At the time of posting, the UK Government position on EASA regulation and Brexit is that remaining part of the EASA system is the preferred option. If following Brexit the UK remains part of the EASA system, all EASA rules will continue to apply. If following Brexit the UK is…

The Honourable Company of Air Pilots and the BGA are working together to provide funding for a number of young gliding instructor training bursaries. These bursaries are available to help glider pilots under the age of 25 on application to qualify as either a Basic Instructor or Assistant Instructor. Full…

The Thermal Podcast #6 has been published. This episode includes an interview with Ed Downham about his spectacular flights in his EB28. You can find the podcast and others here.

Europe Air Sports (EAS) is the voice of sports and recreational aviation in Europe. The EAS newsletter for October 2019 is available here.

British Gliding Team members Ayala Truelove and Claudia Hill have been appointed as ‘GA Ambassadors’ by the Department for Transport (DfT) as part of the Governments new ‘Reach for the Sky’ initiative, which aims to raise the profile of aviation and encourage people into careers in aviation including through participation…

This is the time of year when some pilots are fortunate enough to be flying in wave and along ridges, sometimes in challenging conditions and often at speed. Of course all gliders have limitations including speed limits laid down by the designer, who will have used JAR-22 or more recently…

There have been 60 overflights of gliding sites reported by BGA clubs so far this year, many of which have been followed up with the aim of politely educating the powered aircraft pilots involved. We have updated our winch cable warning poster, which is available here.

The Sailplane Air Operations rules state; “Sailplanes operated over areas in which search and rescue (SAR) would be especially difficult shall be equipped with such life-saving and signalling equipment as appropriate to the area overflown” and “Sailplanes operated across land areas in which search and rescue would be especially difficult…

Following engagement between BGA clubs in Scotland and Police Scotland, exemptions for gliding have been agreed re Balmoral and Birkhall restricted airspace. You can view the exemptions here.

The CAA has launched a consultation to seek views on a proposal to move new designs of light aircraft weighing between 450kg and 600kg from pan-European certification, under the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), to national CAA regulations. European regulations allow national regulators the ability to choose to extend their…