Safety Archives - Page 2 of 10

The tragedy of ZK LSV shows why ADS-B in GA must get cash support

June 18, 2019

Everyone who operates responsibly in the New Zealand aviation system knows that ADS-B surveillance could be a priceless enhancement to flight safety. This extends beyond the observation of aircraft within controlled airspace. The scope and potential of ADS-B reaches further into the realm of safety in uncontrolled airspace and, in particular, in the event of an accident. In June, an RV12 microlight crashed in …

ADS-B approaches The Twyford Zone – but is this another black hole?

April 25, 2019

In six days, some claim, God created Heaven and Earth. On the seventh, He rested. There was light, and God saw that it was good. Much later, this also pleased every aviator who did not possess a night rating. Making an entire world out of nothing, in less than a week, is an unimaginable feat of weight and balance, particularly when you compare it …

Imagine what might happen, if New Zealand had an APPG

March 23, 2019

It stands for an All-Party Parliamentary Group whose members cast aside politics and focus on matters directly affecting real people and their livelihoods. In the UK, this is a long-established concept and its APPG-GA is a group of 203 MPs and members of the House of Lords who, among other things, have succeeded in a campaign to Cut the Red Tape at their Civil …

CAA safety levies are dangerous: Some shocking facts about the slush fund

March 17, 2019

On 1 July 2017, the CAA removed hourly charges for routine surveillance (audits and inspections). This was sold to operators on the basis that all future routine audits and inspections would be free. Where operators were found to be non-compliant, follow-up activity would be charged at the existing standard hourly rate. Hourly rate charges would continue to apply to certification, activities requested by the …

Want to subsidise Airways and the airlines? Have your say on ADS-B

Most aircraft owners will be aware that, as part of the New Southern Sky (NSS) programme, Airways is moving to Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B). The current secondary radar service will be replaced by ADS-B as the main source of surveillance information for separation of aircraft in controlled airspace. The CAA’s proposed rule change would make ADS-B mandatory for all aircraft in controlled …

More than 6000 GA pilots get EU grants to upgrade their comms

January 29, 2019

Funding provided by the EU has helped more than 6000 GA pilots and private aircraft owners to change from their 25 kHz radios to 8.33 equivalents. This issue is essentially no different from New Zealand’s switch to ADS-B transponders, because in both cases GA operators must incur costs for equipment in a change that profits commercial players in the aviation system, and provides little …

Ice cold in Alex: UA operators get a frosty reception – and the threat of court action

October 22, 2018

Since we last looked at the Alexandra Restricted Airspace application for UAV testing, there have been some developments. Following a public consultation meeting held on 18 September, and requests from users, the closing date for submissions has been extended to 5 pm on Wednesday 07 Nov. The CAA has refused to release details of any risk assessments and Alexandra aviators are now threatening legal …

On radio-active clouds, and living in times past…

October 1, 2018

GRAFOR, the new MetFlight graphical forecasting service, has been widely welcomed. At last, we have a good visual depiction of what’s likely to happen. This is infinitely preferable to pages of capitalised abbreviations, the result of a submissive CAA, Airways and MetService obeying ancient ICAO rules, and supported by elistist fogeys who always insisted that, to read the weather, you must learn their arcane …

Cheaper ADS-B is already on the way – but somewhere else…

September 30, 2018

CASA in Australia has listened to its aviation community and will be developing rule changes aimed at making it cheaper and easier for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology to be voluntarily fitted to visual flight rules aircraft. This action follows consultation which showed broad support for the voluntary adoption of ADS-B across general aviation. The consultation made it clear the installation of ADS-B in …

ADS-B: We know the science, but what’s the bottom line?

September 18, 2018

Anyone following the progress of ADS-B’s introduction to New Zealand will have noticed one Great Big Official Unknown: How it’s going to be paid for. We all know (and Officialdom has formally acknowledged) that the big financial winners from ADS-B in New Zealand will be Airways Corporation and the airlines. We also know that, for this country to fully enjoy all the safety benefits …

Category: Safety