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IAOPA-Europe
e-newsletter, September 2006
Welcome
to the monthly e-news of IAOPA-Europe, which goes out to
23,000 AOPA members across the continent of Europe.
This e-news is made possible by our lead sponsor
ExxonMobil Aviation Lubricants, whose Elite 20W-50 is
the first aviation oil formulation for piston-engine
aircraft to appear on the market in more than a decade.
(See below)
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Brave new world for GA?
The
advance notice of a proposed new system of regulation for
general aviation has been published by EASA's MDM.032 working
group and is on the IAOPA-Europe website. It represents an
ambitious and far-reaching attempt to alleviate the burden of
regulation under which GA suffers in most European countries,
without detriment to safety.
The ANPA (Advance Notice
of Proposed Amendment) is effectively a 'pre-consultation
consultation' on a subject that has enormous implications for
the entire industry. Covering design certification,
airworthiness, operations and pilot licensing, it opens up
every area of GA regulation for discussion.
Jacob
Pedersen, IAOPA-Europe's representative on the MDM.032 working
group that framed the document, is urging all members to take
a look at the document and put their thoughts to EASA, with
copies to IAOPA-Europe.
At 48 pages it's too weighty to
discuss fully here, but it recognises that European GA is in
trouble – we have just 25% as many GA aircraft as the United
States despite having a similar area and a greater population
– and blames the regulatory burden in part for the ill-health
of the industry. In sectors of GA like microlights where
regulation is less heavy-handed, business is booming and
safety is not markedly affected. None of its findings are
unexpected, with Jacob Pedersen having kept members informed
through this newsletter. It proposes that non-complex aircraft
under 2,000 kg be taken out of a regulatory regime that is
geared largely towards serving the interests of the public
transport sector. It says there should be a new Europe-wide
sub-ICAO licence with reduced medical requirements, for which
additional ratings like Night – and a remodelled Instrument
Rating – should be available. Licences would be issued by
Assessment Bodies rather that national aviation authorities.
Some
of the proposals will be opposed by the current regulatory
authorities, and the full support of the GA industry is needed
to make them happen. The ANPA warns: "The expectations of the
group on the content and privileges of the new RPPL are very
ambitious. It can however be questioned whether this is
achievable. The Commission proposal for the extended Basic
Regulation have indeed met with scepticism as regards the
possibility to allow flying in any aircraft that is not a
complex-motored powered aircraft with a licence that does not
meet the conditions of the JAR-FCL PPL. Addition of instrument
or instruction ratings may raise the same objections. Another
aspect of the conditions that is raising strong concerns is
the possibility that medical attestations of fitness could be
issued by general practitioners."
As always with
EASA, consultation times are short – feedback must be in their
hands by October 16th, and it must be presented in a specific
form or it won't be considered. You can download both the ANPA
and the approved comment form from the IAOPA-Europe website www.iaopa-eur.org.
Please send a copy of any comments you make to info@iaopa-eur.org.
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Blended fuel concession for
avgas
AOPA-Germany has won an exemption for avgas from
laws due to come into force in January which require all
German manufacturers of fuel to add Ethanol to their products. The
exemption, however, does not cover mogas, and all GA aircraft
using mogas will be affected.
Ethanol is a biofuel that
is popular among environmentalists, and in some countries like
Brazil it already forms 20 percent of car fuel. It has a lower
energy content than pure gasoline, which makes it unsuitable
for high-performance aircraft engines. It also has a more
corrosive effect on certain engine components.
Dr
Michael Erb, managing director of AOPA-Germany, says they
managed to convince German authorities that adding ethanol to
avgas would be a disastrous move, both economically and in
terms of safety. However, exemptions are less likely for car
fuel, and it is economically unfeasible to produce
ethanol-free mogas purely for aviation use.
Dr Erb
points out that the STCs for Lycoming engines designed to take
mogas prescribe a maximum ethanol content of one per cent –
any higher and the permit is invalid. Rotax engines in VLAs
and ultralights will also not tolerate a higher concentration
of ethanol.
AOPA-Germany is working with car
manufacturers, who are lobbying for an exemption for
'Super-Plus' fuel used in high performance sports cars.
