News

In 2015, as part of membership renewals, we started to ask all members questions about what we do well as a club, and areas we could improve. Along with planning work by Committee, and discussions with the Instructor Panel, this has given us the basis of a Strategic Plan for the Melbourne Gliding Club for the next three years, through until 2018.

We need a Strategic Plan to focus our time, energy and resources in a unified direction. 

It is the first attempt at this Strategic Plan – and the Committee has issued it as a consultation draft (emailed to all members on 14 June) to hear back from you about whether the plan will get the MGC where it needs to be over the next three years and beyond.

We welcome your feedback via any of the following means:

- Discussion with any Committee member on the field or on the phone

- Emailed feedback to committee@vmfg.org.au   or directly to tighep@outlook.com  

Feedback on this consultation draft is open until 8 July 2016 (ahead of the next Committee meeting). Following this, the plan will be updated and endorsed by the Committee. This will inform the activities of the Committee and all members of the club over the next three years, but will be reviewed annually to ensure it remains relevant. Progress on individual actions will be monitored by the Committee throughout the year.

All of us have a contribution to make to our Club. We all have an idea about how we should operate. We encourage you to share those thoughts and take an active role to support our vision to be the best gliding club in Australia with a broad, growing membership, modern fleet, and safe, welcoming and social environment. 

Tighe Patching

Many thanks to Mark Hunt, Steve Coulton, Jackson Keogh and Jason Tang who answered the call to promote the club at a house auction in Box Hill in early June. 

The group fielded questions from a large number of interested onlookers in the hour or so leading up to the auction.  A special thank you to Jason Tang who was able field many questions in Mandarin including the program director of a local Chinese radio station, who is looking to do an on air interview about the club in English and Mandarin in the coming months.

TNC will be departing in the next couple of weeks to have new Garman GTX200 radio installed (to bring into line with BCK). It will then be heading to Nelson for approximately 3 months for its fabric and airframe overhaul. This is a significant investment from the club at around $30,000 to $40,000. The club is also currently planning for an anticipated engine overhaul or replacement for TNC.

Following some recent work to replace 3 induction gaskets, install 2 longreach sparkplugs, and an adjustment to resolve an issue with the engine running at low revs, BCK is now performing very well.

Steve Coulton, Tug Master

I wish to express my sincere thanks to the Committee who on my retirement from the club most generously gave me at our Annual Dinner, a continuing honorary MGC membership and a 10 year membership award. I truly appreciate them I have always felt that it is a privilege to be a member of the MGC because I got so much from it, not just the flying of some fantastic gliders but all the help and friendship too. Many of you are aware that I’m a two time member, I first flew with the VMFG down at Berwick and was sent solo down there by Alan Patching (7/2/1965). I had never lost the desire to fly so it was a wonderful surprise for me when, after being away for 40 years, I was once again able to do my flying training with Alan Patching, I must be his longest pupil These recent years were full of fun and great personal satisfaction for which I shall treasure. So to each and every one of you, Thank you. 

See you on the Flight line.

Don

The clubs day membership form in now available online via the members web site.  If you are taking friends for a fly, instead of filling in a paper based form on the airfield, complete it on line and bring the confirmation email with you.

Go to http://www.melbourneglidingclub.com.au/join-us and select "Day membership" when prompted.

Lights have been installed in the south hangar, to aid in late pack ups.

The club has updated its terms and conditions to better reflect the environment we operate in, building on the work the GFA undertook last year when it updated its own terms and conditions.

The updated terms and conditions are the same as the ones found on our day membership forms, with a small club specific section, All new members will use them, and existing members will see them during membership renewal.

If you have any questions please contact membership@vmfg.org.au

Recently the club received a visit from a glider pilot from Europe who wanted to fly.  The club had never catered for international pilots who just wanted one or two flights.  

The club has expanded reciprocal membership category to include members of all gliding clubs (worldwide), existing limitations will apply i.e.

• Current members of other gliding clubs can launch their own aircraft, and fly club two-seat aircraft, with a club instructor at member’s rates, without  paying membership dues, for up to 3 visits, totaling 14 days per financial year.
  
• Reciprocal members must hold current GFA membership eg. 9 day GFA membership is available on the day for a marginal price.
  
• To fly as “pilot in command” of any club aircraft and/or receive instruction, a pilot must be either a Short Term or Full Flying Member of the club.

Please note reciprocal membership is only available online, and con only be completed online.

Installation of retractable undercarriage in VMF was been completed, and test flown on Sunday 29th May by Tom Van Blaricum and Allen Petersen, "everything went very smoothly, the improvement in glide performance and the reduction in noise level is very marked so it was a worthwhile exercise" reported Tom.  If it was not for Tom and Allens work over the last 3 years it would not have happened, please thank them next time you see them.

Counting has begun for the Melbourne Gliding clubs 2016 Awards night, make sure you get in early for tickets. Early bird pricing ends in a week.