BLACK
MOUNTAINS
FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN
(FINAL VERSION)
Contents:
1: Introduction
2: BMGC mission statement
3: Immediate actions
required
Appendices:
Appendix
1: Need for a strategic plan?
Appendix
2: Club history in brief
Appendix
3: Major assets as at February 2006
Appendix
4:
Appendix
5: Strengths and weaknesses
Appendix
6: Site security/expansion/utilisation
6.1:
Site security
6.2:
Site expansion
6.3:
Existing site utilisation
6.4:
Ground reinforcement
6.5:
Equipment storage
6.6:
Clubhouse
6.7:
Mains water
Appendix
7: Future club aircraft fleet
7.1:
Two seaters
7.2:
Single seaters
7.3:
Motor glider
7.4:
Tug
Appendix
8: Financial
Appendix
9: Site plan
1: INTRODUCTION
Following extensive discussions by the BMGC committee
over the period August 2005 to March 2006, a strategy for the future of the
Black Mountains Gliding Club at Talgarth has been produced. In November, the
third draft was circulated to all club members with an invitation to comment
and as a result, a great deal of
feedback was received verbally, by E mail and by postings on the BMGC website
Bulletin Board. It is important to note that all the inputs from members have
been considered in depth by the committee in drawing up this final version and
have been stored as an MS Word document to provide a permanent record. This can
be made available on request.
This final strategy will be presented to the membership at the AGM, which will be held on 14 April 2006 at Talgarth Rugby Club.
It is important to
understand that this strategy is not “set in stone” and as circumstances and
viewpoints change, so must the strategy. It is the first peg in the ground to
shape the future of what is arguably the most exciting gliding club in the
Appendices 1 to 9 give detailed background to the strategy.
Robbie Robertson
BMGC Chairman
12 March 2006
2: BMGC
1: To provide an outstanding facility for
BMGC members to enjoy the unique soaring opportunities available at Talgarth.
2: To provide advanced training for members
and visitors. Basic training will be available as required.
3: To encourage expeditions from other
gliding clubs to visit us and enjoy the unique site that is Talgarth.
3: IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUIRED
|
Details |
Appendix Reference |
|
To
maintain a good working relationship with the owner of the |
6.1 |
|
To obtain information from the Powys Highways
Authority regarding the rights of way relating to the Green Lanes to the East
and South of the airfield. Should any of the fields in question come on to
the market in the future then immediately to explore with the Highways
Authority whether and how vehicles may cross the lanes. |
6.2.4 |
|
To discuss rebuilding and relocation of the T-hangers
with the syndicates involved in order to investigate better utilisation of
existing trailer parking space which is at a premium. |
6.3.1 |
|
To review the trailer park list and determine the
financial benefits of including a number of launches in the annual rental to
improve site utilisation. |
6.3.2 |
|
To consider a proposal to
allocate specific trailer slots to owners, who could lay down their own
ground reinforcement in front of their trailers. Alternatively, to examine
the cost of reinforcing the entire rigging area in front of the trailer park. |
6.4.1 |
|
To assess the effectiveness
of the recent airfield drainage work and then, if necessary, carry out a more
detailed study of cost, feasibility and effectiveness for runway ground
reinforcement. |
6.4.2 |
|
To consider low
cost solutions for a store on the south side of the main hanger |
6.5 |
|
To
consider, in due course, the relative merits of a high-cost, high performance
two seat glider and one with a medium-performance at lower cost. |
7.1 |
|
To consider opening
negotiations with the Park Authorities to see if we could operate a second
powered aircraft |
7.4 |
The committee will decide
prioritisation of the above actions.
Appendices
These appendices give the
background to the strategy
Appendix 1: Need for a
strategic plan
In
order to survive and be successful, every business, no matter how large or
small, must be clear as to its long-term aims. All too often, day-to-day fire
fighting and attention to minutiae hinder the formation of a clear, long-term
strategy. Inevitably, this will have a detrimental effect on the overall
performance and ability of the company to prosper in the long term.
Appendix 2: Club history in brief
Formed
through a chance meeting between John Bally and Derrick Eckley in 1979, the
club has evolved to a state where it owns the freehold to the land and
buildings at the foot of the
At
1 March 2006, the club officers are:
Robbie Robertson Chairman
Don Gosden Treasurer
John Scott Secretary
Don
Puttock Chief
Flying Instructor
Mike Codd
John Horley
Clive Micklewright
Peter Saundby Safety Officer
Appendix 3: Major club assets at 1 March 2006
As
at 1 March2006, the major club assets are:
- 29 acres of
freehold land.
