John G

David, The problem we have and I have always been aware of is that this forum only reaches maybe 100 of the 13,000 odd members we have. That is a fact. Look at voting figures on the forum etc. The fact remains that our members really dont give a flying _ _ _ _ about the day to day running of the organisation. They think all is well until they are grounded. I have tried for years to change that but the reality remains. Why do you think we have compulsory voting in Council, State and Federal elections? It is part of the Australian Psyche. We will not do anything or conform until it affects us personally. So how are you going to get the message out to the other 13,300 members who do not participate in this forum? Tell the truth, I didn't participate actively in this forum for a number of years because I didn't think it achieved anything and still don't. I continue to read many posts on here where folks don't even bother to read back a few posts or even other threads to educate themselves but are more than happy to sprout off at the drop of a hat in total ignorance of all the facts. Unfortunately, not pretty but the way it is. If you are going to win the battle you need to know what you are up against . You may need to read Sun Tzu "The Art of War" as your opponent has as it is mandatory reading at all military staff colleges. Very revealing in how to deal with the enemy & irritancies such as this web site. The battle is winable, however make sure of your ground before entering. A loss will set you back intermineably without any gain.

Kevin, sorry to hear about your woes. I have witnessed what happens in well run local Aero clubs for more years than I care to recall. It is a real shame when members put their heart and soul into building up a viable club or entity, to see it torn down by petty personality politics that may have flavour of the month because members are apathetic, absent on the day or have a new girlfriend. At the local club level it is heart destroying and tragic. What happens when the flavour of the month trips over and screws the club leaving it worse off than before? The previous hard working members become disaffected leave the club with no one left to rebuild the club until some other sucker comes along who is destined to be stabbed in the back and the cycle starts again! No wonder there are less and less willing volunteers to put their hand up for commitee and board positions. When it happems at the RA-Aus national level it becomes a tragedy. If you check my posts all the way back to 2008 I have been warningt and alluding to your problem for years. The good ol Australian apathy is alive and well! We cant even get 10% of the membership to vote in elections even when they are provided with stamped addressed envelopes to register their votes. But they are the first to Bitch when things don't work out the way they think they should.

The Exec have always had the right/power under the constitution to call for Board meetings above and beyond the two per year mandated. I think that history will show that Runciman's meeting request was requested prior to the the EGM paperwork being lodged by Andy@Coffs. Logic, I would hope, would dictate that the two would be aligned within a few days of each other. I know if I was in a similar situation I would want to get together with the Board beforehand to strategise on how to appease disaffected members. Or God forbid, formulate a humble apology for the Board _ _ _ _ UPS of the previous few years. JG

Cficare, either you believe that Eugene is still President, or I am missing something so please excuse me if I have offended in any other way. My posting in no way involved or mentioned Eugene or his position on the exec and I am somewhat flumoxed by your post. The facts are borne out in Kiwi's post above which must have come in while you were typing. That's the problem with real time communications. My heartfelt condolences to Eugene and the loss he is suffering at this time. JG

I received a call from a member at Heck Field today who informed me that he was informed by his local Board member that the President Steve Runciman had tendered his written resignation to the Board yesterday, but withdrew it this morning. A very interesting situation, particularly given my own situation documented at: www.gardon.com.au At that time, due to a dummy spit with the Board, I had tendered my resignation post dated into the future and then withdrew it prior to its effective date. The Board then spent untold member $???????'s getting legal advice that said that once a resignation was tendered it became effective immediately!, with no requirement for it to be formally accepted by the Secretary or the Board. Guess What?? The Board is NOW getting legal advice and spending more untold member $??????'s to get the same legal advice twisted in another direction to keep Steve Runciman in the job. Does anyone else see a problem??? If so ring Mr Runciman tonight as well as other Board members and let them know that enough is enough!!!! It is our money they are spending while our members remain grounded.

I think the CASA lawyers are better resourced than ours would be. In the GA and Airline world, CASA can immediately suspend an AOC and provide reasons later. Such drastic action is usually only taken when serious "Safety Concerns" are found and usually only when there are fare paying pasengers involved. Using the same powers to suspend RA-Aus ability to renew registrations without written notice and explanation is a nonsence. I don't understand why the President and the entire Board are not camped on CASA's and the Ministers doorstep demanding a "Please Explain".

so all this drama is based on a "report, RAA haven't received?? Take a Bex and lie down! Nothing with CASA will happen during the duration of your hissy fit.

