raaus annual report 2014 15

Annual Report 2014-15

Welcome .................................................. 2

From the CEO ........................................... 4

Board meetings ........................................ 6

Modernisation Project ................................ 6

Operations ............................................... 7

Jabiru issue .............................................. 8

MARAP Process ........................................ 9

L1 Maintenance online course rollout ........... 9

OMS .......................................................10

RSO Conference .......................................10

RAAus signs with Willis .............................11

Solving registration delays .........................11

Policy development ...................................12

RAAus in the community ............................12

Sport Pilot ...............................................13

Communication ........................................14

Staff training ...........................................15

Fly-ins ....................................................16

Australian International Airshow .................18

GYFTS Scholarship Program ......................20

Inaugural Awards Night .............................21

Statistics .................................................22

RAAus and CASA ......................................26

Financial Statements ................................28

Contents

Recreational Aviation Australia wishes to acknowledge the contributions and support of everyone involved in the production of our inaugural Annual Report

Design and layout: Maarit Maher - Silver Eyes Photography & Design

2

As aviators we are taught to aviate, navigate and

communicate. It gives us a way to prioritise our tasks in the air to ensure we fly safely. If we don’t aviate the outcome is obvious. We need to fly the plane first and foremost or we simply will not fly. Navigation is a key aspect of getting to our intended destination and if we don’t do that we’ll get lost. Finally, we need to communicate our intentions to others so we can be accommodated in the skies and others around us understand our intentions.

Since coming on the board these three simple concepts have guided me. In terms of our organisation it seemed that they had been forgotten and we were rapidly headed for disaster. We had made commitments to the regulator, we had failed our members in certain areas and we were not delivering value to anyone.

Shortly after being appointed by members I was entrusted with the position of chairing the board. In terms of the guiding principles that now applied, nothing had changed. I began by starting with aviating.

As an organisation we struggled to carry out many of the routine tasks that we were obligated to do. These obligations ranged from legal requirements of the regulator and other bodies through to the moral obligations to our members. In all instances there was room for improvement.

To achieve this we set out as a board to reshape the organisation beginning with a new CEO. Michael Linke was appointed to the position in June 2014 and assigned the fundamental task of helping us sort through our issues.

Many changes took place over the first 12 months of his appointment including staff changes, adding new ways to deliver existing services and generally improving processes in the office. Today we are a leaner organisation that delivers the same level of services more efficiently than ever before by using less resources and more innovative methods. Furthermore, we have saved money which protects us from financial failure enabling us to exist and protect the privileges we have in place today for many years to come.

Some of this has involved embracing the use of technology while other aspects relate to more fundamental changes to the way we do things. We no longer use reams of paper to process simple things such as member address updates for example. And very soon these rudimentary tasks will be able to be performed online saving both members and staff time while also avoiding simple errors.

We also had to revisit some of the promises made in the past. Many of these related to things we had committed to do for CASA and so we had to engage and work out a way forward. While CASA would not let us off the hook for many of

these items they worked with us to ensure that they could be implemented, either in their original form or an alternative, in a way that was achievable and acceptable to everyone. And to be fair, they relaxed some of their demands after we demonstrated our commitment to achieving our stated goals.

This has resulted in us building a better relationship with CASA which allows us to engage in more meaningful discussions about the future direction. We won’t agree all the time, and nor should we, but it allows us to have an honest and open dialogue that is constructive instead of adversarial.

In short, we aviated in a way such that RAAus became a stable organisation and gave us a platform that we could build on for the future. This enabled us to shift our focus on to the next stage, navigation.

To me there are two key aspects of navigation – defining the destination and then getting

there. We conducted a series of exercises including member consultations, broad discussions with other stakeholders and a workshop with staff and board members to work out where we wanted to be.

The outcome of this was a strategic plan that has been published on our website. We have outlined key areas to focus on which has resulted in a way to sense check our decisions. These areas are summarised in the SAFE acronym which means Safe, Accessible, Fun, Enjoyable. Any decision that is made now is checked against these criteria to ensure it improves safety for our members. We want to reduce costs, red tape, and so forth to make aviation more accessible. And we need to ensure that our part of the aviation spectrum is fun. If we get these things right then we tick the final box – enjoyable.

Our capable team in the office led by our CEO and underpinned by our senior team consisting of our Operations Manager – Jill Bailey, our Technical Manager – Darren Barnfield, and our Safety Manager – Katie Jenkins, will now do the second part of navigation. They are responsible for getting us to the destination that has been defined at an organisation wide level.

In the meantime the board will focus on improving the organisation at a holistic level which will involve constitutional change, modifications to our legal and internal structures where appropriate and

continuing discussions on matters such as strategic regulatory reform, governance and so forth.

The final piece of the puzzle is communication. We all need to work on this and improve across the board. This year has been a busy one that has seen us swamped with tasks relating to aviation and navigation and while we have made improvements on communication, we need to work harder.

We will endeavour to keep members better informed using a range of methods. This includes our magazine which will be delivered in print to subscribers and electronically to all members. We also have a newsletter which is used to deliver information in a timelier manner. Air shows and fly- ins around the country are being better utilised to touch base with members in person. And no doubt there will be other ideas that come up in future as well.

We’ll never stop doing any of these tasks as they are all important to safeguard our success in the future. At certain times some will be prioritised over others but we will always make an effort to do all three. And we’ll always make an effort to improve on all three as well.

