What lead you to become involved in Aviation? 
In the 1950’s there was the surge in aviation after World War II. I had a relative who flew in World War II and when I was about 10 I went to something like a Squadron Reunion with him and spoke to him and an ex-German Luftwaffe Pilot about their flying tales and I was hooked. It was a great time, when the economy was booming and very open to people moving into the industry, plus people were very excited about the rapidly growing aviation industry at the time.

You then worked for CASA’s predecessor the Department of Aviation, as an Examiner of Airmen?
Yes, as an examiner I became experienced in all aspects of aviation, flying aerial ag work, flight testing as a test pilot, testing private pilots, commercial pilots and so on and flew Business Jets.

Do you keep your hand in flying these days?
Well with this job I spend a large percentage of time talking to people in the industry and can’t really give it the amount of attention that I am used to. These days I keep up to date usually by going flying with someone else who is qualified in order to experience that aspect of aviation.

And why did you take this position with CASA?
Quite simply I think CASA needs to change and I think I can make a contribution. I think I am making a contribution.      

Is GA the same as it used to be a few decades ago?
GA is different than 30 years ago. I mean, there is an expectation that it will be the same as it was but remember, in the past, the economy was booming, like in the 60’s and 70’s and there were lots of people getting a licence and hiring, or even buying an aeroplane. There’s not the same underlying interest now or the same investment in Aviation as there was. 

If you look at people’s discretional spending, they are still spending these days, but not on the same things. You just have to go to any of the big harbours and look at the spending on big boats. So the money is there but Aviation maybe doesn’t have the same mystique it used to.

So what’s your opinion on what will happen to GA? 
In the time of the GA boom, when lots of Pipers and Cessna’s were flying, there was a high number of accidents and therefore a high level of regulation was developed to go along with it. Now that level of control really isn’t necessary, CASA can shift its expenditure to focus on the areas where people can’t control their level of risk, such as passengers.

Private and business aviation has a statistically higher level of accidents but, rather than stomping on the industry, I am shifting the focus more toward education and training. This includes the newly formed advisory groups, the Flying Training Role Specialists and Field Safety Advisors. Rather than inspect and audit, education and training is more efficient.

What about self-administration?
Self-administration can deliver better safety. There are great examples of where it has worked particularly well, like the Gliding Federation. It’s a peer concept, or club situation where the peers, or people involved, are responsible for creating a safety ethic and administering the rules. I have recently met with AOPA and I would certainly be interested in a proposal being put forward. 

Will this help reduce the costs of licensing and administration for operators?
My main driver is not at all to reduce these costs. My main driver is to achieve equal or better safety in the industry while creating a more suitable model of regulation, wether that’s self-administration or not. 
 
What have been your most rewarding experiences throughout your career? 
A few I suppose. In my time as an instructor, it was seeing my students ‘produce the goods’ so to speak, like sending someone solo in a Macchi, pass their instructor’s test and so on. 

As a pilot, 30 or 40 years back on Macchi’s, I had a student who would practically vomit at the thought of spinning. But, of course, he needed to be able to fly the manoeuvre in order to pass his flying test. So I used all sorts of manoeuvres, practical advice and psychology to eventually bring him around so that he could fly the manoeuvre and pass his test. That was very rewarding.

Personally, as a pilot, executing anything technical is very rewarding, it could be an instrument approach, formation aerobatics, or demonstrating a perfect aerobatic manoeuvre to a student and then knowing I had flown it like I was on rails. Even just getting an NDB approach spot on.

What is your favourite aircraft to fly?
 I think the nicest are the business jets, like the Citation 5 and Citation 2, which are beautiful to fly. I spent a lot of time taking them into dirt mining strips up in the northwest and then back to Melbourne at a few hundred knots. They just get the job done so easily. I also think aircraft like the Falcon 2000 are magnificent to fly.

As far as military aircraft, I would say the Macchi and the Caribou. As a 19 year old Pilot Officer, the Caribou was a quite daunting piece of equipment. Then later in Vietnam it was a great practical aircraft to fly. I took my son, a 737 pilot for a major airline, to the last Avalon Airshow: we got in the cockpit and I was amazed by the tremendous advance in technology since those days.

Favourite bit of gear? 
I think the glass cockpit is amazing. It is such an advance in technology and, from a training perspective, makes things a lot clearer. Also, from a safety point of view, it gives you control over the information you are seeing and makes flying lots simpler. 
 
What do you get up to when you are not on the job?
I go bushwalking with my wife. She’s making sure I get to 80!