Notice from Gavin Wills: "Please note that all Glide Omarama services will be suspended from 15 April 2020.

After 20 years of flying from the Omarama Airfield without a Trial Flight incident the Civil Aviation Authority of NZ requires GlideOmarama to re-certify its operations from being a Recreational Aviation Organisation under the CA Rules Part 149, to an Organisation Conducting Adventure Aviation Part 115, and to re-license its pilot/instructors accordingly.

This certification process, consisting of negotiations, applications and approvals, is expected to take several months to complete.

Glide Omarama therefore has decided to suspend its operations from 15 April 2020, until the procedure is complete.

However, in anticipation of successful outcomes, the company is happy to receive bookings for the Soaring School and Trial Flights scheduled from 1 September 2020 onward.

Bookings scheduled for dates up to and including April 14 2020 will be honoured. Bookings scheduled between April 15 and August 31 will be refunded or rescheduled as directed by the client.

Glide Omarama regrets any inconvenience this suspension may cause to Club members, glider pilots and visitors. Throughout the period of self-suspension our office, phones, web site and email will remain live.

Thank you all for understanding and for your support to the Glide Omarama team at this difficult time.

Gavin Wills
Glide Omarama
7 March 2020"

I read through NZ Parts 149 and 115 of their aviation regs to see what this means. Essentially, their operation is going to be held to a higher standard since it is considered a commercial operation rather than a gliding club. Adventure aviation is a special category of commercial operators and covers ballooning, hang gliding, parachuting and microlight commercial operations. The regulators note that the normal time for completing the application process is at least 90 days. It seems that the regs are written from the point to cover new operations without a thought to transitioning existing operations. I’m guessing there has been some foot dragging and negotiations over this and it came to a head with the regulators saying they must comply, thus the temporary shutdown.

Was it clear what sort of operational changes might be required?

In my reading, the CAA states it presently has no jurisdictional control over such operations and therefore Part 115 should be implemented in the interest of safety. So, at least some changes to any such current activities may come only after the CAA establishes their regulatory authority. Interestingly,they note that "A recent CAA study applied the social cost of accidents to the actual level of flying activity, estimating the average social cost for adventure aviation activities (both commercial and recreational) to be approximately $61.00 per person per hour of exposure (significantly above a safety target level of $13.00). In comparison, the average social cost for air transport operations is approximately
$0.10c per person per hour of exposure." They assign a "VOSL" of NZ $2.8M to a single loss of life (social cost = value of a statistical loss of life)!

The Part 115 proposal was issued in 2011. "Objectives: The primary policy objective for government action is to enhance further
improvements to aviation safety and to provide a reasonable level of safety assurance to passengers engaging in commercial adventure aviation activities. This can be
achieved by requiring commercial adventure aviation operators to manage risk-based safety systems, processes and procedures with an appropriate level of monitoring and
regulatory oversight by the CAA." Existing operators will be given time to apply (18mo in the case of glider ops), while new operators in the category must have all docs completed/approved at the time of application.

On Sat, 07 Mar 2020 11:50:28 -0800, Duster wrote:

>
> The Part 115 proposal was issued in 2011. "Objectives: The primary
> policy objective for government action is to enhance further
> improvements to aviation safety and to provide a reasonable level of
> safety assurance to passengers engaging in commercial adventure aviation
> activities. This can be achieved by requiring commercial adventure
> aviation operators to manage risk-based safety systems, processes and
> procedures with an appropriate level of monitoring and regulatory
> oversight by the CAA." Existing operators will be given time to apply
> (18mo in the case of glider ops), while new operators in the category
> must have all docs completed/approved at the time of application.

That sounds quite open-ended. I can understand outfits like Glide Omarama
being affected by it, but does this impact gliding clubs and the trial
flights they provide?

And, out of curiosity, what other sports does it affect? Gokarting,
motorbike racing, point-to-point horse riding and hang gliding, to name
but a few, come to mind.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 3:03:59 PM UTC-6, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> On Sat, 07 Mar 2020 11:50:28 -0800, Duster wrote:
>
> >
> > The Part 115 proposal was issued in 2011. "Objectives: The primary
> > policy objective for government action is to enhance further
> > improvements to aviation safety and to provide a reasonable level of
> > safety assurance to passengers engaging in commercial adventure aviation
> > activities. This can be achieved by requiring commercial adventure
> > aviation operators to manage risk-based safety systems, processes and
> > procedures with an appropriate level of monitoring and regulatory
> > oversight by the CAA." Existing operators will be given time to apply
> > (18mo in the case of glider ops), while new operators in the category
> > must have all docs completed/approved at the time of application.
>
> That sounds quite open-ended. I can understand outfits like Glide Omarama
> being affected by it, but does this impact gliding clubs and the trial
> flights they provide?
>
> And, out of curiosity, what other sports does it affect? Gokarting,
> motorbike racing, point-to-point horse riding and hang gliding, to name
> but a few, come to mind.
>
>
> --
> Martin | martin at
> Gregorie | gregorie dot org


The regulators might not enjoy those sports as much as sailplanes.

On Sat, 07 Mar 2020 13:19:35 -0800, Shaun Wheeler wrote:

> The regulators might not enjoy those sports as much as sailplanes.

You mean their their favourite song is "You always hurt the one you
love?".


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

On Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 10:03:21 PM UTC+13, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> ...their operation is going to be held to a higher standard since it is considered a commercial operation rather than a gliding club. Adventure aviation is a special category of commercial operators and covers ballooning, hang gliding, parachuting and microlight commercial operations.

