mark king wrote:
This gets back to what the role of the GFA is. In my view the obsession with being the "regulator" and keeping CASA at bay has been at the expense of what GFA should be doing which is getting out there and developing gliding on the ground. Is the USA system of the government through the FAA regulating gliding any more onerous then the system we have here with the GFA regulating gliding?
Absolutely yes, it is. Tug pilots need Commercial Pilots Licenses, and are hired on a charter basis. Maintenance can only be performed by FAA-approved personnel in FAA-approved organizations with FAA-approved parts. Operating out of anything that isn't an FAA-approved airport is next to impossible. Instructors are also CPL holders hired on a charter basis. And licensing can't happen without an FAA examiner. Every aspect of the operation has some degree of FAA interference in it. That makes it expensive. By the time I'd chartered the tug pilot, chartered the instructor (because I don't have a PPL) and hired the glider, my 1.5 hours in a DG505 at Llano, California worked out to US$200 per hour. And that was by no means the most expensive operation within 100 miles of LA.
GFA have to get CASA approval for their regs anyway don't they?
In a manner of speaking. It's a process of negotiation, usually. - mark -------------------------------------------------------------------- I tried an internal modem, [EMAIL PROTECTED] but it hurt when I walked. Mark Newton ----- Voice: +61-4-1620-2223 ------------- Fax: +61-8-82231777 ----- _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring