Hard to see what the FAI/IGC can do about falling numbers of glider pilots.
FAI is there to keep track of World Records and
set competition formulae for various parts of aviation.
IGC is the gliding branch. They have absolutely
no power at all except for the recognition given them by various countries.
The last time the IGC tried to promote gliding we
ended up with the PW-5 fiasco.
As for the Olympics, who would want anything to
do with that utterly corrupt organisation?
While we are on the subject of international
gliding it may be worth asking for how much
longer gliding will keep organising World Gliding
Championships with well over 100 gliders being launched from one site?
It is a sure fire recipe for mid air collisions.
How about one class per championship and ONE
pilot per country. The CURRENT champions from
their respective countries plus the previous
World champion. Should keep the numbers down to 30 or so.
At Benalla I was talking on the Saturday
afternoon with Scott Percival and Rob Hanbury and
the subject of risk and Experimental aircraft
came up. Scott said that this contest was the
riskiest thing in Australian gliding since the
last world contest at Benalla. Half an
hour later came news of the mid air and bailouts.
Mike
At 07:34 PM 2/28/2017, you wrote:
GLIDING INTERNATIONAL
ISSUE MARCH 2017
The March 2017 issue went in the mail on March 1
and should be with subscribers within a
week. The Digital version was released on the same day.
Our circulation continues to grow and the March
issue breaks new territory with a fresh look
at falling membership. We regretfully have
to assume that the International Gliding
Commission or (even the FAI) are not interested
in accepting that they have the responsibility
of addressing the problem and bringing forth a
united world wide program to at least attempting a fix.
Fees paid to FAI are not inconsiderable and the
advantages are getting less and less. New
Zealand has acknowledged that they can no longer
afford to send a representative to Europe to the
IGC annual meeting and we suspect they are
certainly not the only member country in the
same position. The sport needs a more
switched-on body that is aligned to the whole
membership and not just the two percent of the
membership that are competition orientated. In
other words IGC is fast outgrowing its usefulness.
Glidings Best Kept Secret - The Jonker
factory have released the story on just how they
went about designing and manufacturing their new
JS3. A company with a dedicated goal! They are now a force to be reckoned with.
The weather at Benalla for Australias World
Championships was a major disappointment for the
dedicated team that excelled in providing
everything except great soaring conditions. We
devote 12 pages covering the event with some spectacular photos.
Schempp-Hirths new Ventus hits the headlines
in this issue. And for the first time ever, we
have seen a quoted price in public. Unsubstantiated - 100,000.
OSTIV had a very successful Congress at
Benalla and Gerard Robertson has produced an
excellent report. OSTIV is far more membership
related than IGC and they should be receiving
more support participation from the whole gliding movement.
FAI has become a member of the Olympic TV sports organisation .
Virtual Reality has arrived and it has a
great future for pilot training in the gliding
movement (If only it could be organised on a
world wide basis). They are a fraction of the
cost of a sailplane simulator. A very
worth-while project that could make a difference
to our gliding population. We have done some electrifying research.
Bet you havent heard about the gliders that
ended up in the US Airforce and were fitted with
motors and used as observation aircraft in the
Vietnam war. Gliders as war birds ? Yes ! One of our best stories!
The medical battle is over in the USA and a
number of CAAs around the world are considering
accepting their lead as a concept of some merit.
Will your country follow the U.S. move ?
Englishman, G Dale, is producing a new series
of training manuals. We think they lead the
market and are worthy of considering as an aid
for your club and your members. After all, G is
the most advanced mountain soaring instructor in
the world. Read about him in this issue.
Veronica is a new name on the Namibian scene.
Just completed their first season. A well illustrated project.
Our Sebastian Kawa article on soaring in
Russia in our last issue has generated some
interesting possibilities on sites with
considerable soaring possibilities. Russian
soaring pilot, Dimetria Ivanischev, has written
to us about going to likely locations he
personally wants to explore. Anyone with their
hands up for a Russian expedition?
And we tell you how to handle yourself when you have been balled-lout
by an air traffic controller for an airspace infringement.
All this plus 35 other stories that will educate and inform.
As we have said before - our best issue yet!
We hope you will join us.
JOHN ROAKE
EDITOR.
NEW (or RENEWING) SUBSCRIBERS CAN EASILY EFFECT
A SUBSCRIPTION BY GOING TO OUR WEB PAGE For
printed (US $69) or Digital issue (US $49) or
your local equivalent. (USE www.glidinginternational.com
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