As cficare and fly_tornado have observed in the "RAAus Fails CASA Audit Again" thread the problem is APATHY! Please read again what I posted on 23 September 2010. I just wish I could pick Lotto numbers with the same crystal ball and clarity. I wouldn't have to worry whether I can afford to keep flying. The while sorry mess could have been avoided if apathy had not reigned supreme; but then it's the Australian way! More than 2 years ago I tried to alert members. I have been quiet since but the current situation dictates that we all need to do something! Or we just give up flying as we currently know it! JG My 23 September 2010 Post "In fairness I have tried to stay neutral and let the "newbies" have a go before I waded back into the fray. What is happening to our great organisation over recent times is not palatable to even the most apathetic member. We have seen our standing as an organisation diminish in recent times; CASA is re-asserting control and takeover designs on the most successful member aviation organisation to date. If they have their way we will go the way of GA and wither on the vine. From the latest Board meeting I believe we will see an increase in fees and all manner of excuses on why the fees are justified. As members you will have noted a marked drop off in turn-around times and services offered. If you have been following some of the board member’s blogs then you will have seen that RA-Aus wages bill has exploded by several hundred percent while member services have declined If you haven’t been offended and insulted by the latest offering by our CEO and President in our latest magazine then you have a thicker skin than I do. No, I have no intention of running for office again! I can only handle being kicked in the guts once! But member apathy as I alluded to in my July 2008 President’s column has come to fruition. I have included that column below so that you don’t have to search through your old magazines. For more recent members who want to research some of the history read www.gardon.com.au I have had my go and run out of steam; but I implore all members to take an active interest in your organisation and have a say otherwise we will end up like ALL other aviation organisations/clubs/ bodies in Australia in the past. Don’t say you were not warned when you lose your flying privileges! " "reprint of President's Column July 2008" The Good! The Bad! The Ugly! Now who could I be talking about? ..Me ? .. You? ...You all? ....Us ?....RAAus? If we were to stop and think about it we all go through phases in our lives where the heading describes us all. I would like you all to bear with me as I walk you through what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of our organisation and reflect on where we should be heading as an organisation. The Good. We are aviators that enjoy the spontaneity and freedom to fly for the pure FUN and enjoyment that has only been the realm of birds for centuries past. In just one hundred years we have seen the joy of flight turned from one of Joy, wonderment and exhilaration that should be shared to one of the most over regulated pursuits. Fare paying passengers have an expectation of arriving at their destination without death or injury and therefore CASA rightly imposes a hefty regulatory oversight and burden on those that wish to carry passengers for payment. We that fly for FUN also expect to enjoy our pursuit with an expectation of returning home to our families at the end of the day; and therefore some form of regulation is required to ensure sufficient margins of safety are included in the way we fly and maintain our aeroplanes. The only way to achieve complete safety would be to keep all aircraft securely locked up in hangars or spend enormous sums of money on triple redundant systems that can only guarantee that risks are reduced to a more acceptable one in a million as in the passenger carrying world. RA-Aus members, as informed participants, are willing to accept a higher level of risk to be able to fly at an affordable cost by accepting responsibility to operate their aircraft within a reduced regulatory environment that requires their active participation in mitigating and reducing risk. RA-Aus has benefited from a great many people contributing their expertise and time to develop skills and expertise in minimum flying over the years to develop recreational flying to where it is today. Peer development, supervision, oversight and acceptance of responsibility was the cornerstone that enabled the acceptance of recreational flying in the community. The lesson was quickly learned that irresponsible acts of a few could jeopardise the freedoms of the rest of the responsible flyers and peer summary justice was often swift against recalcitrant miscreant pilots. The Bad How many times in our own experiences have we seen clubs prosper and then suddenly disappear after a change of leadership and personality politics. The very things that make a club strong and vibrant can also conspire to bring about its undoing. The fact that a strong vibrant club can disappear overnight due to a well meaning individual is catastrophic for a small community. In time the club usually re-forms and re-builds with a lot of hard work and talented people to fill the void created by the previous collapse. Unfortunately in the “club environment “ willing workers contributing their skills in an honorary capacity do so to the point of burnout or until personal commitments prevent them from continuing on. Mix into this recipe, politics and personalities, we end up on a treadmill of boom and bust of many community based clubs. The “flying club” structure has served RA-Aus extremely well in the past. Having a bunch of people with the same common goal of having FUN flying with minimal regulation and minimal cost was the genesis of the AUF/RA-Aus. In the early days, the fight to win the right to fly outside the established over regulated and costly options available at the time unified members who understood that joint acceptance of responsibility, sometimes at the expense of personal displays of exuberance, was essential for survival of the organisation so that ALL could continue to fly for FUN with a minimum of restrictions. The flying freedoms won by our earlier members and pioneers have obviously been seen as attractive for an increasing number of pilots. We have seen an enviable increase in membership numbers, however with the increase comes new management challenges. Adding to these management challenges is the influx of members that are happy to accept the hard won privileges gained by previous members without accepting the co-commitment responsibilities. The consequences of RA-Aus going out of business due to apathy or personality politics is unthinkable and a luxury we cannot afford. It has happened in other aviation organisations with terminal consequences. Traditionally when we hold elections we have less than 10% of the membership lodging a vote even though they are provided with a post paid envelope and pre-printed ballot paper. Poor member participation could be interpreted as good old Aussie apathy when members are happy with the status quo. In a benign environment, apathy is not in itself debilitating but it does open the door to having the organisation hijacked by a vocal minority that may not have the experience and expertise to keep the organisation focussed on ensuring our continued access to safe affordable aviation with minimum of regulation. The Ugly, More and more as we grow we are seeing an increasing number of members that seem to think that the rules don’t apply to them or that they deserve special treatment. When they disagree with the umpire’s decision they resort to litigation that requires them and us spending huge sums on legal fees usually to achieve the same result. Organisations run along club or membership based rules are particularly vulnerable to renegade member exploitation using litigation. Worst still, we have a very small percentage of members who engage in abusing our office staff when they are unhappy with a particular decision or outcome. Our office staff are some of the most dedicated and hardest working folk I have witnessed anywhere in the country. We cannot afford to have a small minority of unthinking members jeopardise the retention of our staff. The Future? It is not all gloomy! RA-Aus is a strong vibrant organisation that has a great spirit and member support that is witnessed at Natfly and all round the country every day and weekend where more people are out flying for FUN then ever before. I hope that this column stimulates debate on whether a corporate structure would better protect our interests into the future as we continue to grow from our humble beginnings. No the Board and I do not have any plans to move in that direction, but I do want the members to give a long hard think of what they expect from RA-Aus and what are the threats to our survival into the future. Have FUN flying and accept the co-commitment responsibilities that go with it.

