Minutes
of the Annual General Meeting
Saturday
19th April 2008
Robbie Robertson chaired the meeting. 34 members were
present together with a number of guests. Apologies for absence were received
from 3 members. Two members sent word that they had no intention of being
present.
The minutes of the meeting held on 16th of April
2007 had been posted previously on the club website. Brian Hutchins asked for
an amendment to the minutes to record that in keeping with the Companies Act the
committee had decided that the number of Directors should be increased by 3 in
order to allow the nomination of further Directors. The minutes of the AGM 2007
have been amended and approved.
Chairman’s
Report: Robbie presented his
chairman’s report. He began by highlighting several significant features of the
year that affected the activities of the club.
The
weather had been more than usually wet during the year which restricted flying
activities.
The
committed decided that it was desirable to buy a more advanced 2-seater glass glider.
After considering various options, including a PW6 and a Puchatz, a K21 was
purchased at an advantageous price. The gel coat was however very poor and the
whole glider needed refinishing. This was undertaken in
During the year the tug engine showed signs of a
need for major overhaul, or replacement. The committee had to decide whether a
new engine or a zero-hour overhaul of the existing engine were cost-effective
alternatives. John Horley undertook the important task of collating the
information needed to make this important decision. The committee decided that
a zero-hour overhaul was preferable, and less expensive, and this proceeded
successfully.
The
decision was made to undertake the construction of a wooden building to be
positioned to the right side of the hangar. With the help of a number of
members this proceeded well. However the earlier committee decision not to seek
planning permission was reconsidered and a retrospective application for planning
permission was made, for what is classified as a temporary building. This
application is still under consideration by the planning committee, but is hoped
to be approved. Robbie emphasised the great importance of the completion of
this building, particularly to provide a briefing and lecture room.
With
the decision by Don Gosden not to seek re-election at last year’s AGM it was
necessary to find a new treasurer. Despite strenuous efforts no member was
willing or able to volunteer for this appointment. It looked as though it may
become necessary to appoint a professional accountant at considerable cost to
the club; fortunately Clive volunteered for the job in order to save that
money.
The
committee had considered options for the appointment of summer instructor, and
in due course Bo Nilsson agreed to take on the job. He was very experienced,
with 4,000 gliding hours, and some years of instructing at Omarama. He proved
to be a very successful and popular summer instructor and is back again at
Talgarth for the summer of 2008.
A further
significant development was the increasing involvement of EASA in gliding
activities. Robbie thanked Peter Saundby for his work with EASA that would
enable BMGC to conform to the inevitable regulation that will ensue, as EASA
becomes more influential.
Robbie
went on to describe future threats to the continuing success of BMGC. These
included increasing fuel prices, increasing pressure on air space, part M
maintenance requirements, mode-S transponders, stricter medical requirements
and the downturn in the economy in the
With
regard to the pressures on air space Robbie emphasised the need to use the
wave-box facilities that have been agreed with the CAA. They can be opened by
telephone to Cardiff Air Traffic Control and should be used as often as
possible. If they are not used they may be withdrawn.
Robbie
thanked Mark Fisher for the constantly improving web site and the addition of
the PayPal facility for the purchase of club vouchers.
Robbie
emphasised the need for the current excellent level of teamwork by many members
of the club, and urged that this not only continued but be increased whenever
possible. He noted that there were many very good aspects of BMGC, and particularly
that the club owns the airfield and the tug, that the K21 and the new building are
huge assets and that there are a number of new faces around the club.
Finally
Robbie declared that he was resigning, very reluctantly, as Director of BMGC
and of TAL. He read out the following statement:
“The Articles of Association state
that one third of the longest serving number of directors is due to retire at
this AGM. These are John Horley, John Scott and I.
It was my original intention to seek
re-election but, in the light of what has happened recently, I have decided to
stand down with immediate effect. I appreciate that the short notice will cause
extra work for the remaining directors and I apologise for this. It will be up
to the remaining directors to choose a new chairman to lead them.
I do not intend to go into detail as
to the reasons that I have decided to stand down except to say that accusations
have been made directly against me and other directors, which are totally
untrue, and, to be honest, very hurtful. With the full support of virtually all
the directors, I was prepared to ignore this vindictiveness and continue to
lead the committee. However, a couple of days ago, further accusations were
made by a member against us as a committee suggesting that some of us were
putting our own personal agendas before that of the club and were resorting to
subversive tactics in an attempt to suppress democratic elections. I do not
know of any subversive tactics being used by the committee. My own personal
agenda has always been to do the best for
I’ve just returned from a great fun
gliding holiday in
Treasurer’s report: The company directors’ report and accounts had
been prepared by the company accountants, King, Morter, Proud and Co, and had
been approved by the directors at their meeting on 21st March 2008. The
accounts had previously been made available to members on the club website;
these were formally laid before the members at the meeting.
