Unfortunately, one of the four, Tom I think it was, doesn't have a level 2 ind
ops rating.
It's a bit sad really cos Tom is long time flying enthusiast and has been
flying for about 35 years, he has retired from full time work now and is
reasonably well off with time and money, that's why the guys actually got
together. All four of the group are like that.
In fact Tom holds a CPL which he got when he was in his youth. He has over 3000
power hours, about 900 of which is towing gliders. He also has about 150 hours
in gliders because, being a responsible tow pilot, he made sure he got
experience at both ends of the rope. But he was never keen on cross country
flight in gliders, sure he did a couple of little ones early on, but didn't
like the hassle involved in outlandings, even got abused by an irate farmer
once. After a few outlandings Tom decided he was just as happy floating around
within gliding distance of his takeoff point and did a lot of club passenger
flights instead. He never claimed any badges because he never put a priority on
them.
He was actually thinking that if the winching thing went OK he could buy a
plane, an Auster or something, which he could fly to airshows and flyins mostly
but use to tow some of the others if the full crew weren't there.That wasn't
going to be a problem as Bob was quite happy to let Tom fly off his property
and Tom had done many paddock retrieves. Bob's property was actually better
than many places Tom had towed from.
Tom meets all the requirements of level 2 except for one. He doesn't have a
Silver C.
If Tom is a member of a club somewhere, he can be a Level 1 ind ops, if the
club allows it. But that means the club is still "responsible" for his glider
flying even if he never turns up at the club from one year to the next.
However, all is not lost. Tom can still do the towing completely legally even
if he has no ind ops rating (1 or 2). He can also drive the winch for them
too. It's just that he can't fly the glider he shares with his mates.
Regards
SWK
----- Original Message -----
From: Ross McLean
To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.'
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008 2:14 AM
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Fw: IMPROVED GOVERNANCE & DIRECT ELECTION
OFTHEGFABOARD
Hi Al
As I understand it, currently, if Tom, Frank, Bob and Harry, who are all
qualified glider pilots with many years experience, have a level 2 independent
operators certificate, they can happily operate as you describe. I know of at
least two sites that operate in this way. Also if they have an AEI rating, not
difficult, they can take their passengers flying independently as well.
Regards the piece of paper after the C certificate, isn't that called
Silver/Gold & Diamond C, followed by 750k badge & 1000k badge?
Cheers, ROSS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Al Borowski
Sent: Thursday, 5 June 2008 10:47 PM
To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.
Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Fw: IMPROVED GOVERNANCE & DIRECT ELECTION OF
THEGFABOARD
Hi Tim,
May I suggest a rethink of the minimum 200 gliding hours requirement to get
Level 2 independent ops? Given it is possible to get a full-blown PPL in 1/4 of
that time, it seems a tad high to me.
Another scenario: Tom, Frank, Bob and Harry are all qualified glider pilots
with many years experience. Bob has a property where he can winch launch from.
They decide to pool their money and buy a 2nd hand glider and a suitable winch.
All are perfectly capable of turning up for a day, taking turns flying their
glider and driving the winch.
Why do they have to be members of a GFA affiliated club? They can't form
their own club, because (as far as I know) each club must have at least one
instructor. Being an instructor means that you must have so many instructing
hours to keep current - and the group just want to fly for themselves, not
worry about students. Since they don't want to be a training organization it
isn't an option. If they had PPL's or RAA certificates it'd be a complete
non-issue.
Also, I still think there should be a bit of paper to shoot for after the C
certificate. Something that says yes, this person is responsible enough to be a
glider pilot. He is responsible enough to be Pilot In Command - if he buys his
own glider, let him take passengers etc without instructor approval. If he does
something stupid it's completley his fault; not an instructor 100km away. I
honestly don't see how this would hurt, and I think it'd improve retention a
lot. How many pilots would leave soon after Solo, when they almost have this
certificate in their grasp? Clubs would, of course, be free to set additional
restrictions on the use of their aircraft.
Of course, the GFA could always do something radical and make an online
questionnaire or something.
Best regards,
Al
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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