Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Exemption — operations by recreational aircraft in Townsville control zone and control areas and temporary restricted areas
Legislation
Section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the Act and in the interests of the safety of air navigation.
Subregulation 308 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) provides that CASA may exempt aircraft, or persons in, on, or otherwise associated with the operation of, the aircraft, from compliance with specified provisions of CAR 1988. Subregulation 308 (2) provides that before making an exemption, CASA must take into account any relevant considerations relating to the interests of safety. Subregulation 308 (3) provides that CASA may make an exemption subject to any condition specified in the exemption as being necessary in the interests of safety.
This exemption is required because of the decision to allow the operation of certain sport and recreational aircraft in the Townsville control zone and control areas as well as in temporary restricted areas (TRAs) established under regulation 6 of the Airspace Regulations 2007.
This exemption will enable the operation of certain sport and recreational aircraft during the Townsville Airshow 2009. The aircraft permitted to operate under the exemption are specified in Schedule 1. The purpose of the exemption is to permit them to be flown in to participate in the Townsville Airshow and then provide a static display.
The aircraft to which the exemption applies are aircraft operated in accordance with Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 95.10, CAO 95.32 or CAO 95.55. These CAOs are, in fact, exemptions from various provisions of CAR 1988 that apply to the aircraft mentioned in them, recognising that because of their construction and performance they could not meet all the requirements of CAR 1988. CAO 95.10 applies to privately-built, single-place ultralight aeroplanes. CAO 95.32 applies to weight shift controlled aeroplanes and powered parachutes. CAO 95.55 applies to a variety of aircraft that have to meet 1 of the different sets of criteria set out in section 1 of that CAO. The aircraft have to be registered with Recreational Aviation Australia Incorporated (RAA) or the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia Incorporated (the HGFA) and be operated in accordance with the respective CASA approved operations manual.
All the CAOs provide their exemptions subject to compliance with sets of conditions relating to a variety of matters. In all 3 CAOs, 1 of the conditions, subparagraph 5.1 (e), prohibits flights in active restricted or prohibited areas.
The exemption for the Townsville Airshow allows them to operate without complying with that condition. In addition, CAO 95.32 and CAO 95.55 contain conditions applicable to flights in controlled airspace. These are in paragraph 5.2 of both CAOs. The Townsville Airshow exemption also omits requirements in paragraph 5.2 that require such flights to be in an aircraft of a certified design that complies with certain engine requirements, and conducted by a pilot who holds a pilot licence issued under Part 5 of CAR 1988 that allows the holder to fly in controlled airspace. This omission applies only to the specified aircraft and is subject to the conditions in Schedule 2.
All the aircraft have to be fitted with a radio capable of two-way communication with Air Traffic Control. The pilot in command must hold a pilot certificate with a radio operator endorsement. He or she must comply with procedures published in NOTAMS and applicable to the Townsville Airshow, and also comply with all Air Traffic Control instructions.
Legislative Instruments Act
Subregulation 308 (4) of CAR 1988 declares an exemption to be a disallowable instrument. Under subparagraph 6 (d) (i) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA), an instrument is a legislative instrument for section 5 of the LIA if it is declared to be a disallowable instrument under legislation in force before the commencement of the LIA. The exemption is, therefore, a legislative instrument and it is subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA.
Consultation
CASA has consulted with the RAA, the HGFA and the air display organiser. The terms of the exemption have been agreed by the above stakeholders and CASA.
The instrument commences on 23 September 2009 and stops having effect at the end of 27 September 2009.
The instrument has been made by a delegate of CASA under subregulation 7 (1) of CAR 1988.
[Instrument number CASA EX70/09]