Australian Aviation Authority Proposes UPRT Amendments

The Australian Government Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has proposed Part 60 Manual of Standards (MOS) amendments for Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) and has opened up a survey to give anyone the option to provide feedback. CASA has set a tentative date of 1 August 2021 for the rules to come into effect.

Current Part 60 Standards allow certain simulators to qualify for upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT) through a relatively simple process. This simplified process is achieved by upgrading the simulators with a less onerous software before 24 March 2021. From 25 March 2021, older simulators used for UPRT will incur a greater cost burden to upgrade to the latest standards, with little additional practical benefit.

Separately, a device qualified under FSD-1 could not be modified and certified for UPRT, as access to stall data supporting the software upgrade was not possible. A recent release by Boeing of previously unavailable data now makes the upgrade technologically possible. However, the current drafting of the Part 60 MOS does not contain a provision that recognises FSD-1 as a transitional qualification standard for these devices. This will mean the device would not be permitted to undertake UPRT, even with the necessary technological upgrades.

The proposed change would make two amendments to the Part 60 MOS to address these issues. These amendments would: 1) allow further time for operators to upgrade UPRT capabilities for older devices by amending the transitional deadline (currently 24 March 2021) to 24 March 2023 and 2) make available FSD-1 as a qualification standard for the re-evaluation of legacy aeroplane flight simulators that may be upgraded for UPRT.

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CASA recognises the valuable contribution community and industry consultations make to the policy decision-making process and future regulatory change and are consulting to ensure that the proposed new rules are clearly articulated and will work in practice and as they are intended.

Comments are sought from every sector of the community. This includes the general public, government agencies and all sectors of the aviation industry, whether as an aviator, aviation consumer and/or provider of related products and services. The survey has been designed to give anyone the option to provide feedback on the survey in its entirety or to provide feedback on the policy topics which are of interest to them. At the end of the response period for public comment, CASA will review each comment and submission received and make all submissions publicly available on the CASA website, unless anyone requests that their submission remain confidential. CASA will also publish a Summary of Consultation which summarises the feedback received, outlines any intended changes and details it plans for the regulation.

All comments on the draft Part 60 MOS consultation will be considered. Relevant feedback that improves upon the proposed regulations and is consistent with the regulations and other CASA policy, will be incorporated into the final ruling.

The feedback it receives from this consultation will also assist CASA in developing adequate implementation and transition timeframes. CASA's monitoring and review of the new rules during the transition phase and beyond will be ongoing.  It will also continue work on proposed further changes to the Part 60 regulations to better support flight simulator training device operations.