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Swiss tackle Zürich
infringements
AOPA Switzerland has successfully opposed
new airspace restrictions for VFR flights in the vicinity of
Zürich, where there has been a marked reduction in
infringements because of new AOPA-inspired charts and
information material.
Zürich airspace has become
increasingly complicated because of restrictions imposed on
traffic overflying nearby German territory. Because of this,
Zürich was forced to introduce new arrival and departure
patterns for IFR traffic which kept aircraft entirely within
Swiss borders, but which swallowed up huge chunks of VFR
territory and led to restrictions on flights under the TMA.
An
elaborate training device called Turicum (the Roman name for
Zürich) was introduced, comprising a Powerpoint presentation
in four different versions explaining how to operate VFR near
Zürich. In addition, AOPA has helped pay for a new 1:250,000
chart of the area because the 1:500,000 had become so
cluttered with restrictions as to be unusable. Skyguide, the
Swiss ATC provider, has been supportive and has made some 600
CDs explaining Zürich airspace, distributing them to all
airfields in the vicinity, including in Germany, and to all
flying schools and glider and hang-glider associations.
As
a result, onerous VFR restrictions have been dropped. Philippe
Hauser of AOPA-Switzerland says: "We have a very tight but
flyable TMA/CTR, although some glider clubs are not happy as
they have very little airspace to move in." The new
quarter-mil has a 1:300,000 glider chart printed on the
reverse.
Philippe adds: "The number of unauthorised
airspace penetrations by VFR traffic has reduced tremendously.
We had to defend every cubic metre of airspace for VFR use,
and lot of opposition from our side was necessary in order to
convince the Federal Office for Civil Aviation that these
changes would improve safety."
The Turicum
presentations are available in French and German on the
AOPA-Switzerland website www.aopa.ch
under 'Schulung Turicum'.
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Military gates open
AOPA's
campaign to open Swiss military airfields for civilian use is
slowly bearing fruit, and the Association remains determined
to win landing privileges at every one.
AOPA-Switzerland
has very good relations with the Swiss Air Force, most of
whose pilots also hold civilian licences, but official access
to airfields has proved difficult in recent years, especially
with opposition from local communities on noise grounds. Two
airfields in particular, Emmen and Dübendorf, are virtually
impossible to use, but AOPA-Switzerland has announced its
intention to land at all of them in the near future.
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Yiouli for Eurocontrol
AOPA-Greece
President Yiouli Kalafati is to take up a new position with
Eurocontrol to work on improving the capacity of aerodromes to
handle traffic.
Yiouli, an air traffic control
manager in Athens, is joining the Airport Throughput Business
Division to work on a project entitled 'Airport Airside
Capacity Enhancement', (ACE) which aims to establish methods
by which airports can maximise their ability to cope with
traffic growth.
Yiouli, who joins the project as ATC
expert, has been President of AOPA-Greece since 2004.
IAOPA-Europe deputy vice president Martin Robinson said:
"Yiouli has brought enormous energy to IAOPA-Europe and we are
grateful for all the work she has done. She will be an
enormous asset to Eurocontrol, and we are very pleased that
she will continue her work with AOPA-Greece."
The
stated objective of (ACE) is to help airports to release
latent airside capacity by implementing guidelines for runway,
taxiway and apron operations.
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AOPA-CH visits Sweden
During
a thundery week in August some 30 members and 15 airplanes
from AOPA Switzerland visited Sweden, reports Lennart Persson,
vice president of AOPA Sweden. Arrival was at Säve airport in
Gothenburg. They flew Linköping the following morning to visit
the Saab Aircraft factory. In the afternoon they continued to
Eskilstuna and stayed there at the old castle of Sundbyholm.
The intention was to make a short trip to Stockholm/Bromma on
the third day, but thunder and rainstorms prevented the
flight. Instead, the Swiss pilots took the train, and got the
chance to see the City Hall and the Wasa museum. After four
days they flew back to Switzerland with a lay-over in Malmö.
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Regional Meeting
The
116th IAOPA-Europe Regional Meeting will be held in Warsaw,
Poland on September 30th. Report in the next e-news.
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If you have any comments on
this newsletter or would like to have information from your
country included in it, please email iaopa@richmondaviation.co.uk
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