Hmm... been following this thread with interest. Re: the letter from the Director of CAA New Zealand... means 'jack' really. Classic CYA in my opinion- and a really well written letter. He says that the other part 149 organisations must 'recognise' the ratings etc issued by the said organisations- BUT that does not mean that they have to accept them! IOW- "Hey congrats on receiving your xxx rating" or "well done BUT sorry you can't use that rating here- go get a real one"!!
Obviously if the ratings were issued by a long standing, credible, parachute organisation with a track record and history- like USPA, CSPA,BPA, APF or NZPIA- then certainly most DZO's would be comfortable to allow the holders of those ratings to excercise those ratings on his DZ right? Well in this case- there is no way in hell that I, or any other DZO in his right mind would have any of these ratings holders anywhere near my DZ thanks! For all I know they may have acquired their ratings from a Cheerios box!! One has to question why there was a need in New Zealand to create more than one Part 149 organisation in the first place!! Nowhere else in the world this has happened? Hey- lets all start parachute organisations and start handing out skydive ratings willy nilly!!! Yeah Right!
As a DZO- if one of these new ratings holders came my way- I would do exactly as the New Zealand Director CAA suggests- and undertake you own assessment. IOW make them do the full REAL and accepted rating from the start. Period.
In time- the new Part 149 organisations may prove to be OK, but in my experience you certainly don't start a parachute organisation and automatically expect to receive credibility! On the absolute contrary- credibility need to be earned over a long long time, where you get to show quality, sensibility and a proven track record. Untill then- these new organisations are simply a liability- particulary for any DZO who will have to answer for any issues in court. Have you $$$$$ ready!!!