As Robert Danewid (Swedish Soaring Federation) says,we have been doing
a lot of work in representing the interests of both UK and European
glider pilots, over the last 15 months. Not only tracking the
developments in the EU with the creation of EASA, but more even more
importantly lobbying hard to get some sense into the situation. The
game has really only just begun with the passing into law of Part 21
on airworthiness. On this we have achieved some temporary concessions
in the UK (see BGA website - www.gliding.co.uk). However, the devil is
in the detail - and there is a lot of it (whole forests). Whilst
registration of UK gliders with the UK CAA might not seem too
draconian a point - albeit with probably some cost - nevertheless it
is where it leads us to that is of concern.

Some aspects of EASA will be beneficial to European glider owners and
pilots - the 'free' movement of gliders across the EU and mutual
acceptance by each member state of another state's gliders. But what
concerns me most is that the fundamental approach to safety emanating
from Brussels, as applied to our sector of aviation, is based on the
concept that creating lotsof rules = creating safety. As we all know,
in at least the airworthiness area, relative to the activities of
pilots, poor airworthiness is not the major or even minor cause of
most accidents. Human factors, training, slef discipline, airmanship
etc are the major cause and that requires a different approach to that
of writing lots of rules to follow. But bureacracy can't handle the
soft issues as well as the legislative approach.

As regards Part M implementing rules for the continued airworthiness
of gliders (i.e. Maintenance)our representations at the EU level,
through Europe Air Sports which represents all air sport pilots and
owners in Europe (some 700,000 people including modellers), we have
been instrumental in getting a two year delay on these rules coming
into force. Not only that, but the European Commission has accepted a
wide representation from many sectors of aviation and many Member
States, led in part by the air sports community, that Part M needs
major review and further consultation before becoming EU law. In
particular we have pressed for formal Regulatory Impact Assessments,
which in the UK are obligatory for any new such legislation, and such
RIAs have to prove the case with costs / benefit equations to
demonstrate a likley increase in safety.

There is a vast amount of work facing European gliding associations
over the next few years, and Airworhiness / Continued Airworthiness is
just the start of this imposed legislation. Pilot Licensing and
Operations are the other two areas of rule making due to follow later
this year or early next year as drafts for consultation.

So, watch this space, and support the efforts of volunteer
reepresentatives who have been / are dealing with the less glamorous
end of the sport - defending against unnecessary regulation - which
enables the fun end of the sport to continue.

David Roberts
BGA Chairman

Mark Stevens wrote in message ...
Indeed,

Congratulations..Well done..

At 15:48 29 September 2003, Gavin Goudie wrote:
See


http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/tec...tters/EASA.htm


Good work - well done to those involved.

At 11:54 29 September 2003, Robertmudd1u wrote:
In article , Robert Danewid
writes:

European Aviation Safety Agency
which became operative today. Your BGA /David Roberts)
has put in a
tremendous lot of work to try to 'save' gliding from
all the nonsense
that are coming out of Brussels.

Robert Danewid
President Swedish Soaring Federation


Any government agency that has the word 'SAFETY' in
its title will concern its
self more with their idea of safety rather than spending
any time on making the
sport more accesable to the masses through less regulation,
lower fees and
making sure the activity is treated fairly buy the
government.

All of us in the U.S.A. need to pay attention to what
is happening in Europe.
There are many polititions here that idolize the 'European
Model' and would
like to see it here. That will be a sorry day indeed.

Robert Mudd