In common with the other member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO], aviation in Australia is a highly regulated activity. It is certainly tedious, perhaps mind-numbing, to attempt to interpret all the regulatory material to which RA-Aus members are, or may be, currently subject. Indeed it is difficult for anyone to identify and then locate all the applicable legislation, regulations and rules in this changing legislative environment.
It is evident that some members know very little about those regulations, or perhaps have little regard for them; it is essential that we do not blindly ignore that legislation. All members associated with aircraft ownership, maintenance and/or flight operations must maintain an acceptable level of knowledge pertaining to the legislation which relates to aircraft ownership, maintenance and flight operations (under the day visual flight rules (VFR) and outside controlled airspace).
The purpose of this document is to offer an introduction to the structure and purpose of the regulations. The various operating rules and procedures, such as those appearing in the Aeronautical Information Publications [AIP] issued by Airservices Australia, are in addition to the regulations referred to in this document. Please note that — to be valid — any rule (i.e. a mandatory requirement) published in AIP must be backed-up by an existing regulation or other legislation; i.e. Airservices Australia can not create de-facto legislation via the AIP.
The Acts
Australian Recreational Aviation, in common with all other forms of civil aviation, is subject to several levels of government regulations and rules. The primary legislative acts are the Air Navigation Act 1920 which generally deals with Australia's international obligations in regard to international air transport in accordance with the 1944 Chicago Convention; and the Civil Aviation Act 1988, which latter is " ... an Act to establish a Civil Aviation Safety Authority [CASA] with functions relating to civil aviation, in particular the safety of civil aviation, and for related purposes. The main object of this Act is to establish a regulatory framework for maintaining, enhancing and promoting the safety of civil aviation, with particular emphasis on preventing aviation accidents and incidents."
Thus, the CASA has the function of conducting the safety regulation of civil air operations in Australian territory, in accordance with this Act and the Regulations.
For recreational pilots a notable facet of the Civil Aviation Act is that it specifies imprisonment for some specific offences related to aircraft operation. So, if charged by State or Federal police (for example) with an offence under the Act — the superior legislation — the penalty is likely to be more significant than if charged with an offence under the Regulations, where the penalties specified are generally fines. See 'Some noteworthy sections of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and the CAR 1988'.
RA-Aus registered aircraft were re-classified as 'Australian aircraft' in a September 2004 amendment to the Act, thereby removing an anomaly where RA-Aus aircraft were legally 'neither Australian aircraft nor foreign aircraft, but were effectively treated as foreign aircraft that were allowed to operate in Australia but did not have the nationality of any ICAO contracting state'.
The legislative tier below the Acts contains the wide-ranging Civil Aviation Regulations [CARs]. The CARs are the responsibility of CASA, but drafted by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing, which is part of the Attorney-General's Department. New or amended CARs must be approved by the Commonwealth Parliament and signed by the Governor-General of Australia before they can become effective.
The level below CARs contains the Civil Aviation Orders [CAOs] which are issued by CASA under regulation 5 of the CARs. They include information on technical standards and specifications intended to amplify the generalised regulations contained in CARs. In particular, they contain detailed mandatory operational, airworthiness and safety requirements, including design requirements, standards, specifications, technical and administrative procedures and safety instructions. Also, as demonstrated in the section 95 CAOs, they provide exemptions to some provisions of the CARs.
(CASA may also provide individual exemptions by means of miscellaneous legislative instruments. For example the students of some RA-Aus flight schools (e.g. at Launceston, Parafield, Cambridge and Coffs Harbour) are able to operate in controlled airspace through 'exemptiom instruments'. See the Sunshine Coast Aero Club's CASA EX40/10 'Exemption — solo flight training using ultralight aeroplanes registered with the RAA at Sunshine Coast Airport'.)
However, over the years, the CARs and CAOs have become somewhat of a mess. Where they are in conflict CARs take precedence over CAOs (and the Act takes precedence over the CARs). CASA believes they are ' ... overly prescriptive, ambiguous, disjointed, too reliant on exemptions, and difficult to interpret, comply with and enforce'.
Since 1994 or 1995 CASA has been in the process of reviewing and rewriting all the CAR and CAO legislation in the form of Civil Aviation Safety Regulations [CASRs]. These are being structured and formatted in Parts similar to the United States Federal Aviation Regulations [FARs]. The intention is also to harmonise the CASRs with U.S. and European standards and regulations; although the review is expected to retain, in the CASRs, aspects of current regulations which are considered superior to international legislation or better suited to Australian conditions. The numeric listing of the CASR Parts within their operational clusters can be accessed from the CASA website.
According to CASA's regulatory criteria the new CASRs are:
- focused on safety — a 'systems' approach
- clear, concise and unambiguous
- justified — necessary, cost-effective, based on risk management principles
- consistent with international obligations
- harmonised
- outcome-based
- enforceable
- and provide for delegations of authority to the industry — RA-Aus for example.
