DARLING DOWNS SOARING CLUB MINUTES of GENERAL MEETING 10 May 2003 At McCaffrey s Field Committee Members Present: Members Present: Apologies:, Shane McCaffrey, Bob Keen, Peter Bell, Jenny Thompson, Richard Hoskings, Brian Hofmeister Jeremy Thompson, David Ferguson, Jo Davis, Tony Cavanna, John Knox Fran Ning, Keith Allen, Lex McQueen, Chez Hall, David McManus, Robert Bradley. The Meeting opened at 7:00pm. 1 Financial Report Bank account currently at approximately $18,000 The annual subscriptions have been issued ($20,800) and to date, only a few resignations have been received. Tug expenses are considerable but these costs are not shown, as invoices have not been received for the last three months. Easter comps income from tug hire has not been received yet. The financial report was issued to members, and is attached. Richard Hoskings moved that the financial report be accepted. Seconded by Shane McCaffrey. Carried. 2 Activity Fee Proposal updated the meeting on the activity fee proposal. It was decided at the previous committee meeting that the club would not go ahead with this proposal due to the difficulty in managing it. Instead members will be asked to voluntarily contribute financially if they are unable to contribute to rosters and working bees. 3 General fee increase proposal updated the meeting on the general fee increase proposal. It was decided at the previous committee meeting that the club would not go ahead with a general fee increase at this time because flying fees have recently been increased. It will be considered later in the year. 4 Proposal for a Club Duo Discus proposed that the club review its previous decision to not buy a high performance two-seater. Kingaroy reports that their Duo Discus is popular, the new private Duo, JSR, is also popular at DDSC, and it is quite an easy aircraft to fly. It appears that the Duo is a better aircraft than the DG1000. As there is a two-year waiting list for purchasing a Duo, the Club should place an order now in order to be able to have one on line in two year s time. If the club is not in a financial position to go ahead with the purchase when the time comes, the option can be sold, and there is no cost to the club. Some relevant factors are: Peter Griffiths has indicated that a deposit may not be required, or if it is, he will pay the deposit initially. The commission may be waived. The cost of the Duo Discus is 70,000 EUR. Insurance costs would be in the order of $6000 annually (100hrs per year would be needed to cover this) It would be estimated that the hire rate would be $1/minute (in today s costs). said that it was possible to set up a charitable fund where members could donate money towards the purchase of the Duo, and it would be tax free. Megan Hockings is to find more information on this for the Club. Page 1
5 Airfield maintenance moved that the club proceed with the ordering of a Duo Discus. Seconded by Richard Hoskings, and carried. Holes have developed on the northern side of the strip and need filling. To be filled at the working bee on Sunday. Gravel is needed around the hangars and the tanks - Bob Keen to organise when the new hangar works are being done. 6 Hangarage The new private hangar will be commenced around June-July. 7 Reports 7.1 CFI Easter Comps were a great success with no accidents. Lookout and gaggle flying/joining are areas where instructors need to teach good habits and techniques. The Instructor panel encourages pilots who want to participate in comps to attend the pylon races and cross country days. A report has been received from Harry Medlicott on safety in comps. There is nothing in BGK on gaggle flying. The Blanik canopy is fixed and the a/c can now be flown. An Ops meeting for Level 3 instructors and CFIs will be held at DDSC on 17 th May. 7.2 Airworthiness The Open Cirrus suffered some damage at the Easter Comps. The Jeans has some cracking on the gel and needs repair. A temporary repair has been made. The Jeans canopy is scratched, due to not being washed properly. Shane recommended that the Zander be replaced with an Ilec. The Ilec with the Colibri will give good instrumentation, but no final glide ability. The LS7 and Hornet are fine The canopy winder on the Puch, WQX, is broken but being held with a rope. The Puch, RI, has play in the aileron. The Grob radio is unserviceable and needs replacing. Shane recommended that a new Australian made radio, Xcom760 be purchased for the Grob as a trial for replacing the Microairs. New tyres for the Puch s will need to be purchased, as the Puch s continue to be flown with flat tyres. Shane moved that 1. The Club purchase an Ilec to replace the Zander for the Ventus, and 2. Mike Codling evaluates the Xcom760 radio and purchases it if it is satisfactory. Seconded by Richard Hoskings. Carried. 7.3 Tug Master The new Dittel radio is working well in SWR. CMN experienced suspected carby icing at the comps. An advertisement has been placed in Country Life for the sale of CMN. The Pawnee s mixture was adjusted at the last 100hrly. 7.4 Canteen No canteen report was given. 8 Information Items 8.1 Easter comps The Easter comps were very successful, and thanks go to Bob Keen, and Mike Codling (and many supporters) for a job well done. There are a few outstanding bills to pay and a meeting to be held with the Council before everything is finalised. 8.2 Qld State comps The next Qld State comps will be held from 27 Sept 03 to 4 Oct 03 at Warwick. It will also be the Junior Nationals. Brian Hofmeister asked that a committee for organising the Junior Nationals aspect of the comps. Action: Brian Hofmeister volunteered to help in organising this. Page 2
