1CASA EX72/25 — Flight in Class D Airspace near Sunshine Coast Aerodrome (Sunshine Coast Free Flyers Association Inc.) Instrument 2025

Instrument number CASA EX72/25

I, CLARKE JUSTIN THOMAS McNAMARA, National Manager, Sport Aviation Initiatives, a delegate of CASA, make this instrument under regulations 11.160, 11.205 and 11.245 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998.

[Signed Clarke McNamara]

Clarke McNamara
National Manager Sport Aviation Initiatives

23 October 2025

CASA EX72/25 — Flight in Class D Airspace near Sunshine Coast Aerodrome (Sunshine Coast Free Flyers Association Inc.) Instrument 2025

1 Name

This instrument is CASA EX72/25 — Flight in Class D Airspace near Sunshine Coast Aerodrome (Sunshine Coast Free Flyers Association Inc.) Instrument 2025.

2 Duration

This instrument:

(a) commences on the day after it is registered; and

(b) is repealed at the end of 30 September 2028.

Note For regulation 11.250 of CASR, the directions in sections 6, 7 and 8 cease to be in force when this instrument is repealed.

3 Definitions

Note In this instrument, certain terms and expressions have the same meaning as they have in the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and the regulations. These include hang glider and paraglider.

In this instrument:

AA means Airservices Australia, ARN 202210, in its capacity as the ATS provider at Sunshine Coast aerodrome.

Association means Sunshine Coast Free Flyers Association Inc.,
ABN 81 730 327 859.

ATS provider has the meaning given by regulation 172.015 of CASR.

duty pilot, for a particular day, means the member of the Association appointed by the Association to be responsible for overseeing and facilitating unpowered hang gliding and paragliding operations at the Point Cartwright site on that day.

exempt operation means an unpowered hang glider or paraglider operation:

(a) conducted wholly within Class D airspace at the Point Cartwright site; and

(b) covered by a Letter of Agreement that is in effect; and

(c) the pilot in command for which is:

(i) a member of the Association; and

(ii) a financial member of SAFA.

Letter of Agreement means the Letter of Agreement referred to in paragraph 4(1)(a), as it exists from time to time.

Point Cartwright site means the area with a vertical limit of SFC-300ft AMSL and lateral limits, being the area bounded by a polygon with the following vertices:

(a) Point 1 (100 m offshore NE) at coordinates Lat. 26° 40’ 48.38” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 26.12” E;

(b) Point 2 (Water Tank) at coordinates Lat. 26° 40’ 48.38” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 18.03” E;

(c) Point 3 (Hill Top) at coordinates Lat. 26° 40’ 50.89” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 15.02” E;

(d) Point 4 (Lower Hill) at coordinates Lat. 26° 40’ 55.07” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 14.18” E;

(e) Point 5 (Mid Pines) at coordinates Lat. 26° 40’ 58.47” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 12.58” E;

(f) Point 6 (Lower Pines) at coordinates Lat. 26° 41’ 01.10” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 11.95” E;

(g) Point 7 (Midway) at coordinates Lat. 26° 41’ 04.91” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 12.18” E;

(h) Point 8 (South End) at coordinates Lat. 26° 41’ 46.88” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 9.10” E;

(i) Point 9 (Lower 100 m offshore NE) at coordinates Lat. 26° 41’ 47.04” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 14.17” E;

(j) Point 1 (100 m offshore NE) at coordinates Lat. 26° 40’ 48.38” S,
Long. 153° 8’ 26.12” E.

SAFA means Sports Aviation Federation of Australia Limited, ARN 217853.

tower contact officer, for a particular day or part of a day, means a member of the Association appointed by the Association to be the ground‑based person who is available to be contacted by the Sunshine Coast aerodrome control tower in relation to hang gliding and paragliding operations at the Point Cartwright site on that day.

4 Exemption

(1) The exemption in this section applies only if:

(a) when the unpowered hang glider or paraglider operation concerned is conducted, there is a Letter of Agreement in force between the Association and AA relating to the conduct of unpowered hang glider or paraglider operations from the Point Cartwright site; and

(b) the pilot in command for the operation is:

(i) a member of the Association; and

(ii) a financial member of SAFA.

Note The Letter of Agreement in effect at the commencement of this instrument is the Letter of Agreement, document number 3581, dated 5 June 2025 that was agreed to on 25 May 2025.

(2) The pilot in command of an unpowered hang glider or paraglider who is conducting an operation wholly within Class D airspace at the Point Cartwright site is exempt from compliance with sub-subparagraphs 10.1(k)(ii) and (iii), and subparagraph 10.2(b), of Civil Aviation Order 95.8 to the extent that the aircraft:

(a) is flown in airspace that is within 10 nautical miles of a controlled aerodrome; and

(b) is not carrying radiocommunications equipment capable of two-way communication with air traffic control.

5 Conditions

The exemption in section 4 is subject to the following conditions:

(a) the exempt operation must not commence unless the pilot in command of the unpowered hang glider or paraglider has confirmed with both the duty pilot, and the tower contact officer for the day or part of a day when the exempt operation is conducted, that the exempt operation has been cleared by the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower;

(b) the pilot in command must not conduct the exempt operation higher than 300 ft above mean sea level;

(c) the pilot in command must comply with any condition set out in the Letter of Agreement that is in effect at the time of the exempt operation;

(d) the pilot in command must not commence the exempt operation if 3 or more other unpowered hang gliders or paragliders that are conducting an exempt operation are airborne at the Point Cartwright site;

(e) the pilot in command must carry and use a serviceable UHF radio and remain in two-way communication with the tower contact officer and the duty pilot at any time they are conducting the exempt operation.

