The BGA wishes all pilots a happy and safe 2015.
BGA
BGA Conference. A reminder that the 2015 BGA Conference, Exhibition, Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be held at the Nottingham Belfry on Saturday 7th March. The conference will, as always, be free to attend and will feature sessions for everybody, covering topics such as aerobatic competition flying, aircraft conspicuity and visual detection, and an update on what is new in the world of instrumentation. You can now purchase your tickets for gala dinner at https://www.gliding.co.uk/bgashop/applications/conference/conference.php. Accommodation is available at the hotel for the Saturday night at a special price of £91 for double occupancy. Rooms are offered on a first come, first served basis and you should book directly with the hotel on 0845 0740 060, quoting ‘BGA CONFERENCE’. At present, the hotel is reserving all of their rooms for us and if you do not quote this rate code, you will be told that the hotel is full.
Regulatory
Derogation for Part-FCL Licence Holders. As most will already be aware, the requirement to hold a Part-FCL licence has been deferred until 2018. When this was announced, the BGA stated that it would engage with the CAA to ensure that any pilot who had already converted to a Part-FCL licence would not be disadvantaged. The CAA has now issued a derogation, effective 1st January 2015, which allows pilots holding a Part-FCL licence to continue to fly under UK national legislation if they chose to do so. The derogation is effective until 8th April 2015 when the next amendment to the Aircrew Regulation comes into force, at which point a further derogation covering the period to 2018 will be issued.
This means that during the period to April 2018, pilots holding a Part-FCL licence (LAPL(S) or SPL) can choose to revert to BGA qualifications and associated BGA medical standards, including gaining and exercising the privileges of a BGA instructor (including Basic instructor). Obviously, any pilot who wishes to exercise the privileges of their Part-FCL licence must continue to meet the requirements associated with that licence including recency and medical requirements. Pilots who have not yet converted to a Part-FCL licence may now wish to do so knowing that they will not be disadvantaged and that they will have the licence on hand should they wish, for example, to fly elsewhere in Europe during the next few years. Details of the derogation are at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/ORS4No1075.pdf
Competitions and Cross-Country
BGA Trophies. The winners of BGA trophies for flights achieved in 2014 have been announced. The list of winners is at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/competitions/trophies.htm
Inter-Services Regionals. The ISRGC will be held this year at RAF Cosford from 29th August to 6th September. As always, entries from civilians are welcome.

General
Email Issues. Following a number of reports, we became aware last month that a number of subscribers to our various Email alert groups, including the Newsletter distribution list, had not been receiving their Emails. Those with btinternet and hotmail addresses appear to have been particularly affected, although the problem also affected some other domains. We believe that the problem is now resolved. If you have been affected, please accept our apologies. If you have missed past issues of the newsletter, you can catch up via the archive at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/notices/newsletters.htm.
FAI Angelo d’Arrigo Diploma. The FAI Angelo d’Arrigo Diploma is awarded to individuals or organisations that have contributed significantly to the defence of and respect for the environment affected by air sports. Their activities may include: scientific research, private, public or commercial events or activities, developed or promoted directly by pilots, sport flying clubs, NACs or public or private bodies. The FAI is currently seeking nominations for this award and has extended the deadline for nominations to 16th January 2015. More details are in the FAI By-Laws, section 7.14 at http://www.fai.org/downloads/fai/fai_by_laws. If you know of any person or organisation whose activity could merit a nomination, please consider putting a nomination forward to the Royal Aero Club on the nomination form available at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/documents/raecawards2014.doc
The Telegraph Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show. The BGA will be exhibiting at The Telegraph Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show next month. Taking place at London’s ExCeL from 12-15 February 2015, the Show is the UK’s largest exhibition for adventurous people. With a wide range of activities and displays, the Show promises a fantastic day out for outdoor enthusiasts and we hope that some of these will be persuaded to try gliding. If you would like to join our team of volunteers to help us promote our sport at the show please get in touch with Keith Auchterlonie - keith@gliding.co.uk. You don’t need to be available for the full 4 days and all offers of help will be very welcome.
If you just want to visit the show, it’s still not too late for BGA club members to get reduced price entry, enabling you to attend for just £13 each (Th/Fr) or £15 (Sa/Su), a saving of £8 off the on the door prices. To purchase your tickets, go to http://telegraphoutdoorshow.eventgenius.co.uk/ before 31 January and quote discount code BGA01. Your ticket will also give you entry to The London Bike Show, the Triathlon Show: London and the London International Dive Show (Sa/Su). Full details of the show are at http://telegraphoutdoorshow.co.uk/
Free to a Good Home. The BGA and BHPA are establishing a meeting/classroom at the Leicester office. As such, a number of well cared for office desks (formerly based in Kimberley House!) are available free of charge to the person collecting. Please contact Debbie Carr at the BGA office for more information.