Any chance that Omarama instructors will be required to hold Medical Certificates, and if so, what class of Medical Certificate?

Adventure “aviation” offers a clue to what it covers. When go-karts can fly ... then they can be concerned.

On Sun, 08 Mar 2020 06:17:47 -0700, Stephen Szikora wrote:

> Adventure “aviation” offers a clue to what it covers. When go-karts can
> fly ... then they can be concerned.

You may have misunderstood me.

This new NZ regulatory effort seems to be aimed at reducing the cost to
the national health system of sports-related injuries of all types.

If that is its aim, then its very likely that it will affect more than
just aviation-related sports. IOW part 115 is aviation-related, but are
there other parts covering non-aviation sports and adventures?



--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Yes, but won't it increase the cost of government through new agencies,
rules, employees, etc.?

On 3/8/2020 7:37 AM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Mar 2020 06:17:47 -0700, Stephen Szikora wrote:
>
>> Adventure “aviation” offers a clue to what it covers. When go-karts can
>> fly ... then they can be concerned.
> You may have misunderstood me.
>
> This new NZ regulatory effort seems to be aimed at reducing the cost to
> the national health system of sports-related injuries of all types.
>
> If that is its aim, then its very likely that it will affect more than
> just aviation-related sports. IOW part 115 is aviation-related, but are
> there other parts covering non-aviation sports and adventures?
>
>
>

--
Dan, 5J

On Sunday, 8 March 2020 23:18:08 UTC+13, son_of_flubber wrote:
> On Saturday, March 7, 2020 at 10:03:21 PM UTC+13, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> > ...their operation is going to be held to a higher standard since it is considered a commercial operation rather than a gliding club. Adventure aviation is a special category of commercial operators and covers ballooning, hang gliding, parachuting and microlight commercial operations.
>
> Any chance that Omarama instructors will be required to hold Medical Certificates, and if so, what class of Medical Certificate?

The existing license for commercial gliding requires a Class 1 medical, just like an airline pilot.

--
Philip Plane

On Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 12:03:20 PM UTC-5, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Yes, but won't it increase the cost of government through new agencies,
> rules, employees, etc.?
>
> On 3/8/2020 7:37 AM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> > On Sun, 08 Mar 2020 06:17:47 -0700, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> >
> >> Adventure “aviation” offers a clue to what it covers. When go-karts can
> >> fly ... then they can be concerned.
> > You may have misunderstood me.
> >
> > This new NZ regulatory effort seems to be aimed at reducing the cost to
> > the national health system of sports-related injuries of all types.
> >
> > If that is its aim, then its very likely that it will affect more than
> > just aviation-related sports. IOW part 115 is aviation-related, but are
> > there other parts covering non-aviation sports and adventures?
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Dan, 5J


The imaginary, unrealized savings that result from their regulatory actions will (in their eyes) more than offset the expenses. Just ask them.

There's all kinds of areas that they can employ somebody's brother-in-law to 'improve public safety'. Zip lines, hiking tours, kayaking, sailboats and powered boats. The sky is no longer the limit.

Gliding in NZ operates under CAA Rule Part 149, in which GNZ has delegated authority to conduct its own training and maintain its own gliders, both to agreed standards. Pilot medicals are to the same standard as driver licences, and gliders can be maintained by suitable GNZ-approved engineers.

Under Part 115, instructors have to hold a CPL-G rating, which requires a Class 1 medical, as Phil has said. Part 115 organisations also have to have their gliders maintained by a CAA LAME (licenced aviation mechanical engineer, or some such). Both of these requirements impose extra costs on any Part 115 operation, costs which may in some circumstances make the business model unviable. The Part 115 rules were written some time back but only became law after a particularly bad balloon accident; Part 115 applies to ballooning, skydiving, hang gliding, paragliding and gliding.

For gliding clubs, this has meant that they can no longer offer 'joy rides' (adventure aviation) but can offer 'trial membership flights' (instructional aviation) for the purposes of recruiting club members. Part 149 gliding clubs cannot pay their instructors.

GNZ has recently petitioned CAA for a formal exemption to the Part 115 rules around medicals and maintenance, using EASA requirements as precedent. We're seeking a relaxation to Class 2 medicals and to have maintenance carry on under the same requirements as Part 149; most of the LAMEs will have little experience of maintaining gliders so will have to rely on GNZ engineers anyway. None of this helps Glide Omarama in the short term, unfortunately..

CAA are currently undergoing a major re-shuffle and part of this appears to be manifesting as a much harder line when it comes to gray areas. Some might say that they need to be seen as being active and effective regulators, but I couldn't possibly comment on this. It has also been pointed out that gliding accidents and injuries don't tend to happen on trial flights, so that the only difference between a Part 149 operation and a Part 115 operation is the extra costs and certification imposed on the latter for little apparent gain. Again, I couldn't possibly comment.

DH

There's just been a further announcement from Glide Omarama that appears to be more serious. Phil; you are close to this, is the outlook just a delay or is it more foreboding? I was there a couple weeks ago and there was still optimism things could be turned around.
Thanks

"Further to our previous post:

ALL SERVICES CANCELLED .

Unfortunately, we at Glide Omarama have experienced unexpected re-licensing issues with the Civil Aviation Authority and have decided to cease all operations from 09 March 2020 for the foreseeable future. It is unlikely we will be reopening.

We sincerely apologize to our guests for the disappointment and any inconvenience. You can expect a full refund. Please contact us as to how this can be best arranged and to answer any other questions you may have.

