is no question that flight training and flying for fun is expensive and becoming more so. We are also seeing a reduction in the number of airfields available across the country.

According to a former executive at one of Australia’s largest flight training organisation’s, another major challenge faced by the GA flight training community is the continual loss of staff to the airlines or charter operations.

“It’s a challenge but this issue can be managed,” the former CEO says. “At my previous place of employment, we recognised that you need to work with your instructor work force. Accept that some, not all, will gravitate to the airlines and recognise that you must pay your instructor workforce a decent salary. Similarly, you need to work out a career path that suits both the individual and flight training organisation. We also need to be looking at ways to mentor and provide opportunities for instructional staff to move into the more senior positions such as Chief Flying Instructor.”

Looking at the accidents reported and the hours flown in GA it seems that te industry is doing well in terms of safety.  Same with hours flown and incidents recorded. Statistically there are no problems but like all industries there’s an element of inherent risk, which can be mitigated through regulation, standards, training and professionalism. 
“With respect to flight training we are seeing improvements to the way in which we approach safety,” the former CEO says. “The introduction by CASA of threat and error management (TEM) into the training syllabus is a great initiative.  In a similar manner the focus on safety management systems (SMS) is a welcome step.  But, all that said, every individual and flight training organisation must take responsibility for safety. Safety is 80 per cent culture and 20 per cent process, policy and regulatory oversight. I believe that we are fortunate in that in Australia we have the right culture to aviation safety and we are professional in the way in which we go about business.”

When asked to comment on the flight training standards, the former CEO pauses and replies: “That’s a difficult question to answer. At my former place of employ we had a heavy focus on training standards with the aim of ensuring that the student at pre-test is ready for the test. We used a select number of ATOs and we had a head of training, head of standards and a number of standards instructors in the organisation to ensure consistency of flight training standards. But I acknowledge that this is an expensive overhead and not all flight training organisations will be able to adopt this structure. 

“I know that CASA has been very active in looking at flight training standards and now undertakes the testing of Grade 3 instructors coming out of various flight training schools. While a good initiative I really believe that there is more work to be done. There is still need to get the ATOs standardised in line with CASA’s expectations/syllabus and standards so that we can achieve uniformity across the various flight training organisations.

“In reality I believe that we will see the introduction of more simulation for flight training. The technology has reached a point where positive learning transfer does occur in an artificial device.  We will also see the introduction of newer aircraft and greater use of glass based avionics. In terms of general aviation in a broader sense, the future of general aviation is really up to us – what do we want it to be? I see young 17 and 18 year olds along with those who are much older in their 60 and 70s who are still passionate about flying. There is no doubt that costs will continue but we must accept that and adapt and look for better and more cost effective ways of doing business.” 

CHANGING TIMES
Times are definitely changing in local grass roots aviation – both at GA and RAA levels. No longer is the path of learning to fly just the traditional GA route, the RAA has emerged as a serious contender that not only continues to grow but also retains its old fashioned ideals and beliefs, with fun, enthusiasm and inclusion the foundations of its success.  

But despite the inroads made by RAA, general aviation remains a critical part of the aviation scene, especially in flight training, which provides opportunities unavailable elsewhere. GA caters for pilots with career ambitions just as it provides for weekend warriors, but the more successful organisations have identified the need for specialist flight training with a focus on training for the airline/RPT market. Student numbers and hours flown at such institutions are increasing as organisations recognise the need to think outside the square and adapt to change. GA flight training organisations are faced with a somewhat unknown future, one in which their ability to embrace innovation and adapt to an ever-changing industry is critical to their survival, not to mention their relevance within the aviation community.