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

[L21-B]

.

[Chris Martyr]

Nigel ; You are a stalwart member of our Association and a highly respected one too . I still recall coming round to your house in Burgess Hill and laying out photos of my half-built project on your kitchen table in the hope that you would include them in your PF Readers Projects page.
I believe it was about 18yrs ago ! But anyway , it took me 7yrs to build and I am now in my 15th year of flying her.
I find it quite saddening that people who have so much from the heart , have become somewhat partisan over all this . And I include myself in that too. I think it is so regrettable that ordinary and decent minded people who have seen straight through what is going on here have been labelled as vile internet trolls , misogynists , hatemongers, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and have been made to feel guilty , just because they believe that credit has been given where it probably isn't deserved .
Similarly , if you were a 750MC member or a Triumph TR2 owner and your attention was drawn to a lone operator who had driven his [or her, ] Austin 7 or Triumph half way around the globe only to find he had the McLaren team right there in full support , wouldn't you feel a bit short-changed in your admiration of that person ?

. A number of the award winners in the past weren’t solo ...

Precisely ! But imagine how we'd feel towards them if they had received recognition by trying to make out that they were .

[SteveSlater]

Thread drift coming up..... I have been doing some research into the origins of the Bill Woodhams Trophy. I see it was given by the family of the late Bill Woodhams who had been Director of Operations at the PFA rallies at Sywell in the 1970s . He had apparently died testing an aircraft. I have never known what aircraft he was flying.... Any one know what aircraft he was flying ?

To answer my own question: it was Pilot/Practavia Sprite G-BDDB being flown from Sherburn in Elmet.

The Bill Woodhams Trophy was donated to the PFA in 1977 in memory of Bill Woodhams by his family and friends. The son of the managing director of Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Bill was an enthusiastic pilot, instructor and a senior figure in the PFA in the ‘60s, serving on the Executive Committee. He made many interesting long-distance flights in aircraft such as a Tiger Moth and Miles Falcon, which today we'd class as vintage. He was killed test flying a Practavia Sprite aircraft in 1976. The reports at the time indicated a loss of control during a maximum AUW handling test, and it was speculated that ballast carried on the passenger seat had possible become unsecured.

[Planemike]

Steve.........

Thank you for information re. Bill Woodhams Trophy. I was unaware of the
W.G. Armstrong Whitworth connection. Obviously one of the real pioneers
of the PFA...... A sad loss. Shame the Trophy is the subject of such
controversy. Would be interesting to see a list of previous recipients.

[Chris Martyr]

Well done Mike , for digging a bit deeper into the history of the trophy . It seems to get mentioned quite a bit these days and annoyingly seems to have become synonymous with just one person .

Shame the Trophy is the subject of such
controversy.

The trophy isn't the subject of any controversy ! It will be handed over next Sunday from one worthy recipient to its next worthy recipient .

The subject of the controversy probably won't be far away though .

[Tracey Curtis-Taylor]

Regarding some recent postings, please note:

1. I have not threatened the LAA with any kind of litigation, nor has anyone done so on my behalf. The Chairman is incorrect to assert this in his statement. I have already stated my willingness for all correspondence from my solicitor and myself to be published to make that point.
2. Repeated assertions that I possess a legal team and a PR machine do not make them true.
3. I am in my 14th year of membership of the LAA and can only plead guilty to the serious charge of saying on the radio that I've been a member for 15 years.
4. I also said on the radio that I wasn't given the opportunity to respond to the 2016 motion to strip me of the Woodhams Award because that was true. It is rare, if not unique, for an attack on a named member to be presented at a LAA AGM. The proposer and seconder evidently didn't think courtesy required them to tell me; nor did the Chairman of the Board. I knew nothing of the motion nor of the recruitment of votes for it through social networking until I was warned from outside, as explained in my 2018 statement. A few days before the 2016 AGM three statements were provided from myself, Ewald Gritsch and Barry Latter, who was a docent from the Seattle Museum of Flight. In his statement, Mr Latter explained the caption on the slide - which has been used repeatedly by the anonymous trolls on Pprune as evidence of my seeming fraud - as relating to Mary Heath's flight in 1928. He states that I 'never once claimed to have accomplished the flights, either African or transcontinental to Australia, as a totally solo pilot'. He further adds 'In fact, she was emphatic in praising the contributions of her support team, including the times members of that team flew with her'. None of these statements were circulated to the members. I obtained permission to speak on my own behalf at the AGM, but before the meeting the Chairman tried to prevent me doing so by revealing that the motion had already been carried by proxy votes. I was therefore only able to say anything after the issue had already been stitched up. That is where the failure of due process occurred.

[drb]

Hopefully there has now been a sufficiently open debate around the issues related to this ward. Around 32,000 views of this thread alone indicates more than a passing interest.

I expect that the motions will be decided largely on proxy votes at this year's meeting.

It would be good if this matter could be closed. Our organisation has important work to do and this matter is clearly a huge distraction. Let's hope we see an end to these wasteful discussions and that the LAA can be allowed to get on with its core work unimpeded.

[samrutherford]

@drb I agree, but I do believe that Tracey's post is due a reply. (sorry!)




As expected, this response is again cherry-picking and mud-slinging. The difficult questions are ignored every time, as they have been for the last 3 years.

But, a short response to these points is perhaps interesting/useful:

1. You’re accusing the Chair of being untruthful? Feel free to post all correspondence from your solicitor and yourself here as you offer.
2. You have commissioned a large number of letters to individuals and organisations, and claimed yourself that the costs are ‘eye-wateringly expensive’. Simultaneously your Wikipedia page, website, FB etc are subject to constant ‘cleaning’ – and you have claimed yourself that the ‘solo’ statements in them were done by others, not yourself. Description of ‘team’ seems to be fair? I note that you don’t state that it’s not true.
3. I agree with you, bringing this up is pointless and not relevant to the rather more serious accusations you’re failing to defend against.
4. You start by saying you weren’t able to respond, and then finish with describing how you were able to respond. A couple of sub-items to this one:
a. The presentation slide, shown to hundreds (thousands?) of people over your many talks. The duration on the slide is yours, not that of Lady Heath. The end destination is Goodwood, yours, not that of Lady Heath. The start month is November, yours, not that of Lady Heath.
b. You are claiming that the Chair told you the result of the vote before it was taken?
c. “stitched up” and “Failure of due process” – proxy voting is entirely valid, your continued position that they are somehow worth less is incorrect and impolite.

Perhaps now we can have answers to some of the other questions? The Facebook post you made in November 2013 whilst in Nairobi is now of particular interest, given what Barry Latter was asked to say on your behalf (referenced in your post) about 'solo'.

[L21-B]

Tracey has variously described her flights as:

Solo
Sole pilot
Alone in the cockpit
Never solo
and now "that parts of the flight would be solo and others not"
It is perhaps unsurprising that people are confused.

Tracy Curtis-Taylor
Mr Latter explained the caption on the slide - which has been used repeatedly by the anonymous trolls on Pprune as evidence of my seeming fraud - as relating to Mary Heath's flight in 1928. He states that I 'never once claimed to have accomplished the flights, either African or transcontinental to Australia, as a totally solo pilot'.

And now we have another definition of 'Solo'

"totally solo pilot"

[Chris Martyr]

,,,,,,,,,,,,Ahem,,,,,,

I was therefore only able to say anything after the issue had already been stitched up. That is where the failure of due process occurred.

I was there !

[Tracey Curtis-Taylor]

It is important to note that Brian Davies has stepped down as Chairman of the LAA.

[DaveWhite]

Is that relevant?

[P5151]

The more I hear of this the more dismayed I become. It seems there are people who want to argue semantics with TCT on every word that comes from her and because Many things we say can be misinterpreted they use this to build a case against her.

With regard to her being stitched up and a failure of due process I have to side with her. It seems that the case against her was largely made on social media, and a failure to answer, or loose wording in an answer has been held against her.

The failure of due process comes about because those who voted by proxy votes did so without hearing her answer the allegations put to her at the AGM. They had decided her guilt before the evidence for the defence had been heard so I can see why she feels ‘stitched up’. I sure anyone would be angry if a case against them had been decided before entering the hearing!

I ask again can someone provide details of the evidence which shows she does not deserve this award?

Can someone tell me what the unanswered questions are and how failure to answer these questions proves the case against her. Do not refer me to prune I have looked and cannot find anything.

[L21-B]

It is important to note that Brian Davies has stepped down as Chairman of the LAA.

Tracy, were did you obtain that information. I have not seen it announced, so is it appropriate to place it on a public forum before official announcements have been made ?

[Trevor Harvey]

How can "failure of due process" be attributed to proxy voters not hearing her answers at the AGM?
Proxy votes are perfectly legal.
Proxy votes are made/submitted long before the AGM. How else do you suggest proxy votes should be cast?
At the actual time of counting the votes the actual result is already established, not by conspiracy but by the pile of paper already there waiting to be counted.
How can standing in front of a massive backdrop banner that states "7000 miles ALONE in an open cockpit biplane" be misinterpreted when every photograph of arrivals and enroute flying show two people on board?
"Before her defence was heard". This is not a court of law!