February 2005

AOPA-Thailand Assists Tsunami Relief

Pilots and aircraft from AOPA-Thailand were airborne and headed for the Kra Peninsula disaster soon after the great tsunami hit the area. Notably, Khun Tarn and Khun Damri flew surveys of the entire PhiPhi, Phuket, and the coast to Kaoak. They were very active in communicating with ground stations and local news outlets. Survivors were rapidly reported to rescue agencies. AOPA-Thailand member Tom Claytor flew with Sky News out to the Similan Islands to help survey the devastation and search for missing and adrift boats. When spotted, the boats were photographed for future reference and reported to authorities.

Claytor assessed the situation with awe: "The tsunami didn't just raze the buildings, it completely swept them all out to sea. It is unbelievable to see from the air. It looked like pictures I remember from Hiroshima after the bombing. There was nothing left standing where the full force of the wave had swept through.

"The disaster effort was really well organized and the country as a whole handled this horrible crisis extremely well. The tsunami emergency in Thailand was one example where general aviation in Thailand was a valuable resource during a time of crisis."

Secretariat Supports ELT Equipment Delay

Effective January 2005, ICAO standards require all aircraft operating over the open ocean and in areas where search and rescue is classified as difficult to have a 406 mHz automatic ELT installed and operational. Segments of the commercial and business aviation community petitioned ICAO in November 2004 to delay implementation of this standard until 2007 to permit their fleets' additional time to equip with the new devices. IAOPA responded to the ICAO request for comments repeating its two previous statements on the subject that opposed the requirement.

The current IAOPA comments included the following rationale for its opposition:

"This was done for reasons of inadequate information regarding the efficacy of the new ELTs, the cost involved in acquiring the new ELTs, insufficient research into the improvement of existing ELTs, and the fact that COSPAS/SARSAT satellites will continue to locate 121.5 distress signals until at least 2009.

"The fundamental issue preventing compliance with ICAO ELT SARPS is that there have been insufficient supplies of approved ELTs and an inadequate amount of time to permit aircraft owners and operators to acquire and install them. And, the record of saved lives as a result of installed automatic 406 mHz ELTs does not provide a high degree of assurance in the efficacy of the device. Significantly, recent moves by large States and coalitions of contiguous States to designate their entire land masses as difficult SAR areas makes safe and efficient navigation virtually impossible in large areas of the world. Further, acquisition and installation costs are prohibitive for most small aircraft owner/operators.

"Installed ELTs have proved to be only marginally effective in many cases due to crash impact forces insufficient to activate the device, destruction of the device in the crash, terrain obstructions preventing a clear signal path and the transmitting antenna being covered by aircraft wreckage. New personal locator beacons carried by a flight crewmember or passenger have a good chance of overcoming these deficiencies.

"The safety of our affiliates member's lives is quite important. IAOPA has traditionally supported measures to protect their lives and aircraft. However, life protection measures must make sense across a broad spectrum of issues. The rapid move to install automatic 406 mHz ELTs in the world's general aviation and aerial work aircraft does not appear to be cost beneficial under the current requirements or proposals.

"IAOPA recommends the following measures with regard to installed automatic ELTs transmitting on 121.5/406 mHz:

• For aircraft without an installed automatic ELT, delay applicability of existing Annex 6 requirements for 406 mHz ELTs until January 2007.
• For aircraft that currently have an installed automatic 121.5 mHz ELT, delay applicability of Annex 6 requirements for 406 mHz ELTs until January 2009 or until SAR satellites no longer have a location capability for 121.5 mHz distress signals.
• Permit the use of personal locator beacons as a substitute for installed beacons in small general aviation aircraft.
• Establish criteria to determine what constitutes a difficult SAR area.
• Encourage States to continue research into more rapid and effective means of detecting and locating aircraft and survivors in distress."

AOPA-Russia Elects Officers

AOPA-Russia recently elected Michail Markov as President of the association, outgoing President Leonid Koshelev as Chairman of the Board and Alexander Krasnyansky as Director. Tatiana Dolguikh retains her post as Secretary.

