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This is the second e-newsletter of
IAOPA-Europe, which is published monthly for the 23,000
members of European AOPAs. This newsletter is made
possible by sponsorship from ExxonMobil Aviation
Lubricants, whose Elite 20W-50 is the first aviation oil
formulation for piston-engine aircraft to appear on the
market in more than a decade. (See below).
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EASA moves on maintenance
EASA
is setting up a new Working Group to try to satisfy some of
general aviation's concerns about its Implementing Rules on
Maintenance, and IAOPA will have at least three representatives
on the group.
The IRM were published in 2004, and have
attracted criticism from light aircraft maintenance
organisations who see some of them as costly and bureaucratic.
EASA has responded by setting up a group, to be called MO17, to
look at our concerns and where possible resolve them. It is
envisaged that the MO17 group will go through the IRM in detail
and point up areas which could be improved. Their work is
expected to be completed by December 2006.
Dr Michael Erb
of AOPA-Germany and Martin Robinson of AOPA-UK attended a
meeting at EASA in Cologne on February 17th to discuss this
issue. While they had expected EASA's Head of Rulemaking Claude
Probst and Head of Maintenance Eric Sivell to attend, they were
also joined by EASA Executive Director Patrick Goudou, Head of
Certification, Dr Norbert Lohl, Certification Director, and
other executives for a full-day meeting that covered many
topics, including the Recreational Pilots Licence and the
potential for individual states to impose airspace restrictions
on it.
Martin Robinson said: "It was a very impressive
EASA turnout, and it wasn't just for show. They were there to
listen – they want to get this right."
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AOPA-Sweden acts on SESAR
AOPA-Sweden
is the second national AOPA to put forward a comprehensive
document to support IAOPA's consultants Scanavia, who are
analysing the value of general aviation to Europe as part of our
contribution to the SESAR project.
In the document Lars
Hjelmberg and Martin Antvik of AOPA-Sweden say that 80% of GA
there is for business or flight training, while 20% of charter and
scheduled traffic is for business. They also include data on GA's
service to areas which commercial aviation does not reach. In
particular, it can brings remote areas of Sweden to within a few
hours travelling time of major EU cities.
AOPA-UK has
provided Scanavia with a comprehensive analysis of the value of GA
to local communities conducted during 2003 and 2004, which shows
similar results to the Swedish document. There have also been a
number of supporting contributions from invividual AOPA members
across Europe, but more is needed.
ScanAvia is seeking help
with part of its brief, which is to establish the value of GA to
Europe, including studies, statistics, outcomes of hearings,
articles or any documents that address this point. The
contribution is not just economic, but social and political. Send
your contributions to sesar@scanavia.dk,
for the attention of Val K.H. Eggers. If you can contribute,
please do – and send a copy to iaopa@richmondaviation.co.uk.
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Eurocontrol airspace issues
Eurocontrol
is moving ahead with its plans to harmonise and simplify European
airspace, cutting the current plethora of classifications down to
just three, to be called N, K and U. It is encountering problems
over what it calls the Lower DFL – the lowest Divisional Flight
Level – where some states like the UK have concerns that military
low flying will be affected, while others see problems with
infrastructure in airspace where air traffic services must be
provided, but where there is only general aviation activity to pay
for it.
AOPA-Netherlands secretary Peggy van Ootmarsum and
Martin Robinson of AOPA-UK attended a meeting in Brussels with
Eurocontrol's Bill Armitt to discuss these sticking points. IAOPA
is impressed with the Mr Armitt's methodical approach to resolving
issues. Ultimately we expect the Lower DFL to be set at FL100.
*Eurocontrol
is holding its next Aviation Day on March 31st at Eurocontrol HQ
in Brussels. The topic of the day will be "Future Access to
Airports and Airspace". Anyone with an interest can go – register
by email with gaelle.evrard@eurocontrol.int.
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Pilot shortage concern
An
ad hoc survey conducted by AOPA Netherlands shows that GA activity
in the country fell by around ten percent during 2005, and was
down by 30 percent compared with 2000. Main reasons were cites as
high fuel prices and economic uncertainty, but AOPA fears that
airfields will close unless traffic picks up.
While the
survey is Dutch, the concern is pan-European. IAOPA-Europe has
received support for the first time from the Association of
European Regions Airlines, whose Director General Mike Ambrose is
urging regulators to lay off general aviation. Mr Ambrose says:
"Europe cannot afford unreasonable restrictions on general
aviation. It is too valuable in helping European air transport to
meet future pilot needs."
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Italian semicircular quirk
AOPA
Italy would like to draw to the attention of all European pilots a
peculiarity of Italian airspace, which might so far have escaped
the attention of visitors. The ubiquitous definition of the
so-called semicircular flight rule for VFR flights in fact
does not apply to Italy, where it has been modified as follows:
All
VFR flights above 3,000 ft, or above 1,000 ft AGL, whichever is
greatest, must fly at the following flight levels:
For
headings between 090° and 269°: odd tens plus 5 (i.e. FL 35, 55,
75, etc.) For headings between 270° and 089°: even tens plus 5
(i.e. FL 45, 65, 85, etc.)
This differs from the universal
practice of splitting the levels in a north-south line used in
other European countries and is a source of potential problems.
