I have to say, I love being able to get out and about again. Despite an upsurge recently in COVID-19 numbers, it appears we are open to stay. That’s good news for aviation and events, because as this goes to press, we are getting ready for the RAAus-initiated “Fly’n for Fun” at Parkes, NSW on 1-3 April. And you will still have plenty of time to join us at the Anzac Weekend Airshow at West Sale Airport in Gippsland, Victoria on 23-24 April.
Something I’m not loving so much is paying for my Biennial Flight Review, medical and ASIC, all of which are happening right now. I get the flight review and medical – to an extent. But like so many, I have questions about the ASIC. There’s a good article in this edition about why we have ASIC and why it isn’t going away anytime soon. But what I struggle to understand is why every 2 years? And why do we need to resubmit everything? A “Secret” rating lasts 10 years. It won’t get you the launch codes, but it’s certainly higher than an ASIC. As I understand it, the ASIC system doesn’t actually connect to any of the other security systems – police, national security etc. – so the renewal is the only time they have to “catch” the threats. I think after 20 years it might be time to fix this one. Does 5 years sound reasonable? It does to me. And I’m a very reasonable person, ask anyone! It’s not just me though – we get a lot of mail from people asking a similar question. Aviation preparation is time consuming and expensive enough already. We will continue to watch the ASIC space and make our feelings known on the subject and we will try to reflect the community’s view. I understand that we as private pilots of small-ish aircraft are well down the pecking order, but there’s a lot of us and last time I checked this was still a democracy. Just saying…
So, enough ranting. Welcome to another edition of SportPilot. We’ve tried to fill it with the sort of things we like to read as pilots. We hope you do too. If you make it to the Anzac Weekend Airshow in West Sale, come and say hello to the SportPilot team and I, who will be crewing the SportPilot half of the RAAus display. We’d love to see you there and to hear from you.
