One of the cornerstones of airworthiness is having suitably trained people working on aircraft maintenance and aircraft repairs. Gliding Australia provides a range of airworthiness training in each of the regions. This training is coordinated through a network of experienced inspectors (Region Technical Officer Airworthiness or RTO/A).
The first airworthiness training that most people experience is the Daily Inspector (DI) rating. This is an important skill as it enables you to prepare and check the safety of an aircraft before a day’s flying. The training is provided by the club, but there is additional training material with:
You will be evaluated on your knowledge and practical skills by an endorse DI Examiner or Annual Inspector. You will have an endorsement signed in your logbook which you can then upload as a credential into Go Membership.
Further aircraft maintenance ratings include Component Replacement, Annual Inspector and Survey. Aircraft structural repair ratings include Minor Repair and Major Repair ratings. The pathway for these ratings is described here. The details for these ratings are in Section 10 of MOSP Part 3.
The first step is to discuss what airworthiness rating you would like with your club Airworthiness Administration Officer or contact the local RTO/A. They will be able to suggest one or more of the three current methods to achieve an airworthiness rating in Gliding Australia.
Training courses are regularly held around the country for various ratings, the most common being courses for Replacement of Components and Annual Inspector. These typically either run for several days or are held over concurrent weekends. For members in remote clubs, state organisations usually offer to subsidise the costs to reach courses. To assist with keeping the time commitment and cost to a minimum, pre-reading of Basic Sailplane Engineering and other course material is required prior to attending the course. Homework questionaires are part of the formal training to demonstrate adequate knowledge of the theory.
Training courses will be advertised on the Calendar on the Gliding Australia web site and LaunchPoints. If the time or location of these courses are unsuitable please contact your local RTO-A and advise your interest in a particular course. If there is sufficient interest in an area, a course may be arranged. An alternative is that a mentor may be found to help assist with the training instead of a formal course.
Attendance at a course does not guarantee a rating. On occasion some further mentoring may be required depending on the individual.
This is popular with remote clubs where members may have difficulty attending formal training courses. Discuss this with the local RTO/A prior to starting the mentoring. Agree with the RTO/A on the scope of the rating you wish to achieve and who the mentor will be. The mentor can guide you through the course content and provide you with examples where you can practice your skills. Because this training is spread out over a considerable time, a log book of what has been carried out should be maintained. A good example of a suitable logbook is the Airworthiness Schedule of Experience available from the GFA Shop. When the mentor is satisfied, they provide a letter of recommendation and a copy or scan of the Airworthiness Schedule of Experience to the local RTO/A stating that you have completed the syllabus and recommending you for a rating. The RTO/A may then endorse you and issue a certificate or letter of approval with which you can upload with the credential on Go Membership. Alternatively the RTO/A may recommend some additional areas to cover.
If you have existing skills or ratings from CASA, RAAus or other aviation organisations, then you can apply to the local RTO-A, DCAD or CAD for the equivalent airworthiness rating in GFA. The RTO-A, DCAD or CAD may then endorse you and issue a certificate with which you can upload with the rating on Go Membership. Some additional mentoring or homework may be required to ensure that the differences between airworthiness systems are understood, depending on the rating requested.
