Retiring director general responds

In one of his final acts prior to retiring in December 2001, Art LaFlamme, Director General, Civil Aviation,
Transport Canada, sent a letter to COPA outlining the follow-up actions in response to COPA member questions tabled during the COPA Convention last summer. (See, “Art Laflamme answers questions at COPA Convention 2001,” COPA Newsletter, August 2001.) COPA follow-up, if necessary, is explained below each response.
“Thank you for providing me the opportunity to address your membership during COPA Convention 2001, held in Peterborough on July 6-8th. I would like to take this opportunity to summarize both the issues raised and to clarify the responses given during the ‘TC forum’ segment of the convention.”
Inquiry: Ultralight/Balloon Safety Letter – the letter has not been published recently and should continue.
Response: Issue 1/2001 of the Ultralight/Balloon Safety Letter was distributed in July. It is our intent to continue publishing the Safety Letter with distribution of the first issue of each year taking place during the summer months and the second in the late fall.
Inquiry: Calibration of Transponders – the two-year requirement is viewed as excessive for VFR use only.
Response: Transport Canada will develop a proposal that will amend the equipment checking requirements that:
(a) will take into account the differences in levels of accuracy between newer, more modern equipment and older equipment on board aircraft;
(b) reflects the inter-relationship between altimetry and transponder altitude encoding;
(c) enhances safety for the traveling public; and
(d) does not impose an unfair burden on smaller aircraft owners.
COPA action: We anticipate a CARs amendment to be introduced at CARAC.
Inquiry: ECGs – ECG periodicity is out of sync with medical periodicity.
Response: A proposed NPA will change the ECG period from five years to four years for the CAT 3 Medical Certificate. This will provide a better fit with the validity period of the Medical Certificate of two years for pilots over the age of 40. Under this proposed change, an ECG will be required at every second medical exam. This NPA was accepted, without dissent, at the CARAC Part IV Technical Committee meeting in June 2001.
Inquiry: AIP – Too bulky and difficult to keep up-to-date.
Response: Alternative ways of producing the AIP are being considered at this time, including producing the AIP on CD-ROM or posting the AIP on the Internet. In addition, the option of printing a complete document is being considered which would eliminate the need for the subscriber to insert amendments and would also reduce the size of the publication.”
COPA action: We are monitoring design of the alternatives, suggesting that an internet version should be the first priority.
Inquiry: Noise – opposition to proposed noise regulation.
Response: The proposed regulatory amendment pertaining to the prohibition or restriction of Aircraft Operation when questions concerning noise and nuisance are raised will not be going forward. Instead, Section 601.18 of the Canadian Aviation Regulation will be maintained permitting the Minister, by order, to prohibit or restrict, either absolutely, or subject to such exceptions or conditions that he may specify, the use of aircraft outside of areas. To enhance the application of this regulation a policy will be developed to review all requests on prohibiting or restricting aircraft operation due to noise or nuisance complaints. Under the proposed policy, Transport Canada would facilitate discussions among the concerned parties, such as local residents, municipalities, aviation associations or aircraft operators, and strive to reach a consensus. In the event that consensus cannot be reached, specific review criteria would be considered by the Minister to determine if public interest, under the circumstances, would justify making an order pursuant to CAR 601.18.
COPA action: This course of action was recommended by COPA. We will monitor the policy in practice to see if problems occur.
Inquiry: Instrument Rating – wish to certify per U.S. model
Response: The FAA has alerted Transport Canada that the issue of skill decay by pilots operating in the complex IFR environment is not addressed in the “self certification” system. Assurance is needed that pilots operating under IMC conditions are fully competent to do so and a flight test is the best instrument for determining this competency. Canada’s instrument rating validity of two years strikes a balance between the U.S. “self-certification” approach and the JAA member countries that subscribe to a one-year validity period.
COPA action: We will investigate an alternative, similar to the Australian model, for a progressive IFR rating. If the concept is acceptable to Transport Canada, we intend to revisit the recurrency issue.