Marshall Aerospace (Cambridge) and the Imperial War Museum Duxford (just off the M11) are kindly hosting an Engineering taster day for Air League members.  This is a oppertunity to look round behind the scenes of two major aerospace organisations and see how their engineering operations are run.  The morning will consist of an introduction to the work of Marshall Aerospace and a tour of their facilities and hangars.  A light lunch will be provided.  The afternoon will be spent at Duxford with will include an introduction to the museum and a tour of their restoration hangars.  Members of the Air League are eligible for free entrance. The cost for admission for non-members to Duxford is £13.20 for adults and £11.55 for concessions.  This is a reduced price compared to standard single entry.  Those attending may attend for the whole day or either Marshall Aerospace or Duxford.

Timetable of events:

10.00am Arrive at Marshall Aerospace (Coffee)
10.30am Briefing and Hangar Tour
12.30pm Lunch (light) at Marshall Aerospace
2.00pm  Arrive at Duxford, Briefing, Tour and free time to view museum

If you wish to attend please contact the Air League office prior to the 16th August and indicate whether you wish to come for the whole day or either Marshall Aerospace or Duxford.

UK defence secretary Liam Fox’s recent speech on the vexed question of his ministry’s grievously overstretched budget raised as many questions as it  answered.

Air League Director Andrew Brookes’ view is presented in this Flight International article along with other leading aerospace officials.

Read Here

The WAI is looking to sponsor 6 students for full conference registration including two nights hotel accommodation at the Hilton Chobham.

Air League – Leading Edge members are encouraged to attend.

The Women in Aviation International European Regional Conference will be held at Brooklands over 5-6 November 2010.  For further details, please contact Jane Middleton at avgasjane@aol.com – men as well as women can apply!

London is Lovely in the Autumn

Join other WAI members for the WAI Regional European Conference in beautiful Surrey, England, just outside of London, this November 5-6 for a conference you’ll remember as being just plain supersonic! WAI President Dr. Peggy Chabrian and Executive Board member Jane Middleton have worked tirelessly with volunteers from our Southern England and Box D Chapters to put together an exciting two days of events that will include the opportunity to sit on an operational British Airways Concorde whilst former Captain Mike Bannister narrates your virtual “flight.”

A few lucky raffle winners could even take a ride in the Concorde Flight Simulator later that day.

Speakers include Captain Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, world-record setter; Gabriella Somerville, Managing Director ConnectJets; Lt. Col. Jennifer Crossman, USAF KC-135 pilot; and Dominique Brown, Chief Operating Officer, Quick International Courier.

Speakers

Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann

Gabriella Somerville

Lt. Col Jennifer Crossman

Dominique Brown

Come discover more about what the business of flight test development, commercial, military and corporate aviation is about, and how women are thriving at all levels, all over the world, through WAI’s extensive networking and mentoring system. Meet aviation enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world, all while enjoying the extensive collection of artifacts at the Brooklands Museum.

VISIT TO RAF VALLEY, ANGLESEY

15 – 16^th September 2010

We have ten unique places for our Leading Edge Members (aged 18 – 35) to visit RAF Valley, home of the Advanced Flying Training, and Tactics and Weapons Training.

The visit will include:

• Insight into flying training in the RAF
• Tour of the Hawk T1 and T2
• Visit to the Hawk Simulators

Participants have now been selected for the event, but keep checking the website for future events.

The RAF Centre for Air Power Studies together with Kings College London are holding a one day conference at the Defence Academy, Shrivenham on 30 September 2010 to discuss and analyse the RAF’s contribution to operations  across Iraq from1990 to 2009. Air League members are invited to attend and there is no conference fee. Click here for further details.

UK

UK aviation will only be sustained for the good of national economic, defence and leisure interests if there is an active and vibrant General Aviation (GA) sector at its core.

Throughout the history of UK aviation, many of key innovations and developments have been spawned by GA. In war and peace, the GA sector and the associated interests that it catalyses in aviation have been a major source of the pilots, engineers, controllers and multiplicity of functions that sustain operations and keep them airborne.

GA covers the widest spectrum of aviation of any sector from training and private flying to specialist support for police and ambulance, to gliding, ballooning, helicopters and parachuting, air taxi and business aviation. Of the 21,000 UK registered aircraft[1], over 90% are in the GA sector!

Watching air shows is the second largest outdoor pursuit after association football. A CAA study in 2006 valued the contribution of GA to the UK economy at £1.4 billion while boosting employment. Yet this core foundation of UK aviation is under a joint threat from the EU and a UK Government which see aviation as an environmental pariah (despite the fact that total UK Aviation only accounts for 3% of CO2) and GA a small fraction of that. The UK Government fails to recognise the important contribution of GA, whilst the overarching, ‘one size fits all’ regulatory approach of the EU and the new European safety regulator, EASA, is having a very negative impact on the GA sector.

