Safety
RA(T)s. A large number of temporary airspace restrictions associated with major events and air displays, including Red Arrows displays, have been announced recently. In addition, airspace has been reserved for large formations of military aircraft performing flypasts (and practicing for these flypasts) in respect of the Queen’s Jubilee (15-16, 19 May) and Birthday (12-14, 16 June). The AICs detailing the restrictions are on the AIS web site at http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com and a summary of all current RA(T)s is at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/airspace/rats.php
Airworthiness Directives. Schempp-Hirth Cirrus Series Life Inspections. We have been advised of an error in the BGA TNS and Compendium of Airworthiness Directives that may mean that your aircraft missed its 3000 hour inspection. TNS 02/04 item 1.14 advised that the 3000 hour inspection had been deleted; this is incorrect. Owners should follow the inspection requirements in the maintenance manual. If your glider has not yet reached 3000 hours you should ensure the inspection is planned for the future. If your glider has passed 3000 hours and the inspection has not been carried out you should speak to your inspector to arrange this as soon as possible.
Grob G109 Rudder Pedal Inspection. The BGA has received a report of cracks in the rudder pedal mountings on a Grob G109 motor glider. The cracks, affecting three of the four pedals, are on the "C" section channel mounting on the horizontal adjustment beam. Another aircraft showed stress marks in the same area although cracks had not yet developed. Owners should inspect the rudder pedal mountings as soon as possible. A photograph showing the cracking is at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/technical/documents/E0074A.pdf. Please note that the G109B uses a different system so is not affected. Please report any findings to the BGA CTO.
easyJet Operations from Southend. easyJet operations from Southend began during the first week in April with three Airbus A-319s operating about 70 departures and 70 arrivals per week. Following a three-way conversation between the airline, the LAA and the BGA, the LAA has published a useful article for pilots who may be in the vicinity of Southend. You can read it at http://www.lightaircraftassociation.co.uk/2012/News/southend.html
GASIL. The latest edition of the CAA General Aviation Safety Information Leaflet (GASIL), 2012/03 is now available at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/2012%2003.pdf

BGA
Aero Expo. The BGA will be exhibiting at Aero Expo 2012, which is being held at Sywell on 25-27 May. We will have the BGA simulator and hope to have as many gliders as possible on static display. We would be very pleased to hear from you if you can help out on any of the days or if you would like the chance to show off your glider. Please contact keith@gliding.co.uk
Blue Card/Child Protection Training. The next training session will be held at Dartmoor GC (Brentor) on Saturday 19th May at 5.30 pm. Lasting about 1½ hours, it will cover the use of Blue Cards, the What if...you need to use the Child Protection Procedures and will take a look at the practicalities of ensuring everyone’s safety in dealing with young people in gliding (it won’t just be "who needs a CRB check"). The session is intended to help those who have young club members, are considering becoming a Junior Gliding Centre or already have that status, and will take a commonsense approach to the subject. To book a space, please contact Karon Matten, Dartmoor's Child Protection Officer (and the BGA CP lead) on matten22@live.com
Regulatory
Olympic Airspace. The Olympic Games will result in significant airspace restrictions and temporary changes from 14 July – 15th August 2012. The Government is committed to a safe and secure Games and nobody should doubt the seriousness of the precautions being taken by the MoD and Police. It is difficult to overstate how important it is that all glider, SLMG, tug, and other pilots operating from our sites understand and comply with the restrictions. The Airspace Safety Initiative has established an Olympics site (http://olympics.airspacesafety.com) that contains a wealth of information. In addition, the BGA established a working group last year which is advising on gliding-specific issues and information for glider pilots will be published in good time. A new page on the BGA web site, which will be updated with the latest information as it becomes available, is at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/airspace/olympics.htm
Transponders Above FL100. As part of its strategy to implement the use of mode S transponders, the CAA has ended (from 5 April) the general exemption that allowed SLMGs and gliders to operate above FL100 without transponders (see April newsletter). In parallel with this, the CAA and the BGA have agreed a number of non-transponder areas above FL100 for use by SLMGs and gliders as detailed at AIC Y 007/2012 (available at http://www.nats-uk.eadit.com). The BGA anticipates that airspace files will be developed for these non-transponder areas. When operating above FL100 outside of the non-transponder areas described in the AIC, pilots equipped with a mode S transponder should use the conspicuity code of 7000 unless otherwise specified by an air traffic service provider.
SLMG Rating Revalidation. The CAA concession permitting SLMG ratings to be revalidated via the ‘old’ 13 month requirements expired on 8th April. All SLMG rating revalidations must now use the standard NPPL 24 month requirements. Details of the 24 month revalidation are at http://www.nationalprivatepilotslicence.co.uk/PDFs/revalidation_renewal_notes.pdf. The BGA understands that any 13 month revalidation made before 8th April remains valid for 13 months. 13 month revalidations made after the 8th April are invalid. The SRE(MG) Andy Miller can take questions on 01249 821 031.

EASA Future Medical Requirements. EASA flight crew licensing requirements that will apply to private pilots, including gliding, by April 2015 include changes to the medical requirements. Pilots currently operating on a JAA Class 2 medical will automatically changeover to a very similar EASA Class 2 medical. Pilots who use a GP endorsed self-declaration medical will, in due course, see a change to an EASA GP medical. In both cases, the EASA medical is only required at the point of application for an EASA licence. The BGA anticipates that the transition from BGA to EASA licensing for glider pilots will take place from late 2013. The BGA will provide detailed advice prior to this on both licensing and medical requirements. For interest, the EASA medical requirements are described in CAA Information Notice IN–2012/063 at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/20120326EASAMedicalCertification.pdf.
Competitions and Cross-Country
Oudie Flight Recorder. Due to GPS positioning fix errors generated by the Oudie internal GPS engine, making it fall outside the required specification for approval as an IGC Position recorder, the recent BGA approval for use as a position recorder (January 2012) has unfortunately been cancelled with immediate effect.
General
EAS Newsletter. Europe Air Sports (EAS) has published its latest newsletter. You can read this at http://www.gliding.co.uk/documents/EASnewsletter04-12.pdf.