New automation policies and automation-related changes to B-GA-100 and the Air Div Orders were finalized at the AF Stds and SET Conference in Oct and then submitted for approval in Nov. The changes to B-GA-100 were approved by the CAS on 31 Jan 2011. All automation-related changes to the Air Div Orders have been approved and were promulgated on the Interim Air Div Orders website on 21 Feb 2011; they were fully integrated into the Air Div Orders effective 21 Mar 2011.

Style, format and content guidance for AOI/FM, Checklist, SMM and Mission Guide. A considerable amount of work has been done by ASTRA project personnel and Maj Bill Ansell in the MHP PMO to draft an Air Force Flight Publications Development Manual (FPDM) that will provide comprehensive guidance/direction for these key documents. The DTA staff have been engaged to ensure that the manual provides accurate direction on all technical airworthiness data in the AOI/FM and Checklist. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, the first draft of the FPDM will be ready for review by the SETs and A3 staff in Apr 2011.

Automation and HPMA Performance Measures & Standards. At the AF Stds and SET conference held in Winnipeg in Oct 2010, the first phase of work was completed to develop Automation and HPMA performance measures and standards for our Air Force. About 300 statements were captured for 20 different automation and HPMA skills; essentially these statements describe how our best crews perform in the cockpit. These statements are being used to finalize automation and HPMA behavioural markers specifically tailored to our Air Force. The bulk of this work is now complete and the next step in the process is to develop Automation and HPMA performance measures and standards. We expect the new Automation and HPMA performance measures and standards to be ready for review by the SETs and the applicable A3 staff in Apr 2011. Once the Automation and HPMA Performance Measures and Standards are finalized, ASTRA will work with AF Stds personnel to develop a plan for implementing the new standards throughout the Air Force.

After delivering a detailed CP-140 Aurora AIMP Block II Automation Procedures Baseline Report, the CP-140 ASTRA IPT met in Greenwood to conduct a comprehensive review of all 'normal' CP-140 Block II procedures. As an integral part of the discussions that occurred, it was determined - for a number of different automation-related reasons - that ACSOs will no longer make changes to the active flight plan in the CP-140 AMS when the aircraft is operating in a non-tactical environment. After LRPSET has received the required approval to update the 'normal' procedures for the CP-140 Block II aircraft, work will begin in earnest by the CP-140 ASTRA IPT to review and update all 'emergency' procedures.

The objective of the MHP ASTRA Integrated Project Team (IPT) is to "assist the PMO MHP in the development of SOPs and other checklists and provide development assistance to refine those documents in order to deliver a high level of Automation Airmanship." Because the delivery of aircraft documentation for the CH148 Cyclone by Sikorsky is behind schedule, the MHP ASTRA IPT has conducted detailed HFE analyses for various phases of instrument flight in order to produce the first draft of a comprehensive Cyclone Instrument Flight Procedures Document (complete with mission scenario, task and information flow analyses). As this document is refined, PMO and HOTEF personnel will be able to use it to develop SOPs that are consistent with new Air Force policies and principles related to automation airmanship. Once the instrument procedures document has been finalized, it is expected that a similar analysis will be conducted for a transition to/from the hover during a SAR mission using the automation on board the Cyclone. When possible, work will begin on a Cyclone emergency procedures document, which would then be used to ensure that a high level of automation airmanship is maintained while emergency procedures are conducted in the CH148.