8.3 Dalby Nationals No response has been received on DDSC s proposal to hold the 2004 Nationals. 8.4 RAFGSA III Eighteen RAF pilots will be visiting from 7 November to 26 November. These pilots will all be quite experienced. 8.5 Army III About 8-12 Army pilots will be visiting from 29 November to 20 December. 8.6 Cessna sale and replacement An advertisement has been placed in Qld Country Life. There is no ad in Aviation Trader John Knox suggested we advertise in AOPA s magazine. Brian Hofmeister asked if we should be restricting the flying on CMN to conserver hours, but Bob Keen noted that this was not an issue the engine is effectively running on condition now, and this will continue. 8.7 Colibris The Colibri s are still on order and there has been a delay in sending them from Europe. 8.8 Working bee tasks A few members were available for the working bee. Tasks would be mowing and filling holes on the airstrip. 8.9 Painting program The painting program had been previously agreed to, and Brian Hofmeister is to contact Alan Latemore for progressing the painting. It will be important to get the clubhouse improved before the expeditions in November and December. 8.10 Caravan renovations No details were provided, as Anthony did not attend the meeting. 8.11 Computer equipment No update was available. Jenny is to follow up. 8.12 Omarama MOU The Omarama MOU has been finalised and will allow DDSC members to fly at Omarama without paying a joining fee. 8.13 Caboolture MOU The Caboolture Gliding Club MOU is still pending. 8.14 DDSC Incorporation Update The application was submitted two weeks ago. A general meeting will need to be held to ratify the process and effect some of the changes. It was agreed that this would be likely to coincide with the next scheduled general meeting. Page 3
8.15 Nationals Meeting Update participated in a meeting held on 4 May to make some decisions on the future of the Nationals. He updated the meeting as follows: Future Nationals will be handicapped, so results will be both stick and handicap. Current Nationals are not establishing Australia s best pilots, as many do not attend. An early Nationals bidding process is needed to allow proper planning and notification. Ingredients for a good comps are good weather, good location and time of year. AAT tasks will be used more. The scoring will be amended to assist in encouraging lower performing pilots. The comps need to attract more pilots and be bigger events in order to attract sponsorship, etc. Costs need to be reasonable An organisers package needs to be used. The meeting closed at 8:15pm. ***************** The next meeting is a Committee Meeting to be held on 14 June at McCaffrey s Field. Jenny Thompson Secretary President DDSC DDSC June 03 June 03 Page 4
Summary Outstanding Actions from Previous Meetings and Actions from this Meeting: Raised Item Description Status Person Responsible 22 Sept 2001 Item 15 Youth Fund and Scholarship to be progressed 12 January Discussed at mtg 9.2.02 and to be progressed at a later date when more time permits 12/10 For discussion at Strategy Meeting 15/2/03 discussed and Anthony to progress Item? Caravan work and attention required. David Hughes progressing this. Russell Bennett has done some further work. 11/1/03 Peter and Anthony Wetherspoon to progress. 15/2/03 work in progress Item 11 Finalise glider hire agreements. Agreements in progress - Ralph to contact Kevin Senz and Don Able on insurance requirements. 12/10 Jenny to progress. 1/1/03 Near completion. 15/2/03 GAW finalised, but no further progress to report Item 19.12 Hangarage request and cross-hire interest Hangarage discussed and finalized at meeting of for Duo Discus to be discussed at next 12/10. Cross-hire options to be discussed between meeting. owners first. 15/2/03 Club agreement being discussed at 20 April Item 20.1 Trailers - Tony Cavanna to upgrade the Hornet trailer; David Ferguson to coordinate the repair of the two-seater trailer; Shane to make up wing stands as a paying job. 15 June Item 7.1 Brian Hofmeister to prepare a discussion paper on advertising, members and a mobile phone for the Club. 13 July Item 14.3 Brian Hofmeister to contact David McEvoy on possibly providing advice on options for runway sealing. August 10 Item 20 8.16 Bob Keen to explore options for sale of CMN committee level. Dec 02 - Wing stands job cancelled. Other areas progressing 15/2/03 Ralph to ask Karel Kazda to make up wing stands. Paper discussed at meeting of 12/10. To be further discussed with Mike Codling. Anthony Wetherspoon Peter Wetherspoon Jenny Thompson Mike Codling 15/2/03 Mike Codling to purchase answering m/c David contacted; soil samples are to be taken as a David McEvoy first step in evaluating options. 12/10 pending 15/2/03 Jenny emailed DMcE on two occasions with no answer. He is apparently very busy. 15/2/03 advertised in Aviation Trader Bob Keen Page 5
Raised Item Description Status Person Responsible December 7, January 11, 2003 February 15, 2003 April 12, 2003 Items 3 &16 Shane to talk with Peter Taylor and give him a bottle of wine as compensation for crop damage. Shane to also raise with Peter, the issue of the strip of land adjacent to the strip - either lease, by arrangement or sale of the land. Item 9 Omarama NZ Reciprocal Agreement and Caboolture Reciprocal Agreement Item 16 The World Conference of the Rotary Club will be held in Brisbane in June and July 2003. This will be an opportunity for the club for midweek TIF flights. Item 13 Brian Hofmeister to prepare a painting program for future working bees. 15/2/03 still pending Shane McCaffrey 15/2/03 Work in progress. 12/4/03 Omarama finalised; Caboolture pending To be discussed further. Shane McCaffrey 15/2/03 Program provided and approved. For Brian Hofmeister future working bees. Item 15 Paving around the clubrooms David Burrell Item 6 Radio Replacement Program Ongoing. Item 33 Auto Tug Options To be discussed further. Bob Keen Item 14 Jenny Thompson to contact David Jenny Thompson Tottenhoffer from Jondaryan Council, for assistance with obtaining grants for the Club. May 10, 2003 Item 4 Megan Hockings to find more information on the establishment of a charitable for the Club members to donate for the purchase of the Duo Discus. Item 7.2 Item 8.2 Shane McCaffrey to purchase an Ilec to replace the Zander for the Ventus. Mike Codling to evaluate the Xcom760 radio and purchases it if it is satisfactory Brian Hofmeister to help in establishing a committee for organising the Junior Nationals aspect of the comps. Page 6