April – May 2008

If you think the downwind dash is dated, think again. Phil King’s account of a trip from Carlisle to Plymouth is a classic of the genre – why not try something similar yourself this summer?

Phil’s initial plan was to land at Snitterfield near Stratford on Avon but, when he realised the day was much better than expected, he revised his goal to Land’s End – and got as far as Plymouth. Now that’s what I call flexible in-flight planning. Something else that struck me when I looked at the map of Phil’s flight is how he had to thread his way through airspace to achieve it. And airspace is this spring’s hot topic: to be precise, how airspace can best be shared among different types of aviation. The CAA’s view is that increasing the carriage of Mode S transponders is the way forward – it’s currently consulting on new proposals to that effect. The April S&G has an exclusive interview with the CAA’s Mode S Team as well as an initial BGA reaction to the consultation. Updates will be posted on the BGA’s Mode S pages and you can have the chance to question the CAA directly during meetings at Lasham and Pocklington in early April. Please take the trouble to read the CAA’s plans and the BGA’s expert opinion so that you can make up your own mind and respond to the consultation before May 31.

Still on the subject of airspace, this issue contains Carr Withall’s annual airspace update – check your knowledge against it to make sure you’re familiar with all that it contains. Another reference guide we print every year is the map of BGA clubs; why not keep it in your car and pop into a different site while on your travels in 2008?

The BGA Weekend this March, bringing together the usual AGM and Conference events with the Chairmen’s Conference for club officials, was not only the best-attended of the nine I’ve reported but also in my view, the best yet. The April S&G contains an account of the AGM, reports on the different strands of activity, and some photos to capture the flavour of the event. Our thanks go to everyone who put in the effort to produce all this material to a very tight deadline.

Also in this issue, we have an Australian pilot’s conversion to mountain flying in New Zealand, an account of a glider cartwheelingon a winch launch ground run, and the story of five Diamond heights at one UK club on one day – along with a beautifully evocative personal account from one of the pilots involved. Don’t miss it…

Enjoy your flying and your S&G and remember: when you, too, have a special flight, we’d love to hear about it.

Happy soaring