British Gliding Association - Role

Role

When the BGA was formed, it assumed responsibility for British gliding and the British government has not seen the need to change a system of self-regulation, because it has been effective and economical. As a result the BGA still has the authority that it assumed to manage most aspects of gliding in the UK though the European Aviation Safety Agency is gradually causing greater regulation. Consequently British glider pilots do not need a licence awarded by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) until 2015. Instructors and pupil pilots are trained to BGA standards; annual inspections of gliders are done by engineers authorised by the BGA, whose qualifications are accepted by the CAA; and minor accidents are investigated by the BGA alone. Since September 2008 all gliders have a full CAA registration and airworthiness checks to EASA standards, except for a number of mainly vintage and one-off types which remain under BGA control.

An elected Executive Committee of twelve is responsible for running the BGA. There are nine sub-committees covering the BGA's functions:

• Airspace,
• Competitions and Awards, (including the British Team)
• Communications and Marketing,
• Development (of the sport and clubs),
• Instructors,
• Safety,
• Strategic Planning,
• Finance, Staff and Administration,
• Technical (airworthiness and other engineering issues).

Although the BGA has full-time staff much routine work for the committees is, or have been, almost full-time activities for some BGA volunteers. Examples of major additional activities have been the monitoring proposed European legislation and the evaluation proposals by the CAA to fit transponders on all gliders. The BGA also publishes a bi-monthly magazine, Sailplane & Gliding.

The seven Scottish gliding clubs whilst remaining under the aegis of the BGA have also formed the Scottish Gliding Association to liaise with the local and national authorities in Scotland.