Dear Members,
Many years ago, the governance of Hang-gliding and Paragliding were shoe-horned into the Part 62 regulations. These regulations were written for, and are relevant to light sport aircraft, including microlights and gyrocopters, but are ill-suited to paragliding and hang-gliding.
In 2020, the SAHPA committee embarked on a project to move SAHPA from Part 62, to a proposed new Part 106: Hang-Gliding and Paragliding. The purpose is to give SAHPA greater autonomy to define the criteria for licensing and standards, without the unnecessary constraints imposed on light aircraft, microlights and gyrocopters.
In addition, SAHPA is required to consolidate the CARS, CATS, Appendices, the current MOP and TPM, as well as aligning the powered and non-powered versions.
Alignment with Industry Trends
The following recreational aviation disciplines already have discipline-specific regulations:
- Part 62: Light sport aircraft, microlights and gyrocopters
- Part 68: Gliders (Soaring Society of South Africa)
- Part 69: Ballooning (Balloon & Airship Federation of South Africa)
- Part 101: Drone Operations
- Part 105: Parachuting (Parachute Association of South Africa)
It follows then that the creation of Part 106: Hang-Gliding and Paragliding, will align HG/PG with industry norms.
As a side-note: there is also another initiative called Part 115: Adventure Flying which is specifically proposed for TFI operations.
Objections to the Part 106 Submission
Certain SAHPA members have objected to specific points in the Part 106 submission. These objections relate specifically to an increase in the proposed requirements for Grade B, and Grade C (TFI) instructors. In order to proceed with the Part 106 project, SACAA has instructed SAHPA to obtain feedback from members on these two issues.
The Part 106 Survey provides SAHPA members with a formal mechanism to provide feedback to SACAA regarding these two items of contention. This survey excludes all other agreed-upon changes. The results of the survey will be provided to SACAA for consideration.
The SAHPA Committee is calling on all members to please support the Part 106 initiative, by voting to resolve these two issues, one way or another. As this survey is part of a public-participation process, anonymous responses will not be permitted.
Supporting documentation
The following documentation provides context to the options that you will be voting on:
- Regulatory Extract (Author: Kev Storie)
- Comparison of International Regulations and Instructor Requirements (Author: Kev Storie)
- Global Licensing Requirements Analysis (Author: Ria Moothilal)
Current versus proposed Changes
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The Part 106 Survey is now closed.