As cficare and fly_tornado have observed the problem is APATHY! Read again what I posted on 23 September 2010. I just wish I coul;d pick Lotto numbers with the same crystal ball. The while sorry mess could have been avoided if apathy had not reined supreme; but then its the Australian way! JG In fairness I have tried to stay neutral and let the "newbies" have a go before I waded back into the fray. What is happening to our great organisation over recent times is not palatable to even the most apathetic member. We have seen our standing as an organisation diminish in recent times; CASA is re-asserting control and takeover designs on the most successful member aviation organisation to date. If they have their way we will go the way of GA and wither on the vine. From the latest Board meeting I believe we will see an increase in fees and all manner of excuses on why the fees are justified. As members you will have noted a marked drop off in turn-around times and services offered. If you have been following some of the board member’s blogs then you will have seen that RA-Aus wages bill has exploded by several hundred percent while member services have declined If you haven’t been offended and insulted by the latest offering by our CEO and President in our latest magazine then you have a thicker skin than I do. No, I have no intention of running for office again! I can only handle being kicked in the guts once! But member apathy as I alluded to in my July 2008 President’s column has come to fruition. I have included that column below so that you don’t have to search through your old magazines. For more recent members who want to research some of the history read www.gardon.com.au I have had my go and run out of steam; but I implore all members to take an active interest in your organisation and have a say otherwise we will end up like ALL other aviation organisations/clubs/ bodies in Australia in the past. Don’t say you were not warned when you lose your flying privileges! "reprint of President's Column July 2008" The Good! The Bad! The Ugly! Now who could I be talking about? ..Me ? .. You? ...You all? ....Us ?....RAAus? If we were to stop and think about it we all go through phases in our lives where the heading describes us all. I would like you all to bear with me as I walk you through what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of our organisation and reflect on where we should be heading as an organisation. The Good. We are aviators that enjoy the spontaneity and freedom to fly for the pure FUN and enjoyment that has only been the realm of birds for centuries past. In just one hundred years we have seen the joy of flight turned from one of Joy, wonderment and exhilaration that should be shared to one of the most over regulated pursuits. Fare paying passengers have an expectation of arriving at their destination without death or injury and therefore CASA rightly imposes a hefty regulatory oversight and burden on those that wish to carry passengers for payment. We that fly for FUN also expect to enjoy our pursuit with an expectation of returning home to our families at the end of the day; and therefore some form of regulation is required to ensure sufficient margins of safety are included in the way we fly and maintain our aeroplanes. The only way to achieve complete safety would be to keep all aircraft securely locked up in hangars or spend enormous sums of money on triple redundant systems that can only guarantee that risks are reduced to a more acceptable one in a million as in the passenger carrying world. RA-Aus members, as informed participants, are willing to accept a higher level of risk to be able to fly at an affordable cost by accepting responsibility to operate their aircraft within a reduced regulatory environment that requires their active participation in mitigating and reducing risk. RA-Aus has benefited from a great many people contributing their expertise and time to develop skills and expertise in minimum flying over the years to develop recreational flying to where it is today. Peer development, supervision, oversight and acceptance of responsibility was the cornerstone that enabled the acceptance of recreational flying in the community. The lesson was quickly learned that irresponsible acts of a few could jeopardise the freedoms of the rest of the responsible flyers and peer summary justice was often swift against recalcitrant miscreant pilots. The Bad How many times in our own experiences have we seen clubs prosper and then suddenly disappear after a change of leadership and personality politics. The very things that make a club strong and vibrant can also conspire to bring about its undoing. The fact that a strong vibrant club can disappear overnight due to a well meaning individual is catastrophic for a small community. In time the club usually re-forms and re-builds with a lot of hard work and talented people to fill the void created by the previous collapse. Unfortunately in the “club environment “ willing workers contributing their skills in an honorary capacity do so to the point of burnout or until personal commitments prevent them from continuing on. Mix into this recipe, politics and personalities, we end up on a treadmill of boom and bust of many community based clubs. The “flying club” structure has served RA-Aus extremely well in the past. Having a bunch of people with the same common goal of having FUN flying with minimal regulation and minimal cost was the genesis of the AUF/RA-Aus. In the early days, the fight to win the right to fly outside the established over regulated and costly options available at the time unified members who understood that joint acceptance of responsibility, sometimes at the expense of personal displays of exuberance, was essential for survival of the organisation so that ALL could continue to fly for FUN with a minimum of restrictions. The flying freedoms won by our earlier members and pioneers have obviously been seen as attractive for an increasing number of pilots. We have seen an enviable increase in membership numbers, however with the increase comes new management challenges. Adding to these management challenges is the influx of members that are happy to accept the hard won privileges gained by previous members without accepting the co-commitment responsibilities. The consequences of RA-Aus going out of business due to apathy or personality politics is unthinkable and a luxury we cannot afford. It has happened in other aviation organisations with terminal consequences. Traditionally when we hold elections we have less than 10% of the membership lodging a vote even though they are provided with a post paid envelope and pre-printed ballot paper. Poor member participation could be interpreted as good old Aussie apathy when members are happy with the status quo. In a benign environment, apathy is not in itself debilitating but it does open the door to having the organisation hijacked by a vocal minority that may not have the experience and expertise to keep the organisation focussed on ensuring our continued access to safe affordable aviation with minimum of regulation. The Ugly, More and more as we grow we are seeing an increasing number of members that seem to think that the rules don’t apply to them or that they deserve special treatment. When they disagree with the umpire’s decision they resort to litigation that requires them and us spending huge sums on legal fees usually to achieve the same result. Organisations run along club or membership based rules are particularly vulnerable to renegade member exploitation using litigation. Worst still, we have a very small percentage of members who engage in abusing our office staff when they are unhappy with a particular decision or outcome. Our office staff are some of the most dedicated and hardest working folk I have witnessed anywhere in the country. We cannot afford to have a small minority of unthinking members jeopardise the retention of our staff. The Future? It is not all gloomy! RA-Aus is a strong vibrant organisation that has a great spirit and member support that is witnessed at Natfly and all round the country every day and weekend where more people are out flying for FUN then ever before. I hope that this column stimulates debate on whether a corporate structure would better protect our interests into the future as we continue to grow from our humble beginnings. No the Board and I do not have any plans to move in that direction, but I do want the members to give a long hard think of what they expect from RA-Aus and what are the threats to our survival into the future. Have FUN flying and accept the co-commitment responsibilities that go with it.

