The following items may be of interest.
1. RA-Aus Forum. It was decided that we would develop our own web forum. In this way we can better inform our members of developments in an appropriate and timely manner.
2. Our new Operations Manual is finalised and will be burned to a CD and sent out with the April edition of our magazine, and become effective at our Ops. Manager’s discretion. Probably on the first of May. For those who want a hard copy, this will be available from the office on a cost recovery basis. By sending the manual out on a CD with the magazine your association stands to save approx. $150,000. One significant change is increasing the cross country time from 5 to 10 hours. Those doing their cross country endorsement would be advised to hasten.
3. BFR’s There has been some confusion regarding BFR’s. I went through this with our Ops. Manager to clarify things.
1. A BFR is NOT a pass /fail test. It is a review.
2. A BFR is NOT a training flight. Hence it can be done in any aircraft.
3. The pilot being tested is regarded as the PIC, not the instructor.
4. The instructor does not need to be endorsed on the aircraft used.
5. The review should aim to be in the most flown aircraft, but advisory only.
4. CTAF-R. Air-services is aggressively pushing to make ALL licensed aerodromes a CTAF-R. We need to watch and fight this one.
5. 10,000 th. Member. We are getting very close to getting our 10,000 th. Member. As a comparison, I understand AOPA have about 3500 members, SAAA about 1500 members, and HGFA about 2500 members, mostly hang glider pilots.
6. Student Scholarship Program. We have started a student scholarship program. With the official launching next month.
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8. Video of Forums. An attempt will be made to video instructor forums and technical forums at this years Natfly. These will be for sale after the event.
9. Club Insurance. It may not be wildly known but affiliated clubs are covered under the RA-Aus insurance policy for many club events. But not air shows.