Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Act 1988
Civil Aviation Order 100.96 Instrument 2007
Subsection 98 (1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the Act and the safety of air navigation.
Legislation
Under subregulation 235 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may give directions about the method of estimating the weight and centre of gravity of an aircraft. Under subregulation 235 (2A) of CAR 1988, it is an offence to contravene a direction.
Under subregulation 5 (1) of CAR 1988, CASA may use Civil Aviation Orders (the CAOs) to issue directions mentioned in subregulation 235 (1). Directions were issued in Civil Aviation Order 100.7 (CAO 100.7).
Background
CAO 100.7 sets out the requirements for the periodic weighing of aircraft to establish their weight and centre of gravity. However, the weighing requirements for a balloon vary significantly from other types of aircraft. In July 2007, CAO 100.7 was amended so that it no longer applied to balloons. At the same time, Civil Aviation Order 100.96 (CAO 100.96) was made specifically for the weighing of balloons.
It was thought that this would benefit industry without impacting on safety. The matter was discussed at a series of Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meetings between CASA and the Professional Ballooning Association of Australia (PBAA). Following this consultation, CASA made the CAO 100.7 amendment and CAO 100.96; firstly, to remove hot air balloons from the operation of CAO 100.7, and secondly, to make a separate CAO for weighing hot air balloons.
After these 2 CAOs were registered, representations were made to CASA by the ballooning industry; firstly, expressing concern about the extent of the consultation undertaken, and secondly, pointing to reservations about the new procedures for the weighing of balloons.
CASA, therefore, reconsidered the procedures set out in CAO 100.96 and reformulated them in consultation with the PBAA. As a result, CASA repealed the former CAO 100.96 and made a new CAO 100.96 in different terms to different effect. The details of CAO 100.96, as remade by Civil Aviation Order 100.96 Instrument 2007, are set out in Appendix 1.
Summary of the new CAO 100.96
The remade CAO 100.96 is different in content and effect from the repealed CAO 100.96. In summary, the new weighing procedures will apply to a balloon, and not only a hot air balloon. A balloon is comprised of up to 3 basic balloon components, namely an envelope, a basket, and a burner, if used. The basket is taken to include the equipment and instruments required under civil aviation legislation for airworthiness or operational purposes. The empty weight of a balloon, comprising the weight of these balloon components, is to be calculated and recorded in accordance with the requirements set out in the new CAO 100.96. Requirements as to who may do the weighing and the scales on which it is to be done are set out.
Accurate and up-to-date calculation of the empty weight of a balloon is critical to balloon operation and aviation safety because of its use in calculations concerning the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) and the operating weight.
Under civil aviation legislation, the operating weight of a balloon, as calculated in accordance with the CAOs, must not exceed its MTOW.
The operating weight of a balloon is the sum of the empty weight and the weight of everything else, including people, that is in, on, or attached to, the balloon and not included in the empty weight of the balloon.
Thus, the additional weight is taken to include the weight of the flight crew and the passengers, their luggage and personal effects, the fuel tanks and the fuel, and the ballast, as well as any equipment or instruments not included in the empty weight.
The pilot in command must have accurate data about the empty weight of the balloon and its MTOW in order to ensure that everything else loaded on the balloon, from people to spare equipment, does not result in the operating weight of the balloon exceeding its MTOW.
Legislative Instruments Act
Under subregulation 5 (1) of CAR 1988, CASA may use CAOs to issue directions mentioned in subregulation 235 (1) of CAR 1988. Under subsection 98 (5) of the Act, where regulations provide for directions to be issued in the form of a CAO, the CAO is stated to be a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA). The remade CAO 100.96 is a legislative instrument and it is subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA.
Consultation
There was consultation with the PBAA, specifically through the CASA/PBAA Joint Technical Committee. The PBAA represents approximately 95% of aerial work, and charter balloon, operators.
Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)
The OBPR does not require a Regulation Impact Statement because a preliminary assessment of the business compliance costs indicates that the amendment will have only a low impact on business.
Making and commencement
The remade CAO 100.96 has been issued by the Director of Aviation Safety in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Act.
The remade CAO 100.96 commences on the day after it is registered.
[Civil Aviation Order 100.96 Instrument 2007]
Appendix 1
Details of Civil Aviation Order 100.96
Subsection 1 — definitions
This subsection contains definitions.
Subsection 2 — initial weighing
This subsection requires the initial weighing of a balloon to take place before any certificate of airworthiness or experimental certificate has been issued for the balloon.
The subsection also requires that the initial weighing, and any subsequent weighing, of a balloon is to be in accordance with the procedures in the Order.
Subsection 3 — weighing procedures
This subsection sets out balloon weighing procedures and requirements.
The operator and the pilot in command of a balloon must not allow the balloon to take off unless weighing of each balloon component has been completed. A balloon is comprised of 3 balloon components, namely, the envelope, the basket and the burner. The basket includes only the equipment and instruments required under civil aviation legislation to be carried for the airworthiness of the balloon and the safe performance of an operation.
The weighing summary document for a balloon must list each of the balloon components included in the empty weight and state the weight of each component. The empty weight is the weight of the combined balloon components.
The empty weight of the balloon, including the weight of each balloon component, is to be certified as correct and entered in the weighing summary by the appropriate maintenance authority (MA) holder or weight control officer (WCO).
A person is taken to be an MA holder with privileges that include the weight control of balloons if the person holds a balloon maintenance authority under paragraph 33B (1) (a) of CAR 1988 and has a certificate from a WCO that the person has satisfactorily completed at least 1 weighing of a balloon under the supervision of the WCO.
However, the empty weight may only be so certified and entered following at least 2 consecutive and consistent weighings and if the MA holder or WCO is satisfied with the accuracy of the weighing.
Each balloon must be weighed on suitable scales that, over the temperature range for which the scales are designed, are accurate to within plus or minus 2 kg of the applied load up to 1 000 kg, and plus or minus 0.2% of the applied load above 1 000 kg.
Within the period 5 years, or within any shorter recommended period, before the weighing, each scale must have been calibrated in accordance with the procedures required or recommended by the manufacturer of the scales or the government authority for weights and measures in the place where the scales are used.
If within the period 5 years or within any shorter recommended period before the weighing the scales have been affected by an occurrence likely to upset calibration, then the scales must be recalibrated between the occurrence and the weighing.
Subsection 4 — Record of empty weight alterations
This subsection requires that a complete, continuous and current record of changes in the empty weight of a balloon, including a balloon component, must be maintained and recorded in the balloon log book or other approved alternative to the log book.
The balloon must be reweighed if, as a result of repairs or maintenance, the empty weight alters by more than 5 kg and the repairs, or maintenance, are of such a nature that the subsequent empty weight of the balloon cannot be accurately substantiated by calculation. A new weighing summary and record of empty weight alteration must be prepared after each weighing.
Subsection 5 — current empty weight
This subsection requires that when determining the empty weight or operating weight of a balloon in a particular configuration, the operator and the pilot in command must use the current weighing summary that includes each balloon component for that configuration.
The operating weight of the balloon is earlier defined as the sum of the empty weight and the additional weight of everything else, that is in, on, or attached to, the balloon and not included in the empty weight of the balloon. Thus, the additional weight is taken to include the weight of people, luggage, fuel tanks, fuel and ballast, as well as any extra equipment or instruments not included in the empty weight.