BGA Strategic Plan.

The BGA have just published the current strategic plan.

It may be found at British Gliding Association http://www.gliding.co.uk ,
info for Clubs & Members, http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/news.htm , Click
here for latest updates around the website
http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/update.htm , BGA Strategic Plan document
added http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/doc...OKLETHIRES.pdf .

It is an attractive well illustrated explanation about gliding and the BGA.
Well worth a look.

W.J. (Bill) Dean (U.K.).
Remove "ic" to reply.

W.J. (Bill) Dean (U.K.). wrote:
The BGA have just published the current strategic plan.

In the "Aims and Objectives" it fails to mention
"Sneak in more and more regulation under spurious
safety or national-security grounds whenever
possible"


Jeremy
(ex-pilot)

W.J. (Bill) Dean (U.K.). wrote:
Where and when did you fly?

One of the major UK clubs, until the end of the 2003 season.

How far did you progress?

Early crosscountry.

None of which relates to my feelings, but yes, I feel
a little bitter.

- Jeremy

Martin, this isn't aimed at you personally.....



Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Wed, 01 Oct 2003 23:25:07 +0100, Jeremy Harris
wrote:


W.J. (Bill) Dean (U.K.). wrote:

Where and when did you fly?

One of the major UK clubs, until the end of the 2003 season.


How far did you progress?

Early crosscountry.

None of which relates to my feelings, but yes, I feel
a little bitter.

- Jeremy


With regard to which change exactly? Please explain.

The only major change I can think of in the last season has been the
medicals requirement

Precisely.

to put gliding in line with the new NPPL license.

Irrelevant. What _benefit_ does it provide (or in
my case, would it have), and at what costs?



I liked gliding. I liked the freedom, the having
sole responsibility.

They took that away.



I regarded the imposition of the medicals requirement
as the first in a long series of "obvious" steps in the
name of "safety" and "security" which would soon be
introduced. I hadn't thought particularly of G- registrations
on gliders, but that's the sort of thing. I _had_ thought
of:
Photo-id - after all, you've got to prove that the
medical papers you're required to have on your person
on the airfied actually apply to you!
Transponder. Oh, and radio while we're at it. And
filing flight plans. Soon somone will suggest ATC,
no more than one aircraft in a thermal, and flying
straight-and-level, for gossakes.
Optician's certificate, with measurements. So you
can prove either you don't need glasses, or the two pairs
you're required to carry actually match your prescription.
Oh, the glasses had better have serial numbers, or be
microchipped too.
Oh, of course. A _license_.

I hear that in Oz you need two signatures every time you rig.


Faugh.

Personally, I don't wish to have to carry paperwork, id
or whatever to prove that I'm a human being. I don't
wish to spend time or money seeking out a GP to get that
medical. But, you say, "everyone _has_ a GP". Wrong.
I don't. I dont need a GP to be human, either.

Will this hassle for documentation put other British
glider pilots off?
Well. There's the competition pilots. They don't
care, they'll do anything because they love it. Good
on them.
There's those who are also power pilots. They don't
care, they need a medical already, it's "always" been
needed.
There's the committee people, those who put time and
effort, mostly unpaid, into running the sport, because
they love it. Well done, you're all needed. But
precisely because they love it, they'll spend the
extra time and the extra money.

But then there's those at the margin, for whom money
or time is tight. They can only just stay in the
sport. Extra hassle, eh? Hmm. Maybe they'll
stay home and watch the box instead. And they are
not the people getting the medals or sitting on the
committees. So they'll just drift away, unnoticed -
or never go further than that trial flight.



A few years back we applied to the Sports Council for
some lottery money to help fund a new hangar. One of
the reasons for being turned down was "Gliding is
percieved as a elitist sport". It is, in some ways.
Expensive, for a start - but it just got made worse.
Much worse. Contrast it with football. You don't
need to get a medical before you buy a football at
you local shop, and go for a kickabout with your mates.
You don't need to get a G- registration for that ball.
You don't need to call on the radio before you pull on
you boots and enter that recreation-ground. What did
the BGA (I suspect, without proof, forced by the CAA)
just do to Gliding?




I think that introduction was inevitable under outside pressure.

So, roll over and have your tummy tickled.



Oddly enough, it can even be beneficial: I did the group 2 medical for
a passenger rating this year and found it also made the Germans happy
when I boogied up to the Wasserkuppe to do a bit of flying. I'm
certain I'd not have been allowed to solo there if I didn't have the
medical certificate - and a British Glider Pilot's License.

To at least some extent, the same arguments apply.

Inhabitants of other countries, where medicals and licences have
"always" been required, probably don't see what my arguments are.
To them, I say: "Is the participation in soaring growing, by
headcount, in your country? What is the age profile?"



Jeremy

in article , Martin Gregorie at
ess wrote on 2003/10/02 15:30:

Ever wondered how long it will be before you need
a medical and an annual check to drive?

Not soon enough.