Also Worked with and around the pigs 72-00. Evans Head is almost in Queensland! Or it would have been if they had drawn the boundary correctly all those years ago. I am extremly happy that we were able to get one in my back yard. Evans Head was a very worthy receipient given that the residents lived with the Evans Head Bombing Range within earshot and all the residents of Evans Head put up with the sound of "peace" over a number of years, often well into the night without too many complaints. Let me tell you it was a shitload of paperwork and bureaucratic hoop jumping, as well as a lot of hard work by a bunch of dedicated folks involved with the Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome that secured one of the aircraft for Evans Head.

My deepest sympathy and condolences to the families left behind. Additional content moved to new thread - Mod

In fairness I have tried to stay neutral and let the "newbies" have a go before I waded back into the fray. What is happening to our great organisation over recent times is not palatable to even the most apathetic member. We have seen our standing as an organisation diminish in recent times; CASA is re-asserting control and takeover designs on the most successful member aviation organisation to date. If they have their way we will go the way of GA and wither on the vine. From the latest Board meeting I believe we will see an increase in fees and all manner of excuses on why the fees are justified. As members you will have noted a marked drop off in turn-around times and services offered. If you have been following some of the board member’s blogs then you will have seen that RA-Aus wages bill has exploded by several hundred percent while member services have declined If you haven’t been offended and insulted by the latest offering by our CEO and President in our latest magazine then you have a thicker skin than I do. No, I have no intention of running for office again! I can only handle being kicked in the guts once! But member apathy as I alluded to in my July 2008 President’s column has come to fruition. I have included that column below so that you don’t have to search through your old magazines. For more recent members who want to research some of the history read www.gardon.com.au I have had my go and run out of steam; but I implore all members to take an active interest in your organisation and have a say otherwise we will end up like ALL other aviation organisations/clubs/ bodies in Australia in the past. Don’t say you were not warned when you lose your flying privileges! "reprint of President's Column July 2008" The Good! The Bad! The Ugly! Now who could I be talking about? ..Me ? .. You? ...You all? ....Us ?....RAAus? If we were to stop and think about it we all go through phases in our lives where the heading describes us all. I would like you all to bear with me as I walk you through what I think are the strengths and weaknesses of our organisation and reflect on where we should be heading as an organisation. The Good. We are aviators that enjoy the spontaneity and freedom to fly for the pure FUN and enjoyment that has only been the realm of birds for centuries past. In just one hundred years we have seen the joy of flight turned from one of Joy, wonderment and exhilaration that should be shared to one of the most over regulated pursuits. Fare paying passengers have an expectation of arriving at their destination without death or injury and therefore CASA rightly imposes a hefty regulatory oversight and burden on those that wish to carry passengers for payment. We that fly for FUN also expect to enjoy our pursuit with an expectation of returning home to our families at the end of the day; and therefore some form of regulation is required to ensure sufficient margins of safety are included in the way we fly and maintain our aeroplanes. The only way to achieve complete safety would be to keep all aircraft securely locked up in hangars or spend enormous sums of money on triple redundant systems that can only guarantee that risks are reduced to a more acceptable one in a million as in the passenger carrying world. RA-Aus members, as informed participants, are willing to accept a higher level of risk to be able to fly at an affordable cost by accepting responsibility to operate their aircraft within a reduced regulatory environment that requires their active participation in mitigating and reducing risk. RA-Aus has benefited from a great many people contributing their expertise and time to develop skills and expertise in minimum flying over the years to develop recreational flying to where it is today. Peer development, supervision, oversight and acceptance of responsibility was the cornerstone that enabled the acceptance of recreational flying in the community. The lesson was quickly learned that irresponsible acts of a few could jeopardise the freedoms of the rest of the responsible flyers and peer summary justice was often swift against recalcitrant miscreant pilots. The Bad How many times in our own experiences have we seen clubs prosper and then suddenly disappear after a change of leadership and personality politics. The very things that make a club strong and vibrant can also conspire to bring about its undoing. The fact that a strong vibrant club can disappear overnight due to a well meaning individual is catastrophic for a small community. In time the club usually re-forms and re-builds with a lot of hard work and talented people to fill the void created by the previous collapse. Unfortunately in the “club environment “ willing workers contributing their skills in an honorary capacity do so to the point of burnout or until personal commitments prevent them from continuing on. Mix into this recipe, politics and personalities, we end up on a treadmill of boom and bust of many community based clubs. The “flying club” structure has served RA-Aus extremely well in the past. Having a bunch of people with the same common goal of having FUN flying with minimal regulation and minimal cost was the genesis of the AUF/RA-Aus. In the early days, the fight to win the right to fly outside the established over regulated and costly options available at the time unified members who understood that joint acceptance of responsibility, sometimes at the expense of personal displays of exuberance, was essential for survival of the organisation so that ALL could continue to fly for FUN with a minimum of restrictions. The flying freedoms won by our earlier members and pioneers have obviously been seen as attractive for an increasing number of pilots. We have seen an enviable increase in membership numbers, however with the increase comes new management challenges. Adding to these management challenges is the influx of members that are happy to accept the hard won privileges gained by previous members without accepting the co-commitment responsibilities. The consequences of RA-Aus going out of business due to apathy or personality politics is unthinkable and a luxury we cannot afford. It has happened in other aviation organisations with terminal consequences. Traditionally when we hold elections we have less than 10% of the membership lodging a vote even though they are provided with a post paid envelope and pre-printed ballot paper. Poor member participation could be interpreted as good old Aussie apathy when members are happy with the status quo. In a benign environment, apathy is not in itself debilitating but it does open the door to having the organisation hijacked by a vocal minority that may not have the experience and expertise to keep the organisation focussed on ensuring our continued access to safe affordable aviation with minimum of regulation. The Ugly, More and more as we grow we are seeing an increasing number of members that seem to think that the rules don’t apply to them or that they deserve special treatment. When they disagree with the umpire’s decision they resort to litigation that requires them and us spending huge sums on legal fees usually to achieve the same result. Organisations run along club or membership based rules are particularly vulnerable to renegade member exploitation using litigation. Worst still, we have a very small percentage of members who engage in abusing our office staff when they are unhappy with a particular decision or outcome. Our office staff are some of the most dedicated and hardest working folk I have witnessed anywhere in the country. We cannot afford to have a small minority of unthinking members jeopardise the retention of our staff. The Future? It is not all gloomy! RA-Aus is a strong vibrant organisation that has a great spirit and member support that is witnessed at Natfly and all round the country every day and weekend where more people are out flying for FUN then ever before. I hope that this column stimulates debate on whether a corporate structure would better protect our interests into the future as we continue to grow from our humble beginnings. No the Board and I do not have any plans to move in that direction, but I do want the members to give a long hard think of what they expect from RA-Aus and what are the threats to our survival into the future. Have FUN flying and accept the co-commitment responsibilities that go with it. John Gardon

