BOOKER GLIDING CLUB

WYCOMBE AIR PARK, MARLOW, BUCKS SL7 3DP

Office Tel: 01494 442501/529263

 

INFORMATION SHEET

JULY 2006

 

FROM THE CHAIRMAN

 

June has been a busy month with a number of good flying days. Our regionals went very well, despite unexciting weather at the start, thanks to Andy Henderson and his team. For AeroExpo, Jane Moore, Chris Collett and Steve Brown, helped by 25 other members, put on a very good show. As well as selling several courses we did a lot to improve our relations with other users of Wycombe Air Park. The stand Chris prepared for us was superb and the envy of many of the professional exhibitors. The BGA simulator proved very popular with both visitors and members and helped with the sale of some of the courses.

 

A number of marketing initiatives are in hand, but promoting the club is something all members can help with. Simply making visitors welcome and enhancing their experience when taking a trial lesson will encourage them to consider signing up for further flights. Inviting a group of friends or colleagues to come along for an evening flight also generates income for the club and might result in new members. Being the least costly part of our operation we are able to offer flights at significantly discounted prices. Evening flying also has a number of advantages for trainees: usually calmer conditions and almost guaranteed flying, weather permitting, without the waiting around often experienced on busy days.

 

MONEY MATTERS

 

Our surplus Pawnee PR has now been sold to Windrushers at Bicester and the money has been deposited in our bank account. This means that we are finally well back in the black and, weather permitting, should be in better shape to see us through next winter.

 

As you know we have a direct debit facility set up with our bank which we can use for subscriptions and flying fees. It is much simpler and cheaper for us to use DD for settling accounts rather than debit or credit cards and I would prefer that as many of us pay this way as possible. If you are happy to switch to DD for settling your account, please pop into the office and complete a mandate.

 

You can also save the club time and money by electing to have your flying account and a link to the newsletter emailed to you. Just ask at the office.

 

LYMPHOMA ASSOCIATION SPONSORSHIP

 

We managed to raise over £1000 (including tax refunds) for the Lymphoma Association through sponsorship at the regionals. Thank you everyone who took part and contributed to this worthy cause.

 

BOOKER ACES

 

Well done Jez. Those of you who follow the World Cup (gliding, that is) will know that one of our members, Jez Hood, has just won Bronze in the Standard Class World Championships in Sweden, proving beyond doubt that the world’s best pilots fly at Booker. Also, keep an eye on the Club Class World Championships starting 15th July in Vinon, France where two other Booker members are representing us and Britain. Good luck Jay Rebbeck and Rich (Speedy) Hood. No pressure guys!

 

BOOKER GC ENTERS THE 21ST CENTURY!

 

Members may have noticed a number of changes to the Club’s website (http://www.bookergliding.co.uk/) over recent months. The changes have included:

  • Making the site easier to navigate with a simple to use menu at the top of the home page and removing the buttons that didn’t work across different web browsers
  • Tidying up the front page and incorporating a dynamic shot of K-21 KCZ by Nick Sidle
  • Removal of any photos for which copyright was uncertain
  • Incorporating adverts for our intro courses and trial lessons onto the front page
  • Making the front page ‘search engine friendly’, improving the chances of somebody coming across the page via Google, Yahoo, etc
  • Introducing an online shop
  • Simplifying the members page, with improved links to weather information, a members help page, newsletters, committee minutes links and competition news

The online shop has seen some great results already. In the two months since its launch on 16 April, over £1800 of purchases have been made.

 

Web visitor tracking is now showing that we’re attracting around 100 ‘visitors’ to the site daily. That’s made up of a mix of those who’ve found the site via a search engine (primarily Google, Yahoo and MSN), via a link from another website (e.g. the BGA, or one of the many local interest sites) and our own members. The latter was particularly obvious when we published the Booker Regionals results daily and the number of visitors to the site trebled whilst the comp was on!

 

Further improvements and enhancements are planned. Longer term we’ll be looking at online booking for training, an online diary and flying account details accessible via the web. Watch this space!

 

AERO EXPO

 

Many thanks to all those, too numerous to mention by name, who helped out with this event, both with the stand and with re-arranging the fleet. We sold an intensive course and seven Intro+ courses on the stand, and the office sold an Intro and an Intro+ as well as a couple of trial lessons, income of over £3000 and several possible new members. It was an excellent event which raised our profile, enabled us to make useful contacts, gave us data for further marketing and was also a great deal of fun. And we didn’t even miss much flying, since the weather wasn’t all that good.

 

TAKING CARE OF THE KIT

 

Remember that when towing a glider with a buggy, you need one person on the wingtip and one person in front of the wing to stop the glider running downhill and catching the buggy up. Apart from the danger of hitting the buggy, parked aircraft and other objects, there is also the risk of people being hurt trying to stop the runaway.

 

ABOYNE

 

Our expedition to Aboyne this year will be from September 24th until October 14th.  Accommodation will be available in Birkelunn for the first two weeks with plenty of alternative accommodation for the third week in the surrounding area.  We will be taking some club gliders, depending on demand, probably K21, Duo Discus and some single seaters.  Everyone is welcome from ab-initios to world champions and why not bring your partner or a friend along too.  The only qualification is a car with a tow bar as we will need to get the kit there and back.

 

Please contact the office to put your name on the list.

 

DR