Given enough hard work in each of these areas we can exceed our expectations and deliver an experience in the aviation industry that is safe, accessible, fun and enjoyable. We just need to focus on those three simple tasks of aviation, navigation and communication and prioritise when we need to.

Michael MonckPresidentRecreational Aviation Australia

Welcome

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Today we are a leaner organisation that delivers the same level of services more efficiently than ever before…

4

On 7 July 2014 I walked into the office of Recreational Aviation

Australia not knowing a lot about the organisation, the people or the processes. I did know that I knew how to run an organisation, I’d been doing that for years and I did know that it would take me a little while to get a handle on ‘how we did things around here’.

All my plans were thrown out the window on that first day as I sat with staff and talked about the tragedy that had unfolded in Moruya the day before following the deaths of Graham White and Ralph Buchannan.

I learned a lot that day. I learned how passionate yet professional our staff are. I learned that our sport, whilst immensely enjoyable, also carries risk. I learned that our members are much like a big family and as families do, we mourned that day and for many days after.

Since that day I have continued to learn. Interestingly in late June I met Matt Hall for the first time. We spoke about learning and he said that he learns something every day, practices his flying every day, even when he is not flying. As good as we think we are in the cockpit (the hangar, in front of a computer, in the boardroom) we can all learn, and should continue to learn and impart our learnings onto those around us. As CEO I have spent a lot of my first

year working with our staff and teaching them about organisational management, just as they have been teaching me about aviation.

So sitting here today twelve months since my first day what have I learned? I have learned that tradition and innovation can, and must, coexist if Recreational Aviation Australia is to have a bright future. We enjoy a rich history of flying, which I got to experience in early 2015 by taking a flight in a drifter with James Bange. What an experience. At the same time though I engaged with almost 150 of our members at Clifton and talked about innovations to our website and magazine – both essential developments if we are to continue to communicate with members and right our faltering financial footing.

I learned that a lack of strategic focus in the past has caused us financial pressure. Recreational Aviation Australia has tried many things, some have worked

a treat - GYFTS is an example of a fantastic idea working and continuing to deliver dividends. However some things haven’t worked. We made promises to CASA about L1 training and revised manuals without first ensuring we had both the

internal expertise and the need for these developments.I learned that from time to time we were at war with ourselves. Many staff and board members had offered to work and develop the organisation, yet their contribution was short lived and whilst they burned bright while they were with us, the light soon went out and we had nothing of substance to show for it. In some cases we were left worse off following a contribution.

I learned that to remake the mistakes of our past would be fatal for Recreational Aviation Australia and as such I resolved with myself, with the board and with my senior managers to not make the same mistakes. In achieving this we needed to implement robust governance practices, a policy framework, a way of tracking and understanding our corporate memory and strategies to deliver consistent outcomes to our members. By and large we have got this right. The board at the first meeting I attended with them put in place a number

of key goals and strategies and resolved to focus on the strategic and policy issues affecting us as an organisation. We jointly made a commitment to explore opportunities to return us to surplus, we agreed to create a lean and effective

team of staff, we agreed to communicate with our members more and most importantly we agreed that members were central to everything we did.

We also agreed that the organisation was suffering as a result of outdated manual processing. In solving this we agreed to implement an organisation wide modernisation project. This project will be a watershed for our sport and our organisation. For the first time ever members will have complete control of their information, their aircraft, their flying time. Our website will be ordered, easy to use and a great place for new members to begin their aviation journey. And most importantly our members will be able to easily and seamlessly report incidents and accidents in an environment that respects personal privacy but also embraces the notion of an open and fair reporting culture.

So yes, I’ve learned a lot. I have also shone a light on a number of things to allow us to focus and evolve. We worked tremendously hard and finally got our new Operations Manual into the hands of our members. We rolled out the first instalment for testing our L1 maintainers.

We cancelled NatFly. The event was at the end of its useful life in its current form and needed to be reinvented. However as an alternate we spread ourselves far and wide and engaged with five times as many members as would normally attend the event. Instead of Recreational Aviation

Australia being at the centre, our members were.I drove open and timely communication with members – we now have over 21,000 subscribers to our electronic newsletter. We embraced social media and enjoy the support of almost 7,000 followers on Facebook when a little over twelve months ago we had 25!

We are reviewing our constitution and other foundation documents to set us up for success into the future.

I have forged a robust, candid yet professional and mutually respectful relationship with CASA. We won’t always agree with CASA, in fact we may disagree more often, but this doesn’t mean we need to be combative or disrespectful.

We delivered our first ever CFI conference, an RSO conference, engaged with other RAAOs, attended and met with members and stakeholders from across our sector locally and internationally.

In a nutshell collectively we are putting Recreational Aviation Australia back at the forefront of sport aviation in Australia.

We are living our vision: safe, accessible, fun and enjoyable aviation.

Michael LinkeCEORecreational Aviation Australia

From the CEO

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…we are putting Recreational Aviation Australia back at the forefront of sport aviation in Australia.

In the scheduled meetings for October 2014 and May 2015 the board of directors reviewed the performance of the organisation.

These meetings ushered in a number of new initiatives that you can read about throughout this report. The board is committed to maintaining a high standard of governance to provide assurance to our members, stakeholders and the regulator that the business of RAAus is being managed appropriately.