The review program was initially oversighted by a Program Advisory Panel [PAP] appointed by the government Minister. The basic ground rules that were agreed by PAP in 1996 were that no one currently operating legally will be made an outlaw; that the rewriting of procedures manuals* will be minimal; and that Australia will move to the FAR style regulatory system with as little change as possible. The PAP delivered its report in 1998.
* The RA-Aus Operations and Technical Manuals comprise the RA-Aus Procedures Manual.
The CASA is consulting with the aviation community (via a Standards Consultative Committee of which the RA-Aus is part) in the development of each new Part, then releasing Notices of Proposed Rule Making [NPRMs] for final comment before the regulations are sent for Parliamentary scrutiny. A Notice of Final Rule Making [NFRM] is sometimes issued after assessing feedback comments.
The older CARs are known as CAR 1988 and the new CASR parts that have been, or are being, developed to replace CARs and CAOs are being released as CASR 1998 though sometimes, for expediency, they are released as revised/new CARs.
The content of these various Acts and Regulations can be found via the following links:
Sport aviation bodies* involved
- Recreational Aviation Australia Inc
- the Australian Ballooning Federation Ltd
- the Gliding Federation of Australia
- the Hang-gliding Federation of Australia
- the Australian Parachute Federation
*As defined in CAR 1988 regulation 2.
RA-Aus involvement in the review program
Since 1996 the RA-Aus executive has been deeply involved in the consultations with CASA and the aviation industry on Parts that are of particular interest to our members. RA-Aus was appointed to the Standards Consultative Committee in February 2002. The FAR Parts of particular interest to RA-Aus are:
• Part 21 to 35: Aircraft certification and airworthiness standards.
• Part 43: Aircraft maintenance.
• Part 47: Aircraft registration.
• Part 61: Certification of pilots and instructors.
• Part 91: General operating and flight rules.
• Part 103: Sport and recreational aviation operations (see NPRM 0603OS).
• Part 149: Recreational aviation administration organisations (see NPRM 0704OS).
Some Parts have been implemented and Parts 103 and 149, which are of most interest to RA-Aus, may be promulgated in 2010 or 2011. Parts 103 and 149 are an example of how CASA is moving its classification system (albeit very slowly) from a purely operation-based scheme to a more contemporary risk-oriented, activity-based system.
CASR structure
Just to make your day, here is an extract from the CASA guide "How to use the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998" — demonstrating what you may have to wade through.
' ... note that 'the Regulations' contains many 'regulations' within it. In other words, Regulations means the whole statutory document; a regulation is a particular kind of part of it. The Regulations are divided into Parts, each Part dealing with a particular topic. A Part may be divided into Subparts, and a Subpart into Divisions. Divisions are divided into regulations, but a Part or Subpart can also be divided directly into regulations (that is, a Part need not have Subparts, and a Subpart need not have Divisions). An individual regulation may be divided into subregulations, a subregulation into paragraphs and a paragraph into subparagraphs. A regulation that is not divided into subregulations can be directly divided into paragraphs.'
That quite clear?
There are two similar series of CASA documents which supplement the CARs, CAOs and CASRs.
The Civil Aviation Advisory Publications [CAAPs] relate to the CARs only. They 'provide guidance and information in a designated subject area, or show a method acceptable to an authorised person or CASA for complying with a related regulation. The CAAPs should always be read in conjunction with the referenced regulations.' The CAAPs are in three sections — operational, airworthiness and aerodrome — and are supposed to be written in simple language.
Advisory Circulars [ACs] support the CASRs only. They are intended 'to provide recommendations and guidance to illustrate a means, but not necessarily the only means, of complying with the Regulations; or to explain certain regulatory requirements by providing interpretive and explanatory material.'
Note that CAAPs and ACs do not define 'standard operating procedures'. They may suggest what appears to be a de facto standard but it is purely advisory, not compulsory.
For examples see CAAP 166-1 'Operations in the vicinity of non-towered (non-controlled) aerodromes' and CAAP 166-2 'Pilots responsibility in collision avoidance in the vicinity of non-towered (non-controlled) aerodromes by 'see and avoid'.
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Generally* RA-Aus registered aircraft are not required to have a Certificate of Airworthiness [CoA] so they are not exposed to the same certification standards to which the manufacturers of CASA registered aircraft must comply. However, as the subject of 'certified aircraft' or 'certified engines' continually crops up, the following may be of interest. Be aware that, at first glance, some of the terms are very similar, but they may have quite different regulatory meanings — and are often misused or misquoted.
*Light sport aircraft must have a special CoA or an experimental CoA.