Clive
began by thanking Don Gosden for easing him in to the job and agreeing to take
over in 2 years time, he also thanked Liz and
With the
loss of Don Puttock the treasurer planned for a 20% reduction in income. In the
event there was a 5% reduction in income for the year. Insurance, salaries/wages
costs had increased and the cost of the K21 amounted to £26,000 plus £13,500
paid this year. The total “profit” for the year amounted to £19,409.
However an
additional £14,000 was paid in January for a replacement engine for the tug,
which resulted in a lack of funds in the bank.
The club
also borrowed an extra £15,000 last year from the Phillip Wills Memorial Fund-to
be paid back over 5 years at a very favourable interest rate of 3% per annum.
In
addition £15,700 was repaid in members` loans and debentures.
Plans for
the coming year include, finishing the new building, building a reserve, paying
off some debts, not undertaking any major new capital programmes and being
mindful of the economic pressures and rising fuel costs and seek to maximise
income and minimise expenditure.
Clive
noted that membership was about the same as this time last year. Fees have been
held as last years if they were paid within 28 days. In fact most members did, for which Clive was
grateful. He encouraged members to keep their flying accounts in credit and to
fly as much as they are able.
The
Treasurer finished by noting that TAL was a subsidiary company that was wholly
owned by BMGC; that BMGC pays £200 per month rent to TAL, with a total
outstanding now of £12,800 and that he has budgeted another £10,000 for the
redemption of stock certificates held by existing debenture holders.
Clive finished with a summary of the financial
situation with regard to TAL.
He noted
that when the mortgage and debentures have been fully paid there will be no further
reason for the existence of Talgarth Airfield Limited (TAL).
The most
expensive liability for TAL is the mortgage, so it is important that this is repaid
as soon as possible. It may however be necessary to increase the liability if
the opportunity to purchase more land arises. This would be in keeping with the
5-year strategy of BMGC.
Robbie
thanked Clive for his excellent work with the finances, a sentiment echoed by
all members with loud applause.
Chief flying instructor’s
report: Martin began by thanking a
number of people for their contribution during the year; tug pilots and
instructors, those who gave excellent lectures and to all others who help with
wing running, log filling, glider retrieval, and many other things that go to
make a successful gliding operation.
He went on to review the year’s significant events: The K21 was up and running and he urged
members to fly her; and K13 was available for spinning exercises.
New
tug pilots would soon be available with new instructors and Full Cats under
training. Bo started in Mid-April and Mike Tomlinson is available as
cross-country coach.
New solos and Bronze C
badges have been achieved. The Talgarth Triangle has been a great success as
was the expedition to Usk to experience winch launches. Martin reported an
increased and successful relationship with Usk.
There have been a dozen accidents/incidents reported to the CFI in the
last 12 months. This is not good and measures need to be taken to reduce this
number during 2008. For example – is the pilot current for the type of glider
to be flown that day in those conditions? Is the pilot fully aware of the
conditions into which he or she is about to launch, and are the conditions
liable to change? Then pilot needs to be aware of the possibility of strong
wind, of the risk of shower formation and the possibility of rotor in wave
conditions. If conditions are at high risk of changing do not leave it too late
to return to the airfield.
Martin emphasised the importance of flying
with an instructor at least once a year in order to prevent the development of
bad habits. It is vital to attend briefing whenever possible, and if not
possible the pilot must check with the Duty Instructor before flying.
There are training
opportunities to fly with instructors at most times, and the motor glider at
Usk is available for field landing experience at very little cost. Courses of
many kinds are available at Talgarth throughout the summer, including
aerobatics, instrument appreciation, cross country and for the Bronze badge.
Further training
opportunities are now available with a series of instructional videos made by
Martin and John Scott, including a site check, the whole training syllabus and ground
school lectures. It is planned that these will be available on the club web
site as well as in the new classroom as soon as it is finished.
Opportunities now exist
for cross country training. The K21 is a capable glider and available,
particularly for the Talgarth Triangle. “Rock Polishers” is to be held at
Talgarth this year. During this competition 2 club pilots would accompany Mike
Tomlinson in the K21, each as P2. The two were selected by Mike drawing the
names of the lucky two from a beanie containing the names of many hopefuls.
The BGA Duo Discus will
be at Talgarth between the 8th and 14th of June and
available for the Cross-Country Course to be held between the 9th
and 13th of June. It is expensive to hire and hopefully the weather
will be kind so that many members can experience flying a very high performance
2-seater glider.
Martin emphasised the
importance of a thorough daily inspection; particularly the reporting of any
defects that the inspector is not sure about and the need to clean the canopy
properly before every flight. He noted the importance of canopy and glider care
out on the airfield, especially in strong conditions. And after flying the
glider must be washed, the batteries removed and put on charge, the parachutes
removed to store and the canopy covers put in place. Martin thanked Sue for
making these covers.
