AOPA Briefing

January 2024

As the world trundles precipitously into 2024,

fraught with wars and polical and economic

upheaval, it is a good me to reect on past chaos

and plot the course for general aviaon in these

seemingly apocalypc mes.

AOPA - CHRIS MARTINUS

PROGNISTICATIONS

A broken crankshaft - it is doubtful the 12-year rule would reduce this.

PRESIDENT: AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION – SOUTH AFRICA

January 2024

Flight school aircraft such as this C172 should not have engines older than 12 years since overhaul.

AS I DISCUSSED LAST MONTH, since 1944

aviation has been governed by international

standards and principles that are supposed

to be independent from political and other

agendas.But inevitably those factors creep

in – and they are seldom beneficial to the

non-commercial private

aviation community who fly

recreationally or as an adjunct

to their businesses and

professions.

In countries other than South

Africa, there has been little

good news. In Europe and the

UK, where general aviation

is generally quite free and

fair, the eye-wateringly high costs of private

aviation coupled with intense regulatory regimes

continues to shrink the opportunities of the

private aviation sector to afford to fly, other than

for the well-heeled and highly determined.

The USA is in somewhat better shape, with

used aircraft prices having soared in recent

years. However, that trend has come to an end

as the US grapples with a softening economy

and the effects of rampant political issues. A sad

sign of the times is Van’s Aircraft, the world’s

largest manufacturer of kit

aircraft, having filed for Chapter

11 bankruptcy protection. It is

widely hoped that Van’s will

recover in the coming year.

There is little fanfare in other

countries such as Australia,

New Zealand and South

American countries where

general aviation has traditionally

been strong. For most other countries, well, let’s

say things are quiet.

In South Africa, the decline continues apace. As

canvassed in my previous articles, regulation

"on

condition”

beyond

TBO

January 2024

and infighting continues to pick the bones of

private aviators clean, in the mistaken belief

that they provide a bottomless trove of money

to prop up both the SACAA and several

commercial aviation enterprises of dubious

repute.

The litany of SACAA’s dithering and disaster

is endless, from the shocking revelations

emanating from the tragic accident of their

own Cessna Citation and their unconscionable

effort to cover up their own indiscretions, to

their persistence in trying to restrict GA aircraft,

take control of small airstrips for the purpose of

collecting revenue from landowners, endless

paperwork for which they expect payment for

no purpose, the virtual collapse of air navigation

services at larger airports, increasing tariffs and

any other revenue they can somehow generate

without actually providing

useful services.

After more than 11

years at SACAA’s helm,

Civil Aviation Director

Poppy Khoza’s second

term came to an end

in December 2023, but

she’s reportedly has had her contract renewed

for another five years. Since her remuneration

peaked at around R8.6 million in the years

prior to Covid-19, she has sufficient motivation

to hang in there for a while longer. However,

considering her past performance, it appears

likely that she will be presiding over an

organisation that will stay focused on finding

and killing ever more geese that may lay golden

eggs to fund the bloated bureaucracy’s huge

salary bills – while fighting rearguard actions

against all the blunders and miscalculations that

SACAA leaves in its wake.

Unfortunately for South African aviation, these

blunders, cover-ups and general indiscretions

do not go unnoticed by other nations. There are

already rumblings at ICAO about SA’s privileged

membership of the 32-nation ICAO Council and

whether our track record warrants SA’s influence

internationally. This, particularly in the light of the

political considerations of the SA Government’s

cozying up to international pariahs like Russia,

Belarus and Middle Eastern states and

organisations – all the while loudly – and falsely

– screaming “neutrality”!

What is most disappointing is that the

participants in general aviation in SA are very

fractured at present. Confusion reigns supreme

– and almost everyone has something to

say about current issues, but they are mostly

wrong. One particularly concerning issue was

the response to SACAA’s plans to increase the

aviation fuel levy over the next few years.

The DA Shadow Minister of Transport, Chris

Hunsinger, galvanised the media into a frenzy

that this would hurt the public by increasing

already-expensive air tickets. However, this

is quite incorrect. The

Convention prohibits

taxation of fuel, lubricants

and parts on international

flights.

