Issue 1/2015 May 15

Training News

Introduction This is the third of an approximately bi-annual newsletter. It aims to keep everyone at clubs involved with glider pilot training informed about topical issues and developments. Thanks for your patience as we all work together to get through this fluid period of change.
The Introductory Flight Pilot EASA and CAA regulation permits licensed pilots to carry passengers. Where EASA licenced pilots are carrying paying passengers at BGA clubs, under a BGA op. reg. approved by the membership in March ’15, these pilots are required to hold the BGA IFP endorsement. This BGA qualification allows EASA licenced pilots to carry paying passengers at BGA clubs as a risk managed and insured activity with the same back-up insurance as instructors. The IFP endorsement is NOT an instructor rating. The requirements and privileges are listed in the course booklet available on the BGA website. One thing worth pointing out is the revalidation requirements do not include hours or launches. Obviously there are the minimum licence requirements to observe, including the 90 day currency rule, but CFI’s are free to make judgements based on the overall experience of each IFP. The IFP is annually revalidated by CFI’s using their e-Services web tool. Some common questions related to the IFP include:
Q: Can pilots without an EASA LAPL(S) or SPL become an IFP? A: No.
Q: Can pilots with an EASA LAPL(S) or SPL continue to be or train to be Basic Instructors? A: Yes, but only when they are operating outside the EASA licensing system. See item below.
EASA Licencing Derogation As previously announced, 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 no pilot who had already converted to a Part-FCL licence would be disadvantaged. The CAA has now issued a derogation in ORS4 No 1091, effective March 2015, which allows pilots holding a Part-FCL licence to continue to fly under UK national legislation if they chose to do so. One thing this means is that BGA BIs that hold Part FCL licences can continue to operate under National rules. In other words, they can put their licences to one side and operate using their BGA certificate which allows Basic Instruction where a valid BI rating is held.
Protecting Your Personal Space Readers may be aware that there were four mid-air collisions last season, which obviously gives cause for concern. We can thank our lucky stars that all the pilots involved ‘got away with it’. This leaves us to contemplate how we can avoid similar incidents as far as possible in the future. In the past, the message we reinforced was the usual lookout scan, which continues of course to be very important. Analysing past accidents shows that in about half of the cases where pilots have survived to make a report, one party at least has seen the other at some point in the short history before the collision. This is quite an eye-opener when

it is considered by itself. In more than one case, pilots have flown their aircraft into such proximity to aircraft that they were then too close to avoid when the other pilot manoeuvred.
I think there are two elements of training that we could improve. One is how to position your glider when thermalling with others, and the other is how to manoeuvre your aircraft such that it is not endangered by the proximity of another.
Thermalling with others is something that is well taught in some clubs, but others do not have the opportunity to thermal with others very often. Please grasp opportunities to do some thermalling with other gliders if possible to demonstrate how to join and maintain position around a circle with another aircraft. There is advice in the BGA instructor manual.
The other issue of situational awareness and proximity of other aircraft is something that has to occur throughout training. Do not allow students to fly in close proximity to other aircraft unless this has been pre-arranged. If you fly at a ridge site (where I observe many gliders getting too close to one-another) don’t allow gliders to closely cross paths, vertically or horizontally. Passing 100’ below another glider may seem ok, but it only takes that pilot to accelerate by 10 knots to hit you!
Incidentally, you may wish to consider a number of new helpful documents under ‘Laws and Rules’ on the BGA website, including one titled ‘managing flying risk’.
Use of Radio Many glider pilots have historically been allergic to the use of the radio. However, a comparison of the present 1:500,000 map and one from 20 years ago will reveal the inexorable encroachment of restricted airspace and a glance at the National Ladder is enough to see that British glider pilots are getting out and about more than ever before. It is becoming more useful to use the radio if we are to be seen as good aviation citizens. In addition, radio gives our pilots access to more airspace if they are introduced to its use at an early stage of training. Most of the glider pilots we train do not habitually use radio, unlike our power colleagues, and so are perhaps wary of its use. This needs to change. I’m not suggesting we need to change overnight, but we need to make use of radio if it is fitted into our training aircraft so that pilots are more used to using it as an aid to situational awareness. What I am asking is that instructors start to ask their pupils to make very simple situational awareness calls when appropriate. Perhaps ‘Seighford traffic, Glider Echo Golf November is returning from the West in five minutes’ might be appropriate during training. I’m sure you get the idea. Of course, the free, downloadable CAP413 gives advice for the correct phraseology etc.
Flight Instructor Coach Seminar After several years running trials, all instructor courses in 2015 are the new modular style. To assist instructor coaches running B modules within clubs, a one day seminar has been trialled and tweaked, and three have now been run with a total of 45 attendees.
This seminar is designed for club Flight Instructor Coaches who have been nominated by their CFIs to conduct training for the new modular instructor courses. Nominated FICs are normally Full-rated BGA instructors. The day includes information on the content of the new modular instructor course, a session on Threat and Error Management, Crew Resource Management and a refresher on briefing techniques and the standards to be attained by student instructors prior to signing B module exercises as complete.