The Type Certificate and the Type Approval Certificate
Type Certification is the assessment of an aircraft type and model (or engine or propeller) for compliance with an international airworthiness design standard (that is recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organization) for a particular category; normal, utility and acrobatic, for example. Type certification design standards (FAR Part 23 for example) are a set of commonsense rules, graded according to the activity for which the aircraft is designed, that have evolved over the past 90 years or so, which — while not providing absolute safety in all conditions — do provide an airworthy and reasonably stable and controllable aircraft. Providing it is operated within the specified flight envelope and is maintained according to a maintenance schedule defined by the manufacturer. Under those conditions there is an expectation of not more than one serious accident due to structural failure per million type flight hours. The Type Certificate [TC] is issued by the national airworthiness authority (initially in the country of origin) to the manufacturer (the 'TC holder').
A Type Certificate Data Sheet is included with the TC. (The TC for earlier aircraft was sometimes referred to as the Type Approval Certificate or the Certificate of Type Approval.)
The terms certified or type certified design are in common use and may apply to an aircraft, an engine or a propeller for which the particular manufacturer holds a TC or Certificate of Type Approval.
For commercially manufactured aeroplanes the design (and the prototype aircraft) must be type certificated and the manufacturer issued with a TC before any individual production series aircraft can be issued with a CoA for its intended operating category by any national authority; e.g. the FAA in the USA, the EASA in the European Union and the CASA in Australia.
Type Acceptance Certificate
In Australia (to enable the issue of an Australian CoA and thus 'VH' registration) CASA must issue a Type Acceptance Certificate [TAC] for an imported aircraft type and model whose manufacturer holds a TC issued by one of the 'recognised' national authorities.
RA-Aus does not approve factory-built aircraft however it is authorised to issue an RA-Aus Type Acceptance Certificate signifying only that a particular factory-built aircraft type and model is accepted for registration by RA-Aus under CAO 95.55 para xx on the basis of a Type Certificate, Type Approval Certificate or other equivalent document issued by a national aviation authority.
Certificate of Airworthiness
The standard Certificate of Airworthiness [CoA] for an individual factory-built aircraft is issued on the basis of evidence that the individual aircraft complies with the Type Certificate and that it has been constructed and assembled satisfactorily by the holder of a Production Certificate for manufacturing and given an individual serial number. The Production Certificate is issued by a national aviation authority if satisfied that the manufacturing systems and procedures will assure that all aircraft produced will meet the quality standards established by the Type Certificate. If the TC holder does not also hold a Production Certificate then every aircraft produced must be fully inspected by an inspector from the national authority before its CoA can be issued. The airworthiness categories and designations in which Australian CoAs may be issued are described in detail in Advisory Circular AC 21.1 'Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Categories and Designations Explained'. CoAs are not required for RA-Aus registration except for the LSA category.
Certificates of Approval
After receiving an audit request CASA may subsequently issue a Certificate of Approval to a person or company engaged in any stage of design, documentation, manufacture, distribution or maintenance of aircraft, aircraft components or aircraft materials. That certificate indicates that CASA is currently happy with the quality assurance aspects of the specified activities of the company's operations and recognises that the holder has met the civil aviation regulatory requirements for the granting of their Certificate. Note that it is not a Certificate of Type Approval. An approval holder might advertise themselves or their services (but not their wares) as "CASA approved".
RA-Aus approvals
RA-Aus approval processes apply to commercially manufactured aircraft kits available to RA-Aus amateur builders, to ensure that the kits comply with the 51% 'major portion rule'. See the Technical Manual section 3.3.1 'Amateur built aircraft registered as ultralight aircraft'. RA-Aus approvals also apply to commercially available aircraft plans.
Approved ultralight engines
Various requirements are applied to the flight of ultralight aeroplanes in controlled airspace. One such requirement relates to the engine which must have either a Type Certificate, a Type Approval Certificate or is of a type that has been approved by the CASA as being appropriate for use in controlled airspace. The latter is usually applied to non-Type Certificated engines that display a proven history of reliability; it is the most common Australian means of meeting the engine approval requirement for non-certified engines. CAO 101.55 section 6.1 is sometimes referred to in the legislation.
'Exemption' aircraft are those specified in the CAO 95-series, and are not classified as categories in the airworthiness sense. Thus RA-Aus registered aircraft may not be 'type certificated' or reflected as a category in either 'standard' or 'special' or 'experimental' CoA, except for those in the LSA classification. However, depending on their registration status (i.e. CASA registration), design standards and modes of construction, certain ultralight aircraft could also be issued with a special CoA or an experimental certificate in the 'amateur-built aircraft acceptance' (ABAA), 'amateur-built' or 'kit-built (experimental)', 'primary' or 'intermediate' categories.
Three CAOs provide Recreational Aviation with the necessary operating exemptions from some sections (listed within each CAO) of the Regulations but, of course, all other current CARs, CASRs and CAOs (plus the Civil Aviation Act itself) could apply to RA-Aus registered aircraft and RA-Aus certificated pilots. These three exemption CAOs are CAO 95.10, CAO 95.32 and CAO 95.55. It is expected that with the implementation of CASR Part 103 and Part 149 these three CAOs will be rescinded but their intent will be incorporated partly within the two CASR parts but chiefly as rules/requirements/procedures within the RA-Aus Operations and Technical Manuals.