Magazine Insert Sent to NSW Members Even though some have taken the liberty to take pot shots at me in the distributed material I would be happy to have it attached here.I tried to attach it as a PDF file and it is some 1.98M and not allowed under this forums limits. I have it available on my web site at www.gardon.com.au if anyone is interested in reading it. As mentioned in my earlier post, I did not want this forum and Ian being accused of political bias and mudslinging and that is why I set up a seperate website for distribution of information if members other than NSW members were interested.

What the Bloody Hell is going on? Back in October the moderators closed down this thread when it was deemed the discussion was getting too political. Unfortunately, part and parcel of our organisation is politics; it has to be to get our representatives elected to our Board. I received a phone call from a member today that had received his May magazine and wanting to know "What the Bloody Hell is going on?" Unfortunately, the majority of RA-Aus will not get their answer in any other way than through this forum. Some of you may have been aware that I resigned from the Board and then withdrew my resignation before it was due to become effective. The Board in its wisdom decided to enforce the resignation spending considerable funds on legal fees and a by-election that could have been avoided. They then spent even more money on lawyers to find out whether they had to print my election statement. They must be embarrassed about something as they did not print the candidates’ statements in this month’s magazine but instead elected to place it as an insert into the magazine distributed to NSW members only. Members in other states should not be kept in the dark about the true state of their organisation. Not wanting to turn this forum into a political platform I have started a new web site at: www.gardon.com.au where members can ask questions and get more information without Ian getting accused of running an anti RA-Aus site. Below, for the benefit of all members is simply my election statement that has been distributed to only NSW members in the May magazine. Election Statement: John Gardon – NSW What the Bloody Hell is going on? If like a lot of other members you have been asking yourself the same question; our Magazine has been very remiss in providing any answers. Firstly let me apologise to all NSW members for asking you to vote again just a few short months after the last election. A costly exercise and an imposition that could have been avoided by your Board but they chose to needlessly squander your money. Please bear with me as I both explain the situation and again humbly ask for your vote to represent you as I have done over the last 10 odd years. At the September 2008 Board meeting after you returned me as your representative for NSW I lost the Board Executive vote for President on a vote of 5 to 6. I tended my resignation on the Sunday of the Board meeting as my protest to the lack of “due process” and the fact that nepotism had been allowed to debase the RA-Aus Board process in that a Board member that had a “conflict of interest” in the outcome should have abstained from the vote; but did not. The other reason for my resignation was the totally incorrect claim by the Board that my being a Board member of AOPA was a “conflict of interest” with retaining my RA-Aus executive position and was not declared in my By- Law 4 Statement at the last election. My resignation letter was post dated for the following Wednesday to give me an opportunity to reflect on my decision and the effect it would have on RA-Aus and you the members and ensure it wasn’t due to “sour grapes” on my part. I suppose my real sin was being too busy doing the job of representing you our members to Government, CASA and the Aviation Industry generally and not watching out for internecine petty board politics and for the knives aimed squarely at my back by some fellow Board members. I know a lot of you perhaps didn’t have the time to read all my President’s reports as you had better thing like “flying” on your mind; but if you re-read the last six or so you will see that I flagged “petty politics” as a potential threat to the continued success of RA-Aus. I just wish I could pick lotto numbers with the same foresight. Well what happened after tendering my resignation beggars belief. After I posted my resignation letter on the Board Forum site I was threatened with physical violence by one Board member for expressing my views. To date the Board has taken no action against the Board member threatening the violence even though the email was sent to all Board members and I asked that the issue be addressed as unacceptable behaviour by a fellow Board member. As I don’t believe in walking away from injustice, and wanting to spare the Ra-Aus and NSW members the inconvenience and cost of a mid-term election I withdrew my resignation in writing on the Tuesday before it was due to come into effect. The Board in its wisdom decided not to accept my letter of withdrawal; instead insisting that my post dated letter of resignation, that