Some very good news overnight that CASA has backed away from its proposal to require community service flights to be operated under a self-administering aviation organisation (SAAO). Somewhere in the offices of Angel Flight the hard-working volunteers are still dancing on the desks. DAS Mark Skidmore said plainly that the objections to the discussion paper showed that cost and complexity would inhibit these vital services. However, they clearly aren't finished with this yet. The DP had ten proposals and there's a fair chance CASA will now pursue one of the other nine.
From an industry point of view, the new DAS has kicked a couple of huge goals from outside 50. First there is the sensible decision to give the SAAO proposal a miss, then there is the direct, un-white-washed way in which the news was announced. Simple honesty without overtones of backside-covering. If we'd had that sort of response from CASA over the past five years a lot of anguish would have been saved.
Delivery figures released this week from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association show Cirrus still Number One for deliveries and encouraging growth for Cessna's C172SP. Overall, deliveries of new aircraft are on the rise as the US economy continues to recover. The stand-out aircraft for Cirrus is the SR22T, accounting for over 50% of the company's shipments. Conversely, the smaller SR20 seems to be losing ground with the Cessna 172SP and Diamond DA40 series looking like the preferred option in this market. Both are superb aircraft, but the SR20 is no slouch in its own right. Could it be that the SR20 is a flying fish-out-of-water? There are not too many 200-hp, fixed-gear four-seaters out there anymore, making it hard to directly compare the SR20 with other aircraft.
Our man Matt Hall has had a blistering opening to his 2015 Red Bull Air Race campaign overnight, topping the charts for the last practice session before qualifying starts later tonight. I managed a quick chat with Matt at Tyabb late last year and he told me how he was confident the winglets intended for his MXS racer would give him better efficiency from the wing. Looks like he was right! Speaking from Abu Dhabi during the week, he told how he was still burning for a race win, and I'm sure that ambition will flare now he is in with a real chance.
The March-April edition of Australian Flying is imminent! We'll have it in time for Avalon 2015 and you should start looking for it in your letter boxes from next week. For me, the stand-out feature is Paul Reynold's examination of aero clubs adopting light-sport aircraft over the traditional workhorse Cessnas and Warriors, and the economic benefits some clubs are starting to see. It smells like there's change in the wind.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch