New CASA CEO:
Mark Skidmore career highlights
2013 – Aviation consultant
2013 Director Flight Operations Raytheon Australia
2001-2012 Royal Australian Air Force – from 2008 Air Commander Australia; previously: Joint Force Air Component Commander including Director of the Coalition Combined Air Operations Centre in the Middle East Area, Director Combined Air and Space Operations Centre, Director Operational Requirements, New Air Combat Capability Commander, Aircraft Research and Development Unit
1998-1999 Senior Test Pilot and Business Development Executive Raytheon Australia
1983-1997 Royal Australian Air Force – pilot and test pilot
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Ben Sandilands puts a distinct and correct challenge to Mark Skidmore in his recent article in Plane Talking:
Without an immediate change, GA will not survive in any reasonable form, and the regulator CASA, will give credibility to it’s long term aim of ridding the Australian scene of a virant and viable aviation industry.
With respect to the new DAS, he will also have to be a reformer, and a remover of various CASA identities, to bring the body back to one that merits respect and carries out its obligations to properly and effectively regulate aviation safety in this country.
The regulatory reform process has been so atrociously mishandled by CASA that four years after the Pel-Air crash the regulatory issues that were exposed in the ditching of that medical evacuation Westwind jet near Norfolk Island remain unresolved.
AND:
Other bloody incidents that hang over CASA are the 2008 Barry Hempel crash and the 2005 Lockhardt River crash. It is respectfully suggested that DAS Skidmore not read any of the media coverage reported on Plane Talking or mainstream publications on these matters, but the actual coronial documents and testimonies that are covered by legal or parliamentary privilege.
These are serious matters. They cannot be forgiven, ever, given the deep harm done to the public by CASA’s inability or reluctance to carry out its obligations, but the culture that tried to defend and bury these scandals can be broken by a strong and determined DAS.
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What the Helicopter Industry has to say:
Australian Helicopter Industry Association Limited
PO Box 462 Carina Qld 4152 Australia
Mob: 0415 641 774 E: secretary@austhia.com
TO: AHIA Members and international helicopter community
Introduction: As you aware our aviation industry regulator has been paralysed due to the fact most of the CASA Board have moved on and I believe their replacements have not been approved by the Prime Minister’s team. The Board therefore cannot give any instructions to the DAS of CASA as they do not have the expertise to make major decisions. In any case, DAS’s chair was vacated at the end August and the Deputy DAS has a caretaker’s role, and he also cannot make any decisions of significance. As CASA is a statutory body, the DAS is responsible to the financial management and other performance indicators. For this responsibility he is paid a very high salary. As a result of this broken line of authority; the Deputy Prime Minister cannot do anything; nor can anyone within CASA. Traditionally, industry would air their serious concerns to the D’PM; however, at present this cannot be achieved. But CASR Part 61 became law on 1 Sep ’14 and must roll on with nobody at the helm. You probably all know what angst we have been suffering due to this costly hiccup.
Fortunately, a new DAS has been found and this is the first step in repairing the damaged operational and administrative system within CASA. Hopefully, the links will be made serviceable soon and all the new people can wade into the regulatory reform debate. But – not before all the new comers have to learn how to run ‘the run the ship.”
Some do not have any aviation experience; especially in General Aviation within which the helicopter industry resides. We make up about 14% of the register and 30% of the commercial companies (AOC holders). We do not have any RPT operators.
At a guess this replenishment of the management team will take best part of a year – with the Festive Holiday Season taking a major slice of the available time.
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CASA Media Release – Thu 30 Oct ’14.
New Director of Aviation Safety
Mr. Mark Skidmore AM has been appointed as the new Director of Aviation Safety at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). The chairman of CASA’s Board Dr Allan Hawke AC announced the five year appointment today (Thu 30 Oct ’14). Mr. Skidmore has more than 30 years experience in both civilian and military aviation. “Mark Skidmore brings a wealth of aviation experience to the position of Director of Aviation Safety at CASA,” Dr Hawke said. “Mark has worked in civilian aviation as a test pilot, business development manager and company director. He has led large teams of operational, technical and administrative staff, providing leadership for operational, training and support functions.
“Mark had an outstanding military aviation career, beginning as a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force in the early 1980s. He led RAAF research and development squadrons and was promoted to Australia’s Air Commander, holding oversight for Australia’s air operations, and reaching the rank of Air Vice Marshal before retiring in 2012. The new Director of Aviation Safety was chosen after an international search for the best available person to further develop CASA as a world leader in aviation safety regulation”.
“CASA’s Board has full confidence that under the leadership of Mark Skidmore Australia’s proud aviation safety record will be protected and enhanced. Mark is committed to working with the aviation industry and the general community to achieve the best possible safety outcomes. He understands safety is a shared responsibility with the aviation industry and will encourage and support the industry while at the same time ensuring the interests of the travelling public are protected. Mark is part of the general aviation community, owning and regularly flying a Globe GC-1B Swift.