- Clubhouse and
hangar
- Workshop
- Piper Pawnee tow
plane
- Two K13 training
gliders
- SZD Junior solo
glider
- Schleicher K6CR
solo glider
4:
Before
a sensible strategic plan can be created, it is essential to be absolutely
clear as to the long-term aims of Black Mountains Gliding Club. Leaving aside
the need to become financially viable, we need to look at the following
alternatives:
A:
To grow the club significantly by pursuing an active recruitment campaign and
expanding the facilities to meet all future needs in terms of land, gliders,
parking, tugs etc. The BGA suggests that clubs need to grow by 13% over the
next 3 years!
B:
To keep the club at its present size or grow it slowly by limiting membership
numbers and gliders on site so as to maximise the enjoyment of the current
membership.
C:
To become a club offering comprehensive training all the way from ab initio to
diamond badges.
D:
To become a club specifically tuned to best use our unique site by
concentrating on advanced training for visiting pilots and only provide basic
training as required.
E:
To promote air experience flights to subsidise our own flying.
F:
Something else.
G:
A combination of some or all of these.
Canvassing
opinions around the club, there is a widespread view that the relatively
informal way that we operate is very popular. Recently, moves to adopt some
“big club” procedures such as duty pilots proved unpopular and unworkable.
Winch launching is not possible due to the short runway length (which means
that early pilot training can be expensive) and at present we are only allowed
to operate a single tow plane, which in practice limits the number of launch
slots available each year. Given this limitation, growing the club
significantly could lead to longer launch queues, and those of us with
experience of other clubs knows how frustrating this can be on a good day.
(What constitutes an unacceptable delay to launch depends on the individual and
the conditions prevailing but anything over 30 minutes from arrival at the
launch point would seem excessive)
By
limiting the number of flying members and gliders based on site, we can
continue to have a huge amount of fun with a minimum of waiting for launches.
The actual numbers will need defining to take into account the full/country
member ratio but would probably be in the order of 40 gliders/100 flying
members at this time. The current promotion of Talgarth as an outstanding ridge
and wave site with an excellent launch and flight duration record is working
well in attracting visiting expeditions from other clubs as well as voucher
visitors (which are an important source of revenue to us). We have the ability
to accept, reject or limit visiting groups so as to keep tug utilisation at an
optimum level and avoid launch queues. In addition we must always try and
recruit more local members to keep the club administration going.
Appendix 5: Strengths and weaknesses
Having agreed the mission statement for Black Mountains Gliding Club, we need to consider how best to achieve it. The first thing to do is to look at our Strengths and Weaknesses.
|
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
Best airtime/launch ratio
in the |
Aero tow only therefore
launches expensive compared to sites with winch alternatives |
|
New clubhouse and hangar |
Only one tug allowed on
site (at present) |
|
Finances sound and
improving |
Limited club fleet |
|
Generally excellent
reputation amongst other clubs |
Only 29 acres .. a concern
for some visiting pilots |
|
Good relationship with
local community |
Not too cross country
focussed (yet).as most flying is confined to local soaring in the mountains. |
|
Excellent site security |
Small full club
membership. Loads local members. |
|
No significant airspace
restrictions |
Constrained by National
Park rules |
|
Short launch queues |
No large population centre
close by as a source for potential full members |
|
7 day/week operation in
summer with some mid week winter soaring |
Accident record not the
best |
|
Visually attractive
location |
Can get very muddy in
winter |
Appendix 6: Site security/expansion/utilisation
See
preliminary sketch at the end of this report
6.1
Site security
As with most gliding clubs, site security is an extremely
important factor in ensuring our long-term survival. We are in the enviable
position of owning the freehold on 29 acres on what is certainly one of the
best soaring areas in the
Good
relationships with local residents must be top priority at all times and the
committee must address any complaints or concerns promptly and sympathetically. Previously,
we (via Derrick) invited locals to an end of season bash as a “thank you”. In
my view this should be reinstated.
Before
any consideration is given to possible site expansion, it is essential that we
secure what we have already against all possible threats. Agreeing to comply
with local regulations is our best defence against threats emanating from local
authorities and the Parks Authorities. However, an antagonistic neighbour could
reduce our take-off options to the West runway.
If for example trees were planted along our boundary at the West end of
the airfield in the overshoot field this would severely limit our operations.
As a top priority, we must secure the
Action:
Maintain a good working relationship with the owner of the
A
similar threat, although not as serious, exists on the boundary between the
green lane and the field to the East of the airfield. At the moment there is a
convenient gap in the tall trees: if this were to disappear, it would make
landings to the West more difficult. We have established who owns this field
but have not yet approached him.
Action:
The committee to consider making an approach to the owner of this field to ask
that the club be informed if it were to come on the market.
6.2 Site expansion:
Having secured the boundaries of the existing airfield (including the undershoot field to the East), we need to consider whether further land might be useful:
A: To reduce
the congestion at the launch point when taking off from the gate towards the
B: To build a Nympsfield style hanger for private owners to keep gliders rigged and to provide extra trailer and car parking.
