News

IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS

The following is a summary of a message sent to all Club members this evening.

It is with regret, but knowing that it is the right and sensible decision, that the Melbourne Gliding Club will immediately cease flying operations until further notice.

The spirit and intent of the current Covid-19 guidelines and advice is to avoid non-essential travel outside the home. Unfortunately, gliding falls within this.

For now, duty crews and members are not to travel to the aerodrome for flying operations, and we urge you all to follow the current government restrictions and advice in relation to social distancing and isolation.

The clubhouse and workshops are closed. You should not travel to the aerodrome, it is not essential.

The Committee are meeting weekly by teleconference to examine the impacts of this suspension, and to look at positive options to continue engagement with Club throughout this period of uncertainty.

Our aim is to ensure that our Club emerges healthy and ready to operate as soon as possible.

Whilst social distance and isolation will help to protect us individually it is a vital action to quickly reduce the exponential spread of Covid-19 within the community.

We will be back flying as soon as we can safely do so.

Please stay safe and well, and best wishes to you, your families, and friends.

Member update: The Committee are discussing the current situation around Covid-19 and also liaising with the other gliding clubs at Bacchus Marsh. There will be an email to members before the weekend to advise of arrangements and decisions in relation to our operations. Thank you for your patience. We wish all members of the Club and our friends from around the world safe times. Please stay well.

(From email sent to members 18 March 2020).

Day to day club operations, including training

At this stage, day-to-day club operations are continuing, but please read and think about the following.

If you have been diagnosed with coronavirus, or feel unwell, please be sensible and do not attend the airfield.

If you do not want to attend the airfield, you do not have to. And if you are rostered on a duty team and do not want to attend, please do let us know and seek to find a replacement.

If you have sanitiser or wipes at home, consider bringing from home for your use. Practice social distancing as a secondary precaution. No hand shakes, cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing (into your elbow is best).

If you plan to fly a club glider, be responsible for cleaning the control stick, handles and knobs on panel, before and after your use of the glider. Think about surfaces you have touched and wipe them down. Buckles on the harness and parachutes, too, but avoid the fabric.  

Above all, please use common sense. 

Family and Friends Day

Our Family and Friends Day planned for 29 March is cancelled. This is on the basis that it would involve people more broadly than club members. 

Air Experience Flights

These are proceeding if passengers still wish to fly. All passengers booked will be contacted by the Club to advise them of the status of our operations and with advice similar to above about common sense precautions.

Easter weekend

Given where things are at, the Easter weekend will be an extended Bacchus Marsh operation. Saturday and Sunday will be normal operations days with training. Good Friday and Easter Monday will be general flying days. The sign-up booking system will be updated shortly.

Of course, all of this could change and we will keep you updated.

If you have any concerns, please contact me. Please follow local health authority advice (https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus). 

At this stage, club operations are as normal.

However, if you do not want to attend the airfield, you do not have to.

And if you are rostered on a duty team and do not want to attend, please do let us know and seek to find a replacement.

Please follow local health authority advice (https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus). 

If you have been diagnosed with coronavirus, or feel unwell, please be sensible and do not attend the airfield - follow health authority advice. 

If you have any concerns, please contact me.

Most importantly, look after yourself, your family and friends, and each other.

To access each day's flight sheets, log in to the website and access the daily flight sheets page.

Unfortunately, the 2020 MGC Family & Friends Flying Day planned for 29 March 2020 has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule later this year.

While a new "public-facing" website is on the way, I've continued to make changes to this site to make it look a little better and improve functionality for members. Please let us know any major errors you see or feedback to continue to improve!

The David Wilson Memorial Scholarship was formally launched at the 75th Anniversary and Awards Dinner in 2019.

Funding is available to support attendance at official coaching events or competitions e.g. Horsham Week, Horsham Coaching Week, Mt Beauty Alpine Course, JoeyGlide, other cross-country courses, or other state or national competitions. This might be for glider hire, cost of tows, accommodation.

The scholarship is open to two types of applicants from the Melbourne Gliding Club:

1) Youth members (26 and under); and

2) Recently solo pilots (those within two years of first solo).

If you meet our applicant criteria, and have a gliding goal in mind for this season for which you need financial support, please email a short statement to the Committee (committee@melbourneglidingclub.com.au). 

There are some changes to MGC operations in 2020. We are temporarily stopping formal training on two of the eight duty teams (duty team 4 - Sunday; and duty team 7 - Saturday) to have these days be general flying days.

How will operations work on general flying days?

On general flying days there will be flying available for pilots with A Certificate or above. There will be no student training. There will be one instructor on duty to provide oversight of the operation. These days provide opportunities for cross country flying as well as local soaring. You must remember to book a glider to avoid disappointment! Normal rules apply

· The bus, fire cart (in season) and emergency cart must be on the flight line.

· Flight times must be recorded in the laptop as normal, but record your own times and check they have been added to the laptop flight sheet.

· Get the glider out you want to fly, seek assistance as required.

· The duty instructor will hold a brief when everyone is ready, which may well be later than normal.

· The duty instructor and the members present will work out who will run wings, forward signal etc. Co-operation with other clubs is a good option.

· The duty instructor will call a halt to operations if there are insufficient people to operate safely.

What is different?

· If you book a glider it is yours for the day.

· Expect to fly the glider you booked during the best part of the day.

· If cross country is planned, you must arrange a buddy to be your retrieve crew (and you can return the favour on another general flying day!).

· Expect to be entirely responsible for getting the glider out and putting the glider away at the end of the day.

· Expect to be helping on the flight line.

· If you are on dual checks, call or text the duty instructor the day before, as dual checks will not always be available.

The booking system has been updated to reflect these new arrangements. Normal operations and training continue to be available on the other six weekend days of the month.

We are running one ground school morning per month  – the first one will be radio and circuit procedures, others will be announced a few weeks out, but a mix of pre- or post solo subjects will be covered, tailored to suit the audience, feel free to come along and listen and contribute if you are an experienced pilot dates are as follows:

• 25^th May
• 15^th June
• 13^th July 
• 10^th August
• 7^th September
• 5^th October 
• 09^th November
• 07^th December

For more information, contact the CFI, Paul Spooner.