Markov is a Test Pilot and General Director of the business aviation company Jet 2000, based in Moscow. In November 2004 he was appointed by the Civil Aviation Authority to head the working group of experts to find a way out of the current crisis in Russian general aviation. Until recently general aviation had little legal status within Russia, which lead to the grounding of the entire fleet by the Civil Aviation Authority. Consequently, corporate jets are forced to operate under commercial airlines rules. Markov believes that "The way out is generally seen in enacting normal rules along ICAO guidelines that would regulate the activities of general aviation in the country."

Secretariat Provides Security Guidance to ICAO

The Secretariat has been working for three years with various ICAO groups to define standards and recommended practices for security measures for general aviation and aerial work. Basic standards for ICAO Annex 17 - Security were recently drafted but the real guidance material will be contained in the ICAO Security Manual, containing extensive advisory materials for States. The Secretariat recently delivered these recommended guidelines for GA/AW security practices to the ICAO security directorate.

These materials contain both overall policies and detailed guidance for States implementing security measures for GA/AW. The basic concept of GA/AW security, threat and risk assessment techniques, and specific security measures are provided for the State, aircraft owners and operators, aviation businesses, and general aviation airport operators. The guidance is designed to provide wide latitude to States when seeking to implement security measures. Most important, all security measures are based on threat and risk assessments performed by the State. The full text of the recommendations may be found on the IAOPA Web site.

Finnish Pilot Group Seeks Airport Protection

A new Finnish pilot group calling itself the Pilots and Aircraft Owners Association (no current, but possible future, affiliation with IAOPA) is rallying to the cause of saving the Helsinki-Malmi Airport, a historic and busy general aviation airport. The 1930s era international airport still features original hangars and runway system, but is also the second busiest airport in the country. Unfortunately, the land on which this metropolitan area airport is sited has become very valuable and is under threat of closure. If the airport is closed there will be no tower-controlled general aviation airports within 100 miles of Finland's capital.

For more detailed information see the Friends of Malmi Airport Society. It contains an online petition to save the airport.

Major Alteration/Repair

Avionics costs are high enough without having to spend unnecessary money on installation. At least two States are debating whether to classify the retrofit of a 406 mHz ELT into an aircraft already having a 121.5 mHz ELT as a major alteration. Doing so requires expensive engineering data to be developed in support of the alteration, whereas, a minor alteration will be supported by commonly accepted practices found in existing guidance documents.

While there is no international standard to delineate between major and minor alterations and repairs, the United States has had some useful guidelines on the subject. US Federal Aviation Regulations define a Major Alteration as - "An alteration not listed in the aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller specification, 1) that might appreciably affect weight, balance, structural strength, performance, powerplant operation, flight characteristics, or other qualities affecting airworthiness, or 2) that is not completed according to accepted practices or cannot be made by elementary operations, is considered a major alteration." FAR Part 43, Appendix A goes into greater detail on the subject, naming certain modifications. Finally, FAA Advisory Circular 43.13-1B provides guidance on how to repair and alter aircraft not classified as major events. These references are applicable only to "N" registered aircraft but should provide useful background for national authorities seeking guidance on the subject.

Radio Frequency Spectrum Approaches

While October 2007 sounds like a long time into the future, much preparation is required for the triennial International Telecommunications Union World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, 8 October to 2 November 2007. World radiocommunication conferences (WRC) are held every two to three years. It is the job of WRC to review, and, if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.

As the radio spectrum becomes more crowded it is essential that aviation interests protect their existing spectrum assignments and request additional frequencies required to expand and improve aviation communications, navigation, and surveillance uses. Each State has membership in the Council but many competing interests vie for scarce frequency assignments within a State's delegation. Worldwide aviation frequency spectrum needs must be defined and coordinated by an international body.

ICAO holds observer status within the council and has customarily defined the needs for frequency assignments for the aviation community. Therefore, affiliates should ensure that their national aviation authorities and air traffic services providers are aware of ICAO State letter E 3/5-04/99, 30 November 2004, "Draft ICAO position on the items of interest to aviation on the agenda of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (2007) (WRC-2007)." While the details of this document are not important to the GA community, the loss of valuable existing or requested frequencies carries major safety and operational implications for the aviation community. Ensure your State authorities are aware of and support the ICAO position.

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