“Recognizing Mark needs time to finalize his current commitments he will take up his appointment as Director of Aviation Safety as soon as possible”.
Mark Skidmore career highlights
2013 – Aviation consultant.
2013 – Director Flight Operations Raytheon Australia.
2001-2012 – Royal Australian Air Force – from 2008 Air Commander Australia; previously: Joint Force Air Component Commander including Director of the Coalition Combined Air Operations Centre in the Middle East Area, Director Combined Air and Space Operations Centre, Director Operational Requirements, New Air Combat Capability Commander, Aircraft Research and Development Unit
1998-1999 – Senior Test Pilot and Business Development Executive Raytheon Australia.
1983-1997 – Royal Australian Air Force – pilot and test pilot
CASA Media contact: Peter Gibson; Mobile: 0419 296 446 or email: peter.gibson@casa.gov.au
Rob Rich
AHIA Regulatory Review Coordinator for
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council (Aircrew)
Manufacturing Skills Australia (Maintenance technicians)
PO Box 462
CARINA QLD 4152
M: 0415 641 774
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Relationships of Mr. Skidmore – “Skates”
Who attended the 113 Pilots course?
AIR COMMODORE DAVE STEELE, CSC
Director General Joint and Combined exercises, HQJOC
Air Commodore Steele joined the RAAF Academy in 1976 graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and a Graduate Diploma in Military Aviation. He was also awarded the Sword of Honour for leadership. Air Commodore Steele then proceeded onto 113 Pilots course, flying both the piston engine CT4/A Airtrainer and the jet engine MB326H Macchi, resulting in the award of his pilot’s wings at the end of 1981.
Air Commodore Steele has accrued over 4,700 flying hours on a variety of aircraft types and is a Qualified Flying Instructor. He has flown Iroquois helicopters, instructed on the CT4/A and the turbo prop PC9/A Pilatus and had several tours on F-111C/G strike aircraft. Air Commodore Steele was also leader of the RAAF’s formation aerobatic team, the Roulettes.
Air Commodore Steele completed RAAF Command and Staff College in 1996 gaining a Graduate Diploma in Management Studies. He was promoted to Wing Commander in 1997 and completed a staff tour in Canberra in Capability Development Division before being posted back as Commanding Officer 6 Squadron (F-111C/G) during the period 1999 to 2000. Air Commodore Steele then completed a short posting in Strategic Command Division as a team leader in the Joint Plans Directorate. He was promoted to Group Captain at the start of 2002 and posted to Air Force HQ as Director Battlespace Management (Aerospace). In late 2004 Air Commodore Steele was posted to RAAF Williamtown as the Officer Commanding 78 Wing where he was responsible for ‘fast jet’ training. In mid 2006 he was selected to be the Defence Attaché at the Australian Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq where he served for six months. On his return to Australia in early 2007 Air Commodore Steele joined the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies. Upon graduation in late 2007 he was awarded a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies. He was promoted to Air Commodore on 10 December 2007 and posted to the Australian Embassy in Washington DC in early 2008 as the Air Attaché.
Air Commodore Steele was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross in 1997 in recognition of his service as Chief Flying Instructor at the Central Flying School, East Sale and as leader of the Roulettes aerobatic team.
Air Commodore Steele is married to Sheryl and they have one daughter, Jaime. His interests include rugby, red wine and red Jaguars.
Three Fleet Air Arm pilots gained their wings at the graduation parade of No 113 pilots course at Pearce RAAF base in Western Australia.
They are LEUT Michael Galvin, SBl.T Michael Fitzgerald and MIDN John Conlon. LEUT Galvin, 23. of Chinchilla, Queensland, joined the RAN In 1974 to enter the RAN College.
After graduating as a Bachelorof Science in 1978 he …..ent to sea in various ships before being selected for pilot
training in Novemer 1981. LEUT Galvin has been posted to VC 724 to fly helicopters.
SBIT Fitzgerald, 22, of Soldiers Point, NSW. joined the RAN in 1977 to train as an observer after CQmpleling his
secondary schooling at St Dominic’s College, Penrith, NSW. lie was flying liS 748 and Tracker Aircraft with VC 8.”i1, when selected for pilot training in November, 1980.
Michael has been posted 10 VC724 10 fly liS 748aircrafl.
MIDN John Conlon. 19. of Kenmore, Queensland matriculated from the Church of England Grammar School Brisbane in 1978 and was studying for a commerce degree at Queensland University when he was selected for No 113 Pilots’ Course In 1980.
John has been posted 10 VC 124 to Oy Skyhawks.
