PlaneTorque Australia Pty Ltd Professional Aeronautical Consulting & Auditing Services

ABN 23 104 977 942 PlaneTorque October 2013 Issue 51

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elcome to the 51st issue of PlaneTorque. We are back after

nearly a year off-line. In this issue, we take a look at Light Sport Aircraft in flight adjustable propellers, post the CASR Part 145 challenge and Augusta WA.

Light Sport Aircraft In Flight Adjustable Propellers

For those involved in the Light Sport Aircraft sector of aviation in Australia it was really good news to read recently on various web sites that a revised ASTM was available to cover In Flight Adjustable Propellers. ASTM F2506-13 is available at http://enterprise.astm.org/filtrexx40.cgi?+REDLINE_PAGES/F2506.htm CASA Sport Aircraft office are looking at ways this could be applied to those aircraft CoA’d into Australia where the Statement of Compliance was silent re design specs for propellers.

I suggested that if OEM’s were prepared to state via say an SB that the propellers installed on earlier LSA they manufactured did comply with this standard then perhaps this was a way forward to remove the restrictive “Experimental” category from some aircraft.

Watch this space.

CASR Part 145 What an interesting challenge this

turned into.

It was around November/December last year that I started to get involved in assisting a small AMO here in Perth in their endeavours to attain CASR Part 145 approval. Well it turned out to be a very challenging exercise in more ways than one. We are still not 100% there as yet but we did get the CAR 30 Certificate of Approval upgraded to the CASR Part 145 Approval Certificate. In the run up to gaining 145 there were something in the order of 614 CASA questions/issues that needed to be answered (If applicable) in some way or another. Luckily for us not all the normal AMO issues needed addressing. It wasn’t just a matter of writing an exposition (Flash word for “Procedures Manual”). Other manuals needed writing and/or revising. Most forms needed designing and/or revising. Computer systems needed upgrading. Human Factors training and assessment needed. Staff training was required to cover the changes. A significant cultural shift was needed and not just by client AMO but by his clients also. Issues ranged from what might seem very mundane such as making sure the Purchase Orders we receive carry the precise “Approved Data” reference we are required to use. It’s no longer good enough to say, for example, fix my broken aircraft iaw MM. It has to read “Repair L/H Engine low on power iaw P&WC MM Chap XX, issue dd/mm/yyyy”. An acceptable Safety Management System is mandatory also. We opted to use CASA’s micro business template and SMS-Pro Lite ™ dB. We are about to upgrade that dB to the professional version because the benefits are significant even for a small (Less than 10 staff) operation such as this one.

Another piece of software used successfully is DropBox. Again after running for nearly 5 months now on the free version we are about tom upgrade so that even more benefits can be realised.

Finally great use is being made of Google Calendars. By sharing key calendars with various stake holders very big benefits are realised.

Augusta WA A really nice place to stay

During a recent visit to our south west region I needed to find some good accommodation. Margaret River units (I needed a minimum two bedroom

PlaneTorque Australia Pty Ltd Professional Aeronautical Consulting & Auditing Services

ABN 23 104 977 942 PlaneTorque October 2013 Issue 51

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unit) could not be found for one night rent only. So I looked towards Augusta. There’s not much in town but the Augusta Hotel manages what I believe are some time share units and they did rent out for one night. Well what a nice surprise. Ultra modern, two bedrooms each with its own dunny/shower/bath, big TV in family area, great fully decked out kitchen, very clean and in town itself, a five minute walk to pub or café. If you need accommodation in the region you could do a lot worse, trust me I have. A tad pricey at A$270 a night but when split in two that’s not so bad. Augusta Lighthouse

PTA Newsletters Back Issues

Back Issues of PTA Newsletters can be found at www.ptaaus.com.au/news and www.issuu/com/tq2jetman .

PTA Services A very brief review of the services

offered by PTA

• Certificate of Airworthiness issue o Please refer www.ptaaus.com.au

for limitations. o No seat limitation applies

• Export Certificate of Airworthiness issue.

• Special Flight Permits when associated with CoA’s

• Audits • Safety Management Systems • Pre-purchase reviews • Valuations • Investigations • Project management • Off wing powerplant

management • Technical writing – MEL’s,

SOM & MOM’s

Comp. Test 60/80 Back to basics for all you Piston

Engine Gurus

Take a gander at this very informative web site: http://www.avweb.com/news/savvyaviator/188758-1.html

What The! Where-What-When?

Answers in next months issue.

Last issue’s (October 2012) photo was taken inside an aircraft (Duh!). No one

answered the question, was it that obvious? Well just in case it wasn’t. The answer is the L/H Black Box (Yes I know it’s actually red and it’s an FDR) has its ULB removed.

Interesting www’s You might find some of these useful

and/or interesting

www.glossary.aero

www.joinme.com

www.airtools.com

www.amroba.org.au

Now for our growing small adverts section. Most currently have a Safety or

Standards flavor. More details on each @ PTA’s web

site. SMS-ProTM

SMS-ProTM is a web based; complete Aviation SMS that

fully supports ICAO, FAA, Transport Canada & IS-BAO compliant SMS requirements. PTA is a registered

SMS Partner. SMS-ProTM is a registered trademark of NorthWest

Data Solutions of Alaska, USA.

Air Maestro® is a leading web-based aviation software application offering an integrated SMS & FRMS

designed around CASA/CAA/ICAO requirements. http://www.airmaestro.com.au

PTA is now an Air Maestro® Consultant.

So you think you are SMS ready or even compliant with international standards. Or perhaps you simply want a better way of inducting new staff or re-enforcing safety

management on a regular basis with your existing team.

I encourage you to take a few moments to visit IATSI’s web site via the link below for more details.

You will not regret it. http://www.ptaaus.com.au/sms-training-by-iatsi/

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