Gavin Wills, Managing Director"

Another wonderful soaring destination and operation closed by bureaucracy. The federal idiots, in a misplaced attempt to save a buck don’t see all the money they will now loose in tax revenue, hotel/car rental, tourism etc. typical.
Dan

The current trend in "progressive" politics seems to follow a particular concept, repeated ad nauseum:

"If it saves just one life, then the (regulation, law or ban) is worth it."

One person craps his pants and we all have to wear diapers. Glad to see Terry Delore got his dream flight before the bureaucrats made it impossible. Sorry to see that one of the world's premier gliding sites in possibly the most beautiful country on the planet is "circling the drain."

Are the rest of the NZ gliding clubs looking at the same fate?

On Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 8:50:30 AM UTC+13, Duster wrote:
"A recent CAA study applied the social cost of accidents to the actual level of flying activity, estimating the average social cost for adventure aviation activities (both commercial and recreational) to be approximately $61.00 per person per hour of exposure (significantly above a safety target level of $13.00).

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/social-cost/

Do I have this right? That the government is trying to reduce the social cost of adventure aviation, by improving the safety record, by improving the medical-fitness-to-fly of instructors (1st Class Medical)?

I don't think that replacing the most proven and experienced pilots with younger, less proven and experienced, but more medically fit instructors, is going to reduce the likelihood of accidents, especially at Omarama. And swapping out pilots at an operation that has a clean safety record seems misguided.

On Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 4:36:02 PM UTC-7, son_of_flubber wrote:
> On Sunday, March 8, 2020 at 8:50:30 AM UTC+13, Duster wrote:
> "A recent CAA study applied the social cost of accidents to the actual level of flying activity, estimating the average social cost for adventure aviation activities (both commercial and recreational) to be approximately $61.00 per person per hour of exposure (significantly above a safety target level of $13.00).
>
> https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/social-cost/
>


"Social cost" appears to assign zero value to an individual's freedom of choice. The Nanny State.

Larry

On Monday, 9 March 2020 11:10:16 UTC+13, Duster wrote:
> There's just been a further announcement from Glide Omarama that appears to be more serious. Phil; you are close to this, is the outlook just a delay or is it more foreboding? I was there a couple weeks ago and there was still optimism things could be turned around.

Gavin has changed his mind and closed the operation rather than temporarily shut down and try to get into compliance for next season. So Glide Omarama is done.

We're just doing cleanup for the next few weeks, then the doors close.

--
Phil Plane

I expect that the facilities and airport will continue to be used by gliders and I hope that foreign pilots will have opportunities to fly there in the future.

On Monday, March 9, 2020 at 6:26:59 AM UTC-4, son_of_flubber wrote:
> I expect that the facilities and airport will continue to be used by gliders and I hope that foreign pilots will have opportunities to fly there in the future.

Other people's expectations seem to be the reason this operation got shuttered.

T8

What an appalling case of bureaucratic overreach! My deepest sympathies to Gavin and the pilots of New Zealand, not to mention the many soaring pilots who dream of flying Omarama (including ME!)

Sir Edmund Hillary must be spinning in his grave, now that the Kiwis are destined to be flightless after all. Pretty sad state when NZ is rendered a testicle-free country. At least in Government. And I thought the French had that Olympic category locked up.

On Friday, March 6, 2020 at 9:04:00 AM UTC-6, Duster wrote:
> Notice from Gavin Wills: "Please note that all Glide Omarama services will be suspended from 15 April 2020.
>
> After 20 years of flying from the Omarama Airfield without a Trial Flight incident the Civil Aviation Authority of NZ requires GlideOmarama to re-certify its operations from being a Recreational Aviation Organisation under the CA Rules Part 149, to an Organisation Conducting Adventure Aviation Part 115, and to re-license its pilot/instructors accordingly.
>
> This certification process, consisting of negotiations, applications and approvals, is expected to take several months to complete.
>
> Glide Omarama therefore has decided to suspend its operations from 15 April 2020, until the procedure is complete.
>
> However, in anticipation of successful outcomes, the company is happy to receive bookings for the Soaring School and Trial Flights scheduled from 1 September 2020 onward.
>
> Bookings scheduled for dates up to and including April 14 2020 will be honoured. Bookings scheduled between April 15 and August 31 will be refunded or rescheduled as directed by the client.
>
> Glide Omarama regrets any inconvenience this suspension may cause to Club members, glider pilots and visitors. Throughout the period of self-suspension our office, phones, web site and email will remain live.
>
> Thank you all for understanding and for your support to the Glide Omarama team at this difficult time.
>
> Gavin Wills
> Glide Omarama
> 7 March 2020"

When I began flying forty-five years ago I did not expect it to come without risks. I've flown with night vision googles looking up at canyon walls on both sides and landed in the middle of a clearing with trees on all sides. Some of the people I flew with died flying including one of my former instructors, a pilot and crewmember in my platoon and three more in an incident involving mast bumping that government refuses to accept was, in fact, mast bumping.

You should hold government accountable to prove an actual benefit and a compelling need to protect society at large or you will lose individual freedoms until you have none.