Part of this assurance program saw the board take part in formal governance, strategic and risk training. This training is part of the continual improvement process that the board and RAAus are undertaking. This training covered topics such as managing conflicts of interest, financial stewardship, decision making, and policy development. As you can see throughout this report and from the financial statements, RAAus is in great hands and the future is bright.

Board meetings Operations

Throughout 2014/2015 communication has been identified as a key

area of concern for Operations and the organisation as a whole. Through E-News, Sport Pilot, the RAAus website, Facebook and general communications with members, there is now a more open and complete information flow with members than ever before.

These communications include an ongoing consultation process for preliminary amendment of the Operations Manual to better serve the Powered Parachute PPC members.

The Instructor Training Manual has also been part of a robust consultation process and a specific panel of key CFIs and Instructor Trainers has been formed to discuss the creation of this important document.

The ongoing commitment to communication also includes the second National CFI conference to be held in October 2015 in Bundaberg, with over 120 attendees expected to attend. Presentations will be provided by AMSA, ATSB, CASA and others on a number of key areas including marketing for our Flight Training Schools by the CEO.

The organisation has also been represented at industry meetings, events and communications with more key stakeholders than ever before. These include RASF, SCC and RAPAC committees, the Sport Organisations Forum, ATSB, AMSA, and CASA.

With a meeting hosted by RAAus for all sport organisations slated for late 2015, we hope to further improve communications between these organisations which we have common and uncommon connections with.

Further communications with members have and will include more robust and open articles and discussions about fatal and serious accidents, and the lessons we can all learn, along with any potential impacts on RAAus. To this end, a revision of the Human Factors exams, HF incorporation into Pilot Certificate training, and highlighting of this key area is also the subject of communications to members, Instructors and CFIs for the foreseeable future.

Communications have also been improved with the various state police and coroners with a draft Deed of Agreement progressing through final draft with the New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF), initial stages with Queensland Police Service (QPS), and South Australian Police (SAPol). Good relationships already exist with the Victorian Police through the Victorian coroners’ office. While the other states have yet to officially respond, these key states will drive this process. This Deed of Agreement is intended to formalise and consolidate on the improved cooperation with state police regarding serious and fatal accidents. The improved communication process implemented by having

either or both Operations and Technical Managers attend every fatal accident scene has already paid valuable dividends in improving communications. A major benefit has also included a reduction in the amount of coronial inquests held regarding our aircraft, with the majority being dispensed with in chambers.

Communications with recalcitrant and wayward members has also been vastly improved due to the new initiative instituted by CEO Michael Linke, of involving these members in becoming equally responsible for their behaviour and voluntarily resigning if wrongdoing is proven. One particularly recalcitrant member has voluntarily resigned for a year, and another member who brazenly flew (caught on camera) while not appropriately certified has also committed to this voluntary resignation in the event of further breaches.

Communications between RAAus staff have never been better, with regular meetings of the leadership team, staff as a whole, and as required via Skype, phone or email. The CEO is very approachable and the staff are meshing well, communicating on a wide range of issues, and providing a strong and consistent message to member enquiries.

Operationally, while challenges still exist, the future is looking more promising for RAAus and members.

Modernisation ProjectModernising how we do businessIn March 2015 the board approved a multi-faceted and ambitious modernisation project. The aim of the project was to modernise a suite of products used by Recreational Aviation Australia to create a seamless interaction for members, while at the same time promoting an open and fair reporting culture. Coupled with these member driven aims was a third aim to promote Recreational Aviation Australia to the broader public by refreshing our website. In all, three products are being redeveloped.

Members’ DatabaseKnown internally as PULSE, our members’ database is where we store all of our member data. The system was outdated, presented many difficulties in accessing member information, and was heavily reliant on printing copious volumes of paper each year. The new system, known internally as PULSE2 hands control of our members’ records to the member. This means you will be able to update details, renew membership and check on your endorsements and due dates all with the click of a mouse or touch of a screen.

Occurrence Management SystemWe currently keep a record of incidents, accidents and hazards in a cumbersome collection of spreadsheets. The new system, built from the ground up, will allow an easy interface for members to make reports. The new system will also allow for de-identified aggregate reporting to keep members informed of the trends in incidents and accidents. See page 10 for more details.

WebsiteWe have heard time and time again how cumbersome and difficult our website is to use. To meet both the needs of our members and the increasing interest of the general public we are rebuilding our website. The new site will be attractive and responsive across a number of platforms and allow members a one stop shop for all of their information.

The modernisation project is expected to run for much of 2015, with an expected launch late in the same year.

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8

MARAP Process

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The Modification and Repair Approval Process (MARAP) is the result of audits conducted on aircraft over the past two years. Recreational Aviation Australia identified a

significant number of aircraft that did not comply with their Type Certificates and a process was required to correct the compliance matters.

The challenge for Recreational Aviation Australia was that the CASA rules and regulations didn’t provide any possible way forward for this noncompliance to be corrected or for an engineering process. MARAP is the brainchild of the Recreational Aviation Australia Technical Team and has taken over two years to conceive, review and gain CASA approval to implement.

MARAP allows (when approved) for modifications to type certified aircraft for example: change of engine, propeller and/or increases in Maximum Take-Off Weight. This is an important and ground breaking process that will address issues noted above. The RAAus Technical Team are very proud to have delivered this initiative to our membership.

L1 Maintenance online course rollout

Following a review of the RAAus L1 Maintainer Authorisation process, it was determined a formal training and assessment package should be developed.

The package was launched on 1 December 2014. During the first month, almost 100 members completed the assessment with a very impressive 90% pass rate and equally impressive average pass mark of 87%.

The initial phase of this package is designed to provide present and future L1 holders with:• an understanding of L1 Maintenance Authority privileges and

responsibilities,• a range of reference materials, including guidance on

acceptable aviation maintenance practices, and• an on-line assessment to determine whether the individual L1

possesses the required knowledge to exercise the privileges of their authority. The assessment consists of 50 multiple choice questions requiring a pass mark of 80% and a time limit of 3 hours 30 minutes.

The majority of members completing the assessment have supplied constructive feedback, including many positive comments about the system, which Recreational Aviation Australia is grateful for. Feedback during the beta testing phase will form the basis for improvements to content and delivery.

On 13 November 2014, in response to an apparently high and

increasing rate of engine-related problems involving engines manufactured by Jabiru Aircraft Pty Ltd (Jabiru), including complete and partial power losses, CASA proposed that certain operational limitations be introduced, as a precautionary measure, until the causes of the problems were identified and rectified. CASA sought public comment on the proposed limitations in a consultation process that was extended to and closed on 27 November 2014.

On 21 November 2014 RAAus President Mick Monck formally submitted a response to the consultation document on behalf of the organisation concerning the proposed actions outlined in the draft instrument and the negative impacts that CASA’s actions would have on aviation in Australia and the broader economy.

While RAAus conceded that the actions taken by CASA were in relation to the reliability of Jabiru engines and agreed that these engines displayed markedly lower reliability figures than competitor engines, RAAus believed that irreparable damage had been caused to the already fragile Australian aviation industry as a result of the regulators actions.

It was also raised that there was concern of the effect on the industry including the destructive path that threatened the existence of an Australian aviation manufacturing company, Jabiru, along with associated businesses. This further threatened the existence of Recreational Aviation Australia, the body charged with the responsibility to administer the safe training and operation of approximately 10000 pilots and 3500 aircraft.

It concluded with the president stating that RAAus opposed the actions proposed by CASA and strongly urged the Department and the Minister to:

1. Withdraw the instrument in full and appropriately consult with all parties to develop an acceptable solution,

2. Review the process for addressing the so called issues,

3. Reconsider the findings of the five month old Forsyth Report, and

4. Act on the recommendations contained within the Forsyth Report.

During the consultation period, CASA received over 630 responses and stated that taking into account the input received, and in consultation with key stakeholders—

Jabiru, Recreational Aviation Australia and the Sport Aircraft Association of Australia—they revised the proposed operational limitations as initially proposed, relaxing them considerably in relation to the carriage of passengers and the conduct of solo training flights by student pilots. As such the instrument was released on 22 December 2014.

From this time RAAus were unable to comment on the Jabiru issue due to not having the information on the failures which led to the CASA decision. Our information differed from the statements of CASA and RAAus had been trying to reconcile the differences to better inform ourselves and our members. RAAus had not been able to achieve this until May 2015 when management were involved in productive discussions with CASA, Jabiru and our colleagues at the SAAA.

Through a collaborative approach involving all stakeholders, RAAus are working towards a safe solution for removing the restrictions imposed on these Jabiru engines to benefit our organisation and members.

Jabiru issue

10 11

At present, an Occurrence Management System (OMS) is being developed to assist the organisation with more efficient online

reporting. This will enable members to report accidents, incidents, defects and identified hazards to the organisation. Additionally it will enable members to provide only one report, as the system will allow direct reporting to the ATSB, removing the requirement for the two separate reports that are currently required. A main element of the

OMS is enabling transparency to the membership of previously reported accidents and incidents in order to learn from lessons past to avoid these likely hazards in the future.

RAAus is encouraging the reporting of hazards that are identified through an online Hazard Report found at www.raa.asn.au/forms

OMS RAAus signs with Willis

RSO Conference

In May, RAAus was able to utilise some funding from CASA Safety Promotions to help hold its inaugural Regional Safety Officers (RSOs)

conference in Canberra. In order to promote and assist in the hazard identification and risk assessments, RAAus has recruited volunteers within the membership to assist the Safety Manager to monitor and assess risks and hazards within the organisation. RSOs were recruited after requesting nominations via Sport Pilot in March 2014. When nominations closed RAAus undertook a selection process.

During the conference the RSOs were taken through hazard identification, risk assessment and risk management with the aim of building on the RAAus Risk Hazard Register. The RSOs are important in the identification of hazards and assisting in the improvement of the safety culture. It was emphasised through the conference that their role is not in policing members but rather in reporting hazards that highlight the potential risks

to members when conducting RAAus activities. This will also involve assistance to the Safety Manager in conducting risk treatment plans of reported safety occurrences to recommend risk mitigation measures to continually improve the organisation’s practices and procedures.

The RSOs were also fortunate to receive several briefs. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) emphasised the benefits of using GPS beacons for Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) and Emergency Position Indictor Radio Beacons (EPIRBs). The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) gave presentations on the importance of reporting and human factors in aviation. Finally, CASA gave an overview of how RAAus’ SMS fits within the ICAO SMS requirements and also discussed the safety promotions material that is on offer through their website shop at www.shop.casa.gov.au.

RAAus is pleased to announce that our insurance broker partner, Willis, is now able to offer members and aircraft owners insurance for their aircraft.