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In 1989, Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore returned to RAAF Base Amberley and completed tours at Number 1 Squadron as the Operational Flight Commander and Number 82 Wing as the Operations Officer. This was followed by a posting as the Flight Test Director on the F-111C Avionics Update Program in California, USA. Returning to Australia in 1996, he served as the Staff Officer Operational Systems at Headquarters Air Command, RAAF Base Glenbrook, before resigning from the RAAF in March 1998. Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore joined Aerospace Technical Services in 1998 as the Senior Test Pilot and Business Development Executive, positions he maintained following the company’s acquisition in 1999 by Raytheon Systems Company.
Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore rejoined the RAAF in 2000 and completed the Defence Staff Course at Weston Creek before being posted again to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, this time as the Commander. From 2003 he was Director of Operational Requirements for the New Air Combat Capability project. Prior to assuming the position of Joint Force Air Component Commander in 2005 he attended the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian Defence College, Weston Creek. During 2005 he was deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations where he served as the Director Combined Air Operations Centre. For this service he was awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service in the 2007 Australia Day Honours List. AVM Skidmore was appointed to his current position as the Air Commander on 27 June 2008. In this position he provides specialist air advice on raise, train, and sustain issues to the joint environment. Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore is married to Caroline and they have two children, Nicole and Thomas
This Bulletin we continue with profiles of the leadership of the Air Force
AVM Mark Skidmore
AIR COMMANDER AUSTRALIA (ACAUST)
Air Vice-Marshal Mark Skidmore was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong and joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1977. He successfully completed Number 113 Pilots Course and was posted to Number 1 Squadron, RAAF Base Amberley to fly F-111s.
Following his tour on F-111s, Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore undertook the United States Navy Test Pilot School Fixed Wing course in 1985. At the completion of the course he was posted to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, RAAF Base Edinburgh, where he flew F-111, Mirage, MB-326H, CT-4A and Dakota aircraft.
In 1989, Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore returned to RAAF Base Amberley and completed tours at Number 1 Squadron as the Operational Flight Commander and Number 82 Wing as the Operations Officer. This was followed by a posting as the Flight Test Director on the F-111C Avionics Update Program in California, USA. Returning to Australia in 1996, he served as the Staff Officer Operational Systems at Headquarters Air Command, RAAF Base Glenbrook, before resigning from the RAAF in March 1998. Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore joined Aerospace Technical Services in 1998 as the Senior Test Pilot and Business Development Executive, positions he maintained following the company’s acquisition in 1999 by Raytheon Systems Company
Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore rejoined the RAAF in 2000 and completed the Defence Staff Course at Weston Creek before being posted again to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, this time as the Commander. From 2003 he was Director of Operational Requirements for the New Air Combat Capability project.
Prior to assuming the position of Joint Force Air Component Commander in 2005 he attended the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian Defence College, Weston Creek. During 2005 he was deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations where he served as the Director Combined Air Operations Centre. For this service he was awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service in the 2007 Australia Day Honours List.
Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore was appointed to his current position as the Air Commander on 27 June 2008. In this position he provides specialist air advice on raise, train, and sustain issues to the joint environment.
Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore is married to Caroline and they have two children, Nicole and Thomas
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What’s inside?SQNLDR Peter Meehan, Specialist Reserve, Editor.
100 years of Australian military aviation history was captured in less than 60 seconds recently by AVM Mark Skidmore AM, Active Reserve, at the Air Force Museum, RAAF Williams, Point Cook in Victoria.
A British & Colonial Aeroplane Company Bristol Boxkite replica, built from a set of 1910 Bristol Boxkite ‘plans’, completed a program of flight testing on 11 September, which included an air-borne pass of 1,000 metres in distance with a top speed of about 65 kms per hour.
Photo: Air Force Image Gallery
Active Reservist AVM Mark Skidmore, AM takes to the sky in a Bristol Boxkite replica aircraft, as part of its maiden flight testing.
The seven year painstaking Boxkite project was the brainchild of GPCAPT Ron Gretton AM (Ret’d) and WGCDR Geoff Matthews (Ret’d). Both engineers were spurred on by recognition for 1914 Australian WWI aviation frontiersmen during the forthcoming 2014 Centenary of Military Aviation (CMA14), celebrations.
The Boxkite, constructed with exacting precision, is expected to be a major draw-card at the CMA14 planned for 1 and 2 March at the world renowned RAAF Museum, Point Cook, birth place of Central Flying School (CFS), in 1913 and the Australian Flying Corps (AFC), in 1914 and the RAAF in 1921.
EDITOR:
SQNLDR Peter Meehan SOC DGRES – AF
News Breakers – Air Force Reserve – December 2013
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AVM Skidmore told News Breakers, ‘It was an exhilarating and humbling experience to test-fly the Boxkite and I’m honoured and proud to follow those aviators who pioneered military aviation in Australia’.