All the best to you and your colleagues, Phil. Most of us are in this sport as an elective hobby, but there are many people who's livelihood is at stake....about 2 dozen people at OG not to mention the local economic loss to such a small town. Here is some updated information from the Omarama Gazette:

"Glide Omarama is to cease operations from today (Monday, March 9, 2020.) with the loss of 21 jobs. On Friday, the company announced it would suspend operations from April 14 while it sorted out its re-certification. It anticipated a successful outcome and said it would open for bookings from September. “This certification process, consisting of negotiations, applications and approvals, is expected to take several months to complete. “After 20 years of flying from the Omarama Airfield without a Trial Flight incident the Civil Aviation Authority of NZ requires Glide Omarama to re-certify its operations from being a Recreational Aviation Organisation under the CA Rules Part 149, to an Organisation Conducting Adventure Aviation Part 115, and to re-license its pilot/instructors accordingly," the statement said. However, this morning [Monday] it announced the company would cease operation altogether from today. “Unfortunately, we at Glide Omarama have experienced unexpected re-licensing issues with the Civil Aviation Authority and have decided to cease all operations from 09 March 2020 for the foreseeable future. "It is unlikely we will be reopening.” In an interview Mr Wills said staff were told this morning ahead of the announcement. "It's heart-breaking. “It’s been a wonderful experience, the last 22 years. “I’m very proud of what we have built up. We are all devastated.” Support for the family-run business was coming in from around the world, he said. There had not been a single trial flight accident in 22 years of operation. The company operated under the certification of Gliding New Zealand and Gliding New Zealand had never had a fatality. “The reason we have to close down is the CAA claim we are breaking the law, as it is, by undertaking these trial flights. We argue we are not, but we’re not prepared to go to court to prove it.. “We asked to be allowed to continue until the end of the season, another five weeks, to be in a better financial position [to deal with it] but they are unwilling to allow that to happen. “There is no safety case to suggest we should be shut.” Mr Wills said all Glide Omarama’s systems and procedures “either meet or exceed requirements". “As an example they require pilots to have a minimum of 200 hours flying time, our guys have an average of 3800 hours,” he said. “My understanding is that Glide Omarama provides about 80% of the airfield income, so it will have a devastating effect. “It will affect The Pink Glider, and other businesses in Omarama. “Many gliding clients stay a week or more at a time. Staff rent in town or have bought. “It will have a big effect on the town and district,” Mr Wills said discussions with CAA had been “ongoing since 2002”.. The problem was the level of compliance it required was “burdensome in cost and in ongoing applications”. “We’re financially unable to do it. “There’s no other country in the world that certificates gliding in this manner, no one.” Mr Wills said the council-controlled Omarama Airfield Company were aware of the situation. In an email, Airfield Company chairperson Clive Geddes said Glide Omarama had, over the past twenty years, been a “significant contributor to the development of gliding in Omarama and New Zealand and to the improvement of the Omarama Airfield”. “The company started the Youth Glide movement and has continued to support it through the provision of plant and equipment and subsidies for its members to participate in competitions. “The airfield company appreciates the contribution Glide Omarama has made and regrets its closure but we fully understand the underlying reasons for that decision.
“We wish the owners and staff all the very best for the future. “The airfield company is in a sound financial position and will now be working with interested parties to ensure that services to the gliding community are available in the year to come,” Mr Geddes said. The Omarama Gazette attempted to get comment from the Civil Aviation Authority, but calls were not returned by end of business today – Monday, March 9, 2020. Mr Wills said clients could expect a full refund of any pre-paid flights and should contact the company to make those arrangements.
Copy and photos: Ruth Grundy, Omarama Gazette
Copyright © 2015 to 2020 Omarama Gazette, All rights reserved.

> Are the rest of the NZ gliding clubs looking at the same fate?

No, or should I say, probably not.

Glide Omarama was the only overtly-commercial gliding operation in NZ. They paid their instructors - not a lot, but they paid them. To CAA, this put them well into the "Part 115" category. The two parties have been in discussions for several years but the recent culture shift at CAA has caused them (CAA) to read the law rigidly, rather than adopting a more relaxed interpretation for the greater good etc..

Many other gliding clubs in NZ have "summer crew" of visitng instructors who aren't paid a salary but get free accommodation (usually in some decaying club caravan) and the other club members provide food. A CAA lawyer with a grudge could interpret this as 'financial reward' but this would be viewed by GNZ (and probably the broader aviation community) as the most miserly, draconian and archaic interpretation of the law.

DH

I’m left wondering whether shutting down is a negotiating ploy - cause an outcry, focus on job loss, tourism, etc. to bring pressure on the regulator. I’m also left wondering whether the Covid-19 effects on travel and tourism will influence the CAA position one way or the other.

On Monday, March 9, 2020 at 5:07:50 PM UTC-5, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> I’m left wondering whether shutting down is a negotiating ploy - cause an outcry, focus on job loss, tourism, etc. to bring pressure on the regulator. I’m also left wondering whether the Covid-19 effects on travel and tourism will influence the CAA position one way or the other.

Regulators don't usually have to worry about the economy, they're paid by the taxpayers.

The NZ CAA has now responded to the newspaper's inquiry into Omarama Gliding's announced closure.

"GLIDE OMARAMA GROUNDED BY RED TAPE
UPDATED: 9 am Tuesday, March 10, 2020 to include response from the Civil Aviation Authority received today at 8.35 am.
RESPONSE FROM CAA Senior Communications Advisor Blake Crayton-Brown.

