Safety
Airworthiness Directive. ASW 22 Series Elevator Inspection/Modification. EASA has issued AD2014-0190 for the inspection and modification of the elevator control system to prevent flutter. Various compliance times apply depending on the current flying hours of each aircraft. The AD is available at http://ad.easa.europa.eu/ad/2014-0190.
Safety Alert - Control Column Grip. To maintain proper control of a glider, it is important that the control column grip is secure. Control column and other control grips should be fitted in accordance with the instructions supplied with the product. If, during a daily inspection, a grip is found to be insecure, please seek expert advice and rectify the fault before flight.
Regulatory
TAG Farnborough Airspace Change Proposal. TAG Farnborough has now completed its initial analysis of the responses to the recent airspace consultation. Over 2500 overwhelmingly negative responses were received and a summary of these, along with a more detailed analysis, are available at http://www.consultation.tagfarnborough.com/consultation-document/. According to TAG, the second part of its feedback report, which will provide more details of changes to the airspace design or procedures that are being considered, based on the responses received, will be published during 1st Quarter 2015. The BGA and its partners in the UK GA Alliance will be considering our next steps and engaging in dialogue with TAG and other key stakeholders. We will provide updates as available via the BGA website and other appropriate channels. In the meantime, thank you to all who took the time and trouble to respond to the consultation.
CAA GA Unit Update. The CAA General Aviation Unit has completed its consultation on a GA policy framework, setting out its proposed approach to delivering its commitments on GA regulation and ensuring that a more proportionate approach to the regulation of GA is permanently embedded within the culture of the CAA and Government. The responses are being studied and they aim to publish a final policy framework by the end of October. More information about this and other achievements in reducing regulation to date is available at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP%201192.pdf. Meanwhile, a dedicated CAA email address, nogoldplating@caa.co.uk, has been established inviting stakeholders to identify EU rules which they believe the CAA may have gold-plated and how the issue could be rectified.
Flying Single-Seat Microlight Powered Sailplanes. Following recent dialogue between the BGA, the BMAA and the CAA, the CAA has published an Information Notice that explains why pilots holding an SLMG class rating or a LAPL(S)/SPL can fly single-seat powered sailplanes that are within the microlight mass limit. You can view the CAA Information Notice at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/InformationNotice2014139.pdf

BGA
Instructor Courses. Due to cancellations, we have places available on BGA D Module courses at Husbands Bosworth and Dunstable (both from 29 September - 5 October). For more details and to book, please contact Debbie Carr in the BGA office: debbie@gliding.co.uk
2015 Conference. The 2015 BGA conference will be held at the Belfry Hotel, Nottingham on Saturday 7th March. The conference will, as always, be free to attend and the programme will include presentations on aerobatic competition flying, conspicuousness and pilot perception, and an update on what’s new in the world of instrumentation. You can also enjoy browsing the exhibits at the exhibition and catch up with friends in pleasant surroundings. Tickets for the Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be available via the BGA website from October. We have arranged for accommodation to be available at the hotel for the Saturday night at a special price of £91 for double occupancy. These rooms are on a first come, first served basis and are already starting to book up. We recommend that you contact the hotel directly as soon as possible on 0115 793 9418; please quote ‘BGA CONFERENCE’ when booking to receive the discounted rate. We look forward to seeing you there!
Club Management
BGA Club Management Conference, 22 November at Warwick University. We are currently drawing together numerous suggestions to create what we hope will be a broad, interesting and useful agenda for the conference for club management volunteers. If you are a club chairman, CFI, treasurer or secretary and have yet to respond to the request for suggestions for agenda or discussion items, please email Alison Randle (alison@gliding.co.uk) as soon as possible – there may still be time to include your suggestion! Booking forms will be emailed to you by the end of the month and will also be available on the website. If you have yet to hear from us about the conference and think you should have, please contact the BGA Office (office@gliding.co.uk) to ensure that the details of your club’s office-bearers have been correctly registered.
Competitions and Cross-Country
National Championships. Two national championships were held last month at Lasham. The 15m Nationals resulted in the same top three as last year, with the positions reversed. This time, Derren Francis was the winner, with Matt Cook second and Dave Watt third. The new junior champion is Tim Fletcher, who finished ahead of defending champion, Matt Davis who came second and Luke Dale, third.
Inter-Club League Final. The final of the 2014 Inter-Club League competition, held at Bicester, was won by The Gliding Centre, one point ahead of last year’s winners, Oxford GC, with Bristol & Gloucester GC third.
General
Flying in French National Parks. We have received a letter from our French equivalent, the FFVV, which expresses concern about violations, by both French and visiting pilots, of agreements that have been negotiated to allow soaring in French national parks to be conducted without disturbance to wildlife. Continued violations may jeopardise access to these areas of great soaring and we would ask all pilots who plan on flying in the area to note the information provided by the FFVV and which is available at http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/documents/FFVV_nat_parks.pdf.