It is an accepted fact that the rigging and derigging of
gliders can be a strong disincentive to taking a launch. As a result the extra
revenue generated by a self-financing
6.2.1 The windsock field could accommodate trailers or a new hanger, but has the major disadvantage that gliders being towed out would not be visible from the launch point(s) at the East end of the airfield, and could constitute a safety hazard. For this reason it has been discounted.
6.2.2 The fields to the East are flatter, closer to the most frequently used launch points and would be less intrusive visually than the windsock field. It would also allow us to secure the boundary at the eastern end of the existing field as mentioned in 6.1 and allow us to relocate some trailers thus opening up the SE launch point. Security and access problems involving the green lane would however need addressing.
6.2.3 The fields to the South are relatively flat so that if the problem of access across the green lane could be resolved, could be an ideal location for a new hangar, together with trailers and car parking. Only part of the field(s) would be required. Of the three field areas, this is the most attractive for expansion to improve trailer parking. The owner of the fields has agreed to consult with the club in the first instance should any land become available.
Membership feedback on the question of land acquisition for a new hanger has been mixed so we intend simply to keep a watching brief re further land acquisition.
The boundaries of the land owned by the club are defined in the Lease contracted between BMGC and Talgarth Airfield Limited. Paragraph 1.2 of the Lease defines the Airfield as indicated by a red line on the plan annexed to the Lease. This boundary lies to the airfield side of the Green Lanes.
6.2.4 Green Lanes: Green lanes border the airfield to the East and to the South. The southerly lane extends towards the North, between the West end of the airfield and the overshoot field, where it is marked only by metal studs in the ground, and where the electric fence is usually erected. The lane to the South is a Bridleway and that to the East is a Road Used as a Public Path (RUPP). Rights of way are not automatically defined by these designations and vary from one County Council to another.
Action: To obtain information from the Powys Highways
Authority regarding the rights of way relating to the Green Lanes to the East
and South of the airfield. Should any of the fields in question come on to the
market in the future then immediately to explore with the Highways Authority
whether and how vehicles may cross the lanes.
Any crossing of the Green Lanes will require opening of access routes across the Lanes. The Club would offer to the appropriate authority a plan to plant hedges or trees elsewhere on the airfield boundary to compensate for those lost in creating this access.
6.3 Existing site utilisation:
At this time, we have no idea when any extra land may become available to the club and so we must address ways of improving the day-to-day club operation within our existing boundaries.
6.3.1 Trailer parking and T- hangers: Two T-hangers at present occupy considerable space on the South of the airfield. There is potential for moving one or both of these T-hangars to another location on the airfield in order to provide significantly more trailer parking. This has already been discussed at committee with no firm conclusion. The committee noted that at one time there was a T-hangar housing an IS30 adjacent to the fuelling point. This was destroyed in a gale and never replaced. A move of this kind would require the rebuilding of the T-hangars at some considerable expense.
The Mission Statement emphasises the club’s ambition to encourage other clubs to visit Talgarth; however our ability to accommodate any trailers that accompany such visitors is very limited, and that to the West of the hangars is of poor quality. Although the demand for additional trailer parking from club members is small, it is estimated that currently the maximum possible number has just about been reached. For this reason, the committee has decided that any member wishing to bring another trailer on to the airfield must ask permission of the committee before doing so.
If trailer parking for visiting expeditions is to be improved, then a relocation of the T-hangars might greatly improve this within the confines of the existing site.
Action: To discuss rebuilding and relocation of the
T-hangers with the syndicates involved, in order to achieve better utilisation
of existing trailer parking space.
6.3.2 Trailer parking charges: There are several
trailers on line to the East of the hangar that contain gliders that only
emerge a few times per year. This takes up valuable space in the prime rigging
area that could be better utilised by those taking launches more frequently. By
increasing the annual charge to say £500pa for this prime area, to include a
number (20?) of aerotows, better utilisation of space will be made. This should
provide an incentive for these gliders to be used more often or for their
owners to move them elsewhere.
Action: The committee to review the trailer park list
and determine the financial benefits of including a number of launches in the
annual rental.
6.4 Ground reinforcement:
6.4.1: Rigging area reinforcement: The area in front of the trailers becomes very muddy in winter and various methods of ground reinforcement have been examined by the committee. A plastic mesh was thought to be suitable for this purpose but needs a further feasibility study, probably involving a test area.
Action: To consider the proposal to allocate trailer
slots to owners, who could lay down their own ground reinforcement in front of
their trailers. Alternatively to examine the cost of reinforcing the entire
rigging area in front of the trailer park.