"Thanks for your patience waiting for our response to your story about Glide Omarama’s certification. Glide Omarama was informed by the Civil Aviation Authority last year that it would need to become certified as an adventure aviation operation in order to continue offering its passenger glider flights. Glide Omarama had been offering paid glider flights which were described as ‘trial flights’, but it is the Authority’s view that many of the flights on offer were adventure aviation flights, rather than the type of trial flights which would be available at gliding clubs elsewhere in the country. Under Part 115 of the Civil Aviation Rules, adventure aviation operations are required to be certificated before they can offer offer recreational flights to paying passengers, including flights in gliders. This rule was first introduced in November 2011 to regulate the adventure aviation industry, and require operators to be certificated in much the same way as air transport operators. In order to gain certification, operators need to satisfy the Director of Civil Aviation that they have appropriate management systems, structures and operating procedures in place to ensure compliance with the relevant safety standards. They also need to demonstrate that their employees are appropriately qualified and trained, and that their equipment is appropriate for the task and properly maintained. These rules are in place to keep the New Zealand public and tourists safe, both in the air and on the ground, when they pay for adventure aviation flights. The Civil Aviation Authority will continue to work constructively with Glide Omarama, and would welcome an application for Part 115 certification."

Copy and photos: Ruth Grundy, Omarama Gazette
Copyright © 2015 to 2020 Omarama Gazette, All rights reserved.

The CAA has one thing right, a focus on appropriate is what is appropriate here.

But making a better system than than what has been working for 20 years is a really high bar. The pluses and minuses of each tweak needs to be considered. For the medical story, it seems like this was not done.

Was there a careful rule making procedure where this was decided and the folks with the working system didn't show up?

If that’s the sticking point, I have to say that expecting a commercial pilot to meet a more stringent medical standard is appropriate and in fact, the norm in the industry. The sole question is whether this is a commercial operation.

I question why Glide Omarama would shut down completely rather than
simply discontinuing "adventure flights" and demonstrating that any
"trial flights" that they execute are, in fact, just that.

On 3/10/2020 8:17 AM, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> If that’s the sticking point, I have to say that expecting a commercial pilot to meet a more stringent medical standard is appropriate and in fact, the norm in the industry. The sole question is whether this is a commercial operation.

--
Dan, 5J

On Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 7:35:55 AM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> I question why Glide Omarama would shut down completely rather than
> simply discontinuing "adventure flights" and demonstrating that any
> "trial flights" that they execute are, in fact, just that.
>
> On 3/10/2020 8:17 AM, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> > If that’s the sticking point, I have to say that expecting a commercial pilot to meet a more stringent medical standard is appropriate and in fact, the norm in the industry. The sole question is whether this is a commercial operation.
>
> --
> Dan, 5J

Or why wouldn't they continue with the governmental gymnastics, emerge on the other side as what they have been, a beacon to those whom want quality mountain flying instruction. Good luck to all

> Was there a careful rule making procedure where this was decided and the folks with the working system didn't show up?

Nope. The (Part 115) rules were written as a 'what if' exercise at least two decades ago; "What if we decided to regulate these volunteer operations that took people for joy rides?" The proposed rules were shelved as not being immediately necessary, until a balloon accident in 2006 killed a number of people and the ensuing inquiry found some paperwork problems with the balloon maintenace, and the coroner found traces (just traces) of pot in the pilot's blood.

CAA needed to Do Something quickly and so got the shelved rules enacted as Part 115 under urgency - with very minimal consultation - and the recreational aviation community has been complaining and petitioning ever since. This is not evidence-based policy. You'll note the panacea of "keep the NZ public and tourists safe" used by CAA above. There is no evidence that the new rules do anything of the sort, certainly there is no evidence that safety has improved since their adoption. Invoking "safety" to shut down an argument is, IMHO, at least lazy if not disingenuous.


>Or why wouldn't they continue with the governmental gymnastics, emerge on the other side as what they have been, a beacon to those whom want quality mountain flying instruction.

As to why GO has chosen to shut down rather than re-certify, you'll have to ask the people involved (on boths sides). There is a lot of history to consider in the interaction of GO and CAA; the NZ aviation community (including the regulator) is a small family, gliding even smaller, and in any small family argument it's the personalities involved who dictate the outcome. The general feeling is that a (recertified) phoenix of some sort will rise eventually, so watch this space.

DH

David, great synopsis of the issue. Nothing trumps the argument of a cost-effective improvement in public safety as a govt lobbying point. I only note that the initial 2011 Part 115 document appeared not to have captured the 11-fatality 2012 balloon accident, but as you pointed out it must have been a major trigger-point.

On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:15:23 -0700, David Hirst wrote:

> As to why GO has chosen to shut down rather than re-certify, you'll have
> to ask the people involved (on boths sides). There is a lot of history
> to consider in the interaction of GO and CAA; the NZ aviation community
> (including the regulator) is a small family, gliding even smaller, and
> in any small family argument it's the personalities involved who dictate
> the outcome. The general feeling is that a (recertified) phoenix of
> some sort will rise eventually, so watch this space.
>
For my own curiosity, how much of GO's business was rides and trial
flights, anyway?

I have flown there, but only for one day, and I had an excellent
introduction to mountain flying (I'm a flatland pilot, usually operating
in the East Midlands of the UK.

The reason I'm asking is just that I don't think there were any non-
pilots at that morning briefing. If that's typical it calls the whole
rationale for applying Part 115 'Adventure Flights for non-pilots' rules
to GO into question.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

David, excellent synopsis of the issue. Nothing trumps the argument of a cost-effective improvement in public safety as a govt lobbying point. I only note that the initial 2011 Part 115 document appeared not to have captured the 11-fatality 2012 balloon accident, but as you pointed out it must have been a major trigger-point.

Additional info and news coverage: https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/north-otago/21-jobs-lost-glide-omarama-folds

I just sent the New Zealand Executive Director of Tourism (Stephen England-Hall) a note on the matter. I asked him to contact the Civil Aviation Authority and explain the potential impact on tourism. Please consider doing the same via this direct link:
https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/contact-persons/stephen-england-hall/

I visited New Zealand a month ago in order to fly at Omarama, and it was a wonderful experience. It would be a shame if we don't try to get the attention of some government officials. Tourism seems like a good leverage point.