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Civil Aviation Order 95.10 is an instrument which legalises the flight of a 'privately built' (i.e. not 'amateur-built' which is a significant legislative distinction) single-place aeroplane registered with RA-Aus, without it (or any part of it) being certificated to any airworthiness standard for design, materials or building. It was initially promulgated in 1976 by a forward-thinking authority, to allow the 'minimum aircraft' movement to build their own aircraft from any commercially available materials. It also provided an exemption from the then existing Air Navigation Orders — provided the aeroplane was not flown above 300 feet agl, or within 300 metres of a sealed road or within 5 km of an airport; the intent being that the only person put at risk was the pilot.
The operating restrictions in 95.10 were loosened in 1983 — with the inception of the AUF/RA-Aus — and now 95.10 aircraft, with current RA-Aus registration documents (or Hang Gliding Federation of Australia registration in the case of trikes) may be flown by an unlicenced, but RA-Aus certificated pilot, in day VMC, generally below 5000 feet amsl — unless considered unsafe to do so, and not over cities or towns. The aircraft must be operated in Class E and G airspace only. In Australia, CAO 95.10 put in place the platform on which low-cost, minimum aircraft aviation was built; particularly for the truly innovative amateur designer/builders.
See 'Benchmark events in Australian Recreational Aviation'.
CAO 95.10 continues to provide the only means by which an enthusiastic individual or small group (maximum of four persons — who are not required to have any aeronautical or engineering experience) can design and build a low-cost single-place aeroplane, whether the design is conventional or unconventional, with no restrictions, except that:
- take off weight must not exceed 300 kg
- wing loading must not exceed 30 kg/m² (about 6 lb/ft²)
- a placard must be placed in the cockpit warning that neither the CASA nor RA-Aus guarantee the airworthiness of the aeroplane and pilots operate it at their own risk.
There is no restriction on the flight control system (i.e. three-axis, weight-shift or hybrid), the number of engines, the type of propulsion, the type of propeller system (or even the existence of such — it could be a rocket engine) or type of undercarriage; i.e. it could be retractable. Of course the 300 kg MTOW and maximum 30 kg/m² wing loading tends to limit choices. The provisions of CAO 95.10 are planned to be maintained in CASR Part 103 in a new classification of 'low momentum ultralight aeroplanes'.
The aircraft may be designed by its builder(s), without complying with any promulgated design standard (however it would a most imprudent designer/builder who did not follow some recognised standard route in the development of his/her aircraft); or it may be built in accordance with commercially-supplied drawings and/or a data package, but these must be RA-Aus approved.
A CAO 95.10 ultralight may also be built from an RA-Aus approved kit supplied by a commercial entity, without any stipulation regarding the minimum extent of fabrication or assembly input to be provided by the builder/s. See Technical Manual section 3.4.1 "Approval of a kit for a CAO 95.10 ultralight aircraft" and section 3.4.2 "Approval of a kit for a CAO 95.10 ultralight aircraft based on history of safe operation".
There is no requirement that it be built under supervision and the aircraft may be modified as the builder sees fit. The RA-Aus registration is 10-xxxx and (in 2010) there are still 242 such aeroplanes in the RA-Aus register.
The current version (May 31, 2006) of CAO 95.10 can be viewed in pdf format.
If transposed to the present time, the Bleriot XI — the first aircraft to fly the English Channel — could operate as an RA-Aus 95.10 aircraft. It is interesting to note that Bleriot invented the stick and rudder cockpit control system — still used in modern ultralights. The first aircraft to achieve sustained powered flight, the Wright Flyer, could operate as an RA-Aus 95.55 para 1.5 aircraft — its MTOW was about 350 kg.
The photograph shows an aircraft from designer/builder David Rowe — his UFO or "Useless Flying Object". This aircraft is a consequence of David's curiosity about the behaviour of round wings and illustrates the educational and true experimental essence of 95.10 and its importance to the ultralight movement. It also emphasises that, in 95.10, the designer/builder should also be the test pilot.
CAO 95.32 is an operational standard which provides exemption for factory/kit built single-place and two-place weight-shift controlled aeroplanes ('trikes' or 'powered hang gliders' or 'microlights') and powered parachutes, registered with RA-Aus — or the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia in the case of trikes — from some provisions of the Civil Aviation Regulations. The manufacturer of the aeroplane, or kit, must hold a CASA
Certificate of Approval. Trikes have a MTOW limitation of 450 kg and stall speed not greater than 40 knots. Powered 'chutes have weight and stall speed limitations of 300 kg and 10 knots.
The light sport aircraft category has been added to CAO95.32; for more information see LSA category in CAO 95.55 and 95.32 below.
The current version [May 31, 2006] of CAO 95.32 can be viewed in pdf format. The changes relative only to the LSA category are also contained in CAO95.32 amendment order no.1 2006 [pdf document 1058 KB].
CAO 95.55 is an operational standard which provides exemption, for certain single-engine, single-propeller ultralight aeroplanes with valid RA-Aus registration, from some provisions of the Civil Aviation Regulations. (Engine type; e.g. internal combustion, is not specified.) The current version [June 6, 2006] of CAO 95.55 can be viewed in pdf format. There are seven classifications within 95.55 — two 'amateur-built', three 'commercially-built' and — with the introduction of the light sport aircraft category — an additional 'commercially-built' and an additional 'kit-built' experimental category. The relevant paragraphs of the CAO are:
– Para 1.2: the amateur-built aircraft acceptance [ABAA] category. An amateur-built aircraft is an aircraft, the major portion of which has been fabricated and assembled by a person or persons who undertook the construction project solely for their own education or recreation. The ABAA is a type approval for an amateur-built aircraft.
The single-engine ultralight aeroplane is built under supervision from the Sports Aircraft Association of Australia [SAAA] and must comply with the airworthiness certification requirements of CAO 101.28; plus MTOW = 450 kg; maximum Vso = 40 knots; maximum Vs1 = 45 knots; (maximum weight and Vso can be 480 kg and 42 knots respectively under certain conditions) and with no more than two places. The cruise speed at maximum power should not exceed 100 knots CAS.
If built from an eligible (under the 51% rule) commercially-supplied kit, that kit must comply with the minimum airworthiness certification requirements of CAO 101.55 and the major portion (51% +) of the aircraft must be fabricated and assembled by the owner. The aircraft is intended for educational or recreational purposes. The aircraft need not be of an approved design, or constructed from certified type materials, and can be of any origin but it must be owner-built under supervision of the CASA if the 'first of type', or built under the supervision of SAAA, with mandatory stage inspections, if a subsequent model. When flight testing is satisfactorily concluded, CASA issues a certificate as an aircraft accepted under an ABAA – Amateur Built Aircraft Acceptance or SAAA issues a Certificate of Compliance. The aircraft is then registered by RA-Aus as 28-xxxx. The RA-Aus amateur-built ultralight (see para. 1.5 below) has now largely replaced para. 1.2 for home-built ultralights.
– Para 1.3: a commercially-built ultralight aircraft type certificated by the CASA as complying with the airworthiness certification requirements of CAO 101.55 and built in a factory — in Australia or elsewhere — holding a CASA Certificate of Approval to Manufacture for its manufacturing technique. CASA approved Maintenance Manuals and approved Flight Manuals are required. MTOW = 450 kg; maximum Vso = 40 knots CAS; maximum Vs1 = 45 knots CAS. Maximum weight and Vso can be 480 kg and 42 knots CAS if, and only if, the product of the square of Vso and the MTOW does not exceed 768 000. Straight and level speed under full power is not to exceed 100 knots but may be approved with a control flutter substantiation. Maximum 2 places. Can be used for training. RA-Aus registration 55-xxxx.
– Para 1.4: covers the two-place ultralights commercially-built in a CASA approved factory to a CASA certificated design and registered under the old CAO 95.25. The latter was originally issued in 1985 – as both an operational and a quasi-design standard – when, because of a high accident rate in 95.10 aircraft, the need for two-place training aircraft was determined. The specified airworthiness conditions included rather basic performance and structural tests and a demonstrated history of safe operation. CAO 95.25 also introduced the CASA certificated design for factory-built single-seaters with a 340 kg MTOW such as the Sapphire and Vampire.
The CAO 95.25 was an emergency document, finally cancelled in 1990, and is now superseded by CAO 101.55 for airworthiness certification requirements and CAO 95.55 for operations, although 95.25 aeroplanes can still be manufactured if they were approved before the order was cancelled. There were various iterations of acceptable MTOWs as 95.25 was developed, the final one being 450 kg for two-place aircraft meaning that the MTOW for any particular 95.25 aeroplane is the MTOW specifically approved for that aeroplane either at the time of manufacture or as later approved under the regulations by an engineer with CAR 35 qualifications.
Although the design specification was limited the 95.25 aircraft proved to be very successful, training most of the RA-Aus pilots; but nowadays operators need to remain vigilant in ensuring the continued airworthiness of the airframe. RA-Aus registration 25-xxxx.
– Para 1.5: RA-Aus Amateur Built ultralight. Introduced in 1998 and, in effect, an expansion of 95.10 allowing a heavier, but more durable, structure. (Sometimes referred to as "Experimental" but the RA-Aus Amateur Built is only a sub-set of the Experimental Category.) An amateur-built ultralight where the major portion (51% plus) of the total construction input must be the owner's construction input. The aircraft is intended for educational or recreational purposes, plus MTOW = 544 kg; maximum Vso = 45 knots CAS; maximum two places. In the case of a two-place seaplane the weight is extended to 614 kg. The aircraft need not be designed to an approved standard, or constructed from certified type materials, and can be of any origin but must be built in accordance with the RA-Aus Technical Manual section 3.3.1.
Can be built from scratch or from a kit supplied by a manufacturer who may or may not hold a CASA Production Certificate, but the kit must also be eligible to comply with the 51% 'Major Portion Rule' under CASR Part 21.
There is no requirement that the aircraft be built under supervision. A pre-cover/pre-closure inspection is highly recommended, and there must be a pre-flight final inspection, observed by RA-Aus/CASA authorised inspectors, but that final inspection does not determine airworthiness — the owner/builder must accept entire responsibility for that, and sign a document to that effect before the first flight. As with CAO 95.10 the aircraft must carry a cockpit placard warning that the aircraft is not required to comply with the safety regulations for standard aircraft and persons (passengers) fly in it at their own risk. RA-Aus registration 19-xxxx.
The photograph shows a Jabiru where Peter Kayne, the owner/builder, modified a standard tricycle undercarriage kit to produce an experimental taildragger configuration. This was so successful that the Jabiru company is now producing kits for the new model. These kits would comply with the Amateur Built (ABAA) category.
– Para 1.6: allows the commercial manufacture of a heavier aircraft than allowed under CAO 95.25 and CAO 95.55 para 1.3. The aircraft is commercially-built in Australia or overseas for sale by the holder of a a Type Certificate, a Certificate of Type Approval or an equivalent document. The manufacturer must also hold a Production Certificate for the aircraft.
In the case of a seaplane MTOW is extended to 614 kg. Can be used for training. RA-Aus registration 24-xxxx. The MTOW at which an overseas factory-built aircraft is accepted for RA-Aus registration may be less than the weights stated in this paragraph, please read the weight and balance module of the Flight Theory Guide.
MTOW = 544 kg; maximum Vso = 45 knots; maximum 2 places; and the aircraft has a minimum useful payload. This minimum payload is calculated with a formula which allows 80 kg for each seating place plus about 23% of the engine rated hp, expressed in kg, for fuel. Thus the minimum payload for a two seat 100 hp aircraft would be 80 + 80 + 23 = 183 kg or, deducting that from MTOW, the empty weight (including engine oil and unusable fuel) must be less than 361 kg.
In the case of a seaplane MTOW is extended to 614 kg. Can be used for training. RA-Aus registration 24-xxxx. The MTOW at which an overseas factory-built aircraft is accepted for RA-Aus registration may be less than the weights stated in this paragraph, please read the weight and balance module of the Flight Theory Guide.
– LSA category in CAO 95.55 and 95.32: Light sport aircraft [LSA] is a new certification category of GA and ultralight sport/recreational aircraft which became legal for RA-Aus on January 7, 2006 by amendments to CAO 95.32 and CAO 95.55. LSA as a category does not replace any existing category nor is it intended for existing aircraft already operating under a different airworthiness category. It is a single-propeller two-seat aircraft with MTOW not exceeding 600 kg [650 kg as a seaplane], 45 knot Vso and either a trike, powered 'chute or three-axis. It can be a ready-to-fly production aircraft [CAO 95.55 para 1.8] with a Special Certificate of Airworthiness [S-LSA] and RA-Aus registration 24-xxxx or it can be a kit built aircraft of the same make and model as the production aircraft [CAO 95.55 para 1.9] with just an Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness [E-LSA] and RA-Aus registration 19-xxxx. The 51% 'Major Portion Rule' does not apply to E-LSA; i.e. the manufacturer can supply a much more advanced kit than allowable under the RA-Aus Amateur Built category however, the kit-built aircraft must be inspected and issued with an Experimental Certificate of Airworthiness by a CASA 'authorised person' before it can be registered with RA-Aus.
For more LSA information see:
CAO 95.55 amendment order no.1 2006 pdf document 476 KB showing just the changes relevant to LSA.
CAO 95.32 amendment order no.1 2006 pdf document 1058 KB showing just the changes relevant to LSA.
Synopsis: the Light Sport Aircraft category.
AC 21-42(0) LSA Manufacturer's Requirements pdf document 92 KB.
AC 21-41(0) LSA Certificate of Airworthiness pdf document 65 KB.
The foregoing is summarised (for 3-axis landplanes) in the table below:
| Category |
Places |
MTOW |
Performance |
Construction |
Design standard |
Other requirements |
| 95.10 |
1 |
300 |
W/S=30 kg/m3 |
Own design,
drawing or kit |
Generally none |
nil |
| 95.55/1.2 |
2 |
450/480 |
Vso=40/42 Vs1=45 |
Own design,
drawing or kit |
101.28 |
51% kit mpr applies
Built under SAAA supervision |
| 95.55/1.3 |
2 |
450/480 |
Vso=40/42 Vno=100 |
Factory |
101.55 |
nil |
| 95.55/1.4 |
1 / 2 |
340/450 |
nil |
Factory |
95.25 |
nil |
| 95.55/1.5 |
2 |
544 |
Vso=45 |
Own design,
drawing or kit |
None if own design |
51% kit mpr applies
Pre-flight final inspection |
| 95.55/1.6 |
2 |
544 |
Vso=45 |
Factory |
101.55 |
Nil |
| 95.55/1.8 |
2 |
600 |
Vso=45 |
Factory |
LSA standards |
nil |
| 95.55/1.9 |
2 |
600 |
Vso=45 |
Factory kit |
LSA standards |
51% mpr not applicable |
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If the conditions set out in CAOs 95.10, 95.32 or 95.55 are complied with in relation to an aeroplane to which each CAO applies, the aeroplane/pilot is exempt from compliance with the following Parts of the Regulations and a few individual Regulations. In most cases the exemption from the Part or an individual Regulation is replaced to some extent by rules or requirements stated in the RA-Aus Operations or Technical Manuals. Failure to comply with the rules/requirements of the manuals renders the exemptions null and void thus the exemption Regulations below and associated penalties become immediately applicable.
Some of the CAR 1988 Parts/Regulations mentioned below are already replaced by CASRs but the CAO has not yet been changed to reflect this.
Exemptions common to 95.10, 95.32 and 95.55
- Part 3. Aircraft registration
- Part 4A. Maintenance
- Part 4B. Defect reporting
- Part 4C. Flight manuals
- Part 4D. Removal of data plates and registration identification plate
- Part 5. Qualifications of flight crew
- Subregulations 83 (1) (2) and (3). Aircraft radiotelephone operator certificate of proficiency in respect of VHF equipment
- Regulation 133. Conditions to be met before Australian aircraft may fly
- Regulation 139. Documents to be carried in Australian aircraft
- Regulation 155. Flight rules - acrobatic flight
- Regulation 157. Flight rules - low flying
- Regulation 207. Requirements according to operations on which Australian aircraft used
- Regulation 208. Number of operating crew
- Regulation 230. Starting and running of engines
- Subregulation 242 (2). Testing of radio apparatus
- Regulation 252. Provision of emergency systems
Exemptions common to 95.10 and 95.32 only
- Part 4. Airworthiness requirements
- Part 13 division 4. Lights to be displayed by aircraft
Exemptions common to 95.32 and 95.55 only
- Regulation 210. Restriction of advertising of commercial operations; insofar as advertising of flying training to qualify for a pilot standard specified in the RA-Aus Operations Manual is concerned
- Regulation 252A. Emergency locator transmitters,
Note the exemption to 252A dealing with carriage of emergency locator transmitters will be rescinded.
Exemptions applying to only one CAO
- Part 7. Navigation logs [unique to 95.32]
- Regulation 36A. Use of aircraft material in the maintenance, servicing and operation of Australian aircraft [unique to 95.55]
- Regulation 37. Permissible unserviceabilities [unique to 95.55]
- Regulation 322. Changes to flight manuals for Australian aircraft [unique to 95.10]
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CAO 101.28 is a combination of rules — promulgated in 1976 — covering the airworthiness certification requirements, and design standards, for amateur built ABAA category light general aviation aeroplanes which is also applicable to some ultralights. An ABAA category aircraft can have up to 4 places (two if an ultralight), take-off weight 544 kg (or 614 kg as a seaplane). Vso less than 61 knots CAS, if fitted with a type certificated engine(s), or 55 knots CAS otherwise. (For ultralight aircraft the limitations expressed in CAO 95.55 paragraph 1.2 over-ride the preceding weights and stall speeds.) The aircraft is to be used for educational or recreational purposes and the owners construction input must be more than 50% of the total construction input.The general design standards are in accordance with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's FAR Part 23 or the British Civil Aviation Requirement Section K. The flight handling quality standards are also in accordance with FAR Part 23. The full CAO 101.28 can be viewed in pdf format.
The ABAA (Amateur Built Aircraft Acceptance) certificate is an acceptance by the CASA that the aircraft complies with CAO 101.28. CAO 101.28 is not a standard acceptable in the ICAO sense, so any CoA (for a CASA registered aircraft) under 101.28 is not an ICAO recognised CoA. It is only recognised in Australia as qualifying the aeroplane to be registered on the national register as VH-xxxx. In view of the legislative minefield involving Certificates of Airworthiness and the ICAO convention, it is to DCA's (the old Australian Department of Civil Aviation ) great credit that a system was developed and is continuing in Australia giving National Registration and its attendant privileges to 'Home Built' aeroplanes under CAO101.28.
Note too that the building process involved strict control under the eye of the CASA , and while the Regulatory Authority of the day actually performed surveillance on the building this activity was delegated to the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia (SAAA) where it now resides until the sun sets on the order. CAO 101.28 has been "sunsetted" in CASR 21.190 and ABAAs for new types were no longer issued after 30 September 2001. New types are now covered under CASR 21.191 which introduced the Experimental Amateur Built category. These aircraft require no building supervision, are registerable as VH although operational restrictions apply until they are removed under the authority of a CASA Delegate — if the aircraft can meet the necessary requirements.