6.4.2: Runway reinforcement: The new field drains installed in the SE area of the airfield do appear to be improving field drainage. Some members have suggested that the ground in the areas of the initial take-off runs should also be reinforced. The committee has discussed this in some detail and examined sample types of reinforcing materials. The mesh that could be suitable for the trailer area is not suitable for runway reinforcement. A system of interlocking plastic panels is however a possibility. Arguments both in favour and against this proposal have been considered. Costings for any such reinforcement depend on whether a single runway 4M in width and 200M in length is reinforced as suggested by one member, or whether both the Westerly and North-Westerly runways are treated for a width that would provide the facility to launch a grid of two or three gliders side by side. Either way, the cost of proper reinforcement would be very high and probably prohibitive.
Action: To assess the effectiveness of the recent
airfield drainage work and then, if necessary, carry out a more detailed study
of cost, feasibility and effectiveness for runway ground reinforcement.
6.5: Equipment storage: The committee has agreed to build a facility onto the south side of the main hanger to provide storage and a briefing room. However tenders submitted so far for building the base and blocks for this extension have proved a lot more expensive than in comparison to initial estimates.
Action: To consider lower cost solutions.
6.6: Clubhouse and the area immediately outside: There has been some feedback suggesting improvements to the clubhouse facilities (conservatory, kitchens etc) and also to tarmac the area outside. Whilst these are desirable, it is felt that other items are of higher priority at this time. However, with the help of all club members, we should endeavour to maintain standards in and around the clubhouse.
6.7: Mains water: Contact has been made with Welsh Water to investigate the feasibility of laying on mains water from the road but the indications are that this would be extremely expensive and so no further action is planned at this time.
There is a possibility for improving non-potable water availability by collecting rain water from the roof of the hangar into a large storage tank located at or below ground level.
Appendix 7: Future club aircraft fleet
The current club glider
fleet consists of:
·
Two K13 basic
training gliders
·
K6CR single
seater
·
SZD Junior single
seater
7.1: Two-seaters: That the
addition of further gliders to the fleet is an emotive issue is clear from the
membership feedback received to date. Recalling the Mission Statement item 2, “To
provide advanced training for members and visitors and to provide basic
training as required”, it is clear that an all-K13 two-seater fleet is
inadequate. The options of whether in the future the club should buy a high
performance glider such as the Duo Discus X and DG1000 or a glass-fibre machine
with medium performance such as the K21 has been discussed at length, both in
committee and amongst the membership. Views have also been canvassed from
present instructors as well as past chief flying instructors.
Opinions
are evenly divided between these two options. The argument ranges from the need
to have a high-performance two-seater to support the Mission Statement, to the
heavy financial burden that a very expensive machine would incur. The committee
is also mindful of the importance of providing basic training for ab initio
pilots where required, as well as to support club finances by trial lesson
flights.
Action:
The committee to consider in due course the relative merits of a high-cost,
high performance glider and one with a medium-performance and with lower cost.
This is a project for a time when finances might improve sufficiently to allow
serious consideration of the first alternative.
7.2: Single seaters: The current fleet of a Junior and K6CR seems about
right. The possibility of a club Discus or similar has been raised but it is
felt that this should be put on hold pending the upgrading of the two seater
fleet. This should better enable us to train pilots to fly a high performance
club glider safely.
7.3: Motor glider: Access to a two seat motor glider would be
invaluable for training and site familiarisation flights for visiting pilots.
However, the limitations placed on us by the Parks Authorities limits our
options since the Motor Falke is already on site.
7.4: Tug: Everything depends on a serviceable tug. Without it, we have no revenue generation.
Financially, it is not practical to have a backup tug on stand-by, so we need
to structure club finances to allow the purchase at short notice of a
replacement, with a four blade prop and hush kit, should the need ever arise.
The current agreement with the Parks Authorities limits us
to operating a single tug. This is an important item that restricts launch
rates, together with possible club growth; so it would be appropriate to open
negotiations with the Parks Authorities in order to revisit this aspect of our
agreement.
Action: Open negotiations with the Park Authorities to see if we could operate a second powered aircraft
Appendix 8: Financial:
Presently club profit is running at 30% of turnover. This will be used for maintaining the following reserves
1. Tug engine replacement
2. Repayment of member’s debentures and the provision of a contingency fund.
Future growth is hard to predict but if 3000 launches per annum is achievable then a turnover growth of 5% pa can be expected. Control of expenditure is exercised by budget setting and monitoring. Overheads too will be held down as much as possible. The committee will also identify research into and implement one large project per year that gives maximum benefit to the club members.
The commercial mortgage loan account will be held for the full term until 2018. This loan is secured on the land and can be topped up in future to fund any capital expenditure deemed appropriate by the committee. Dependent on profitability, a reserve has been created to be funded at a rate of £5,000 pa for the buy back of member’s debentures on request either by the club or the member; this should clear member’s loans by 2012.
The committee will continue to seek grant funding for asset acquisition but all the indications are that the 2012 Olympics is acquiring 100% of the sports. It is unlikely that gliding will fall into this category.
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Appendix
9: site plan