Moreover, the UK government remains alone in Europe in imposing VAT on flying training! The consequence is a loss of business and opportunity for UK flying training schools, widely accepted as amongst the best in the world

The new Regulation (EC) No.300/2008 of the European Parliament will apply to all airports or parts of airports located in the UK and “all operators” providing services at these airports. It “establishes common rules to protect civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference that jeopardise the security of civil aviation,” i.e. security. But it defines civil aviation as “any air operation carried out by civil aircraft, excluding operations carried out by State aircraft referred to in Article 3 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation”.  At face value, the new rules apply to both a Citation transporting a captain of industry to Zurich and a GrobG109B taking off from a gliding site.  The GA industry has asked the European Parliament to apply these regulations only to airports that have paved runways longer than 1,000m and aircraft weighing over 5,700kg.  Without such exemptions, both (EC) No.300/2008 and Eurocontrol’s proposed ‘standardised European Rules of the Air’ will place GA under further massive negative pressure.

Furthermore, EASA seems to have turned against further consultations on rulemaking.  Because the responses from a large number of industry bodies have caused the timescales for the implementation of  new regulations to slip, as all new rulemaking proposals must be accompanied by a Comment Response Document.  Consequently EASA’s response has been to propose discontinuing the Comment Response Document rather than admit that the proposed rules might be flawed.

Reading regulatory proposals from EASA and similar agencies leaves a distinct impression that Brussels prefers a clean and tidy European airspace where aircraft know their place rather than meeting the requirements of real people, with real human and transport needs. The EC has been allowed to assume responsibility for UK airspace with limited recognition of the specialist GA interests and requirements.  The consequence is a regime that appears to identify problems which don’t really exist, which reaches decisions that are wholly disproportionate to the problem and which focus on process rather than securing the right outcome. The result is legislation that is both wrong and detrimental to UK, the interests of aviation, society and the economy.  A particular case was the grounding of the GA fleet during the recent volcanic ash cloud event, even though for the majority GA piston engine fleet there was no risk and the evidence for grounding the rest of the fleet had no empirical basis.

The Air League recognises that responsibility for UK airspace now rests with Europe, but that does not prevent it from seeking a more pragmatic approach to regulatory oversight. This should allow all airspace users, including GA as the industry core foundation, to be heard and its legitimate interests recognised such that a much more positive response is taken to legitimate concerns across the whole aviation spectrum.

[1] Source CAA Aircraft Registration January 2010

This year’s annual Air League Flying Day at Bicester proved to be a great success with a massive improvement in numbers from previous years.  Over 40 glider launches were carried out, allowing every young member to have at least one flight with some even having two. With glorious weather and an abundance of thermals, average flight times were in the region of thirty minutes, allowing young Air League members to really get some hands-on time.

The event was made possible thanks to the generous support of Windrushers Gliding Club who facilitated the day. Also on hand were instructors from the Upward Bound Trust and together they provided over six instructors which ensured the day ran smoothly. A range of gliders were flown during the day, including the legendary Slingsby T21 Sedbergh, a glider which was a lot older than the average age in attendance!

Towards the end of the day, the Twister Duo made an appearance. One of the newest air display acts on the airshow circuit, the two single seat composite kit aircraft provided a fantastic aerial finale to a fantastic day. The weather stayed strong throughout the whole day, and on into the evening, providing a glorious backdrop to the legendary Bicester barbeque where young members had the chance to exchange flying stories in a relaxed atmosphere, whatever their level of experience.

Thanks to the support from Today’s Pilot and Oxford Academy of Aviation, all those attending left with a ‘goody bag’ packed to the brim with aviation related books and pamphlets.

If you are a young flyer reading this and are not a member of the Air League, join now and take advantage of the many scholarships and bursaries available.

Also in this issue:

Aeronautica

Annual Reception

Members news

READ IT HERE

]]> http://www.airleague.co.uk/2010/07/11/newsletter-%e2%80%93-julaug-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.airleague.co.uk/2010/07/08/bicester-gliding-sunshine-and-barbeques/ http://www.airleague.co.uk/2010/07/08/bicester-gliding-sunshine-and-barbeques/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:01:54 +0000 Jenny Tye http://www.airleague.co.uk/?p=552 This year’s flying day at Bicester Airfield was a huge success, a massive improvement in numbers from previous years. Over 40 glider launches were carried out, allowing every young member to have at least one flight. Some were even lucky enough to have two! The weather stayed strong throughout the whole day, and on into the evening, providing a glorious backdrop to a stunning air display and the legendary Bicester barbeque.

A massive thank you goes out to Scott Pendry, John and Cherry Mack. Without their extensive prior planning, the event wouldn’t have nearly been as well organized as it was.

More pictures will be coming shortly…watch this space!