Hi Mark, >I don't see my counter proposal as a "bad idea". >
Ok "bad idea" might have been a "bad" choice of words. BTW I'm violently in agreement with pretty much everything else you wrote, I even use an external modem ;-) However I think that having overlapping regulations and regulatory bodies is a "bad idea". Part of the benefit that I see in the new system is the tidying up of half a dozen different systems into a single system. Really the GFA is more at threat from the Student Pilot Licence than the RPL because there is no equivlent to the RPL in the GFA system, really most Oz glider pilots fly, in CASA terminalogy, as SPL's. As for what Simon wrote, yes there are many valid points in that but pilots should remain members of clubs for precisely the points that he made not because it is currently a mandatory requirement for a glider pilot to be a member of GFA and to be a member of GFA you have to be a member of a GFA club. Removal of this requirement will not result in loss of club members because, well quite frankly I can't afford to buy my own airstrip and no doubt neither can most on this list. If pilots think that by getting an RPL-glider they can forget clubs and club membership, that as he said "where we no longer need to depend on a club for our -ability- (not right, -ability-) to commit aviation any more" then they are in for a bit of a shock. Clubs should exist so that like minded individuals can combine their resources to provide the infrastructure required to fly. For example you'd think that paragliders don't need much infrastructure yet nearly all paraglider pilots are members of a paraglider club. Why, well having flown off the top of some nice big hill, and bombed out, who's gonna retrieve you? Who's gonna cut the trees and mow the grass on the hill top in the first place, and who are you gonna have to sit with at the pub and tell tall stories about what a legend pilot you aren't? As others have pointed out the Instructional requirement component of a GFA club makes it hard for smaller clubs to operate. If however these clubs only trained on limited days, or had their students trained at a larger club/commercial operation..... As for the GFA itself, whether it lives or dies is not important, what's important is that the needs/wishes/wants of the glider pilots are met. If that means the end of the GFA so be it. However I doubt this is the case because as I said, CASA aren't a training organisation, they don't do sylybus's, train instructors etc etc and there are many other facets to gliding, especially on the sporting and competition side that CASA just aren't a valid replacement for. rgds Pete -- * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information.