This policy became available on 1 July 2015. It is the first policy of its type for RAAus and signals the first in a suite of offerings coming to members over the next 12 months. Other products being explored include insurance for maintainers, other forms of personal insurance, flight training school insurance and more.

RAAus is committed to adding benefits to our membership and this new scheme is just one of many being delivered.

As many aircraft owners would remember, aircraft registration renewals were taking many weeks to process after the CASA audits of 2012/13. As the Annual Report goes

to print, renewals are being consistently processed in 5-10 days.

With further upgrades to systems and processes, aircraft owners will be pleased to hear their aircraft renewals will be processed in minutes, provided the renewal is of a straight forward nature i.e. no modifications or outstanding requirements to be met. Further benefits of the modernisation will see aircraft owners have access to the information held by RAAus for the registration of their aircraft through their own secure member portal.

Communication between RAAus and aircraft owners will also be greatly improved through the member portal. Aircraft data will progressively be loaded on to the new system as renewals are processed later in the year.

Solving registration delays

12

RAAus in the community

Sport Pilot

In October 2014 the board took a decision to review the way our magazine, Sport Pilot, was delivered to our members. For many years the magazine was delivered free to all members.

However, following a review of our financial situation and an increasing cost in producing 10,000 magazines every month, continuing this style of delivery was simply unsustainable.

The board determined that the best way forward for members to continue reading Sport Pilot was to offer a model whereby members could choose to purchase a traditional print subscription or access a digital edition free of charge. The new Sport Pilot options were offered to members from June 2015. We are excited about the new look Sport Pilot and the support it is receiving. As of 30 June 2015 over 1,300 members had subscribed to the printed copy. The digital edition is also attracting significant attention. The month of June saw over 6,000 people access Sport Pilot through www.issuu.com.

We truly deliver the best of both worlds to our members, and Sport Pilot remains the voice of Recreational Aviation Australia and best magazine in the sport aviation sector.

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ObligationsRecreational Aviation Australia has been working towards developing a policy bank for employees and contractors to ensure consistency and to manage the workplace more efficiently.

• Provide the framework for business planning • Assist in assessing performance and

establishing accountability • Maintain the direction of the organisation

even during periods of change• Demonstrate that the organisation is being

operated in an efficient and businesslike manner

• Comply with employment and other associated legislation

Responsibilities HR Manager/CEO

• Work out what policies are required• Draft, refine and write the policies• Have the policies approved and endorsed by

the CEO• Promote the policies within Recreational

Aviation Australia, have the board, management, and staff use the procedures and encourage feedback and improvements

• Review and refine our policies regularly

Process • HR Manager will write the majority of

the policies but can call on other managers to write policies that require specialist knowledge

• CEO will review and sign off on all management policies

• Governance and board policies will be signed off by the board

• Involve staff in implementing workplace policies to promote a stronger awareness, understanding and ownership of the outcome

Writing and Publishing Policies • Policies will be written in plain English and

easily understood by all employees • Explain to whom the policy applies• Ensure all staff can understand the policies

Evaluate and Review• Review policies regularly to ensure they are

current and in line with any changes within Recreational Aviation Australia

Policy development

As a national organisation we are pleased to support a number of charities in their fundraising efforts. Just as members

support young flyers, our staff and members share the belief that supporting charities is a worthwhile pursuit.

During the year we supported the following charities and events: • Lifeline Canberra at their Lock Up Your Boss

fundraiser where our CEO raised about $2,000

• Staff were involved in a 5km run and raised over $1,500 for Motor Neurone Disease

• We have repurposed second-hand furniture and donated it to local charities including RSPCA ACT

• Convoy for Cancer, which increases our brand awareness as the Convoy moves from town to town.

• RAAus staff were involved in a fundraising day in Temora aimed at providing wigs for cancer patients through the Pantene Beautiful Lengths promotion. During the day, a barbecue and auction were held which also raised over $2,500 for the local Special Persons and Carers Group charity.

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In response to feedback from our members, RAAus has focused on improving our communication. We have a strong belief that

open, transparent, two-way communication with our members will enhance our organisational culture. By openly talking about policy issues, accidents, industry developments and day-to-day operational, technical and safety issues, knowledge and understanding is enhanced.

Part of our strategy was the launch of our electronic newsletter in August 2014. From the humble beginnings of 7,000 subscribers we now regularly communicate with more than 21,000 subscribers. The newsletter presents regular updates and interesting news from the world of sport aviation. We also issue special editions from time to time on matters of critical importance to our members. E-news is a valuable and useful tool for keeping our members and interested stakeholders up to date on news coming out of RAAus.

We hope to increase our audience to more than 50,000 subscribers within the coming two years and encourage everyone who receives E-news to share it with friends and colleagues.

In December 2014 we made a committed effort to embrace social media. Our fan base on Facebook has grown from a mere 25 followers to 7,700.

Facebook is critical in engaging with the young demographic, and is also a way to promote our brand and our passion for aviation with a broad connected audience.

Our attendance at fly-ins, industry forums, conferences and other sport aviation get togethers are other ways we have been flying the RAAus flag and engaging with our members and stakeholders.

We have also used the local press to get our message out with feature stories during the year on Holly Adams, a young pilot of ours from Narromine, together with a number of positive news articles on GYFTS Scholarship winners. When the press reports on accidents in which we are involved, we have maintained a tempered, professional and engaging tone. We have focused on our safety record and love for our sport. We are committed to cultivating an open and welcoming culture within our organisation, and staff and board members are more engaged with our members than ever before. We firmly believe that our future success as an organisation lies in maintaining strong relationships with our members and we look forward to our members engaging with us through our communication channels.