On Friday, 6 March 2020 10:04:00 UTC-5, Duster wrote:
> Notice from Gavin Wills: "Please note that all Glide Omarama services will be suspended from 15 April 2020.
>
> After 20 years of flying from the Omarama Airfield without a Trial Flight incident the Civil Aviation Authority of NZ requires GlideOmarama to re-certify its operations from being a Recreational Aviation Organisation under the CA Rules Part 149, to an Organisation Conducting Adventure Aviation Part 115, and to re-license its pilot/instructors accordingly.
>
> This certification process, consisting of negotiations, applications and approvals, is expected to take several months to complete.
>
> Glide Omarama therefore has decided to suspend its operations from 15 April 2020, until the procedure is complete.
>
> However, in anticipation of successful outcomes, the company is happy to receive bookings for the Soaring School and Trial Flights scheduled from 1 September 2020 onward.
>
> Bookings scheduled for dates up to and including April 14 2020 will be honoured. Bookings scheduled between April 15 and August 31 will be refunded or rescheduled as directed by the client.
>
> Glide Omarama regrets any inconvenience this suspension may cause to Club members, glider pilots and visitors. Throughout the period of self-suspension our office, phones, web site and email will remain live.
>
> Thank you all for understanding and for your support to the Glide Omarama team at this difficult time.
>
> Gavin Wills
> Glide Omarama
> 7 March 2020"

I just spent 5 minutes writing about Omarama on the form provided at the link posted. It's easy; please do the same.

This morning, NZ announced that all people arriving into the country must go into isolation for 2 weeks. GO’s foreign business would have been shut down by that alone. Maybe this will give the parties time to reconsider their options. At the end of the virus crisis, countries will be keen to promote tourism.

;1013255']On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:15:23 -0700, David Hirst wrote:

As to why GO has chosen to shut down rather than re-certify, you'll have
to ask the people involved (on boths sides). There is a lot of history
to consider in the interaction of GO and CAA; the NZ aviation community
(including the regulator) is a small family, gliding even smaller, and
in any small family argument it's the personalities involved who dictate
the outcome. The general feeling is that a (recertified) phoenix of
some sort will rise eventually, so watch this space.

For my own curiosity, how much of GO's business was rides and trial
flights, anyway?

I have flown there, but only for one day, and I had an excellent
introduction to mountain flying (I'm a flatland pilot, usually operating
in the East Midlands of the UK.

The reason I'm asking is just that I don't think there were any non-
pilots at that morning briefing. If that's typical it calls the whole
rationale for applying Part 115 'Adventure Flights for non-pilots' rules
to GO into question.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

I wouldn't be expecting to see joyriding trial flighters at a morning pilot briefing. They generally rock up through out the day in time for their flight and usually don't hang around for long either.

Just straight cash injections for the operation but given gliding's generally very good track record I think part 115 is over the top and not justified for gliding in NZ

Colin

Update: Glide Omarama is now expected to re-open again this coming September, contrary to their earlier announcements.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158592340672971&id=177536872970&__tn__=%2As%2As-R

On Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 9:51:27 PM UTC-4, Duster wrote:
> Update: Glide Omarama is now expected to re-open again this coming September, contrary to their earlier announcements.
> https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158592340672971&id=177536872970&__tn__=%2As%2As-R

Yay!!! Back on the 'bucket list' it goes! :-)

Uli
'AS'

I suspected a case of brinksmanship. Someone blinked.

On Saturday, 28 March 2020 23:00:26 UTC-4, Stephen Szikora wrote:
> I suspected a case of brinksmanship. Someone blinked.

