At 09:24 AM 30/05/2008, you wrote:
Mike Borgelt wrote:
People like Jenny and Robert Hart and others who "don't have
problem with all this" will never be able to understand or fix the problem.
Good grief, Mike
If you think that I "don't have a problem" with the way the GFA is
run, then you have truly been reading what I have written (for quite
some years) with a closed mind.
You tell me who is more likely to actually change the GFA - someone
who sits outside and endlessly criticises whilst doing absolutely
nothing towards creating change (but never-the-less lives off the
GFA membership) or someone who, despite their misgivings, gets
involved and actually spends their time and energy on trying to achieve change?
You've nicely made my point. You are too close to the problem, you
operate quite happily within the GFA system and as far as I can see
the changes you want relate to administrative procedures inside the
current system. BTW when I hear management buzzwords like "world's
best practice" and "safety management system" I begin to worry.
I left the GFA some years ago because they brought in the dual
signature after rigging. I've asked here and specifically asked you
about this and nobody seems to have come up with a sensible reason
why this was done. For me it was the last straw. Why should I support
an organisation which made it impossible, under their rules, for me
to take my motor glider out to the local airport, rig it and go flying?
I've also not seen anyone try to justify the GFA's opposition to the
CASA RPPL proposal. We discussed that extensively here and there was
quite a lot of support for it. It wasn't even proposed to be
compulsory or the only way of doing things as GFA members or RAAus
members could elect to remain members of their organisations and
continue to operate the way they had been.
Maybe you'd like to offer a defence or have the board revisit the issue?
As for being on the outside, I've been a gliding club treasurer, club
delegate to SAGA, a vice president of SAGA (even got to run an SAGA
AGM and the organisation survived that) and was SAGA Airfields and
Airspace Officer for several years(RAPAC meetings). I wish I could
say that any of the time spent at any of those meetings wasn't wasted.
I even got elected to be SAGA delegate to the GFA AGM. The story of
that is on the aus soaring archive along with lots of other
criticisms of the way the GFA does business, along with suggested
alternatives. Maybe you should read them(again) as quite a few were
made before you came on the scene.
I came to the conclusion that life was too short to spend it on
futile lost causes, however I will not put myself in the situation
where the powers that be, when faced with disasters of their own
making, can say "why didn't you tell us?" Hence my comments here. I
also make submissions to CASA when comment is called for through the
formal CASA consultation system.
I've also spent countless hours on the phone and in person educating
pilots about technical aspects of soaring which they should have been
taught in their training.
As for "living off the GFA membership", we sell instruments and
equipment to pilots. It is of no interest to us what organisation, if
any, they belong to. In fact the vast majority of our customers don't
happen to be GFA members as they are in other countries. More than 30
countries at last count. Maybe if the GFA was more competent or
organised differently there would be more Australian glider pilots.
Of course you just reinforced my point yet again. You unconsciously
think that GFA members and Australian glider pilots are the same
thing. When you get over that we might make some progress.
Mike
Borgelt Instruments - manufacturers of quality soaring instruments
phone Int'l + 61 746 355784
fax Int'l + 61 746 358796
cellphone Int'l + 61 428 355784
Int'l + 61 429 355784
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
website: www.borgeltinstruments.com
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