The CFI award was given to
Jill Banks. The Tony Burton Trophy to Tony Crowden for a height gain of
13,487ft and the Talgarth Triangle Trophy to Robbie for the fastest flight
around the triangle, TAL –
Martin was asked about
the existence and whereabouts of club parachute records. These are normally
kept in the parachute bags but parachutes are rarely returned to the
appropriate bag so records may be confused. However repacking records for club
parachutes are kept on file in the office. Parachute life is “on condition” and
at the discretion of the packer.
Robbie thanked Martin
very much for his presentation, and for his enormous contribution to the club’s
continuing success.
Safety Officer’s Report: Is
appended to these minutes as a separate document.
Election of Directors: Robbie thanked Tony
Bartlett for his contributions to the committee and expressed his regret that he
had resigned.
In keeping with the
Articles of Association it was necessary for the one third of Directors who had
longest been in office to stand down. These would be Robbie, John Scott and
John Horley.
Robbie repeated his
decision to resign as Chairman and as a Director of BMGC and of TAL. He had
found recent vindictive accusations made against him in a very recent e-mail
from a member most hurtful.
John Poland said that he
could not see why one or two members should be able to cause such a problem
that the chairman should feel the need to resign; he asked that the member who
had sent the e-mail could identify themselves. The member who had sent the
message was not present at the meeting.
Ken Basterfield was then
asked if he had any comment to make. He repeated his assertion made at the
meeting of the committee on December 22nd that he had no confidence
in the leadership of the committee and had no intention of resigning his
membership.
He said that he
supported Robbie’s resignation as chairman. Robbie repeated his statement that
he would not stand for vindictive behaviour towards him. He believed that
dissension was good for democracy, but unjust vindictiveness was not
acceptable.
Peter Saundby advised that whatever was behind
Robbie’s resignation should come out in the open. Ken Basterfield then stated
that he believed that there was no democracy within the committee; that there
were a few members who appeared to be making all the decisions and that he was
being excluded from them. He cited the example of the new building in which he
had offered to be involved, but that he believed that his offer had been
ignored. He had other criticisms of committee decisions with which he had
disagreed, and felt that his views had been rejected.
Geoff King asked that
the communications between Ken and Robbie that had led to Robbie’s resignation
be made public. Both Ken and Robbie agreed to this.
Vigorous discussion
followed, at the end of which it was decided that an Extraordinary General
Meeting should be held as soon as possible so that the whole matter could be
discussed in detail.
Robbie then asked that
the election of officers should proceed. John Horley was re-elected as Director
of BMGC.
The Company Secretary
then stated that having heard Ken repeat his accusations of an absence of
democracy within the committee he had decided to resign with immediate effect.
He was asked whether this decision was directly related to Robbie’s. He said
that it was indirectly linked, in that he had also been the subject of the same
unjust criticism in the e-mail from a member that had led to Robbie’s
resignation.
Election of Directors to
TAL followed. With the resignation of Robbie and John Scott as Directors of TAL
there was no necessity for the re-election of other Directors. Clive, Mike Codd
and John Horley remain as directors of TAL.
The resigning Chairman
declared the meeting closed.
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Annual Safety Report for 2007
Club Safety Officer – Peter Saundby
The year 2007 was an
improvement over 2006 in respect of accidents but we seriously damaged one
visiting glider and suffered several incidents, one expensive. There were no
reported injuries from any cause during the year.
In March, a Mistral, an
early and rather under-braked fibreglass aircraft flown by a visiting pilot
landed with excess speed on runway 23 and while ground-looping struck a post at
the threshold of runway 09. That post has now damaged three aircraft over the years and so the section of fencing has
been removed.
In early May a serious
incident occurred when the rudder cable of a Ka 13 failed during a spinning
detail, the aircraft landing uneventfully. The aircraft had been modified for
hand control and the failure happened at a new ferrule. This caused a change of
swaging technique.
In late May a glider was
damaged by a heavy landing on the up-sloping undershoot to runway 23. It was
probably the result of lift degradation caused by unrecognised water on the
wing. That pilot is subject to increased supervision.
In early August there were
two incidents caused by the same visiting pilot on successive days. The first
was when he put his elbow through the canopy of a KA 13 following a check
flight. The damage was expensive, although only counting as an incident because
the aircraft had finished the landing roll. the next day he undershot runway 23
following an unstable approach. Concern was expressed about his attitude and
the fact that he was currently undergoing BI training at another club. Comments
were passed to the CFI of his home club.
At the end of August an
incident occurred when the visiting pilot of a Ventus chose to make a flapless
landing in turbulent conditions. He landed hot and ground looped towards the
end of the landing run. The practice on a short runway is to use flaps for the
approach and retract these after touch down. It is clear that some visiting
pilots are not used to small airfields, but this deficiency of skill would
prove a problem when attempting field landings. A stabilised approach is always
needed.
04 January 2008