R.A.A. Pilot certificate is it correct?

[ave8rr]

Yup at a over inflated cost and GA guys dont have liability insurance forced on them. It is up to the individual to pay for it or not.

Dazza, we all know why the insurance wasn't looked at to save costs. That would have affected those with a good broadband connection. Insurance should be available to those who want it and could be made available via an RAAus Group Scheme.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Dazza, we all know why the insurance wasn't looked at to save costs. That would have affected those with a good broadband connection. Insurance should be available to those who want it and could be made available via an RAAus Group Scheme.

Lets assume for the moment I'm really slow and don't understand why insurance has any impact on internet speed.......using more than just 2 short sentences, can you try and again and make clear what your point(s) are.....seriously I don't understand either

 

Andy

 

 

[dazza 38]

Yes Dazz , and all of them would end up up in court also ...... broke , the Government have deep pockets ! .... Bob

Nah, they couldnt police it. Not 3000 individuals. Besides im sure we have some individuals amongst our ranks that are high ranking in political circles.

It would simply be easier to take over and issue a CASA pilot certificate.

 

 

[rhysmcc]

Those who wanted to keep flying would convert to the RPL and aircraft owners go VH, or another body gets the CASA nod to takeover. Either way it would be costly for the membership.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

RAAus belly up would solve a lot of problems everyone would go VH LSA or ELSA. And it would force CSA to sort out the sporting license RPL quick smart.

 

Then all the little toy planes would have to go back to the good old days.

 

 

[Keith Page]

Good one Ozzie..

 

That will force a couple of hands.

 

Regards

 

KP.

 

 

[tillmanr]

Sorry but I don't think that CASA would be coerced into immediate action if RAA was to crumble. They could and maybe would place the exRAA business in the not important tray and continue on their merry GA path. They CASA, claim that they are currently poorly funded so we would have to pick up the crumbs. Changes to funding of government departments is a slow process. Recreational aircraft would just have to sit it out and possibly not fly.

 

We have little leverage over CASA so be careful what we wish for.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

My personal thoughts are that, should RAA cease, a commercial organisation would take over and charge what they want, or what the market will bear, as a monopoly. They could pick up the existing staff & structure. I don't think CASA would be keen on ultralights becoming VH en masse any more than SAAA would be keen on administering them and the FTFs.

 

Sue

 

 

[ave8rr]

Lets assume for the moment I'm really slow and don't understand why insurance has any impact on internet speed.......using more than just 2 short sentences, can you try and again and make clear what your point(s) are.....seriously I don't understand eitherAndy

Andy, what I was trying to say was that the member insurance coverage should have been looked as a way of saving some money. Let those who want insurance buy it through a RAAus scheme. Keep the magazine and its distribution as it currently is. The magazine is the best way of getting info to ALL members. The magazine could be printed on non glossy paper etc as it used to be some years back. I have spoken to CFI's this week from both NSW and QLD and while discussing things of a general nature both said that removing the magazine from print to digital was the start of a downward spiral for RAAus. I will be discussing all this with the CEO and President at the informal get together here in Bundaberg tomorrow.

 

 

[rhysmcc]

Yet both CFI's will still get a copy... How can you claim the magazine is the best way of getting info to ALL members when it's almost 2 months old when it arrives. Where do you get your Weather and Notam information from?

 

Insurance isn't an option, it's a requirement put in by CASA. Have a look at the Deed of Agreement.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Andy, what I was trying to say was that the member insurance coverage should have been looked as a way of saving some money. Let those who want insurance buy it through a RAAus scheme. Keep the magazine and its distribution as it currently is. The magazine is the best way of getting info to ALL members. The magazine could be printed on non glossy paper etc as it used to be some years back. I have spoken to CFI's this week from both NSW and QLD and while discussing things of a general nature both said that removing the magazine from print to digital was the start of a downward spiral for RAAus. I will be discussing all this with the CEO and President at the informal get together here in Bundaberg tomorrow.

Thanks for the redo, I understand your point now. I hope it goes well with he CEO and president tomorrow. I don't agree with you that this is the start of a downward spiral, but I do accept that the current board could have it completely wrong. If that's the case we wont go down with the ship, rather we'll fight like mad to keep it floating and making headway and if that means we reverse or revisit this decision then that's what will happen. We do what we believe is in the best interest of the membership.

Andy

 

 

[David Isaac]

...... The magazine is the best way of getting info to ALL members. ....

I would suggest the magazine is one of the ways to get information to the members and that is all. The best way is by emailed newsletters and bulletins and I am not interested in hearing that not all members have emails. How the hell do they get their flight details and notams etc if they don't have some sort of online access?

[Keith Page]

Ok! ave8rr.... Be careful..

 

Do not mention members insurance to Andy as he is on the board anything could happen.

 

Because the next thing they will do...........?????

 

They will keep the membership fees the same and we will have to buy our liability cover separately from RAAus as they will be agents for the cover insurance. Just another money making scheme.

 

Membership will be the same cost will not decrease because the insurance portion is taken out.

