CASA has shed another senior manager, this time Peter Fereday. The reason Peter has left the regulator is a matter between he and CASA, and it's not something that should necessarily be made public. What is important for the aviation industry is that CASA replaces Fereday with someone who is on board with the Forsyth recommendations; someone who believes in the desperate need to infuse CASA with the just culture Mark Skidmore has said he will implement. Anything else would be regressive, and the aviation community doesn't need to regress any further!
On the plus side of the CASA ledger is the support given to them by the Regional Aviation Association of Australia. The RAAA communique during the week was the second time CASA has been patted on the back over the directive about cost-effective communication. What does concern me is that both the bouquets came from within the regional airline sector (the other was Rex) and nothing much has been heard about this from the smaller end of GA. It should have generated a flood of official responses from interest groups, but sadly not a lot has been heard.
The Archerfield Airport Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (AACCI) suffered a setback during the week when the AAT dismissed their appeal against the airport's master plan. They contended that Anthony Albanese, as the then minister, was wrong to approve the plan in 2012, but the tribunal didn't agree. It will take you quite a while to work through all the legalese in the decision to see what, if anything, this means for the aviation industry. There will be precedents in there that will, in time, be quoted in other tribunals in other cities, so broad was the case brought by the AACCI.
There is a lot to be read into (and even more to be assumed) Piper's decision to start laying off staff at Vero Beach. The company started 2015 with a bang, announcing the new M600 turbo-prop, but a soft market in the first quarter took the wind out of their sales a bit. In short, they delivered only 10 single-engine pistons for Q1. When you compare that with the 25 DA-40s and the 31 Skyhawk SPs, it would seems Piper's real issue is that other manufacturers have the business. It's true that the market has softened, but Diamond managed to double the DA-40 shipments over Q4 2014. Piper needed poor sales now like a racehorse needs to throw a shoe as it rounds the last bend. The M600 development will be soaking up a lot of cash, and more needs to be poured in the back end. The Q2 figures will be very revealing when they come out.
Great news for Paul Bennet and his team, landing a contract for an air show in China. Paul is a stalwart performer of most air shows around Australia and it's great to see his skill and showmanship has been recognised internationally. If well received, the Sky Aces could become a staple in China as well.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch