ALL MEMBERS ! Please fill out those proxy forms..!!

[Bill McCarthy]

Chris - I fill in my logbook as P1for all flights if Ihave control. P2 if the “passenger” takes contro and only if qualified to do so.
“Alone in an open cockpit” is true by the way - there is no room in the Stearman aft position for two pilots. There is another for’d cockpit however from which to take control (if necessary).

[Trevor Harvey]

My Pooleys logbook does not have a column marked "solo" it says "Captain", "Operating capacity", and the times under "Dual" and "In command" (regardless of how may occupants there are)

[Paul Catanach]

chrisadams

To put it simply P1 and solo are not the same thing, everyone has fewer solo hours than they do P1.

In the context of awards and recognition of achievements solo means solo in its purest sense, we all know that.

[andymac53]

I've read all 17 pages of this Forum and done quite a bit of research of my own in the last few days.

This is not about a trophy anymore.

This is about one person trying to bring disrepute onto our organisation.

What is clear is that there is pressure on the LAA to reverse the 2016 decision (made by it's members).

So where is this pressure coming from?

Wherever corruption and underhandedness lie the answer is found by "Following the money".

In this case one of the main sponsors of the trip.

Boeing.

They are not only a major sponsor of TCT's trip but also put a lot of money into the (LAA supported) Build A Plane projects.

Understandably, the LAA probably do not want to be seen to be upsetting Boeing by publicly shaming something that Boeing have supported (TCT's Cape flight).

The Seconder of the 1st Motion for 2018's AGM is Tim Wheeler.

Tim works for... you guessed it - Boeing!

The propsor of the 2nd Motion for 2018's AGM is David Mole, whom's background is in law.

Does David Mole know something we do not?

Are Boeing threatening to withdraw funding for the Build-A-Plane project if these Motions do not pass?

In the interests of transparency the membership should have access to the legal letters sent by TCT's team to the LAA. Then we would be availed of all the facts regarding the position she is now putting the LAA in.

The other major sponsor - Artemis - seems to have pulled out. After the latest crash in the USA. The aircraft was stripped of their logos and renamed The Spirit of Victory. However I imagine Artemis still have a vested interest in being seen in a good light (as a sponsor of the Cape trip) in the upcoming film being released next year - so pressure may be coming from them also (perhaps indirectly through TCT's lawyers. Without the legal letters being made public we have no way of knowing).

I found the wording of some of the Motions to suggest that the LAA are indeed under pressure to reverse the decision, despite the claims of these being personal views only and not representing the LAA board.

David Mole's wording "although I am not advocating any particular outcome" made me laugh. David - by proposing something you ARE advocating a particular outcome!

Brian Davies has been raked over the coals in all this saga and up to the point of reading his personal statement I was in support of him. But he has now stepped out of the impartial zone he is supposed to uphold as Chairman and is now urging members to vote in favour of the 2nd Motion. Why? What pressure is he under internally to take this line?

I do urge everyone who is a member to avail themselves of all the facts as best they can and vote.

Going forward I would like to see LAA awards handed out only to pilots flying LAA aircraft. The Stearman in question is not an LAA aircraft. It is owned by an Austrian, whose company is in Hungary and it is registered in the USA.

[jangiolini]

If the Board are being pressurised into supporting the motion then we the members of the Association have a right to know. I would also have more respect and support for them if they were open and transparent. With the current surplus in the accounts how much of an effect would losing the funding for the build a plane project have compared to keeping the integrity of the LAA? I am rapidly losing the respect I had for our Board if this is the case.
Can we have a response from the various Board members please?
I suppose this would be too much to hope for....
John.

[Bill McCarthy]

andymac53 - I admire your stamina !

[T Wilcock]

Chris - I fill in my logbook as P1for all flights if Ihave control. P2 if the “passenger” takes contro and only if qualified to do so.

Thread drift, but surely you can only record P2 if you are a second crew member of an aircraft which requires 2 crew operation?

[samrutherford]

@Trevor

Correct.

[Trevor Harvey]

I fail to understand why we as pilots find it necessary to point out what to write in our logbooks to other pilots, who should be well aware of the procedure.
Is this a diversional thread drift?

[T Wilcock]

Chris - I fill in my logbook as P1for all flights if Ihave control. P2 if the “passenger” takes contro and only if qualified to do so.

Thread drift, but surely you can only record P2 if you are a second crew member of an aircraft which requires 2 crew operation?

@Trevor
Correct.

Just shows how people confuse all this P1/P2/Pu.t/Solo business!

[SteveSlater]

Boeing. They are not only a major sponsor of TCT's trip but also put a lot of money into the (LAA supported) Build A Plane projects..... ....Are Boeing threatening to withdraw funding for the Build-A-Plane project if these Motions do not pass?

Andy,
The Boeing involvement in RAeS Build A Plane projects actually ended last year and the final aircraft built under the scheme have now flown. We're still supporting a number of other BaP projects, outside the Boeing/RAes initiative, but there is no link between Boeing and any member's motion being discussed.

[Chris Martyr]

Deleted as not pertinent to 2018 AGM.

[Alan Crutcher]

Steve,

Andy,
... there is no link between Boeing and any member's motion being discussed.

You may wish to qualify this, as the seconder of one motion apparently works for Boeing.

Alan.

[Paul Catanach]

It is scandalous that the financial resources funded by us members is squandered away......our Chairman has had to spend a large part of the last two years , fending off bullying threats from external sources.......I know for a fact that Steve Slater has had to throw hundreds of man-hours away in dealing with Tracey's whims and qualms.

What choice do they have? We've been threatened, someone has to respond and defend.

I'm no happier about it than you but I can't see another way around. Mind you, with a retired QC/judge on the board I'm sure we are receiving some excellent (and free) advice.

[Planemike]

Chris............

I do not see the necessity to bring in the changes you suggest. They seem to be unnecessarily divisive.
The LAA and PFA before has always been an eclectic mix of people who have for the most part rubbed
along with only minor disagreements which have been sorted out internally. One person has been the source of this problem.

Taking the action you suggest seems to me to fit in the "hard cases make bad laws camp". Why change the whole organisation which has done OK for 75 years because of the actions of one very self-centred individual? Oh, by the way we should be concentrating on celebrating the 75 anniversary not being driven to distraction by one particular member.

You make the awards sound unimportant. To my mind they are an integral part of our club and should not be hived off and treated as though they belong to a WI jam making competition.