The Australian Association of Flying Instructors (AAFI) has labeled a section of Part 61 reforms an "impediment" to the training industry.
When asked to assess the impact of CASR Part 61 changes, the AAFI, through Acting President Andrew Smith, singled-out for criticism the requirement for instructors to accrue 50 hours of instructional experience before teaching certain endorsements.
"A huge impediment has been raised with the introduction of a requirement for an instructor to hold 50 hours instructional experience in many activities before they can conduct training for an endorsement," they told Australian Flying.
"This covers activities such as NVFR, formation flying, spinning, aerobatics and numerous other activities.
"An instructor who wishes to be able to conduct training in many of these activities [a reasonable goal] would be required to accrue potentially hundreds of hours before being able to start actively training students in the relevant activities."
This requirement was one of many changes put on hold when CASA postponed CASR Part 61 until 1 September next year.
The AAFI also slammed the need for flying schools to develop a training exposition.
"The cost financially, both monetarily and in lost time to develop the exposition, with its complex training matrix and syllabus, as well as revised safety and fatigue management systems is completely unreasonable to the flying training industry.
"At the recent CFI conference dealing with Part 61 in Canberra, it was noted by many in attendance that it would conservatively take six months for one person to develop the relevant documents to the required standard. It can be seen that a small school would struggle to cope with the additional workload.
"A much more sensible solution would be for our regulator to develop a standard syllabus. Operators could apply for minor changes to the CASA standard syllabus to take into account their unique circumstances. This would be a faster, more streamlined, and less costly process for CASA and the industry.
"Surely one syllabus produced by CASA rather than hundreds of separate versions is better for maintaining a common high standard. There is no need for everyone to develop their own version of the wheel.
However, the association also had some words of praise for the delayed reforms.
"AAFI is supportive of any CASA initiatives which act to reduce bureaucracy and simplify procedures for operators where there is no detriment to safety. We applaud the implementation of the Restricted Pilot’s Licence (RPL) and proposed removal of the current Student’s Pilot Licence (SPL), as well as the removal of the requirement for an AOC for Part 141 operators.
"AAFI also believes that in an inherently global industry such as aviation, a common set of rules and regulations is laudable, and indeed necessary if we want to remain a respected provider of aviation services. Therefore moves by CASA to align us with the ICAO standard are a required step in the right direction."