Gliding Australia Documents

The Gliding Australia (GAus) aerobatic manual has been written to provide information and guidance on safety issues related to aerobatic flights. It clarifies the rules relating to aerobatic flight, provides information on the regulatory requirements for the issue of aerobatic qualifications and low-level aerobatic permissions, and deals with risk management and Threat and Error Management (TEM) principles that may be applied to aerobatics.

The Training Units associated with this manual will provide tuition in how to fly aerobatic manoeuvres and pilots should undertake training with an appropriately qualified flight instructor for this purpose.

Once printed, this is an uncontrolled version of the manual which will not be updated by Gliding Australia; it should not be relied upon for any regulatory purpose. The current manual can be viewed at any time via Gliding Australia's website at http://www.glidingaustralia.org.

We wish to thank the many colleagues whose support was essential for the production of this manual.

This manual was made possible through the dedication, skill, and generous contribution of time by the volunteer members of GAus. Their collective knowledge and many years of experience in aerobatics, flight training, and safe gliding operations have been invaluable in shaping this document.

We gratefully acknowledge all those who contributed ideas, shared technical insights, reviewed drafts, and helped ensure the accuracy and quality of this manual.

This Aerotowing Manual is the reference document for the assessment of competency of glider tow pilots and the issuing of Glider Towing Endorsements by GFA to the holders of a CASA issued Part 61 flight crew licence, or for the issue of an RA-AUS glider towing endorsement, or for the issue of a GFA Self-launching Sailplane Pilot Endorsement.

The first people to arrive at an aircraft accident site can significantly help minimise injury and loss of life, reduce property loss through damage and fire, and prevent loss of clues and evidence as to the factors that contributed to the accident.

To preserve evidence for an effective investigation, it is essential to appropriately manage and control the accident site.

Often, emergency services (Police, fire brigades and ambulance) are the first trained personnel at aircraft accident sites.

This document provides guidance to gliding club members dealing with an aircraft accident at their gliding site, and it should be read in conjunction with the Club’s Risk Management Plan and Emergency Response Plan. The guidance herein should help members undertake essential actions as safely as possible.

Winch launching is an effective and safe method of launching a glider, but it is less tolerant of gross pilot error than almost any other phase of a glider’s flight. In other words it is only safe if all the well-established principles and methods are closely followed.

This manual covers all aspects of winch launching, including basic techniques, pilot training and checking, winch driver training and checking, wire and other equipment standards, driver protection and all potential failure cases.

Auto (motor-car) launching is similar in principle to winch-launching and most of the procedures designed for winch-launching are directly applicable to auto-launching. Any divergence from winch practice will be found in a table of differences at the end of the manual.

Where the requirements of this document differ from those contained in the GFA Operational Regulations or other Legislative documents, the GFA Operational Regulations and other Legislative documents shall take precedence.

This handbook covers the characteristics of all varieties of powered sailplanes and power-assisted sailplanes, together with the conversion requirements and training syllabi for pilots coming to them from gliders or powered aircraft.

This document explains the legal posiiton surrounding the recovery of a glider following an outlanding. While there appears to be no absolute authority by which the pilot (or the police) can demand to enter the farmer’s land to retrieve a glider, this does not mean that the farmer can assume control or possession of the glider. This advice explores "recaption" as a defence to trespass when entering the land to retrieve the glider.

Gliding in Australia is subject to the Civil Aviation Act 1988, Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 and other relevant Legislation as amended from time to time. Certain exemptions from the provisions of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 have been granted to members of the GFA by way of Civil Aviation Orders 95.4 and 95.4.1. Where exemptions exist, the practices adopted by GFA are outlined in the GFA Operational Regulations approved by CASA.

This document provides guidance for the conduct of gliding operations in Australian airspace and is to be read in conjunction with the Manual of Standard Procedures, Part 2 (Operations).

Where the requirements of this document differ from those contained in the GFA Operational Regulations or other Legislative documents, the GFA Operational Regulations and other Legislative documents shall take precedence.

This booklet, published by the French Federation of Soaring, outlines the risks and threats of mountain flying. It stresses the technical aspects as well as the human factors.