 

See same story as magazine issue.

 

Regards

 

KP.

 

 

[Keith Page]

Thanks for the redo, I understand your point now. I hope it goes well with he CEO and president tomorrow. I don't agree with you that this is the start of a downward spiral, but I do accept that the current board could have it completely wrong. If that's the case we wont go down with the ship, rather we'll fight like mad to keep it floating and making headway and if that means we reverse or revisit this decision then that's what will happen. We do what we believe is in the best interest of the membership.Andy

No Andy,,, You talk to the members, not run off on your own tangent.

How did the audit pan out?

 

Excellent? Good? So So? Deficiencys? Or others?

 

Regard

 

KP

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

We get two magazines to the same address. I am happy to go digital, but my husband likes the feel of glossy paper. Now he says he does not want the printed magazine. We are getting the important bits by email and off the RAA website and pictures of the fly-ins on this forum.

 

 

 

The magazine was started to keep members informed about AUF matters, but then grew to being a glossy magazine that costs thousands of dollars to print and post. The survey shows that most respondents are not willing to pay the full cost, which is going up again as Australia Post fees increase and service decreases. Pilot Certificate holders have to remain members to keep flying, but some of the Non-Flying members may rethink their $100 as the magazine is the only tangible benefit. I gather take-up of the print magazine has been slow, given the offer of 6 months bonus for the first 1,000 subscribers. Don't shoot Andy - it was a Board decision and there are 12 others in this.

 

 

 

Sue

 

 

[Yenn]

We have this problem of reducing costs in just about everything we touch. Our local council does not increase rates, but just lets the infrastructure run down. That makes the councillors look as if they are fiscally responsible, but are they?

 

Same goes for our magazine, the board want to be seen to be not raising costs, so they remove a cost cutting item. If we really want a paper magazine we will have to pay up.

 

 

[Keith Page]

Hello Yen,

 

We are having another Thangool brekky on the 13thJune, same as last time.

 

Tell your buddies.

 

Regards

 

KP.

 

 

[DonRamsay]

. . . the board want to be seen to be not raising costs, so they remove a cost cutting item.

The Board by declaring several deficits has shown that they needed to cut RAAus costs and/or raise revenue. Why costs had risen is another matter but I think it is reasonably well known that if they had spent some money on decent IT infrastructure and top quality management staff, we would not have had to go through the pain of the registrations debacle. RAAus has also had a CASA imposed Safety Management requirement. Can't say I was all that keen on hiring a safety manager to get that done but, to be fair, we needed to get a bit more methodical about improving the safety of our flyers, their passengers and the people we fly over and I can't say it would have happened without engaging a specialist safety manager.

So, the new CEO first set out to trim costs. The big costs for RAAus are in just a few areas: Labour, Insurance and the magazine. Labour costs were being addressed with rapidly improving manual systems and the commitment to a very significant capital expenditure on vastly improving IT systems. Achieving significant savings in insurance premiums is at the mercy of the world market. The aim then for RAAus was to get more for what it cost and that has been achieved.

 

That left one big target . . . the glossy magazine that we all like so much. Long before my time it looked more like a newsletter and that was largely its purpose. The magazine improved in quality and size over time to the very creditable organ we have now. Over the same period, communications methods were revolutionised. Telex machines went the way of the dinosaurs, the fax machine approached the end of its product life cycle, a group of Universities came up with the interwebs. Email started hammering the nails into the coffin of snail mail and all sorts of weird and wonderful things began to emerge from eZines to facebook. The hardware went from room sized to pocket sized. We now have email newsletters that are so much more up to the minute than the magazine could ever be with its two month lag time. ADs/ANs are communicated to us by email and pretty well everybody gets their weather from the internet.

 

In this brave new world, you then sit down and look again at the Magazine. It is simply not what it was when it started - the only means of communicating with members other than a huge mailout. To be fair, we could survive without the magazine even if it would be a shame to lose it. Labour, Insurance and Safety Management we can not do without.

 

So the options facing the Board were:

 

• Raise fees for everyone and keep the magazine as is;
  OR,
   
   
  
• Retire the magazine and save the costs and not raise fees;
  OP,
   
   
  
• Reduce printing and distribution costs by sending out exactly the same magazine electronically.
   
   
  

 

 

The Board argued long and hard on what to do and eventually it was seen that with a substantial saving available if the magazine did not attract paper, printing, packaging and postage costs, members who were happy (or just careful with their money) could continue to receive the magazine in electronic form while saving RAAus costs. Members who were prepared to pay for those costs by a fee increase could continue to receive the magazine in print form.

 

So, we have a situation where you can avoid the fee increase by giving RAAus a cost saving or you can pay higher fees and RAAus will continue to supply the more expensive paper magazine.

 

It is tough on those that do not have access to high speed broadband but that is outside the control of RAAus. At slower internet speeds, I guess you might have to allow it to download overnight. And, if we believe the politicians, high speed NBN is coming to us all and may even reach us in this lifetime.

 

If we really want a paper magazine we will have to pay up.

True.