The new K-21 trailer has arrived this will make rigging and de-rigging this machine a lot easier, which will help in the short term to deal with the lack of hangar space.

The date for the AGM has been set for March 18th at the usual venue (The Beacon Centre, Beaconsfield). Formal notice of the AGM will be given in due course; meantime if you are considering standing for election to the committee it would be worthwhile speaking to a serving committee member to find out just what the job entails. We DO want people to stand for election but be aware that you MUST be prepared to devote a significant amount of time to the job.

We have finally set the dates for Booker Regionals 2000; 22nd to 30th July. We apologise for being so late to decide the dates, but we needed to wait for some other competition dates to be finalised to avoid a clash which would lose us our Director.

From January 1st the new Jarops will be in force. This means you will have to get your licence Certificate of Experience signed every two years. In this two year period you will have to show evidence of a skill test with an instructor and have done 12 hours P1 in the 12 months preceding the two year signature.

If you have your licence signed before 31st December you will not need another signature until 31st December 2001, when the rules will probably have changed again.

I strongly advise all Booker tug pilots to get their Certificate of Experience’s signed before, or as close to, 31st December 1999 as possible. You will need to show evidence of five hours flying in the previous 13 months. Dave Byass can sign your licence.

I would like to chat to all tug Pilots between 1st January and 1st May 2000.

If you have any queries about Jarops, towing patterns, aerodrome procedures, noise abatement, correct towing speeds, emergency procedures, snag reporting, aircraft limitations, hangaring, ropes or cleaning the aircraft, please discuss it with me next year. Bring your log book, medical and licence with you to enable me to check you are in line with the new Jarops.

David Richardson

ECZ could be at the Long Mynd from 18th to 26th March 2000, then Shobdon until 2nd April 2000. Any club members interested in taking part on any of the three weekends or two mid-week periods, please contact me.

David Richardson

I know that most of you will not be in the habit of studying the workings of the committee, and I don’t blame you! However, in the interests of good communications there is one piece of information that you should have. At the end of the season membership is up by around 10%; that is in contrast to a steady slow fall over the last few years. Why am I telling you this? Because I want to say thank you to all the members and especially instructors who are making Booker a really good place to fly. It’s down to your efforts that we are retaining the new members that come through the door. Well done. Now let’s keep the momentum building for next season…

There are still a few instructors who have not put in fully completed renewal forms. Please let me have them straight away or your rating will expire at the end of the year. If you let the rating expire you will then have to do some flying with a regional examiner (me, I’m afraid) to get it back. I’ll be away for a while in January / February. Simpler to give the form in now!

It has come to my attention that some members feel that the Duo Discus is not available to the ordinary club member. This is untrue; in fact we want to use the glider as much as is practical. We have to be a little more careful supervising its use than we do with the K21 or K13; although it is a simple glider to handle, especially in thermals, it is suprisingly easy to get it very wrong during the take off, circuit and approach – especially if you are landing out. In addition we only have one Duo and can’t afford to lose it for the season. I don’t wish to have "rules" about who can fly it and who cannot as there are several issues involved: type conversion, instructing and soaring skills, field landing currency and so on. However as a guideline all assistant and full rated instructors should be happy flying it locally, some instructors and some experienced x-c pilots without instructor ratings will be able to teach x-c flying in it and most current x-c pilots should be able to take it x-c solo. If you feel you should be flying it then talk to me and get a type conversion flight.

Those of you that are not yet up to the required standard to fly it actually have priority over the all others….for cross country and soaring training.

If you want to fly it on any particular occasion please discuss it with me first as we may have a student lined up for x-c later in the day….and if you’re not sure where you stand please just ask.

Please remember that any mutual flying in club gliders must be approved on each occasion by the duty instructor…..usually me, Andy Perkins, Jed Edyvean or Dave Richardson. "Passenger flying" may only be undertaken with my direct authorisation and no one without a current instructor rating is to give any form of flying instruction in gliders to a pre – solo student. This is in direct accordance with BGA operational regulations and I can not be flexible on this point.

Now it is getting very cold and damp on the airfield we are back to the problem of misted up canopies. If the canopy is misting up on the outside when the glider is parked….don’t go flying. It is a simple as that!