For those of you with this on your bucket list, and time to spend self-isolating, here is n article I wrote a few years ago for AOPA. Please understand, it was written for power pilots, - not glider pilots, and the objective was to cause them to reconsider the stereotypical idea they had of gliding, - rether like taking a toboggan up an altitude hile nd then sliding down, adn rather pointlessly, repeating. So I tried to uyse a 'pilot's pilot', and relate his experience gliding. It goes:
Mountain Flying in Omarama NZ
Like almost all group flying courses, the Mountain Flying course at Glide Omarama began with each student introducing himself: where and what we fly, and describing our experience. And like most such exercises, it naturally included some hangar flying. Marty Abbott’s story won hands down.
Asked about his previous experience, he had only one glider flight to describe. It began in 1974, at the age of 21, and Marty had just received his RCAF wings. He was assigned to fly the CF-104 in Germany. On his first training flight at RCAF Cold Lake, the engine on his Starfighter disintegrated at 40,000 feet while doing Mach 2.4. The 104 was now a glider, and its best glide speed was 260 knots. Faster than a waxed brick.
The modified C2 ejection seat that blew the pilot out the top had an explosive charge strong enough to yield 14 G's to ensure clearing the tail. At 1000' agl Marty pulled the D ring handle, was slammed vertically 600 feet, and then was hit by the truck, or so it felt as the slipstream blew his flight suit to shreds. His attention was then diverted with the onset of the pain from losing all the fillings in the top of his mouth. Now that's G's for you. Then more pain: through the ice and into chest deep water. It got worse: his portable ELT didn't work, but, amazingly his little signal mirror brought him a helicopter rescue after spending an hour or two in knee deep in water wearing his long underwear.
Marty left the sir force with 2000 hours in fighters, and these days flies a Turbine Legend (that guzzles 52 GPH), in Scottsdale AZ, but winters in Auckland New Zealand. A flying buddy convinced him to join him at Glide Omarama, (http://www.glideomarama.com) on the South Island, home of “The Most Spectacular Soaring on Earth”. And they're not exaggerating..
Marty took two conversion days in a mid-performance Grob 103, - and then the next day, a 4 hour flight with Gavin Wills, founder and owner, in a high performance Duo Discus.
He proclaimed it his 'best flight ever'.
“It was absolutely quiet, and the glider's plexi canopy offers incredible visibility, ahead, to the side and overhead. Flying so slowly (50 – 85 Kts.) just hundreds of feet or less over majestic mountains for hours with no engine, you could see everything; - it was just incredible!”
I am a glider pilot, and Omarama has been a bucket list item for me for more than a decade.
What makes Omarama so special that it is a dream of almost every glider pilot? Well, it is the combination of the location in the Southern Alps, the complex air flow dynamics produced by the winds interacting with the island's topography, the super Duo Discus gliders, and instructors who are both excellent pilots and superb teachers.
Gliders work like bicycles with no pedals; they go forward by going downhill. So gravity is their engine, and altitude is their fuel. The challenge of soaring is to find and utilize atmospheric energy, - 'lift' (air rising faster than the glider is descending) which is available in four varieties: thermal, ridge, convergence and wave, to climb again and again, and thus sustain flight for many hours and miles. The magic combination of powerful wind roaring across the Tasman Sea , sun, and the topography of New Zealand's South Island offers all four of these types of lift, sometimes on the same day.
The friction of the mountains of the Southern Alps (rising up as high as 12,000' Mt. Cook along the divide), slows the wind causing it to curl inwards, and is amplified by the advective sea breezes, from both sides. Where two air masses, often of different temperatures, collide, the air must go up. Find the distinctive clouds produced, and so too do we. That's convergence.
The ridge lift is found where wind blowing against a ridge or mountain, must rise to go over it. Fly close to that ridge in the rising air, and again we are lifted higher. Sometimes it is amplified by the thermal effect of the air heated by contact with the sun warmed rock of a mountain face, rising up until it breaks free into a turbulent and often narrow column of rising air we call mountain thermals . These can be very challenging, calling for angles of bank up to 60 degrees, and constant corrections as the strong currents try to throw the aircraft out of the thermal. And the fourth is wave, or sometimes called by its more formal label 'lee mountain wave'. This is a phenomenon is not unlike the standing waves we see when water in a fast flowing stream passes over a rock below the surface, creating a series of waves: one over the rock and secondary echoes downstream where no rocks exist. This form of 'lift' has carried gliders to heights exceeding 50,000'.
The airport itself is amazing: a very lengthy 5000' turf runway, three large hangars that can house up to 80 gliders (a legacy of the world contest held there some years ago), and a large terminal building (the original hangar) where briefing rooms, offices, and club house facilities are enviable. Alongside this aggressively irrigated runway, are almost 30 chalets (privately owned but available for rent to visiting pilots), a well treed campground, a motel, and a cute cafe.
Each day starts with a public weather briefing, and the complex and thorough material includes wind, cloud, thermal and esoterica like Skew T graphs. Then the group for the Mountain Flying course assembles upstairs in a private briefing room, and begins with a review of the previous day's flights. Each glider is equipped with a logger that takes a three dimensional fix every few seconds, creates a file that can be animated by the program See You, projecting a flight trace and topographical map on a white board. At intervals the speed-adjustable replay is paused so the staff can sketch wind and cloud info with dry markers on the board, enhancing the understanding of the source of the lift we enjoyed, - or, its evil twin, - 'sink'. Comments, questions and opinions from students and instructors flow in animated fashion.
Then, after a break, we assemble again for some ground school, - detailed insight into one of the types of lift, or advice on technique, centering a thermal, or the structure of a wave and how to work your way into one, for example. We break at noon for lunch (very civilized, this sport), and will find our ships, gridded on the flight line by the staff, at the appointed hour, usually 13:00 to 13:30. A Piper Pawnee 260 hooks up on a 200' line, and off we go. Tow height will be decided by the instructor based on the conditions. My tows were between 4000' and 1500', and you are charged by the height.
Now the practical lesson: flying, - and the fun begins. Our options are to tow to a ridge that offers lift from a wind against it, or to the clouds over a ridge, that indicate the areas of convection, or lift. These clouds are formed when the rising air is cooled adiabatically by 3 degrees C/thousand feet, until it reaches the dew point, where the invisible vapour condenses into visible tiny particles of liquid water, forming cumulus clouds, - and providing good markers for where to find our lift.
