Taupo Gliding Club

President’s Report by Hugh de Lautour

Welcome everyone, and thank you for coming. I think it’s a great idea to have our Club AGM the weekend after the Gliding New Zealand AGM, because I always leave the latter all fired up and enthusiastic about our sport and what we should be able to achieve. This year is no exception - and I now have a new definition of what it is that we should be achieving and delivering - I quote - “gliding experiences delivered brilliantly, with skill and passion”!That comes from Hamish McEwen - Research, Evaluations and Insights Manager of Sport NZ - who was behind the Voice of the Participant survey which you all participated in two years ago - and was passed on to the GNZ AGM by Brian Sharpe who is in a similar role with GNZ. Our continued success will depend on each and every one of us doing our bit to delivery that “brilliant experience, with skill and passion”. PLEASE make our new members welcome and make them feel that they are what they are - the future of the club. It can be done. Total membership of GNZ has increased this year (over the previous year) for the first time in five years. Fielding have recently had a big upsurge in membership, and Wellington have so many new students that they cannot satisfy the demand. We can be in that situation as well. The economy is sound, so there is still a certain amount of discretionary dollar out there, and the sport of gliding is gaining a more prominent profile each year, so let’s get on the bandwagon and be a leader in the sport for our area. It is in our hands - GNZ have put out good initiatives and suggestions - it is up to us to make them work. Some of those initiatives, which came out at the recent AGM are worth a quick mention here so that you will know what to expect. In no particular order;

1. The Soaring magazine will continue to be a compulsory part of your subscription. Thank you to those of you who made your feelings felt to Trace and myself as delegates - we did take those on board, but in the end the vote was an overwhelming 37 to 4 to retain the compulsory aspect of the magazine. Concern from the membership was noted and changes and improvements are promised, but at the moment the majority of opinion was that it is still an important part of the gliding community, being interesting, informative, and a good promotional tool.

2. QGP holders can now apply to CAA for a PPL (Glider) under certain conditions…. (CAA Part 61.153) (c) A person who holds a current glider pilot certificate issued by a gliding organisation under delegated authority from the Director is eligible for the issue of a private pilot licence (Glider) if the person— (1) is at least 17 years of age; and (2) holds a flight radiotelephony examination credit; and (3) holds at least a current class 2 medical certificate issued under the Act.

3. A “Membership Development Committee” has been established.

4. A series of “Hangar meetings” has been scheduled for the next 18 months to share knowledge and best practise between clubs.

5. The monthly newsletter from GNZ will be continued and refined.

6. The revised Training Program has been, and is being, trialled by Wellington and Canterbury clubs. By and large they love it. As it is completed and tweaked it will be introduced nationwide, but in the meantime please note that the existing requirements of the MOAP are still what we have to work to. For those of you who don’t know about the “new system”, I think it would be appropriate for me to take just a little bit more of your time to give a very quick summary of what it is all about, as it may be that some students, and hopefully some instructors, will start dipping into it in parallel with their existing training program. That is not only OK, but to be encouraged. Probably the biggest difference you will notice is the amount of work you will be able and required to do off airfield. As you work your way through the new progression of Solo Pilot - Soaring pilot - Cross-country pilot - Task pilot and Alpine pilot, you will have your own copy of the syllabus - whether electronic or hard copy or both -so you will know exactly what is coming up on your next lesson, and you will have been expected to prepare for it. All the material you need will be provided to you, a lot of that being links to existing websites or articles or manuals or even YouTube clips. There will still be check boxes to be filled in, but there are notes associated with each one, so you will know what is required to get a pass mark for each. There is a lot more I could tell you, but now is not the time or place. Let me just say that with the new training program and a new attitude of pride, passion, and positivity around our sport, I am excited about the future. Oh - there is one thing more I didn’t say, and I didn’t say it for a reason. I didn’t say “professionalism” amongst all those “p's" - it was also mentioned at the AGM that we should not ever lose sight of why we all are here as glider pilots in the first place. Why do we do it? We do it FOR FUN! We are not going to turn the gliding clubs into military colleges. We are not professionals - let’s have fun along the way, and let’s encourage the guy or girl, 12 or 102, who just wants to learn to fly a glider well enough to take his or her mate for a jaunt around Mt Tauhara, to do just that. That’s great - that’s what it’s all about - it's about getting as much enjoyment as you want and going just as far as you want. It’s just that when you think you might be ready to go that little bit further, the system - the club - will be there to support you to do it safely and enjoyably. And believe me - it IS worth going that little bit further! So thank you all for your support over the last two years, let’s go from here today united in our love of gliding, united in our support for all our fellow glider-lovers - ready to help with a friendly word or a helping hand, proud to be the Taupo Gliding Club, and ready to deliver "gliding experiences brilliantly, with skill and passion”! Thank you. Hugh.