News flash

From the leading edge 

Time for SAHPA committee election nominations again. 
Maybe we get some nominations this year after all the commotion on the discussion lists? 

Nomination forms can be requested from the SAHPA office and have to be received by 
the SAHPA office before 24 August 2001. 
SAHPA will then send out the ballot papers by  7 September  2001. 
Ballots papers have to be back by 11 October. 
Results to be announced by 19 October. 

I will not carry on as SAHPA chairman. 
Run out of ideas. 
Time for someone with a new vision and a new approach on how to take SAHPA forward. 
I tried to keep SAHPA away from rules and regulations that will  be ignored anyways 
by the pilot community. 
And make SAHPA more efficient by applying new technologies like internet websites and 
email to communicate with the members to keep everyone in the picture. 

Some issues that need to be addressed by the next SAHPA committee: 

The previous issue of the late March newsletter cost you R20. 
This one will probably be more. 
Shall we carry on with it in this mode? And up the membership fee? 
Spend more on it to get it done in time? 
Or make it cheaper, simpler, less fancy? 

Inflation and bureaucracy is catching up, and the new committee will have to decide on 
a new fee structure. 

Shall we accept local manufactured gliders for beginners that are tested less stringent 
compared to overseas to make gliders cheaper for the South African market? 

Shall SAHPA  expand its office and staff which will cost more 
to meet stricter CAA expectations. And handle the licensing ourselves as we do now? 
Or make use of Aero Club to handle some of our license admin and meet CAA requirements? 

Shall SAHPA fight for and accomodate commercial operators? 
Use membership money of the recreational, fly for fun, members to 
spend time and effort and pay for representing commercial operators? 
Or shall SAHPA only focus on recreational flying as CAA has defined it in their Part 149 
document? 
And  have the commercial operators start their own setup and represent, 
pay and fight their cause with CAA out of their own pockets? 

The next SAHPA committee or volunteers will have to compile all sorts of paperwork 
of what SAHPA and its staff will adhere and comply to. 
To meet CAA and government requirements to ensure the sky over South Africa is safe. 

And SAHPA started with a web based theory test which would make it faster , cheaper 
and easier to mark a test, but who is going to set it up and drive it? 

But why bother , let's just fly ... 
 

Well ,by default no one is allowed to fly in sunny South Africa unless you get 
permission from the government to take off. 
( Based on some aviation act from whenever,  CAA calls this authorization to fly ..) 
In 1991 the administration of getting a permission to fly a Hang Glider or 
Paraglider in South Africa was handed over to Aero Club by the 
department of civil aviation (DCA). 
And Aero Club left it to the SAHPA section within Aero Club to handle this. 

DCA got replaced by the CAA. And the CAA last year appointed Aero Club to 
handle all the licensing and permissions to fly for recreational purposes. 
But then Aero Club failed to meet the quality standards of CAA and CAA took 
it all back. And an audit revealed poor financial management of Aero Club. 
As a result we now have a new management of Aero Club. And a new executive 
board of Aero Club. 

The new management of Aero Club is keen to give it a go and get the 
licensing back again for the recreational flying sports. 

Along with the licensing goes a buzzword called accountability. 
Someone will have to sign and take over responsibility that certain 
regular checks and controls will be adhered to. 
And  this is definitely not me on behalf of SAHPA. 
If anyone out there feels he is willing to sign any documents on behalf 
of SAHPA which make him accountable, he is welcome to have the 
job as SAHPA chairman right now. 

From that side I recommend that Aero Club, and the paid for it General 
Manager,  signs whatever documents that talk about accountability for 
whatever CAA expects to happen in the Hang Gliding, Paragliding and PPG world. 
And this accountable manager then ensures that whatever is stated in those signed 
documents gets adhered to. 
 

How is SAHPA doing? 

Our finances on April 1, 2001, stated that SAHPA had a credit with Aero Club of R73 612-47. 
SAHPA had 58k in the own bank account, and SAHPA was owed 15k by various parties. 
As major expenses for this year we expect that the SAHPA NEWS will cost us around R80k, 
insurances at the end of each year will be around R100k, 
affiliations to Aero Club and FAI CIVL so that we can fly overseas, have comps, 
break world records is costing us R80k, 
and to run the SAHPA office goes for R50k, .. 
We expect an income in 2001 of R347.800  and total expense of 399.987. 
And we use up the surplus from last year within Aero Club to break even. 

Our current budget can be found on the web at 
 http://www.aeroclub.org.za/SAHPA/aro/index.htm 
 

In the time period from 1 January 2000  until end of May 2001 SAHPA  processed 
for Hang Gliding 42  temporary licence applications, 
35 new or upgrade licences,  broken up into 
13  A licences,   4  B,  6 C  and 12  Student ratings. 

End of May 2001 SAHPA had 80 Hang Gliding members, 
consisting of    25 A ,  12 B,  29 C , 11 Student, 
and 3 non flying FAI Hang Gliding observers 
 

In the same time period SAHPA issued  410 Paragliding temporary licence applications 
and   243 new Basic licences and 44  Sport licences. 
 

End of May 2001 SAHPA had 617 Paragliding members, 
413 Basic,  199 Sports, and 5 FAI Paragliding observers 

There were 4 new PPG pilots. 

We had 5 new Paragliding Instructors 
and no new Hang Gliding and no PPG instructor in that time period. 
 

 Ulf , SAHPA chairman, June 2001