Bankstown and Camden Airports are back on the market, with the holding company looking to off-load the leases for both. Reports say there was an aborted attempt to sell both back in 2012, but it was canceled when the shareholders decided to hold out for "a better sale environment." So, apparently that's now. There have been reports in mainstream media that the airports are up for sale. That can't happen as the consortium doesn't own the land, just the leases on the land and the development opportunities that brings. It does make you wonder, though, what conditions have changed that make the sale a better option in 2015 than it was in 2012. The more mischevious out there might say the only change is that the consortium is more desperate now.
It seems to me that CASA is telling us gently that we can forget one of the Forsyth recommendations: plain-English regulations. In his CASA Briefing Newsletter for May, Mark Skidmore points out that they would like to get complexity out of the CASRs, but the government drafting style is getting in the way. I have no doubt he's right. The legislative drafting style is unwieldy, legalese gobbledygook designed to be interpreted by only legal minds, not the general public to which they apply. The incongruity is that the style actually impedes aviation safety rather than promote it because the average person has no idea what many regulations actually say. In 2010, US president Barack Obama signed an act that forced US regulations to be written in plain English. It's way over due that we had something similar happen here, even if it's only for aviation safety regulations.
RBAR is back in Rovinj this weekend and Aussie Matt Hall is feeling very good about his chances for a win. He's been very consistent this year and his racer is fast. Two second places so far behind the dominant Paul Bonhomme are testimony to that. It will take a great run to beat the Brit, but Hall is certainly capable of great runs. Rovinj is a track plagued by tricky winds, leaving plenty of unpredictablity going into Sunday's race. As an aviation writer and commentator, it's imperative that I remain impartial. So let me say this in the most impartial way possible: go Hally!
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch