Now and then

When I first decided to get back into flying again after such a long absence, I really wasn't sure what to expect. The aviation scene has changed so much since I last flew. One significant difference is with air traffic control procedures. Unlike 13 years ago, pilots are now required to read back almost every instruction given to them by air traffic control. I had one today which went like this;

Me: " Essendon tower, Delta Bravo Romeo is ready (for take-off)"
Essendon tower: "Delta Bravo Romeo, runway two-six, line-up and wait."
Me: "Runway two-six, line-up and wait, Delta Bravo Romeo"
Essendon tower: "Delta Bravo Romeo, wind is now anywhere from one-seven-zero (bearing) to three-three-zero, crosswind up to one-five to two zero knots, turn before the upwind end of the threshold, runway two-six cleared for take-off, make left turn".
Me to myself: "WTF"!!
Me to Essendon tower: "Roger, copied the wind, make left turn before the upwind threshold, cleared for take-off, Delta Bravo Romeo"

... back when I first started flying, all that was needed to reply was my callsign "Delta Bravo Romeo", but these days ... you get the picture. ;)

As for other changes in the aviation industry, what has really let the cat amongst the pidgeons is this new license that's being developed by CASA (Australia's pilot licensing authority), called the MPL which stands for Multi Crew Pilot's License. Why this is so controversial is because in the past, trainee pilots who then went on to become airline pilots had to go through an 'apprenticeship' so to speak where they build up hours flying small planes before they could qualify to apply for jobs with the airlines. Traditionally, this meant flying small propeller driven aircraft for a few years until you've aquired around 500 hours of multi-engine command time. Now, with the MPL, all this is out the window since to qualify for the this type of license, all that's needed is no more than about 70 hours of flight time, after which, you could be sitting in the right-hand seat of an airliner in less than a year!

Furthermore, what this is also saying is that CASA doesn't seem to think that all of the experience that a pilot has acquired flying solo in light planes is useful at all in the airline pilot context. This goes completely against the way of thinking in the aviation industry where airlines have traditionally required pilots to have anywhere between 500 to 1500 flying hours of experience before they'll even look at your application.

The MPL is due to be implemented in the next 12 to 18 months. It sure is interesting times ahead in the Australian aviation scene.