Well said Harry. And at these GFA sites set up GFA “Schools of Gliding” which aim to serve members of the public wanting to learn to fly, are happy to pay for tuition, and get a professional service. Rob Izatt
> On 7 Aug. 2017, at 8:37 pm, Harry Medlicott <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hi All, > > It was almost inevitable. Money hungry councils without a great deal of > interest in gliding, sooner or later decide that perhaps if they can get rid > of all the users then then real estate value of the property is worth > millions or just because they wish to cover the maintenance cost of their > property, that it is a good idea to squeeze as much money as they can from > those selfish, filthy rich aviators who are small in number and contribute > little to the community. > > I have always thought it would be good publicity as well as a genuine > contribution to society if gliding clubs organised regular charity events, > perhaps in conjunction with service clubs such as rotary or lions. Entirely > on the basis that the club(s) would make absolutely nothing from the exercise > except community goodwill and perhaps gain new members. At my home club, > Lake Keepit, the charity to support could be the Westpac Rescue Helicopter > Service which is well supported and regarded locally. Another worthwhile idea > would be to try and get glider pilot representation on the local council. > > Of more importance the GFA should investigate the possibility of purchasing > land suitable for use as a gliding field about no more than an hours driving > distance from, for a start, Sydney and Melbourne. I can imagine the shock, > horror of the powers that be at this suggestion. Not the GFAs business, we > are merely an umbrella organisation to supervise the efforts of gliding > clubs. Am afraid that the future of gliding, certainly in NSW and Victoria > depends on having a secure future from which to conduct operations. Not > affordable? Not sure about that. We spend considerable amounts on other > aspects of gliding which might have to be curtailed while funds were expended > on funding sites. Once the land was secure am sure clubs would migrate their > operations to such a site over a period of time. > > There may be other ways to achieve this. It may be that a council would give > a very long term lease or security of occupation at a predetermined cost. > > The long term future of gliding depends on having security of tenure over > where we conduct operations. The GFA should take the initiative in achieving > this. It is probably beyond the resources of an individual club. > > Harry Medlicott > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring > <http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring>
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