– Steve Hitchen
If there is only one association in Australia that exemplifies what the aviation community should be, it's the Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA). They are a connected group that tackles the issues, encourages and inspires, socialises and above all, flies. And somehow, unlike so many other aviation associations, they seem to cope with all that and still make it fun. AWPA is celebrating their 75th anniversary, having been founded in 1950 with legend Nancy-Bird Walton at the helm. They're celebrating 75 years of well-patronised annual conventions, 75 years of encouraging each other on and 75 years of wiping out any perception that women can't fly as well as men. Now, I am sure that deep inside there is the same political undertone that plagues just about every association or club in existence, but in the case of the AWPA they don't let it get in the way of their big picture. When I heard AAHOF was going to give the 2024 Southern Cross Award to AWPA, I booked tickets for the induction dinner straight away. I knew the AWPA would come out in force, and that a great party was brewing. Of course they didn't disappoint; that's not what the AWPA does. Their impact on aviation has been such that the entire GA community, not just the AWPA, should be celebrating having them around for 75 years.
This week the ALP Federal Government launched their campaign to introduce mandatory ADS-B Out for VFR aircraft. If this sounds familiar, it's because it's the same thing we dodged back in 2017 when ADS-B became compulsory for IFR flight. Since then, both the Coalition and ALP governments have made their desire for universal ADS-B Out very clear, in the form of encouragement via subsidy. The threat of mandate comes on the back of that program falling short of expectations; the weight of ADS-B fitment in VFR aircraft is still low. But that's not because it was bad idea or because the GA community didn't want it. It has not hit its targets because there aren't enough qualified engineers to do the work. As a response, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport has developed a solution that makes the work that can't be done compulsory. Apocryphally, Canute the Great tried to make it compulsory for the tide not to come in, which led to him getting his sandals soaked. But Canute knew his commands were worthless and was using the exercise to demonstrate the limit of his power as King of England. The department's mandate may end up demonstrating that their power is limited too. To be fair, the discussion paper recognises the dearth of engineers as a problem and has offered a 2033 deadline as a solution. That relies on the engineer problem being solved by then, but that's a shaky assumption given that numbers continue to decline even when it has been a red-alert problem for a decade. And fear this: the consultation paper offers four options for the mandate model, one of which is not "Do Nothing". We are being asked to choose our own poison, for this is most definitely a fait accompli.
The Australian Aviation Hall of Fame was inaugurated for the purpose of recognising the efforts of others, so it's both fitting and pleasing to see that the FIA is similarly honouring AAHOF for theirs. AAHOF has become a place where stories will live on well past the memories of the main characters. Whilst each life is a story on its own, it is only at AAHOF do they come together like the warp and weft of a tapestry that recounts the collective history of Australian aviation. Without AAHOF and the efforts of those that founded and nurtured it, Australia's aviation history would remain many separate narratives instead of one story. Now the FIA has recognised AAHOF with an FIA Group Diploma of Honour, demonstrating the value of AAHOF to the Australian aviation community. Whilst this is a group honour, it needs also to be draped over the shoulders of the many individuals people behind AAHOF that have put in long hours to give Australia's GA community what it desperately needed. Congratulations, AAHOF ... this is your Southern Cross Award.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch