Keeping Britain at the forefront of Aviation
Headlines
Cuts for now – or forever?
Sep 1st
Filling a £37bn black hole in planned but unfunded purchases may spell doom for some Royal Air Force capabilities.
UK defence secretary Liam Fox’s recent speech on the vexed question of his ministry’s grievously overstretched budget raised as many questions as it answered.
Air League Director Andrew Brookes’ view is presented in this Flight International article along with other leading aerospace officials.
UK GENERAL AVIATION IS VITAL
Aug 2nd
UK GA – The Foundation of a Vibrant Aviation Sector
UK aviation will only be sustained for the good of national economic, defence and leisure interests if there is an active and vibrant General Aviation (GA) sector at its core.
Throughout the history of UK aviation, many of key innovations and developments have been spawned by GA. In war and peace, the GA sector and the associated interests that it catalyses in aviation have been a major source of the pilots, engineers, controllers and multiplicity of functions that sustain operations and keep them airborne.
GA covers the widest spectrum of aviation of any sector from training and private flying to specialist support for police and ambulance, to gliding, ballooning, helicopters and parachuting, air taxi and business aviation. Of the 21,000 UK registered aircraft[1], over 90% are in the GA sector!
Watching air shows is the second largest outdoor pursuit after association football. A CAA study in 2006 valued the contribution of GA to the UK economy at £1.4 billion while boosting employment. Yet this core foundation of UK aviation is under a joint threat from the EU and a UK Government which see aviation as an environmental pariah (despite the fact that total UK Aviation only accounts for 3% of CO2) and GA a small fraction of that. The UK Government fails to recognise the important contribution of GA, whilst the overarching, ‘one size fits all’ regulatory approach of the EU and the new European safety regulator, EASA, is having a very negative impact on the GA sector.
Moreover, the UK government remains alone in Europe in imposing VAT on flying training! The consequence is a loss of business and opportunity for UK flying training schools, widely accepted as amongst the best in the world
The new Regulation (EC) No.300/2008 of the European Parliament will apply to all airports or parts of airports located in the UK and “all operators” providing services at these airports. It “establishes common rules to protect civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference that jeopardise the security of civil aviation,” i.e. security. But it defines civil aviation as “any air operation carried out by civil aircraft, excluding operations carried out by State aircraft referred to in Article 3 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation”. At face value, the new rules apply to both a Citation transporting a captain of industry to Zurich and a GrobG109B taking off from a gliding site. The GA industry has asked the European Parliament to apply these regulations only to airports that have paved runways longer than 1,000m and aircraft weighing over 5,700kg. Without such exemptions, both (EC) No.300/2008 and Eurocontrol’s proposed ‘standardised European Rules of the Air’ will place GA under further massive negative pressure.
Furthermore, EASA seems to have turned against further consultations on rulemaking. Because the responses from a large number of industry bodies have caused the timescales for the implementation of new regulations to slip, as all new rulemaking proposals must be accompanied by a Comment Response Document. Consequently EASA’s response has been to propose discontinuing the Comment Response Document rather than admit that the proposed rules might be flawed.
Reading regulatory proposals from EASA and similar agencies leaves a distinct impression that Brussels prefers a clean and tidy European airspace where aircraft know their place rather than meeting the requirements of real people, with real human and transport needs. The EC has been allowed to assume responsibility for UK airspace with limited recognition of the specialist GA interests and requirements. The consequence is a regime that appears to identify problems which don’t really exist, which reaches decisions that are wholly disproportionate to the problem and which focus on process rather than securing the right outcome. The result is legislation that is both wrong and detrimental to UK, the interests of aviation, society and the economy. A particular case was the grounding of the GA fleet during the recent volcanic ash cloud event, even though for the majority GA piston engine fleet there was no risk and the evidence for grounding the rest of the fleet had no empirical basis.
The Air League recognises that responsibility for UK airspace now rests with Europe, but that does not prevent it from seeking a more pragmatic approach to regulatory oversight. This should allow all airspace users, including GA as the industry core foundation, to be heard and its legitimate interests recognised such that a much more positive response is taken to legitimate concerns across the whole aviation spectrum.
[1] Source CAA Aircraft Registration January 2010
Your Air Experience Flight Needs You!
Jun 23rd
As a teenager, your first Air Experience Flight (AEF) as an Air Cadet can be a life changing experience. For some it is the first time in an aircraft and for almost everyone it is there first time at the controls of a powerful machine, particularly one that overcomes gravity and operates in three dimensions. It is an experience that opens a young persons mind to new horizons whether in terms of personal achievement or career aspirations in aviation, aerospace and in the services. Our industries and the armed forces need people made of ‘the right stuff’, they are crucial to the United Kingdom in terms of global communication and standing, sustaining a high technology industrial base and credible defence capability and earning valuable export revenues in an increasingly competitive World and ensuring a secure environment for international commerce.
So why are the AEF and The Air Cadet Organisation so important? The 13 AEF flights around the country are the core activity that makes the Air Cadets unique. Hundreds of Thousands of boys and girls over decades have been afforded an experience that would otherwise simply not be available to them; the importance of the AEF flights should not be underestimated and remain an essential element of being an Air Cadet and each individual’s development. The Air Cadet Organisation itself is growing and has expanded to 44,000 cadets and 10,000 volunteer staff. Apart from such benefits as recruitment to aviation roles, the organisation generates well rounded citizens with life skills and community mindedness that will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives. The Air Cadets and AEF’s have been fortunate to have the support of successive Chief’s of Air Staff and the Royal Air Force as a whole; in return the cadets voluntarily give huge support to RAF events and charities.
Whilst it is not known whether MoD funding of the AEF or Cadet Forces is under any threat at this stage, we are concerned and would argue that any cost benefit analysis would demonstrate that cadet forces are value for money and should be ring fenced to ensure that their raison d’être is not diminished. It is clear that the Government will review all aspects of MoD spending but the Cadet Organisations are already lean and overwhelmingly supported by volunteers, the majority of funding for each cadet unit comes from the cadet’s families and local communities. Hollowing out cadet corps and removing or reducing activities such as AEF’s that provide the focus for the cadets interests would be an unmitigated mistake. It may be necessary for the Air League Council to call upon member’s support to lobby for future MoD cadet funding and particularly for the Air Cadets which the Air League founded over 70 years ago. The Air Cadets is an evolving organisation that is setting increasingly higher standards for those seeking to make a difference for teenagers, young adults and staff.
To illustrate a parallel and importance of the AEF to the Air Cadet Organisation, the results from initial courses of The Air League Diversionary Flying Scheme proved the ‘point’. The courses run in cooperation with NACRO, the mainly government funded crime reduction charity and the Air Cadet Organisation have overwhelmingly proved that aviation is a subject and opportunity that holds teenager’s attention. NACRO has confirmed that attendance and completion of the courses has been unusually high. So much so, that the scheme will now be rolled out across Scotland with SACRO, the Scottish equivalent. Insights will soon report on the success of this scheme initiated by Council Member Eric Ward, but the ‘point’ being made is that aviation experience can help change and even turnaround lives.
In the meantime, the AEF face a different challenge, a change in regulations at short notice related to the maximum age of AEF pilots (now 65) on the 1st January 2010 has caused a sudden shortage of pilots. As result, The Air League would like to put a call out to all RAF and former RAF pilots under the age of 65 to consider volunteering for the AEF. If you know of RAF qualified pilots outside of the Air League, please pass on this message to likely candidates. The Air League believes that AEFs are a crucial focus for air cadets and an important element in the mix that creates motivated and confident air-minded citizens.