Italian geography is such that the great majority of flights are
in NW and SE directions – ATC cites the country's shape as the
reason for the semicircular anomaly – and in these quadrants there
is no difference in the Italian and international requirements.
AOPA
Italy's Massimo Levi says: "How many French, German or British
pilots are aware of this difference? We believe not many, which
explains our concern. The situation poses difficulties not only
for foreign pilots in Italy, but for Italian pilots leaving the
country, who must be aware that the rest of the world does things
differently."
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Fly! The London Air Show
The
third annual Fly! show will be held this year at Earls Court from
April 21st to 23rd and promises to be bigger and better than ever.
In its short history the show has become one of Europe's premiere
aviation events, and it enjoys the full support of the UK general
aviation industry. Check out www.londonairshow.co.uk
– and come and visit the AOPA-UK stand there.
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Malta rally
AOPA Malta has
advised us of dates for this year's Malta Air Rally – the 37th
year this competition has been held. It will be held between June
1 and June 5, and entries are invited from all over Europe and
beyond. For the 2006 rally, the Maltese have involved a corporate
sponsor and have decided to offer a number of incentives for
visiting pilots who apply before April 30. If your entry is
received by then, and you have at least three people staying for
four or more days, you'll get 35 litres of fuel free, plus free
parking and landing for the duration of the rally. Various other
incentives are set out at the rally's website, www.geocities.com/maltarally.
The organisers' email is kissaung@mail.global.net.mt.
The
last three Malta Rallies have been won by a Swiss, a Finn and a
Briton, and it has gained a reputation as one of the friendliest
and best-run aviation events in the calendar.
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AOPA Poland website
AOPA
Poland's excellent new website is now up and running, and it
includes an English-language section which gives a lot of
information about flying in the country, including a downloadable
flight plan form. Have a look at www.aopa.pl.
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IAOPA-Europe website
For
those who haven't yet seen the new IAOPA Europe website, check it
out on www.iaopa-eur.org. This is hosted by AOPA Denmark and
includes copies of this e-news bulletin, together with many other
features. AOPA Denmark's Jacob Pedersen has big plans to introduce
more member benefits to this website.
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Belgium fly-in
The 22nd
international vintage aircraft fly-in at Schaffen-Diest runs from
August 11th to 13th and features this year a special gathering of
aircraft designed by Stelio Frati, including the Falco, Picchio,
Nibbio and SF260. Crews from ten countries flew in last year, and
as well as vintage displays the weekend includes a variety of
social events. Diest Aero Club's website, www.dac.be,
has some details, but you can get more via email from valvekens.stampe@portima.be.
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ExxonMobil Aviation Lubricants expands
in Poland and Germany
ExxonMobil Aviation Lubricants
has announced agreements with two additional European companies to
distribute Exxon Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50 and the company's other
aviation lubricants for aircraft piston engines. The new
distributors are based in Germany and Poland, and will increase
the availability of ExxonMobil's lubricants for general aviation
aircraft in Europe. Piper Generalvertretung Deutschland AG, with
headquarters in Calden, Germany, is now part of the ExxonMobil's
distributor network in Germany. The company, also known as Piper
Germany, sells aircraft and parts, and provides maintenance and
repair. It also runs a charter service and flying school.
Unimot
Express, based in Warsaw, is now a distributor for ExxonMobil
Aviation Lubricants in Poland. The company is a leading
distributor of quality petroleum products, including fuels, liquid
gases, oil and greases, base oils and paraffin waxes.
For
Piper Generalvertretung Deutschland AG, go to www.piper-germany.de
or phone Johannes Krug at +49.5674.704–0. For Unimot Express go to
www.unimot.pl or phone Adam Sikorski at +48.22.830.70.70.
It
is anticipated that the two distributors will make buying
ExxonMobil's aviation lubricants easier for piston aircraft owners
and pilots in Europe, where products are readily available at 15
locations in the UK, including Adams Aviation Supply Company; two
in Germany, including RAS Parts; and one in Poland, Impex-Saro. In
all, ExxonMobil Aviation Lubricants has distributors in ten
European countries.
"We continue to add key distributors
across Europe so aviation customers keen to use Exxon Elite and
our other premium aviation lubricants can do so easily and cost
effectively", says Bill Dennis, general aviation lubricants
manager—Europe. "These two quality distributors are the latest in
our growing list of strategic distributors that add value to what
we offer customers."
Exxon Elite is a technically
advanced blend of synthetic and mineral-based oils. Formulated
with a proprietary additive package to control wear in
piston-engine aircraft, Exxon Elite is especially suitable for
recreational aircraft that typically sit on the ground for days
between uses, and are thus susceptible to build up of rust and
corrosion, a particular problem in Europe's changeable weather.
The ExxonMobil product line includes Aviation Oil EE,
ashless-dispersant monograde mineral piston-engine oils; Aviation
Oil, non-dispersant monograde and multi-grade mineral
piston-engine oils; and Mobilgrease 28, a synthetic lubricating
grease.
The complete list of ExxonMobil Aviation
Lubricants' European distributors can be found online at www.exxonelite.com
(click on 'Where to Buy').
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If you have any comments on this
newsletter or would like to have information from your country
included in it, please email iaopa@richmondaviation.co.uk
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this newsletter to a friend!
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