All commercially manufactured and sold ultralights (and GA aircraft) should be designed to an acceptable standard, type certificated as meeting that standard, and manufactured under a Certificate of Approval of the production and quality assurance process. CAO 101.55 is a set of rules covering the aircraft certification requirements for a TC or Certificate of Type Approval — including minimum design, manufacture, operational and safety standards — for commercially-built single-engine/single-propeller very light aeroplanes and kits. Take-off weight not exceeding 450 kg and Vso not exceeding 40 knots CAS [Vs1 45 knots]. Under some conditions these figures may be increased to 480 kg and 42 knots CAS. The aircraft may have no more than two places.
Under CAO 101.55 the aircraft must comply with one of the three following international design standards:
- the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's FAR Part 23
- the British Civil Aviation Requirement Section K
- the European Aviation Safety Agency's certification specification CS-VLA (formerly JAR-VLA) which is the very light or sports aircraft legislation covering one or two place, non-aerobatic, VMC only aircraft up to 750 kg* MTOW, 45 knots maximum Vs1 and a type certified engine.
- or some other acceptable standard or combination of standards.
CAO 101.28 encloses only FAR Part 23 and BCAR K. It should be mentioned that neither airworthiness certification CAO mandates the establishment of a safe fatigue life for the airframe or components.
*Note 1: Since November 1996 the published RA-Aus policy has been that the MTOW for aeroplanes registered by RA-Aus that have been CS-VLA certificated [to 750 kg] could be extended to the 750 kg of the European design standard, or any other suitable design standard that allows 750 kg. CASA had a low priority certification project [CS 06/01] underway which might have resulted in the inclusion of that change in CASR Part 103 but CASA decided not to proceed with CS 06/01 and it was closed 9 October 2009.
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The full CAO 101.55 can be viewed in pdf format.
For the purposes of Part 103 (see NPRM 0603OS) RA-Aus registered aircraft will be divided into two classes:
The first class covers aeroplanes that have only one seat, MTOW no more than 300 kg (plus allowances of 35 kg if equipped to land on water and 20 kg for a recovery parachute system) and a maximum wing loading of 30 kg/m². There is no restriction on the number or type of engine/s or propeller/s, stalling speed or maximum level flight speed. Thus, this class perpetuates our fundamental CAO 95.10 concept and will consequently be identified as 'low-momentum ultralight aeroplanes' rather than '95.10 aircraft'.
Note 2: momentum equals mass × velocity so 'low momentum' does not necessarily infer low maximum speed.
The second class covers all aeroplanes that have one or two seats, MTOW no more than 600 kg (plus an allowance of 50 kg if equipped to land on water) and a maximum stalling speed in the landing configuration (i.e. Vso) of 45 knots (CAS? See note 3 below). This category includes powered-parachutes and weight-shift aeroplanes, that meet the criteria.
The physical criteria for the second class includes two of the criteria used to define the Light Sport Aircraft category; i.e. 600 kg MTOW and 45 knot Vso. Thus, any single-engine (see note 4 below), one or two-place, land aircraft with MTOW less than 600 kg (and any similar aircraft equipped to alight on water with MTOW less than 650 kg) may be eligible to operate under Part 103 if Vso does not exceed 45 knots and it is accepted for RA-Aus registration.
Note 3: LSA specifies CAS, however, in line with the present CAO 95.55, the Part 103 version in the current NPRM does not specify the 45 knot landing configuration stall speed as either CAS or IAS.
Note 4: LSA specifies aeroplanes must have a single internal combustion engine driving a single propeller as does CAO 95.55 and CAO 101.55. However, the Part 103 version in the current NPRM is silent on engines and propellers. Also LSA specifies aeroplanes, except for amphibians, have a fixed undercarriage but Part 103 is currently silent.
Existing aircraft operating within CAO 95.32 and CAO 95.55 limits, and others that do not conform to the new LSA standard, will continue to operate as now in accordance with the RA-Aus procedures manual; i.e. the Operations and Technical Manuals. Such aircraft will still be limited to the lower of their design weight or type certificated weight. Factory-built aircraft may be able to operate at the 600 kg weight if certified to that or higher weight. As in the past the Operations and Technical Manuals will continue to be subject to CASA approval scrutiny before amendment/re-issue.
The CASA standards for design and performance of RA-Aus LSA aircraft are:
- ASTM LSA standards (USA)
- BCAR Section S (British sport aircraft standard)
- CS VLA was JAR-VLA (European Aviation Safety Agency)
- CAO 101.55 (Australia)
- DaeC (BFU) 10/95 (Germany)
- UL/2 PT2 (Czech Republic)
- PICA 26 (Australian Airworthiness design requirements for aeroplanes of
conventional design in the primary and intermediate category)
- DS 10141E (Canadian microlight)
Plus any existing or recognised aviation standard acceptable to the CASA; e.g. FAR Part 23 or the earlier CAR Part 3.
... John Brandon
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