was not due to come into effect until the next day, was what they were going to enforce! Mmm, someone with an axe to grind. Six months on; there has been a subsequent Board meeting in Feb 2009 where NSW were not fully represented and I believe that any decisions taken should be null and void until NSW representation is at full strength. Why did the Board wait in excess of six months to fill the vacancy? Why does QLD have four Board members while NSW has 3 and Victoria 2 even though all three states have roughly the same number of members? There are quite a number of issues I would like to explore with members and the constraints placed on the length of this election statement prevent me from doing so here. I have set up a web site at: www.gardon.com.au where I will be more than happy to share all information I have with members and answer any questions you may have. My personal email is [email protected] for those without internet access my phone number is 02-66834225. I do apologise for airing some of our dirty laundry in public, but the Board gave me no other option than to communicate to you in this manner. I was particularly perturbed that no recognition was given in our magazine to the outgoing Executive for their hard work and achievements during their honorary service particularly as there was a total replacement of the previous Executive. I have a thick skin and can handle the slight; but I am more concerned about the Board’s treatment of the other outgoing Executive members. The new Executive was quick to claim credit for achieving passenger insurance even though it was achieved through the efforts of the previous Executive with not one word of thanks for their years of hard work – no wonder its is so hard to find volunteers to give their all for RA-Aus. From the foregoing, it is obvious that we have a lot of work to do to ensure that RA-Aus exists for one reason only; and that is to look after our members’ and their rights to fly responsibly with maximum safety, minimum regulation and minimum cost -- the Board squandering money on an avoidable election certainly does not meet the latter. I respectfully request your vote in the forthcoming election to allow me to right the wrongs committed by the Board and get them to refocus on making Ra-Aus the premier aviation organisation in Australia – and the one you want to belong to! Please don’t procrastinate, post in your vote today for the candidate of your choice. High numbers of members returning their vote will ensure your Board receives your message “Loud and Clear” By Law 4 Statement:I have owned and operated an RA-Aus Flight Training Facility and maintenance facility known as Flight North over the last 11 years. I have also recently acquired a registered business name of Leisure Sport Aircraft. The only industry related remuneration I derive is from the operations of Flight North and Leisure Sport Aircraft. I am currently a Board member of AOPA. The RA-Aus Board cited my AOPA membership as a “conflict of interest” that was not declared on my previous By-Law 4 statement prior to the last vote for the executive, even though our constitutional expert advised them there was no conflict of interest. In any case I tended my resignation from AOPA in September 2008 citing RA-Aus Board’s concern. The AOPA Board refused to accept my resignation as they believe that no conflict exists and that my presence has helped foster relations between the two aviation organisations that have common aims for their members. I do not believe that my membership of AOPA is a conflict of interest in carrying out the duties as an RA-Aus Board member, nor that I had to declare it in my previous By-Law 4 statement or that I had hid the fact from members. I had mentioned my AOPA board membership at previous Board meetings as well as writing about common aims we share with AOPA in my President’s reports in our magazine. Election Statement John Gardon 090227.pdf Election Statement John Gardon 090227.pdf Election Statement John Gardon 090227.pdf

The Facts: JCP Responses by various organisations Breaking my own rules here. I said I did not intend to post on this site, however a lot of mis-information going around. If you manage to read and digest all the information in the the following attachments you will have a better grasp of what the argument is that RA-Aus is putting to Government. By no means supporting the person but some other views: www.dicksmithflyer.com.au\ADS-B_Costs.php www.dicksmithflyer.com.au\ADS-B_misleading_info.php I has some other pertinent submissions but Ian's upload limit prevents me posting them. (here they are - downloadable from the RAAus category in the downloads sections of the forums - Ian) http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=5&act=down http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=4&act=down http://www.recreationalflying.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=3&act=down RA-Aus JCP Response.pdf ASAC JCP Response.pdf AOPA JCP Response.pdf RA-Aus JCP Response.pdf ASAC JCP Response.pdf AOPA JCP Response.pdf RA-Aus JCP Response.pdf ASAC JCP Response.pdf AOPA JCP Response.pdf

