Talk:British Gliding Association

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under - ROLE - the article says "The BGA still has the authority to manage most aspects of gliding in the UK" having immediately previously refered to it being an ordinary club. So how did it go from the former to having legal authority? what is the history of that ? An important omission i say --83.105.33.91 11:06, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Puzzled. Nowhere does it say that the BGA has ever been a gliding club. It has always been the governing body since its inception. I suggest you re-read the article. JMcC 14:38, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

But the - History - paragraph gives no insight into how the bga came to aquire its legal authority
it gives the impression of having an entirely unofficial status & begining - "at the Comedy Restaurant" - with no mention of any involvment by any state authority --83.105.33.91 10:17, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps it isn't clear so here is an explanation. The British Government and the Civil Aviation Authority have never seen the need to intervene very often in British gliding. There is no automatic reason why the government should be involved, though in most other countries all aviation is supervised by a government department. The BGA started in the 1930s as a group of people who were interested in gliding and who helped co-ordinate the movement. It therefore assumed responsibilities for a new sport without anyone getting around to write a law to say that it could/should. Since then no-one has taken away its responsibilities because it did a good job and there was no need to change the status quo. Self-regulation worked because responsible people operated throughout the movement. The result has been a system that is effective, free from bureaucracy and therefore cheap. Consequently British glider pilots still do not have government issued licences and the engineers have not been certified by the CAA. I doubt if the BGA is explicitly mentioned in any statute. Of course air law applies to glider pilots, so for example we have to stay out of prohibited areas, not indulge in dangerous flying and switch on our oxygen when we fly high. BGA also has to work with the authorities to investigate serious accidents, but until recently that is about it. Sadly things are changing. To comply with European legislation, new gliders have to display government registration letters and older gliders will also be registered eventually. Certificates of Airworthiness are also changing on 1 October for similar reasons but the details are not yet clear. An illustration of the effect is that one owner of a new glider recently had to pay 800 pounds to replace a functional ASI and altimeter because they each lacked a piece of paper. JMcC 15:47, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Right, I think that I've got it now. Thank you
--83.105.33.91 10:22, 11 May 2007 (UTC)