Bladeslapper

Hi all,

The International Federation of Air Pilots Associations (IFALPA) and the European Cockpit Association (ECA), will be holding their annual meetings in Melbourne this year.

The AFAP will be hosting both meetings at the Federations offices in South Melbourne from Monday - Wednesday 10-12 October.

There will be a dozen or so senior rotary industrial / technical reps from pilots groups from all over the world.

Interested AFAP members are eligible to attend and non members are able to attend as observers.

The process involves forming position papers which are then used to lobby ICAO and national regulators in making relevant and appropriate rules changes to support safety and efficiency in the rotary industry.

Its a great opportunity to meet with these reps and network with a bunch of people who share in this uniquely frustrating and rewarding industry.

Call the AFAP offices for my contact details or send me a PM if you'd like to attend the meetings or join us for a social catch up in the evenings.

Loved to have been a fly on the wall in the accounts department of the ECA (EUROPEAN Cockpit Association) when they decided to have their annual meeting in Melbourne. Perhaps that their HQ is in Brussels says a lot.

Most of the ECA guys are also associated with IFALPA so I guess the additional imposition is pretty small.

Its encouraging the IFALPA see some utility in holding meetings in this part of the world.

Aus / NZ SEA are going to be pretty important in aviation in coming years... rotary as well

Thanks Matt,

I appreciate the added info. But I'm sure you can see the irony. My concern is that organisations like IFALPA and ECA have much smaller bites than bark. When Bristow had a bad couple of years parking 225s in into the North Sea, BALPA ( which dates back to the 30's) was criticised for being largely ineffectual in protecting the pilots and their jobs against the manufacturers and the employers. Anyhow, I wish the conference a successful conclusion. I also look forward to CASA's next junket to London......and success!

Cheers, Saucepan.