Instrument number CASA EX61/19

I, CHRISTOPHER PAUL MONAHAN, Executive Manager, National Operations & Standards, a delegate of CASA, make this instrument under regulations 11.160, 11.205 and 11.245 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998.

[Signed Christopher P. Monahan]

Christopher P. Monahan
Executive Manager, National Operations & Standards

21 June 2019

1          Name

                 This instrument is CASA EX61/19 — Use of Radiocommunication Systems in Parachute Operations (Australian Parachute Federation Ltd) Instrument 2019.

2          Duration

                 This instrument:

(a)   commences on 1 July 2019; and

(b)   is repealed at the end of 31 May 2022.

Note   For regulation 11.250 of CASR, the direction in section 5 ceases to be in force at the end of 31 May 2022.

3          Definitions

Note   In this instrument, certain terms and expressions have the same meaning as they have in the Act and the Regulations. These include: radiocommunication system, which is defined in regulation 2 of CAR.

                 In this instrument:

APF means the Australian Parachute Federation Ltd, ARN 205322.

APF ground control assistant means a person who:

(a)   meets the requirements of the APF Operational Regulations for a ground control assistant; and

(b)   performs the responsibilities of a ground control assistant, that are mentioned in the APF Operational Regulations, for either of the following operations conducted by another member of the APF:

             (i)  a parachute operation;

            (ii)  a parachute training operation.

Note   As at commencement of this instrument, the requirements for ground control assistants and their responsibilities are mentioned in paragraph 6.1.8 of the APF Operational Regulations. The requirements include that a person must be a member of the APF and trained and assessed in accordance with the requirements of the APF Training Operations Manual.

APF Operational Regulations means the Australian Parachute Federation Ltd Operational Regulations, as approved in writing by CASA and as existing from time to time.

APF Training Operations Manual means the Australian Parachute Federation Ltd Industry Standard Training Operations Manual (TOM), as existing from time to time.

Note   As at commencement of this instrument the latest versions of the APF Operational Regulations and the APF Training Operations Manual are the versions dated “effective: 01 April 2019”. They are available for free from the APF website at https://www.apf.com.au.

ground control assistant or GCA has the same meaning as in the APF Operational Regulations.

jump aircraft means an aircraft engaged in the dropping of a parachutist in a parachute operation or a parachute training operation.

member organisation means an organisation that is a member of the APF.

parachute training operation means an aircraft operation:

(a)   conducted by a training organisation; and

(b)   involving a descent by a student parachutist or a novice parachutist from a jump aircraft.

training organisation means a member organisation authorised by the APF to conduct parachute training operations.

4          Exemption

        (1)     An APF ground control assistant, when operating a radiocommunication system for or in relation to the performance of the person’s responsibilities as a ground control assistant, is exempt from compliance with regulation 83 of CAR and regulation 64.040 of CASR.

        (2)     The exemption in subsection (1) is subject to the conditions in section 6.

5          Direction

                 For regulation 11.245 of CASR, the person holding, or acting in, the position of Safety and Training Manager of the APF, or the person’s delegate, must, before a person (a GCA candidate) performs the responsibilities of a ground control assistant:

(a)   assess the competency of the GCA candidate to transmit ground-to-air communications to a pilot in command of a jump aircraft using aviation protocol; and

(b)   approve in writing the competency of the GCA candidate to be a ground control assistant.

6          Conditions

                 The APF ground control assistant must:

(a)   have completed a course of instruction in the use of aviation radiocommunication systems, and the responsibilities of the GCA, that meets the GCA candidate training requirements mentioned in the APF Training Operations Manual; and

(b)   only use the aeronautical mobile radio frequency band allocated or licensed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for parachute club operations; and

(c)   only use the radio frequency band mentioned in paragraph (b) for ground‑to‑air communications with the pilot in command of the jump aircraft during parachute operations, or parachute training operations; and

(d)   only operate a radiocommunication system with a transmitter output power which does not exceed 5 watts.

Note for paragraph (a)   As at the commencement of this instrument, the GCA candidate training requirements are mentioned in section 6.3 of the APF Training Operations Manual.

Note for paragraph (b)   As at the commencement of this instrument, ACMA has licensed the VHF 119.2 MHz frequency band for the purpose of parachute club operations — see item 2 of Part 1.2 of Schedule 1 of the instrument Radiocommunications (Aircraft and Aeronautical Mobile Stations) Class Licence 2016.