Dave Boulter
Executive Manager Operations
Currency Barometer and beginning of the soaring season
The soaring season is starting, and we are all hoping for booming weather. Each year there is an influx of SOAR reports on incidents that could have been averted by attention to Currency. We are grateful to Sharon Brunton for doing some analysis of our flight hour data that is collected during Flight Review forms. In reference to the chart below, 50% of our pilots are green, 25% yellow and 25% red. This is indicative data but still useful as a guide. Where do you sit on this chart?
Flight reviews are common this time of year. Some clubs also do outlanding checks for their pilots. I would suggest using these times as a learning experience and not treating it as a test. Talk to your instructors about your goals and aspirations for the years ahead. It is also a good time to engage with your club sporting coaches. Together you can work out a plan.
Reinstating Winch Operations
OAN 04/24 Reinstating Winch Launch Operations has been released. With the recent Airworthiness Directive issued for Piper Pawnee towplanes, an increased interest has arisen. Your club may be current with winch operations, may have done winch operations in the past or may be considering starting operations. If your club is currently using a winch often, please continue the good work. You may consider talking to nearby clubs and offering to do some flights with their members. It is very important that we keep currency up during potential shutdowns. OAN 04/24 can be found on the Gliding Australia website in Documents-> Operations-> Operations Advice Notices.
Significant Gliding Events
Gliding Australia produces a Significant Gliding Activity Advisory (SGAA) each month. This advisory goes to various parties: RPT operators, emergency services, flying schools, CASA…. the list is increasing. The email is well received, and our aim is to deliver the advisory the last Monday of each month with data for the next month. How can you help? If you have a gliding event coming up, contact
Aerobatic Manual
The Gliding Australia Aerobatic Manual is in the last versions of review. The manual should be released at the time of print for this magazine. This manual addresses the training syllabus for simple and advanced aerobatics. If you would like to gain an aerobatic endorsement this manual will provide you with information on Aresti diagrams, airworthiness for aerobatics, human factors in aerobatics, upright or inverted recognition and many other subjects. When the manual is available, an email will be sent to RMOs/CFIs/Instructors, and it will be announced in the Gliding Australia Forum.
Overseas Gliding Instructors
Does your club use Instructors from overseas during the year? If so, we need time to make sure the pilot complies with the medical and operational requirements. As well, time is needed to train the instructor in our GPC syllabus and Training Principles and Techniques. Please make sure your Regional Manager Operations (RMO) and Executive Manager Operations (EMO) know of this well in advance. L3 Instructors will need to be assigned to train and check the instructor. The closer we get to the soaring season, the less available our resources are.
Use of SkyEcho in Controlled Airspace
Controlled airspace access is becoming a hot topic in the sports aviation bodies. When it comes to access to controlled airspace where Airservices Australia is assisting with separation of aircraft, having a SkyEcho will not allow you to be seen by Airservices Australia for separation. EC devices like the SkyEcho are low on transmit power and more importantly, only have a SIL = 1. Airservices Australia requires a SIL >=2.
SIL means Source Integrity Limit. SIL is a numeric value between 0 and 3 that indicates the GNSS position source’s probability of exceeding the reported integrity value. It is one of the components of a standard ADS-B position message. A SIL number of 2 or 3 indicates that the GNSS position source information is suitable for ATC separation, while a SIL number of 1 indicates that the GNSS position source information is suitable for situational awareness only and is not suitable for ATC separation.
SkyEcho is a relatively low-cost solution compared to certified ADS-B Out systems that require a SIL = 2 or 3. Meeting higher integrity levels usually involves more expensive, certified GNSS systems and stricter compliance with aviation standards, which would increase the cost of the unit. SIL = 1 strikes a balance between cost, portability and performance. Outside of controlled airspace, the SkyEcho is a cost effective solution.
New Member Introduction Days
Southern Cross Gliding Club (SCGC) has recently introduced New Member Introduction Meetings. Joining a gliding club and navigating the many ins and outs associated can be a bit daunting. We ran our first meeting with six attendees. Some members were very new, one was a returning member and others had joined less than six months earlier.
The content was well received and feedback positive. The objectives of these meetings are to:
- Introduce new members to the club and how it operates
- Point new members to the people who will help them and to the resources available
- Answer questions new members have
- Allow new members to mingle and get to know each other.
The items covered are
- Welcome to the club and to gliding
- The officers of the club, introducing any that can attend on that day
- Explaining the club’s probation period
- Pathways in Gliding
- Glider Pilot Logbook
- Training resources
- What is expected of pilots in training
- Reading GPC manuals and other training resources
- SCGC website and documents
- The club’s attendance page
- How to make your day more enjoyable
- Join in with DIs and cleaning gliders
- Learning how to launch gliders
- Learning how to retrieve/ move gliders
- Finding 2-3 Instructors you can work with, work as a team
- Mentoring
- We are a club, get involved
- Tour of the clubhouse, maintenance area
and hangar area
- Tour of the flight line and what to do/watch out for on the flight line
- Back to clubhouse, ask members to bring their lunch and allow mingle time
- Take members who have indicated they would like to fly down to flight line and slot them in with Duty Pilot/Instructor.
We are hoping that the introduction meeting will help new members settle into the club. What do you do at your club along these lines? Send an email to