First day, we opt for the ridge, because ridge technique will be the focus of the day. Almost all my own experience, either at my club, York Soaring Association (www.yorksoaring.com), or at Seminole Lake FBO in central Florida (www.soarfl.com), where I snowbird in the winter months, is over flat terrain. As a flatland pilot, I have an instinctive comfort with altitude below me, and it is contra-intuitive to fly closer to terrain. But that is where the good lift is found. There are protocols to keep us safe. For example, after a traverse, we always turn away from the rocks as we work back and forth in an area of lift, - never succumbing to the temptation to circle as we would in a thermal, lest the drift of the wind take us too close to complete the turn without colliding with the rocks. So we fly elongated figure eights back and forth in front of the ridge where we have found good lift. And often, the wing tip is closer to the rock than it is to us, for that is where the lift is strongest. It is also important to keep enough speed to enable a nimble response should we encounter an unexpected down gust, turning towards the safety of the valley where there is altitude below. Low and slow is a no-no!
And for the bowls there is a poetic variation of this technique; my instructor G demonstrates after my too-tentative venture into one. These bowls can concentrate the lift of the wind, and G takes us back to where I started by putting out the spoilers (air brakes) to begin at the same altitude. He then flies in close to the bowl, turning with the wings parallel to the slope round the bowl, which yields a rich gain in altitude. I try it again, mimicking his technique, and the easy success is exhilarating. We spend almost four hours exploring the effects of different wind angles and different topography: spurs off a ridge line, flattened tops of ridges, lee side turbulence, etc.
G shows empathy for the workload of the uninitiated, never overloading me with too much information, but always keeping me on a steep learning curve. After almost four hours, the day is still flyable with ample lift, but we (I) have had enough, we return to the field, and there is one more surprising lesson. The wind a few thousand feet over the runway is light from the West, but the wind on the ground is ~25 Kt. From the East. It is a reverse wind gradient, the wind getting stronger as it gets closer to the ground. Woe to he who lands downwind; the airspeed will drop on approach, and lowering the nose to pick up speed will put the aircraft into lower airspeed yet. Danger Will Robinson!
The weather briefing next day is not optimistic, but G is cautiously so. He says the mountains are very efficient at scrubbing the rain and the moisture out of the atmosphere, - and he proves right. Today's focus will be convergence. G combines his extensive local knowledge with the information from the weather briefing, given each day by Lemmy, the CFI, and his experience reading the clouds to locate and utilize this lift. It is, as I said, the result of two converging winds, and if one is colder or has higher humidity, it will form a cloud base lower than the other air mass, resulting in a raggedy line of cumulus with a shelf-like wall between the two, beside which we find the lift we seek. We fly close to the curtain of misty cloud that joins the two layers, often with one wing right in this cloud, and the lift is good, enabling us to choose speed when we can't climb while too close to the ceiling of the upper layer. We cover a different area of the island today, and will each day. G knows every ridge by name, and by what he can expect, and shares his knowledge well. As an instructor myself, I appreciate his pedagogic technique, and am awed by his airmanship.
This convergence can also be found in the valleys and plains of the incredibly varying terrain of this relatively small island. We use it the next day to go North to the large mountains that form the impressive watershed along the West coast. Then we start climbing the mountains. The scenery is like a sequence of post card photos. The lakes have that unique turquoise colour from the glacial sediment emulsified in the water. The mountains, in the midst of mid-summer, have remains of snow, even on the 'dry side' to the East of the divide. And we cross from one set of peaks to another, over valleys with rivers and lakes, but most of the flight is spent at altitudes of only a few hundred feet agl, or less. I can't stop feeling like a country kid on his first visit to the big city. Not that I want to. The scenery is truly deserving of the adjective 'awesome'! The video on the Omarama web site will give you a better look than my words can describe, but the live show is better yet.
Over these peaks, it is the slope's orientation to the sun angle that plays the biggest role in choosing our flight path. A steep slope of bare rock facing the sun will become relatively very hot, and this heat is transferred to the air touching it, - and keeps heating it as it accelerates, flowing up the rock face to the summit, where it mixes with slower, less heated air from the shady side, forming gusty powerful thermals that challenge the pilot's skill in staying centered in the fastest flowing core of the thermal.. When we have sufficient height, we can fly to the next peak. This day took us to within half a mile of famous Mt. Cook, but the congested weather on the West side prevented flying around the peak.
The Duo Discus, with its 20 meter (65.5 foot) wings has a best glide ratio of almost 45:1, and these long legs can take it amazing distances. And G has a wonder thingy in his panel; he is a beta tester for one of the flight computers glider pilots use to show turnpoints and range, among other things. And G's Clear Nav instrument offers a unique feature valuable in the mountains: it has a data base of the terrain contours and projects what it calls its 'amoeba' of achievable glide areas, considering the effect on the range required to fly around ridges or peaks below our glide slope when we can safely have final glide to home. What could go wrong?
Although the weather forecast had been pessimistic about the week I had booked to fly, we flew great flights four out of 5 days. That is the average during the season, the antipodal summer. I flew from San Francisco to Aukland NZ, a 12.5 hour flight, but only a 3 hour time zone change. A two hour flight to to Queenstown (closest service to Omarama, and the approach is worth searching on YouTube) and then a further two hour drie in a rental car got me to the field on a Sunday, to settle in for the course start on a Monday. It is a long way to go, but the scenery in the Lord of the Rings films was not computer generated, and you'll see it up close and personal. I did find New Zealand is a little expensive compared to North American prices, but so too is most of the world.
Without hesitation, I recommend you make this a red starred item on your bucket list. If you want to maximize your time at Omarama, and have only flown power, I suggest you visit a local gliding club; most offer a 5 lesson introductory deal, and 'conversion' from power is an easy task. But you won't believe how important your rudder has become! You can get both an interactive map of soaring clubs and FBO's, from www.ssa.org.

About the Author
Charles Petersen is a retired business executive and recovering sailboat racer who began flying in 1998, and is now a Flight Instructor, Gliders, and an Aerobatic Instructor, Gliders, with over 2300 hours. He owns a Discus 2cT, a high-performance cross country glider with a small engine that will get him home if needs be. Charles is Chairman of Youth Flight Canada Education Fund, a registered Canadian charity that promotes flight training for young pilots, and through its sponsorship of the Freedom's Wings Canada federation, offers Inspiration flights to those with disabilities, and at some locations, flight training for paraplegics in modified gliders.