I would suggest that forum members read the report and form their own opinions. The downlaod PDF link is: http://www.astra.aero/downloads/ABIT/ABIT12_IP011_JCP_responses_by_stakeholder_grouping.pdf[/url] I have also attached the PDF to this post. I will leave it up to others to question J430 on his motivation and allegiances. Interestingly GA pilots were split 11 for and 11 against. If SAAA wishes to sell their members out for 30 pieces of silver that is their business but I think RA-Aus members are somewhat more astute and see the real end game sought by Air Services and don’t want to be bought. On reading J430’s post and the picture he tried to paint, versus what is actually in the JCP response report, I suspect that in a previous life J430 must have been the one that coached the CIA on how to handle the WMD issue. ABIT12_IP011_JCP_responses_by_stakeholder_grouping.pdf ABIT12_IP011_JCP_responses_by_stakeholder_grouping.pdf ABIT12_IP011_JCP_responses_by_stakeholder_grouping.pdf

Preview President's May Magazine Report Political Directions and Prop Concerns A lot of members may not realise the huge amount of time that Ra-Aus expends in the political arena, lobbying to ensure that our current members rights are not diluted or that unnecessary imposts are not placed on operation of RA-Aus aircraft. Both Lee and I attend many CASA and industry meetings and seminars that take us away from the day to day provision of services to you, our members. Whilst in Lee’s case he would rather be in the office catching up on the million and one tasks that management of 9,000 odd members requires and I’d rather be attending to my own business and having fun flying. But if we weren’t present at the various meetings and forums we would have decisions made in our absence that could be detrimental to RA-Aus’s aspirations. Both of us see it as part of the job that you expect from us notwithstanding the frustrations that occur. One of the biggest frustrations for us is the constant change of Ministers over the last few years, not to mention the recent change of government. During the last Government we had three different Ministers over a six year period. After spending many cumulative days lobbying and briefing the Minister and his staff, we would be back to square one once a new Minister was appointed and start the process all over again. That was a time consuming process that slowed up the implementation of policy. Now with a new Government and a new Minister there is no guarantee that undertakings given previously will be honoured. The only surety is that everyone is in the same boat. Minister Albanese released his Aviation Policy statement in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago at a Transport and Tourism function. While RA-Aus was represented by Rod Birrell, our Victorian Board member, he was heavily out numbered by the big end of town such as Qantas, Virgin Blue and the other big players in the aviation industry. The reality of the situation is that the commercial airlines have all the economic power and are the ones that demand and get the ear of government. Whilst numerically, RA-Aus administered aircraft outnumber the total number of aircraft in the Australian commercial fleet and the RAAF, in reality we come fairly low on the totem pole in terms of getting equity and access to the Minister and Government. In announcing the policy, the Minister has called for input from all to go into a green paper for discussion which will be the basis of a white paper policy document. This will form the basis of the Government’s Aviation Policy for years into the future. The web link for information and input is: http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/nap I urge all members to contribute submissions into the green paper. Obviously, the RAAus office will be making a submission on behalf of the members, but the more submissions received, the more likely we are will get our case heard. CASA quite rightly has enunciated a policy that their main resources will be directed at the “fare paying passenger†and we have no quibble with that as long as our members can go about their business flying and sharing the airspace responsibly. What we have to be concerned about is if Government Policy only looks at solutions that satisfy the big end of town, we may lose some of the freedoms we enjoy today. It would be akin to the government making rules and regulations that give priority to trucks and busses on the highways and tollways and excludes private cars. Not as far fetched as you may think. There is already a move afoot to have all airports with have any commercial traffic being declared a CTAF( R ) where aircraft without radios would be barred from over 80% of existing airfields. Air Services are pushing for the mandatory fitment of ADSB to all aircraft that wish to operate into CTAF( R ), citing a bogus safety based case. When in fact, all they are about is to increase is their revenue base and this without spending their own money on primary radars in C airspace as directed by the previous Government. As a minimum RA-Aus will be calling for equal and equitable access to airspace for all users without the imposition of onerous costs that would stifle the current vibrancy in the recreational sector. I urge all members to make a submission or you may find yourself grounded in years to come. Don’t let the Aussie apathy be responsible for you grounding yourself because of a lack of action. Changing gears (props) now. You should all be aware that if you fly a factory built certified aircraft no changes are allowed to the manufacturer’s parts and specifications. In other words if it came with “x†brand prop with “y†pitch that is what you have to replace it with; even if Bill tells you that “z†brand with a “s†pitch would make your aircraft climb and cruise faster. We have had many representations from owners saying that their original prop only gives marginal performance and fitment of a “z†brand would enhance safety. Unfortunately CASA make the rules, we only administer them, and in CASA’s view the only way anything can be changed on a certified aircraft is to have a CAR 35 engineer draw up the paperwork and approve the mod for that specific airframe. Obviously, RA-Aus would be remiss if we did not try to find a solution for our members who wish to deviate from manufacturer’s specifications on perceived safety grounds. We have been working with CASA to find a solution, but unless the manufacturer is willing to re-certify the aircraft with a new prop, the CAR 35 route is the only way to go if you want to maintain the certification status. CASA has presented us with an option where the owner may take the aircraft out of certified status and place it in the experimental category (19 prefix) and play around with the airframe to their hearts’ content with no comeback at CASA or the manufacturer. What is not clear is whether the aircraft could ever return to the certified category with may result in lessening the resale value. RA-Aus only permits certified aircraft to be used in our Flight Training Schools and therefore school aircraft must not be modified in any way from that which was certified by the factory. We will be continuing to try and find solutions to the propeller question for our members when and if other avenues become available. But in the meantime you have been warned; it’s not us you will be dealing with, but CASA if someone dobs you in for using an illegal prop on a certified aircraft. Have FUN flying safe and legally!