Communication

RAAus is committed to providing our members, stakeholders and third party organisations with high quality services and information. To achieve this we have committed to a formal

internal staff training program. During the last 12 months, staff were offered formal training in a range of topics covering a variety of skills. All staff were provided with access to formal computer-based training in our suite of software products. The training was designed to improve efficiency in the use of these applications and improve our overall professionalism in communicating with our members. Staff also received formal face-to-face training on topics including customer service, complex decision making, complex problem solving, and building a positive and professional team environment. Additionally, selected staff received specialised training in accident investigation, risk management, Workplace Health and Safety, financial reporting, social media, and personal professional development. This training has allowed RAAus to build and maintain a strong team of professionally skilled staff who value and welcome these development opportunities and enjoy working for a successful organisation.

Staff training

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E-N

EWS

SOCIAL MED

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COMMUNICATION

Fly-ins continue to play an important part in the culture, camaraderie and communication within the RAAus community.

We made a decision in the last 12 months not to host NatFly, our annual fly-in, for a variety of reasons. Member feedback indicated the timing of the event was unsuitable and internal reviews indicated shrinking crowds and increasing costs. However we felt it was critical that the organisation maintain contact with our members. As such we embarked on a strategy of board members and staff attending a number of fly-ins of relevance and interest to our members.

The results of this strategy proved to be successful. We have engaged with five times as many members as we engaged with at NatFly 2014, yet we have only invested one third of funds compared to what otherwise would have been invested in hosting our own event.

We have been able to interact with, mingle with, and listen to diverse views of members from a variety of locations. We have also met some wonderful people, experienced flights in some fantastic aircraft and created lasting friendships.

Below is a list of fly-ins RAAus attended in the last financial year. We look forward to continuing this strategy into the future, and assure members that they will be informed if and when NatFly is reconsidered.

Mittagong 27 Sep (2014) Barossa 12 AprEvans Head 10-11 Jan Echuca 13-14 Apr Avalon 28 Feb-1 Mar Loxton 18 AprClifton 14-15 Mar Old Station 22-24 MayNarromine 4-5 Apr Watts Bridge 30 MayJindabyne 11 Apr

Fly-ins

17

Australia’s biggest international airshow is held in Avalon, Melbourne every two years. This year’s event saw close to 170,000 visitors.

The Australian Defence Force had displays and recruiting opportunities, pilots from America, Singapore and Europe conducted aerial displays, and one billion dollars worth of aviation and aerospace business was conducted with trade customers. The event saw some 600 TV, print, web, and radio media representatives from 18 countries in attendance.

Over the week Recreational Aviation Australia staff members met with members about various topics including the Jabiru issue, operational and technical matters, and processes within the office. We received a lot of positive feedback from members who believe that the organisation is starting to turn around for the better. All managers who attended met with various stakeholders including CASA, Airservices, and many aircraft importers.

We had over 3,000 people visit the RAAus display and had most of those people taking away information regarding Recreational Aviation Australia.

Australian International Airshow

The Giving Young Flyers Training Support (GYFTS) Scholarship Program has set new records in 2015. Working with our scholarship partner Airservices, close to $50,000 has been awarded to 24 candidates – twice as much as last year to our largest ever field of candidates. A record 64

applications were received for this year’s program.

The GYFTS scholarship program forms an important part of RAAus’ development of young flyers. This tremendously successful program has a secure future thanks to generous ongoing support from RAAus members and sponsorship from Airservices.

GYFTS Scholarship Program Inaugural Awards Night

A number of award winners attended a cocktail function and award presentation in Canberra in May. RAAus members, CFIs, along with representatives from Airservices, CASA, industry and government

also attended.

RAAus recognised the wonderful support of Max Brown and Ken McCloskey, two tireless volunteers who have supported RAAus for many years. Overall the evening was a resounding success.

20 21

22 23

665

1132443

10572322

2099

247

165

StatisticsMembers Aircraft

Membership Numbers

30-Sep 31-Dec 31-Mar 30-Jun

2014-2015 9367 9154 9183 9117

2013-2014 9762 9648 9608 9447

2012-2013 9822 9913 9909 9832

Members by State (as at 30 June 2015)

ACT 165 1.8%

NSW 2322 25.5%

NT 113 1.2%

QLD 2443 26.8%

SA 1057 11.6%

TAS 247 2.7%

VIC 2099 23.0%

WA 665 7.3%

9111 99.9%

O/Seas 6 0.1%

9117 100.0%

Member Trends• Members renewing in the last 12 months has

averaged around 620 per month, two years ago it was 635.

• The average number of students joining has ranged from 120 to 130 in the last three years.

• Members not renewing has averaged 175 per month for the past two years. This figure has increased from 143 in 2011 to 153 in 2012 and 172 in 2013, yet overall renewals have remained steady.

• This gap between new students and members not renewing is why we are seeing a slow erosion of our overall membership, about 3% per year.

• The average age of our members is 50 years and three months, down from 51 years in June 2014.

• We have 141 junior members not included above who are under 16 years of age.

• Over the past five years our gender balance has remained stable with male membership hovering between 93.5% to 94.1% of all members.