The first seminars have been well received, and we will run more at the end of this season.
Syllabus and Resources The Instructor Committee’s Andy Miller and others have – over quite a long period of time – worked with a number of club CFIs to develop a revised BGA gliding syllabus that takes pilots from first flight to Bronze/Cross Country endorsement (licence standard). Because the content is designed around the EASA requirements, the syllabus will be easily tweaked to be EASA compliant when required in the future. CFIs at the club management conference were talked through the new syllabus and seem enthusiastic. The syllabus is being trialled at one club, the plan is to trial it further this summer and then make it available for all clubs who want to use it. The actual airborne instruction doesn’t change. The key point is that the improved format and information helps instructors and students organise training and record keeping.
Power Pilots – Converting to Gliding Without wishing to generalise too much, there are some common themes that seem to run through the training of pilots who have initially trained in powered aeroplanes. In general, these pilots pick up the general handling of the aircraft very well, which may instil confidence in instructors. Things to watch for, however, include:
Floating off downwind, and being surprised that there is no throttle to open… Using the spoilers or airbrakes like flaps after touching down – some power pilots ‘dump the flaps’ to keep them on the ground. Dumping the airbrakes has the opposite effect!
Ban Prompting! Ok – now that I have your attention, I’ll backtrack a little. The title above comes from Andy Miller, a very experienced instructor and member of the BGA instructor committee. There have been a few instructing accidents lately which made him write to me with the title above as the subject line in an e-mail. This resulted in us having a think about when instructors should really just take control rather than attempting to talk a pupil through a situation. As most instructors can remember, we had a little advertising campaign related to late takeover accidents (remember the poster?). This focussed on attempting to educate instructors to take over early during ‘critical’ phases of flight. This seems to have been fairly effective, as we seem to have reduced the number of these types of accidents in recent months and years (thank you all).
Unfortunately, it seems that there are still some instructors who attempt to ‘talk their pupils through’ complicated events near the ground. This is of course a complicated subject to give solid written advice here; it’s such a subjective thing. I myself will probably ‘remind’ a pupil where to look in the flare perhaps, or encourage them with general words like – ‘smoooooooothly’ during the first part of a winch launch! However, if something specific goes wrong – say - a ballooned landing, I will not say a word. It’s too complicated. I will simply sit there, ready to take control. If the pupil does not react instantly and correctly to the balloon, I will take control and show them. It really is the only way. Talking the pupil through a ballooned landing and how to deal with it is too dangerous. Same goes for other similar critical situations. I hope you agree.

Motor Gliding Motor glider training will continue to be administered through the NPPL SLMG until further notice. On successful acquisition of the NPPL, CAA will convert to TMG on either an EASA sailplane or aeroplane licence if required. Further advice from Paul Whitehead on pf.whitehead@btinternet.com
Post-Course Review (Completion Course Replacement) As the new modular course follows a different syllabus to the old 9 day course, it was appropriate to write a new ‘completion course’. To differentiate this from the old system, we have called it a Post Course review. By the time you read this, the review schedule should be available on the BGA website in a similar place to the old completion course. This review should be completed ideally between 12 and definitely before 18 months of your modular course test completion date. As with the old completion course, you must not instruct if you exceed the 18 month deadline. See the document for more details.
If you require the old Completion Course schedule for the old style course, please contact me; mike@gliding.co.uk
Beginning of the Season I would like to wish all BGA instructors a fun season and some good flying (away from instructing as well). If cross country, aerobatics, vintage or powered flying are your thing I hope you have a great summer season flying.
I would like to remind all readers that there will likely be some rusty pilots out there at the beginning of the season. Please try to offer these pilots some friendly advice, and better still, some airborne training to sharpen them up.
Mike Fox, BGA Training Standards Manager May 2015 mike@gliding.co.uk