Explaination and Acknowledgement I have registered with this site for this one post and do not intend on posting again for reasons that I will outline later. Most of you may not even be aware of the issues behind Tony’s post last night. Suffice to say that Tony had brought up a subject with an inference that could have been misinterpreted by some folk who may not have been aware of all the circumstances. John McKeown alerted me by sending me a copy of the post. I then contacted the Board Administrator citing my displeasure and Tony’s post was edited deleting the reference I was objecting to. I rang Tony last night to discuss the issues involved and we discussed our differing opinions and interpretations of some of the issues and he said he would make a follow on post to clear up any possible mis-understandings. The only frame of reference that I can use when dealing with RA-Aus business is fact; and not someone’s opinion or hearsay. So when Tony raised the issue of the previous mobile school owner and his PMI achievement I checked the RA-Aus files to find that Tony had issued the PMI rating. I accept Tony’s explanation and take my hat of to him for having the character to follow through. I would also like to thank Tony for his contribution to RA-Aus both as a board member PE and CFI in the past and his continuing contribution with the TOSG and day to day efforts of sharing his skills and knowledge unselfishly . Now back to topic, Bilby54 was being somewhat disingenuous when claiming that RA-Aus had not responded to him. We have a file full of correspondence from the office to both him personally and his legal representative on the matter as well as numerous phone calls. In fact the last letter from the CEO was posted last Tuesday and the timing of his post may be as a result of not agreeing with the umpire’s decision or just a co-incidence in timing. The latest approach from Bilby54 to the board was via email to all board members two days before the last board meeting at the end of February. Most board members would have been on route to Canberra and would not have received it prior to the meeting. In the normal course of events the issue would have been held over to the following board meeting to allow board members to ascertain the facts. I was in Canberra several days prior preparing for the meeting when I received the Email. I had the staff prepare a brief with all relevant documentation and tabled Bilby54’s email at the board meeting for discussion and resolution. The board was of the view that all proper documentation and procedures were followed by staff and re-affirmed the policy of no mobile schools. The CEO was then tasked to respond to Bilby54 informing him of the board’s resolution. The CEO was pre-occupied with higher priority tasks such NatFly preparations, Coronial Inquests and Fatal accidents that required him to be away from his desk. He did not respond to Bilby’s email until the 22nd April. Why didn’t I or other board members respond? On examining the file and correspondence it was clear that all the issues had been covered time and again and the CEO was tasked to respond on behalf of the board. Within the constraints of policy set by the board, I believe that RA-Aus staff carried out their duties appropriately and responded to correspondence from both Bilby54 and his legal counsel over a period of several years. When the previous owner of the mobile school attempted to advertise the school for sale in the magazine he was informed in no uncertain terms that the school was non-transferable and that no further mobile schools would be approved due to board policy. The fact that he may have misrepresented the facts to a subsequent buyer is a legal matter for them. Had Bilby54 contacted the office during his due diligence prior to purchase he would have been informed that a mobile school would not be approved. Now, for my reasons for not participating in this forum. I do not encourage staff or board members to participate on this forum, but leave it up to the individual to make their own decisions. We have seen from the foregoing that office and board member workload can be doubled and tripled if we responded to every beef that members on this forum have. Typically when an issue arises they contact the office where the staff work through the issue and if it can’t be solved at their level elevate it to the exec or the board. The board then discusses the matter if it needs a change in policy or re-iterates the policy and directs staff accordingly. What some members then do is raise the same issue on the forum because they did not like the response they got from the office but neglect to mention all the facts and in the process get other members riled up. Someone, perhaps another board member raises, the issue again with the staff who have to spend valuable time to give the complainant the same answer. The other reason is time. As you all know being a board member is an honorary position and the business of looking after the interests of 9,000 members (8941 as of Friday) takes a lot of time. Board members put in whatever time they can and in many cases at great personal and monetary cost. They certainly do not appreciate armchair quarterbacks telling them how to run the organisation better if they themselves are not prepared to get off their butts to run for the board or even, in some instances, to vote. Does that give us a right to be arrogant? Certainly not, the ballot box is the greatest leveller of all as John Howard found out. I am just being realistic, here let’s say this forum has a membership of 300; should I spend 90% of my time answering the concerns of 3% of the membership? Or getting on and looking after the whole organisation and the current and strategic needs of all members. We need to follow protocol and procedures otherwise we would end up in a shemozzle and your organisation cannot chop and change at the whim of 9,000 different wants and ideas. The established protocol of approaching staff for resolution of day to day issues is the way to go and if you believe that staff have treated you unfairly then raise the issue with your local board member who will take it to the exec for resolution or forwarding to the Board meeting for resolution. Likewise any ideas for change or suggestions for improvement should through your local board member for tabling and discussion at the next board meeting. CASA administer 11,000 pilots, that includes all ATPL Commercial and PPL with a staff of 600. RA-Aus administers 9,000 members with a higher level of service than what CASA gives their customers with only TEN 10 staff. Think about that for a minute and you will see what I mean about time being valuable. I just wish I could muster all the combined energy in these forums into a focussed response to Government on all the issues that we are currently dealing with at the political level. While we are focussed on small spot fires internally the raging bush fire occurring in Canberra could wipe us all out. I will post a preview copy of my next month’s magazine report as an example of the issues we should be focussing on. As mentioned earlier, I do not intend on posting here in the future but am happy to receive direct emails if anyone has serious issues they want to discuss or resolve. The main reason for the post was to acknowledge Tony’s post and explain the background. Let’s not forget why we are here; fly have FUN and share the passion. Ian: I think it would be appropriate to delete this whole thread after a day or so after the folks that had an initial interest have had a read.