Flying hours average

Calendar Year

Hours total

MembershipNumbers

Average hours per

member

2014 226364.8 9154 24.72

2013 243637.7 9648 25.25

2012 188857.3 9913 19.05

2011 114394.7 10528 10.77

Schools and ClubsOur schools and clubs have remained stable over the last three years. In recent months we’ve welcomed two new schools and two new clubs.

Aircraft Trends• Our aircraft fleet has grown 3% in the last 12 months.• We are now seeing a return to aircraft registration numbers that were seen before the CASA audit and grounding.• Three axis make up 85% of our fleet, weight shift 7.3% and PPC 6.7%.

Aircraft TypesBelow we present the top ten aircraft types in each category

Schools


2014-2015 171 169 169 171

2013-2014 168 172 169 171

2012-2013 167 163 168 168

Clubs


2014-2015 41 41 42 43

2013-2014 47 44 43 44

2012-2013 45 48 47 47

Total


2014-2015 3193 3226 3266 3283

2013-2014 3085 3170 3138 3110

3 Axis


2014-2015 2756 2785 2808 2822

2013-2014 2644 2720 2721 2681

Weight shift


2014-2015 226 227 236 241

2013-2014 244 240 231 226

Powered Parachute (PPC)


2014-2015 211 214 222 220

2013-2014 197 210 186 203

Make PPC

Aerochute Industries 297

AAA Fasterway 5

TBA 2

Airtime Products 1

American Aerolite 1

D T A Dynamic 1

DTA 1

Home Made 1

Huntwing 1

Medway 1

Make 3 Axis

Jabiru 831

Tecnam 167

Thruster Aircraft 139

Skyfox Aviation 118

Austflight ULA 114

Aeroprakt 112

I C P 107

Howard Hughes Engineering 104

Zenith Aircraft 80

Rand 67

Make Weight shift

Airborne 285

Air Creation 11

Flylight 7

Solar Wings 6

Ramphos 5

Solo Wings 4

Aeros 3

Evolution Trikes 3

Dta Sarl France 2

Flyright Aviation 2

24

Aircraft HoursThe total hours recorded against aircraft are shown below. These figures differ significantly from pilot hours. Logically it would be reasonable to assume in a perfect world that total members’ hours flown would equal total aircraft hours shown. This is not the case as both figures recorded rely on membership input and membership accuracy. Recreational Aviation Australia strongly encourages members to report accurate data to assist with its collection and analysis.

Aircraft Type

CalendarYear

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (part year)

10 Hours 810.8 523.4 916.3 2260.3 2259.2

Landings 1483 1347 7266 4709 3301

19 Hours 20941.5 28273.6 28534.4 36489.7 33525.2

Landings 27556 41003 51267 50147 49713

24 Hours 68656.2 114038 93305.5 117153 100054.7

Landings 105884 193391 183981 261333 203050

25 Hours 3299.7 5362.2 4559.7 5692.3 9152.7

Landings 4778 9229 21029 12594 19607

28 Hours 930.9 1027.7 930.5 2071.9 2605

Landings 1547 2091 2430 4977 1955

32 Hours 6713.5 11139.3 13167.3 16738.4 10740.8

Landings 12161 23214 29894 33062 20726

55 Hours 6877.9 6859.9 9997.3 8332 8675.6

Landings 10719 17438 32200 25682 21930

Total Hours 108230.5 167224.1 151411 188737.6 167013.2

Landings 164128 287713 328067 392504 320282

Aircraft Hours Trends• Our members’ hours

continue to grow which we believe to be indicative of both increased recording of hours and increased activity.

• A similar scenario exists for landings.

OccurrencesThe data presented below has been captured through the Safety Office and until such time as our OMS goes live collation and aggregation of this data is a cumbersome and time consuming process. The data presented is as accurate as our records are and reflects all incidents reported to us.

Fatalities (per quarter ending 30 June 2015)

30-Sep 31-Dec 31-Mar 30-Jun Total

2014-2015 1 2 2 4 9

2013-2014 0 2 0 3 5

2012-2013 0 0 7 2 9

2011-2012 2 0 1 2 5

2010-2011 0 1 2 2 5

Fatality HistoryAs per the board’s request in May 2015, where possible, data is being presented in financial year format. In some cases we can only present calendar year data, where that is the case it is noted.

