LAA x BMAA

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mikehallam
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LAA x BMAA

Post by mikehallam » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:53 pm

A pleasant & refreshing mail arrives from the LAA floating good news IMHO.

The BMAA and LAA objectives and skills are now so overlapping and/or complementary in scope that a joint organisation really appears to be on the cards.
Finances and staffing requirements likewise seem to allow a smooth merging operation

The sooner the better !

We'll get to offer a voting opinion on deeper pre-nuptial checks next month.

mikeblyth
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by mikeblyth » Fri Sep 06, 2019 6:31 pm

YEP sounds good hope your going to take a risk and fly in. :oops:
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Chris Martyr
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by Chris Martyr » Sun Sep 08, 2019 9:21 am

Well ,,,I take it that most LAA'ers are happy then . :D

It certainly gets my vote .

We all know from the e-mail notification what the situation is and even the thread on the red/yellow forum seemed in agreement with the merger . [ no fur flying , that's gotta be a 1st :lol: ]

Hopefully , our brothers in the BMAA contingent are also in agreement . Does anyone know if they will be putting it to the vote as 'we' are ?
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PaulSS
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by PaulSS » Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:04 am

The BMAA are following the same process as the LAA.

The British Light Aircraft Association certainly gets my two votes :D
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ChampChump
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by ChampChump » Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:48 pm

Most of the discussion on the other place has turned towards the new name. Popularly, the old one. :D
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PaulSS
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by PaulSS » Tue Sep 10, 2019 12:54 am

I have to admit to never particularly caring for 'PFA' in the first place, let alone resurrecting it. I don't think it really conveyed any meaning, whereas at least 'LAA' and 'BMAA' do. I agree with the sentiment that the word 'microlight' should be dropped. I also mostly agree with the chap in the forum tent who suggested we adopt the American term of 'Light Sport Aircraft' but my OCD is trying to justify the word 'sport' :D
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Brian Hope
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by Brian Hope » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:54 am

Light Sport Aircraft is a category of aircraft, a title we do not have in the UK as LSA aircraft come under other definitions, microlights probably being added to those definitions once the opt out 600kg ready to fly situation is resolved. Using that expression in a merged association's title would be confusing.
The BMAA is insistent on our current title not being used, understandable as that would be taken by some as being a takeover rather than a merger. It is unfortunate though because I think it is the perfect description of what we are. The word Microlight is also deemed no longer appropriate by many in the BMAA.
I think BLAA works, or LAAUK. If we have a competition maybe we'll end up with something like The AirplanesMcplaneface Association. Why not!
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Alan Kilbride
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by Alan Kilbride » Tue Sep 10, 2019 1:24 pm

Kepe it shought. Eye Carn't spel
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mikehallam
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by mikehallam » Tue Sep 10, 2019 5:41 pm

A definite 'NO' for the word 'Microlight' - it's total misnomer which the lay publice popularly believes are slow & even dangerous - barely better than a strip of fabric with a noisy lawn mower engine.

Our range of modern a/c nowadays are every bit as fast & roomy as many 'real' planes.
TBH my 1999 Rans kit built "aeroplane" is slower, old fashioned & incomparable in performance to many current 450 kg plastic fantastic a/c.

The coming 600 kg threshold should open up more of the attractive European a/c to the UK to meet the needs of an increasingly 'buy not build' sector of our community.

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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by Rjk983 » Tue Sep 17, 2019 11:09 am

It seems most are in favour, and I agree with all of the internal benefits of merging for both organisations.

But I do foresee one unintended consequence. I have no real knowledge of how discussions are carried out between the various organisations and the CAA but presumably when there are subjects to discuss, such as airspace regulation, we currently have two voices in the room. Following merger we will only have one. Will this have an impact in the future? The fact that the one voice represents double the number of members than either did previously will probably carry little weight unless any opinions expressed by the various organisations are factored to allow for the size of their respective membership. Do the two committees foresee this being an issue?
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ChampChump
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by ChampChump » Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:22 pm

I heard another 'ah, but' the other day. A rally that could attract so many more would have the CAA twitching, to start with.

I imagine that the speaker was imagining a Spamwell scenario.
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Trevor Harvey
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Re: LAA x BMAA

Post by Trevor Harvey » Thu Sep 26, 2019 7:08 pm

mikehallam wrote:A definite 'NO' for the word 'Microlight' - it's total misnomer which the lay publice popularly believes are slow & even dangerous - barely better than a strip of fabric with a noisy lawn mower engine.

Our range of modern a/c nowadays are every bit as fast & roomy as many 'real' planes.
TBH my 1999 Rans kit built "aeroplane" is slower, old fashioned & incomparable in performance to many current 450 kg plastic fantastic a/c.

The coming 600 kg threshold should open up more of the attractive European a/c to the UK to meet the needs of an increasingly 'buy not build' sector of our community.
Raising the weight limit for “Microlight” to 600kg is going to put a large number of extra aircraft into the “barely better than a strip of fabric with a noisy lawnmower engine” category, as far as the lay public are concerned. So why not differentiate between “Flexwing” and “Fixed wing light aircraft” and do away with the stigmatic “Microlight” word altogether.
A 600kg Flexwing would be quite a thing to see!
Trying to educate the public on the details of aviation is like trying to knit fog.
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