In a vain attempt to gather

a few pennies, the fuel

levy exempts commercial

passenger flights altogether. So, it has no effect

on the consumer that Hunsinger so valiantly

seeks to defend. On the other hand, the levy

is extracted from fuel manufacturers, importers

and wholesalers. This raises the question: how

on earth are the fuel suppliers supposed to

know in advance which litre of fuel is going to be

propelling paying passengers and which litre is

going to be used for private pilots frolicking on

weekends – before the fuel is even delivered to

the pumps?

SACAA’s levy, albeit small, clearly targets private

aviators and flight training schools, but is so

ludicrously unworkable as to be laughable.

Another issue that has caused an uproar is the

ongoing AIC18.19 issue, the recommendation

by engine manufacturers Lycoming and

Continental that their engines be overhauled

every 12 years, regardless of hours flown.

the decline

continues

apace

January 2024

Many years ago our regulations made these

manufacturers’ recommendations mandatory,

thus threatening to immediately ground much

of the general aviation fleet. AIC18.19 was

hurriedly introduced to exempt everyone from

this requirement while our regulations were

reformulated and gave everyone an opportunity

to comply, where necessary.

At the time, FAA and EASA regulations

(which are referenced in both Lycoming and

Continental’s Service Instructions) allowed

for non-commercial operations to continue to

utilise engines beyond 12 calendar years since

overhaul and beyond TBO (hours beyond

overhaul recommendations) on provisos that

the engines are signed out by a maintenance

engineer after having been inspected for oil

leaks, cylinder borescoping, etc.

Lycoming's Time Beteween Overhaul service instruction.

January 2024

Our regulations were later updated in line

with international practice, allowing private

operators to continue running their engines “on

condition” beyond 12 years and beyond TBO.

Commercial, training and hire-and-fly operators

would be required to comply with manufacturers’

recommendations. This is also in line with

ICAO’s view that private operators largely carry

the responsibility for their own safety and that of

their passengers, but that commercial operations

must be held to higher standards of safety.

When the AIC18.19 exemption was withdrawn in

October, a few groups, notably the Commercial

Aviation Association

(CAASA) protested

vigorously. In a press

release CAASA’s Kevin

Storie said, “What makes a

SAFETY mockery [sic], one

can fly their entire family and

friends in the same aircraft if

it is deemed not commercial

based on the provisions currently in place.”

Well, yes. That’s the way it works all over the

world. Private operators must keep in mind that

they are themselves responsible for safety, while

revenue-earners are subjected to more stringent

standards.

Another group, the “Aviation Watch Action

Committee” threatened SACAA with legal action

if AIC18.19 is not re-instated.

The upshot was that SACAA extended the AIC

for another six months, but also (and without

proper industry consultation), ripped the relevant

subsections out of CAR Part 43 and inserted

them into the Technical Standards, omitting

the provision of operating these engines on

condition beyond TBO.

Due to this state of affairs, AOPA will need to put

effort into beating the regulations back into some

kind of sense.

While on this subject, AOPA South Africa is

frequently asked by foreign pilots wishing to

tour Southern Africa for recommendations for

operators who can provide services and aircraft

locally for their adventures. This is a great

source of tourist revenue for the country and

operators who provide training and aircraft, as

well as regulatory compliance.

AOPA has been reluctant to recommend

operators who merely lease in aircraft from

private owners where maintenance may

not comply with international standards and

practices. For this reason, many local operators

now operate aircraft that

are registered with the

FAA and maintained

to their standards. It

appears that the number

of N-registered aircraft

in SA is growing day by

day.

My view is that it seems absurd that CAASA

members appear to be commercially operating

aircraft with run-out engines. If an aircraft that

is being operated for reward has never seen

an overhaul for over 12 years, perhaps that

operator should not be in business. Regulations

that are intended for private or experimental

operations should simply never be applied to

commercial operations – and that is why we

have this mess.

It is doubtful that under Poppy Khoza’s extended

regime much will improve during 2014.

hang in there

for a while

longer