Straight and Level Updates from LAA HQ Reasons to be positive Eryl Smith Chairman

Finding inspiration and motivation in the depths of winter can be challenging. As I write this I suspect that many strips and smaller fields are waterlogged, given the significant rainfall and flooding in early January – and elsewhere some hard frosts and snow conspire against the thought of aviating even on the brightest of days. Equally, the thought of spending hours in a cold hangar or workshop needs some resolve!

So January has provided some opportunity to look forward and provide reasons to be positive about 2023.

I am pleased to report that we have had a good response to the advertisement for a new CEO and the recruitment process is well underway. I expect that we will have appointed the successful candidate by the end of February and, publication timescales permitting, carry details of the appointment in the March edition of Light Aviation. A start date will depend on the individual’s circumstances, but the intention is to have the new CEO in post by the beginning of May, having ensured a seamless transition with Steve.

Engineering matters

In last month’s magazine John Viner previewed changes which will be introduced to the Permit system. This reflects one of a number of initiatives being implemented as a result of the improvements now underway, and John explains in further detail the changes being introduced in his Engineering Matters feature.

This month we announce that John Ratcliffe will be leaving the LAA at the end of the month, after 18 months as Engineering Director, to pursue other career interests. John’s remit was to initiate a programme of improvement, which is well underway, and which we will build on. Our good wishes to John for the future. At the same time we have appointed a new airworthiness engineer who will join the team at the beginning of April.

Of course, our Engineering resources extend beyond the key HQ team. Importantly, and often overlooked, is the network of some 350 Inspectors without whom we could not support members with the inspection and permitting of aircraft and the valuable source of information and guidance that they provide to owners.

Since her appointment as Chief Inspector, Lucy Wootton has been very active in getting out and about among the Inspector community. I am delighted that she was able to appoint three new Inspectors at the end of 2022 and, together with other members of the team, delivered an Inspectors’ workshop with a further workshop and the establishment of online training sessions are planned for early 2023.

Strut Leaders Workshop

The first Saturday in January saw Board member and Chair of the Devon Strut, David Millin, leading a workshop for Strut Leader’s. He was joined by fellow directors Ian Sweetland and Chris Holliday, plus a good cross section of Strut Leaders. Anne Hughes’ Struts4U carries more detail of the meeting. Listening to the discussion I was struck by the ideas and enthusiasm among those present as to how we can bring forward initiatives in 2023 to grow membership and the grass roots activity for the benefit of all. In total we have some 27 Struts and type clubs and, while there are some gaps in our geographic coverage, if you don’t already belong to a local Strut or Type Club why not make 2023 the year that you find out more about your local Strut or make a date to participate in one of the many Strut fly-in events across the year? You will always be assured of a warm welcome!

In addition to Strut events we plan to hold a number of Meet the LAA events in conjunction with local Struts and airfields, and will attend both the Aero Expo and Private Flyer events planned for 2023 at Sywell and Booker/Leeds East respectively as a means of promoting LAA to the wider GA community and prospective flyers. Both events will offer discounted entry for LAA members – look out for more details as the organisers firm up their programmes. Last but not least, we continue to work on plans for our own national event in September and will be announcing our plans in the April magazine.

Ask the Board?

I wrote in my January column that I would set out ways in which the Board could be more transparent and accountable in its activities.

As a Board we meet six times a year, but it is only through the AGM that we report formally to members on the performance of the Association. Acknowledging the need for greater interaction with members we will introduce a quarterly online forum to provide members with the opportunity to engage directly with the Board. In addition to addressing issues and concerns it will ensure that, as directors, we remain in touch with the members we seek to serve and represent. Although the forum will be online (in many ways similar to the virtual pub night) there will be the opportunity for issues for discussion and questions to be submitted in advance and for a summary of the discussion to be published after each meeting.

Entitled ‘Ask the Board’, the first of these forums will take place in early March and further details of the event and how you can participate will appear in the March magazine and via email. I hope you will take the opportunity to participate.

In response to one of the key recommendations in the Fraud Panel Review we have reviewed the Terms of Reference and membership of our Board standing committees; Governance, Strategy & Process (GSP), Finance and Engineering (Airworthiness) and established a further standing committee to address Advocacy and Airspace given the ever increasing challenges these issue present. We will use the forum to report on key activity and include annual reports from the Chair of each committee as part of our future AGM reporting.

In summary, as we start 2023 and look forward to the flying season, plenty to build on and lots to be positive about! ■