As I write this column, we’re still not completely across the full extent of the Pawnee AD issue, both in terms of the number of aircraft grounded and the extent of any mitigation required. Given the airworthiness unknowns around each of the 44 aircraft impacted, the guidance Anthony Smith (Chair of Airworthiness Gliding Australia) has been providing is exemplary. Of course, many others are also contributing solutions, and I thank all of you for your support and input.
The impact on some clubs will potentially be extreme, and I ask all in the Australian gliding community to come together with the offer of mateship, given that’s what we’re known for in this country.
For the record, Gliding Australia is focused on providing the necessary support required until the challenge is completely resolved.
75th Anniversary
In the previous edition of Gliding Australia Magazine, we published historical material that provided some background to Gliding Australia’s 75yrs. Now, to celebrate this historical milestone in a physical form that can be shared, we’re producing double sided key tags that will shortly be forwarded to clubs for distribution to all members. Please make sure you get one!
SQUAWK Feedback
Organisations large and small gauge satisfaction and relevance via feedback. They proactively seek it, whether positive or negative. On that basis, Gliding Australia has just introduced the ‘Squawk Back Channel’. We’d love to hear from you and to have you to share your thoughts, suggestions or feedback with everyone here at Gliding Australia. You can lodge your feedback anonymously or with identification, and you can specify who you’d like to share your comments with. I can assure you, all feedback will be read and considered. There’s a link to Squawk Back on the Gliding Australia website.
AEF Forms
Gliding Australia has been trialling paperless Air Experience Flight (AEF) forms at a few of our clubs. This initiative aims to streamline the process, reduce paperwork and make admin and communications smoother. Rather than pre-purchasing feedback forms, your club simply displays a QR code at the pie cart, allowing the participant to scan the code and complete the form digitally. Pretty cool, hey! Digital copies of the completed forms are forwarded to your club’s admin, and Gliding Australia invoices your club monthly for flights completed. To get onboard for this process, simply email
Talking technology
All members will shortly receive a digital Gliding Australia Membership Card. JustGo has the facility to produce an active digital Membership Card for Apple and iOS phone wallets. The actual card details have variable fields, and we’re working with JustGo to action applicable member details and distribute these to our membership ASAP.
Data fields would include, for example, Membership Validity Date, Medical Validity and a member’s Credentials. The card is self-loading and dynamic – in other words, once loaded into your phone, if your membership is not valid or has expired, the card removes itself from your phone. Once membership is reinstated, the card reinstalls itself back onto your phone. The technology is a social norm when talking membership/loyalty cards, and it’s conveniently accessible. This will enable simple flight line checking, for example, Gliding Australia membership, currency and so on.
Christmas Gifts
What do you buy a glider pilot for Christmas? No, it’s not a trick question, but it can be tricky! I had the pleasure of recently meeting Bernhard Eckey while in Adelaide at Pallamana Aerodrome for the Skyward Summit. It was a magnificent spring day in the Adelaide Hills with great attendance, and it was simply a fantastic day to be out and about. While there, Bernhard introduced me to the latest edition of his book Advanced Soaring Made Easy V4.1. At just over 400 pages, it’s a great read for newbies and for those who may have forgotten more than you remember. This could be a gift to give or purchase for your own enjoyment. We’ve added it to the Gliding Australia shop, and for just $75 + postage, a copy can be in your hands before you blink. HIGHLY recommended.
To conclude, I was recently provided a copy of a transcript of a talk given to a group at Lake Keepit in 1983 by one of GFA’s founders, Jack Iggulden. What a great read, in terms of the history shared and the language of that time. A copy of the transcript is now available on the Gliding Australia website for those interested, with a warning that some of the comments are not socially acceptable in today’s society. However, they do reflect historical fact, given it’s a word for word transcript, hence my willingness to share it with you. It covers everything from the early days of gliding in Australia in the 1920s, which Iggulden calls ‘the Age of Innocence’ - that is, the period between his late twenties and the outbreak of the second World War - through to a commentary about fear, the pressures of life as a man, and that you’re never free until you get into that third dimension of space, where there’s up, down and sideways. “It is really something," he said. "There is nothing else like it – I’m talking about gliding, because it is, it really genuinely is, another dimension to life.” This is genuinely worth a read with a cuppa in hand.
Until next time… Stay safe, stay connected, and continue to push the boundaries of what's possible in the world of gliding.
Ciao and warm regards,
Doug Flockhart
Chief Executive Officer