Note Civil Aviation Order 95.8 contains various other conditions for operating unpowered hang gliders and paragliders (which are called relevant aircraft in the Order). These include requirements that:

(a) a relevant aircraft may only be flown in VMC and in accordance with the VFR; and

(b) a relevant aircraft may only be flown during daylight hours.

6 Directions — duty pilot

(1) The duty pilot must ensure that no more than 3 relevant aircraft are airborne in an exempt operation at the Point Cartwright site at any one time.

(2) The duty pilot must ensure that a tower contact officer for a particular day or part of a day:

(a) is present at the Point Cartwright site at any time that an exempt operation is being conducted at the site on that day or part of a day; and

(b) provides their mobile phone number to the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower; and

(c) does not leave the Point Cartwright site until either:

(i) all exempt operations have ceased for that day and the tower contact officer has telephoned the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower to inform the tower that exempt operations are complete for that day; or

(ii) the tower has cancelled the clearance of all outstanding exempt operations for that day.

(3) The duty pilot must confirm with the tower contact officer for a particular day or part of a day:

(a) that AA has been given air traffic control clearance by the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower that covers each exempt operation conducted on that day or part of a day; and

(b) that, when exempt operations are complete for the day, the tower contact officer for that day has contacted the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower to inform the tower that those operations are complete.

(4) As soon as possible after an incident or accident involving an exempt operation, the duty pilot must report the incident or accident to CASA.

Note Reports to CASA can be sent by email to sport@casa.gov.au.

7 Directions — Association

(1) The Association must ensure that any member of the Association appointed as a duty pilot:

(a) is provided with sufficient training to comply with the conditions specified in section 5; and

(b) has completed that training, and been formally authorised by the Association, before acting in the role of duty pilot.

Note This requirement ensures that members of the Association are competent to perform the functions of a duty pilot on behalf of the Association and to comply with the conditions to which the exemption in section 4 is subject.

(2) The Association must ensure that any member of the Association appointed to act as a tower contact officer:

(a) is provided with sufficient training to comply with the directions in section 8; and

(b) has completed that training, and been formally authorised by the Association, before acting in the role of tower contact officer.

Note This requirement ensures that members of the Association are competent to perform the functions of a tower contact officer on behalf of the Association and to comply with the directions in section 8.

(3) The Association:

(a) must ensure that exempt operations are not conducted unless CASA has first been provided with a copy of the Letter of Agreement that is in effect in relation to an exempt operation; and

(b) must inform CASA immediately in writing if any Letter of Agreement is proposed to be replaced, amended or withdrawn; and

(c) must not replace, amend or withdraw any Letter of Agreement unless the Association has been notified in writing that CASA considers the replacement, amendment or withdrawal to be acceptable.

(4) The Association:

(a) must ensure that CASA is provided with any amendment that the Association proposes to make to the Point Cartwright Risk Assessment; and

(b) must not make an amendment to that document unless the Association has been notified in writing that CASA considers the amendment to be acceptable.

(5) In this section:

Point Cartwright Risk Assessment means the document titled SCFF Risk Assessment V2.2 dated 17 October 2024, as it exists at the time this instrument commences.

8 Directions — tower contact officer

(1) The tower contact officer for all or part of a particular day must provide their mobile phone number to the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower and must be contactable by the tower at all times on that day by mobile phone.

(2) The tower contact officer for all or part of a particular day must be in two-way communication via UHF with any unpowered hang glider or paraglider conducting an exempt operation that is airborne at the Point Cartwright site on that day or that part of a day.

(3) The tower contact officer for all or part of a particular day must be present at the Point Cartwright site at any time that an exempt operation is being conducted on that day or part of the day and must remain at the site:

(a) if they are tower contact officer for all day — until:

(i) all exempt operations have ceased for that day and the tower contact officer has telephoned the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower to inform the tower that exempt operations are complete for that day; or

(ii) the tower has cancelled the clearance of all outstanding exempt operations for that day; and

(b) if they are tower contact officer for only part of a day — until:

(i) a handover has been completed with the Sunshine Coast aerodrome tower and the person who is the tower contact officer for the next part of the same day; or

(ii) the tower has, during that part of the day, cancelled the clearance of all outstanding exempt operations for the rest of the day.

(4) The tower contact officer for all or part of a particular day must use their best endeavours to ensure that no more than 3 unpowered hang gliders or paragliders that are conducting an exempt operation are airborne at the Point Cartwright site at any one time on that day or that part of a day.

(5) The tower contact officer for all or part of a particular day on which an exempt operation is conducted must comply with:

(a) any condition set out in the Letter of Agreement that is in effect at the time the exempt operation is conducted; and

(b) all provisions about unpowered hang gliding and paragliding operations in the Association’s procedures for a tower contact officer that are in effect at the time the exempt operation is conducted.

(6) In this section:

Association’s procedures for a tower contact officer means the procedures set out in the document titled Sunshine Coast Free Flyers Carties Briefing Version 4 dated 5 June 2025, as it exists from time to time.