‘The handling characteristics were as we expected after having significant discussions with engineers at the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK – they fly the Boxkite built for the movie Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines’.
‘The RAAF Museum built Boxkite is not an easy aircraft to fly. However, she also wasn’t extremely difficult to fly – maintaining concentration to keep straight down the runway with minor corrections was required in all three axis. But, more importantly, I could keep her straight and in the air at a reasonable height’.
Photo: Air Force Image Gallery
Boxkite Project Manager, Ron Gretton, AM (left) and Assistant Project Manager, Geoff Matthews (right) stand proudly with their Bristol Boxkite replica aircraft and their pilot, Active Reservist AVM Mark Skidmore, AM.
AVM Skidmore reflected, ‘The men and women who went flying in those machines 100 yrs ago did not know as much as we do about aerodynamics, stability and control. But, they still went flying. Brave or foolish, you be the judge – they certainly pushed the boundaries and I’m glad that they did, as we now have some remarkable machines to take into the skies – thanks to their magnificent efforts’.
‘I now also have the honour of being the only Air Force pilot who has flown both the fastest and slowest aircraft in the RAAF’.
Footnote:
AVM Mark Skidmore AM, Active Reserve, is a former RAAF F-111 strike aircraft pilot and test pilot with the Air Force’s Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU), at RAAF Base Edinburgh, SA. AVM Skidmore was Air Commander Australia 2008-2012.
The 1910 developed Boxkites, two of which were initially operated by the AFC from 1914 to 1917 at Point Cook, were powered by a 37kW Gnome rotary engine. The aircraft considered ‘state of the art’ in its time and also one of the most successful trainers of the era.
The Bristol Boxkite has a rich history in the evolution of military aviation in Australia, it was the first official military aircraft built in this country and used to train our first military pilots.
Photo: Air Force Image Gallery
Active Reservist AVM Mark Skidmore, AM at the controls of the Bristol Boxkite replica aircraft.
Developed in the UK in 1910, the Bristol Boxkite first flew on 29 July of that year. A Bristol Boxkite was flown in Australia for the first time on 1 March, 1914 when LT Eric Harrison, an aviation instructor with CFS, took one into the air at Point Cook.
News Breakers – Air Force Reserve – December 2013
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The first Bristol Boxkite to be built in Australia was constructed by CFS at Point Cook and flew its maiden flight on 10 August, 1915.
LT Harrison’s historic flight in 1914 is however, recognised as the starting point of military flying in Australia.
Photo: Project 2014
The three-piece wheel hub ready for assembly. Four of these were needed.
Video compile of the test flight and interview with Active Reservist AVM Mark Skidmore, AM is available at: http://video.defence.gov.au/?mediaId=cc26557c-49db-49ff-8954-bc67bf890185
The RAAF T&E challenges with the introduction of new capabilities over the next decade |
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Air Vice-Marshal Mark SkidmoreAir Commander Australia (ACAUST)
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Air Vice-Marshal Mark Skidmore joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1977 and successfully completed Number 113 Pilots Course and was posted to Number 1 Squadron, RAAF Base Amberley to fly F-111s.Following his tour on F-111s, Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore undertook the United States Navy Test Pilot School Fixed Wing course in 1985. At the completion of the course he was posted to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, RAAF Base Edinburgh, where he flew F-111, Mirage, MB-326H, CT-4A and Dakota aircraft.In 1989, Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore returned to RAAF Base Amberley and completed tours at Number 1 Squadron as the Operational Flight Commander and Number 82 Wing as the Operations Officer. This was followed by a posting as the Flight Test Director on the F-111C Avionics Update Program in California, USA. Returning to Australia in 1996, he served as the Staff Officer Operational Systems at Headquarters Air Command, RAAF Base Glenbrook, before resigning from the RAAF in March 1998. Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore joined Aerospace Technical Services in 1998 as the Senior Test Pilot and Business Development Executive, positions he maintained following the company’s acquisition in 1999 by Raytheon Systems Company.Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore rejoined the RAAF in 2000 and completed the Defence Staff Course at Weston Creek before being posted again to the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, this time as the Commander. From 2003 he was Director of Operational Requirements for the New Air Combat Capability project.Prior to assuming the position of Joint Force Air Component Commander in 2005 he attended the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian Defence College, Weston Creek. During 2005 he was deployed to the Middle East Area of Operations where he served as the Director Combined Air Operations Centre. For this service he was awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service in the 2007 Australia Day Honours List.Air Vice-Marshal Skidmore was appointed to his current position as the Air Commander on 27 June 2008. In this position he provides specialist air advice on raise, train and sustain issues to the joint environment. |
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