It's becoming rather tiresome here in the US reading week after week about
some superannuated relic driving into a crowd and sending a half dozen or so
off to their final reward, simply because he couldn't rememeber that the car
had brakes -- or where they might be located.

Take away the keys to the behemoth and lash them to their rocking chairs.



Jack

"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
...

Ever wondered how long it will be before you need a medical and an
annual check to drive?

A little while after all vehicles are fitted with data loggers and that
appears to be just around the corner here in the UK.

Ian

At 04:30 03 October 2003, Tango4 wrote:
'Martin Gregorie' wrote in message
.. .

Ever wondered how long it will be before you need
a medical and an annual check to drive?

In the UK for a car 70 years of age requires a medical
and every three years there after.

For a HGV at 45 years every 5 years and annually at
65

Competence checks can be imposed by the court following
driving offences, ie disqualification until a test
is past, in effect a driver becomes a student again.

There are very strict guidelines for precribed illnesses,
so we are not far behind or in front!!!!

Dave Martin

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 04:22:34 +0000 (UTC), "tango4"
wrote:

"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
.. .

Ever wondered how long it will be before you need a medical and an
annual check to drive?

A little while after all vehicles are fitted with data loggers and that
appears to be just around the corner here in the UK.


I missed that one!

Is this another part of Blunkett's Total Surveillance Strategy or
something entirely separate? It looks like a logical progression: CCTV
- mandatory identity cards - vehicle tracking.


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :

In the U.K. for a private car driving licence a new application has to be
completed at 70 years of age . This requires a new medical declaration,
but it is self-declared; no medical examination is required (unless some
complication is declared - but this applies at all ages).

W.J. (Bill) Dean (U.K.).
Remove "ic" to reply.


"Dave Martin" wrote in message
...

In the UK for a car 70 years of age requires a medical
and every three years there after.

For a HGV at 45 years every 5 years and annually at
65

Competence checks can be imposed by the court following
driving offences, ie disqualification until a test
is past, in effect a driver becomes a student again.

There are very strict guidelines for prescribed illnesses,
so we are not far behind or in front!!!!

Dave Martin

I saw the results of some tests done by the DMV and a GPS/GIS company who
both thought the idea of being able to book you for speeding, unauthorised
parking and entering city limits on an annual basis were pretty attractive.
There was some coverage in the press, probably hidden behind headlines about
Iraq at the time. The permutations are so attractive to a beurocrat that I'm
surprised its not already happening. Then again perhaps it is ...........

rant on

1 - Launch a European GPS constellation - in progress ( create jobs, an
industry, and spinoffs )
2 - Make everyone get a machine readable ID and licence ( watch out for the
national ID that was mentioned at the Labour party conference if its smart
card based I'm going to start getting really worried )
3 - Europe has how many cars ? must be over 50 million, Set up a tender for
that many loggers, cost will be £50 or less.

Logger connected to ignition/imobiliser is enabled by smart card licence and
will store 2 years at 1 second intervals ( easy with todays flash memory )
records G forces, speed and position, lights status and engine RPM. Last 30
seconds ( before airbag deployment) is recorded at 100 ms intervals.
Roadside CCTV will capture and decode numberplate and store time and place
( already happens ) and if at the end of the year when you go for road tax
renewal your logger wasn't on when when you got recorded then you better
have an explanation or your car gets crushed there and then!

Tell everyone by x date to retrofit logger, no logger no insurance no drive!

The local fitment centre will charge £199 ( or more ) to fit it or you rent
it for £30 / per annum from the government, part of your road tax! New cars
will have them as standard.

A bit of tap dancing around data protection and the demographic data
available is mind blowing! ( If we can go to war with Iraq then the DPA is a
cakewalk! )

A whole new industry is born with an annual turnover in the billions, a shed
load of jobs are created ( franchised fitting and service centres, logger
readers, batch analysis data centres, PC systems and software everywhere,
yada yada yada )

Insurance companies settle claims with a modified version of SeeYou! They
will be behind the system all the way. "You have a logger fitted sir, well
that's 25% off your premium". No logger well we'll sell you/rent you one

There are some advantages to all this though .....
If you are a slow and careful driver and a 'good citizen' you don't have a
worry in the world.
Your insurance comes down to next to nothing!
You can tell your car who is allowed to drive it and where and when its
allowed to go.
You can find out where your kids get their good dope from!

rant off

Ian

"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 04:22:34 +0000 (UTC), "tango4"
wrote:

"Martin Gregorie" wrote in message
.. .

Ever wondered how long it will be before you need a medical and an
annual check to drive?

A little while after all vehicles are fitted with data loggers and that
appears to be just around the corner here in the UK.


I missed that one!

Is this another part of Blunkett's Total Surveillance Strategy or
something entirely separate? It looks like a logical progression: CCTV
- mandatory identity cards - vehicle tracking.


--
martin@ : Martin Gregorie
gregorie : Harlow, UK
demon :
co : Zappa fan & glider pilot
uk :