Calendar Year Normalised Fatality Data

Year Fatalities Hours Fatalities per 100,000 hours

2015 (part year) 8 211,431 3.78

2014 6 226,364 2.65

2013 11 243,637 4.51

2012 3 188,857 1.59

2011 6 114,394 5.25

Accidents


2014-2015 23 22 29 26

2013-2014 13 32 29 32

Incidents


2014-2015 33 26 15 25

2013-2014 21 27 16 25

Defects


2014-2015 12 8 8 4

2013-2014 3 1 5 5

Hazards


2014-2015 0 1 1 3

2013-2014 0 0 6 8

Aircraft Damage 2014-2015


Destroyed 4 2 5 6

Severe 3 5 3 5

Moderate 13 12 10 5

Mild 14 9 12 7

None 22 18 15 14

Total 56 46 45 37

Aircraft Damage - Destroyed


2014-2015 4 2 5 6

2013-2014 0 0 1 1

Aircraft Damage - Severe


2014-2015 3 5 3 5

2013-2014 0 0 6 7

Injury to Persons 2014-2015


Severe 0 0 1 3

Moderate 1 1 4 0

Mild 5 2 0 1

None 49 44 37 42

Total 55 47 42 46

Injury to Persons - Severe


2014-2015 0 0 1 3

2013-2014 0 0 0 1

Injury to Persons - Moderate


2014-2015 1 1 4 0

2013-2014 0 0 0 1

Reporting (Timeframe) 2015

Average 7.5 days

Median 3 days

Longest to gain report 73 days

Shortest to gain report 0 days

1 Jul 2014 - 30 June 2015 2014 2015 TOTAL

Technical 72 31 103

Operational 40 39 79

Environmental 5 5 10

Airspace 6 8 14

Unclassified 5 4 9

Accident Data

ATSB Breakdown of Occurrences

25

28

2014 – 2015 Audited Financial Statements

Introduction Recreational Aviation Australia is pleased to present to our members our 2014‐2015 audited financial statements. Our auditor has presented an unqualified audit report and declared Recreational Aviation Australia to be in a solid financial position.

The following summary of the reports will assist members with a full understanding of Recreational Aviation Australia’s financial position.

Questions about the reports can be directed to the CEO’s office by email: [email protected].

Statement of Comprehensive Income (Profit and Loss) Recreational Aviation Australia is pleased to report that the budgeted deficit of $423,000 was not realised and a number of positive changes to how we manage our business allowed us to reduce the deficit from a potential $423,000 to $268,000. A $155,000 turnaround.

These changes will continue to offer future savings for members and the organisation is planning for a small surplus in the coming financial year.

Revenue Overall we generated about $100,000 more revenue than originally budgeted. This increase helped with the reduction in the planned budget deficit.

In real terms, revenue from members was up by 3.6% and aircraft registration revenue saw an increase of 10% over last year’s results. These increases are very pleasing given we did not increase fees for members during the financial year and as such these increases show a stabilising membership and strengthening aircraft base. We noted very strong aircraft registration demand after October 2014 once we solved our registration delays.

We also noted a 30% increase over last year in advertising revenue as we overhauled our member’s market offering. Further changes are planned for the coming year which will again offer member’s greater flexibility in how they advertise their aircraft related products for private sale.

We noted drops in revenue from our ASIC card service as people look for alternative places to secure an ASIC card or make a decision not to acquire an ASIC card.

Income from other sources, such as fly‐ins, interest, sponsorship, and grants was lower this year. We did however realise some cost savings by not putting on NatFly and cut costs in other areas to make up for these reductions.

Expenditure Looking at our expenditure, we spent some $50,000 less than budgeted and $8,000 less than last year. We continue to show restraint with our spending to maintain a close watch on our tight fiscal position.

As noted above as revenue was lower from airshows and ASIC card fees, similarly expenditure was less in these areas. Additionally we generated savings by managing board meetings more efficiently and cutting postage costs by using digital communication more effectively.

2014 – 2015 Audited Financial Statements

We incurred some unbudgeted costs. We increased spending on accident investigations as a result of taking a more direct and strategic approach to investigating fatal accidents. We also increased spending on our IT systems as we scoped a major modernisation project.

Despite these unbudgeted costs, we still managed to bring our expenditure within our budgeted limits and reduce our overall expected deficit.

Statement of Comprehensive Position (Balance Sheet) We continue to hold a healthy balance sheet with member’s equity a shade under $2,000,000. Our balance sheet has slightly weakened in the past 12 months due to a number of movements. We continue to hold some $1,300,000 in cash and as such we remain very liquid.

We have some liability tied up with pre‐paid Sport Pilot subscriptions, where we have earned the income for the year, but are yet to deliver the magazine as it is posted out monthly to members who subscribed.

We have also used some cash to fund our modernisation project and our non‐current assets have had another year of depreciation applied to them, so they have reduced in value.

Statement of Cash Flow Perhaps the strongest indication of our shifting financial position is in our cash flow. In recent years we have spent large amounts of cash funding our deficits. In the year ended 30 June 2014 we used some $187,000 funding our activities. Prior to that in excess of $200,000 was needed.

In the year just concluded we used less than $10,000 of our cash reserves funding our activities.

This turnaround is a strong indicator that we are beginning to manage our business within our means.

Summary Recreational Aviation Australia remains financially strong and is looking to invest in technology to generate further operational savings in the coming year. Major costs items such as:

Salary costs will remain stable as the organisation operates with fewer staff than in previous years.

Insurance will remain stable as we continue to work with our insurers to offer members excellent coverage and put in place strategies that demonstrate our commitment to safety.

The cost to deliver Sport Pilot will be lower than in previous years as a result of the subscription model introduced in July 2015.

As we invest in modernising a lot of our operational and administrative activities we will invest some of our cash reserves, but expect to realise savings over time as we rely less on printing, postage and manual processing.

Financial Statements

Board of Management’s Report ...................32

Statement of Comprehensive Income ..........33

Statement of Financial Position ..................34

Statement of Changes in Equity ..................35

Statement of Cash Flows ...........................36

Notes to the Financial Statements ..............37

Statement by the Members of the

Board of Management .............................. 49

Independent Audit Report ..........................50

Contents 30 June 2015

30

Recreational Aviation Australia IncorporatedABN: 40 070 931 645

Financial Statements

For the Year Ended 30 June 2015

Recreational Aviation AustraliaPO Box 1265 Fyshwick ACT 260902 6280 4700

www.raa.asn.au

raaus annual report 2014 15

Documents