YEAR OF SUCCESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 June 1939, Page 4

YEAR OF SUCCESS

WAIRARAPA & RUAHINE AERO CLUB MR. A. MCDONALD’S SURVEY. SOME HANDICAPS CRITICISED. '•Starting from scratch ten years ago. we have now a very fine aerodrome with club house, hangar and workshop, plus a fleet of three machines and a membership of 279,” said Mr. A. McDonald, president of the Wairarapa and Ruahine Aero Club, at its annual meeting last night. "During the ten years, flying totalled 6964 hours and 40 minutes,” he added. Mr. McDonald went on to state that 109 of the club’s pilots had obtained A licences, 34 endorsed A licences and four B licences. "Some of the pilots who have been connected with the club in the past,” he said, "have made splendid progress in their careers —Mr. J. M. Buckeridge is Assistant-Controller of Civil Aviation, Mr. L. Lamb is a Squadron-Leader in the R.A.F., Messrs. A. B. Greenaway, J. R. Bloxam, D. A. Todd and G. V. Donald are members of the Royal Air Force. Mr. R. Armstrong will be leaving shortly to join the Air Force in England. Messrs. K. R. Johnston, R. L. McGregor, L. Loasby, A. V. Jury and J. Kane are engaged in commercial airway services in New Zealand. We are proud of these achievements. THE FINANCIAL POSITION. “The Club is fortunate in showing but a small loss of £6 19s 9d for the past year. There were some substantial increases in various expense items connected with the flying section. To instance several: Repairs and materials increased by £79 8s lid; insurance, £336 2s Id; and depreciation by £BB Is 6d. “Flying revenue decreased by £lB4 7s 2d. brought about by a decrease of about 209 flying hours for the year. During the first six months the club was without the services of a permanent Pilot-Instructor, though Mr. J. V. A. Reid stepped into the breach and acted as temporary instructor. On many occasions, flying had to be turned away because we had no machines available. The general section showed a surplus of £244 8s 5d which is very gratifying and reflects the very substantial help given to the club by its individual donors and by various boroughs and counties. The assistance given by local bodies was very encouraging to the committee and it is hoped that the local bodies throughout the Wairarapa will again respond to our appeal for grants. Theclub is performing a valuable service in the vital link of defence and it is an objective worthy of financial support by every borough and county council in the district. “Our liabilities, already heavy, will increase sharply with the purchase, of two new aeroplanes,” Mr. McDonald continued. “It is essential that our fleet be increased and kept up to date. A.fter much deliberation, investigation of costs and consideration of revenueearning possibilities, the committee decided on the Moth Minors, the new product of the world famous de Havilland factory. Attractive in performance and • appearance, these new machines will stimulate the interest of all club pilots and fulfil the desirable object of providing flying at a reasonable cost. I would mention that the replacement of worn-out or obsolete machines imposes a very heavy burden on the club’s finances and with the ever-increasing costs of maintenance, the problem of finding enough revenue to meet expenses and depreciation and to provide funds to replace machines will become a very difficult matter. CIVIL RESERVE TRAINING. “We were successful in completing our training for last year to Government requirements. To date 17 pilots have been trained under this scheme. Next year we are to train a further twelve. Members have an opportunity here to help their club by procuring suitable candidates for the Civil Reserve. Any young men of the prescribed age and having reached a certain standard of education my apply and receive free.training to A licence standard . . . “The social activities of the club were well looked after by the social committee. Not only did they organise three cabarets, but also they provided afternoon tea and suppers on various occasions.

“I would like to record our appreciation of the co-operation of the officials of the Air Department and the Public Works Department,” said Mr McDonald. “In many ways they have been able to help us. The Public Works Department as most of you know have done a lot of work on the aerodrome surface. When their job is finished we should have a much better landing ground than previously. “In regard to the Air Department, I would like to stress the necessity of removing some of the handicaps and restrictions under which aero clubs are working today. There is an ever increasing volume of rules and regulations, forms to be filled in, reports to be made, entries here and there. The system of inspection leaves much to be desired —it is definitely hampering our efficiency. In my opinion the sooner the regulations are simplified the better for everyone concerned. It is of paramount importance that our machines are not kept out of the air for weeks at a time because of regulations demanding, an extraordinary amount of work to be done before renewal of certificates of airworthiness are granted.” Trophies won during the year were presented by Mr McDonald as follows: — Senior landing. A. McDonald Rose Bowl—A. W. Buchanan. Senior bombing, J. M. James Cup— J. V. A. Reid. Forced landing, P. Borthwick Trophy—A. W. Buchanan. Junior landing, Sir William -Hunt Cup— —J. W. Sievers. Best improved A license Pilot, junior, W. L. Free Cup—W. R. Jaspers. The election of officers resulted as follows: —Patron, Mr J. W. Buchanan; president. Mr A. McDonald; vicepresidents Messrs E. A. Heyder, P. F. Fagan and H. L. W. Lord; committee: Messrs E. F. Barton. A. W. Buchanan. C. G. Cunningham, W. R. Paku, H. T. Parsons, H. W. Robinson, W, A. Wardell, N. G. F. Whiteman, A. C. Tatton, N. Beetham; club captain. Mr J. V. A. Reid. .Thanks were extended to the staff', the chairman, secretary and the president.