End of Season Sunset Warning for SSA-OLC Participants

Ramy,

The point is that you are responsible for self enforcing the FARS.
What secondary oversight any other organization engages in shpould be
irrevelent. If you are so focused on determining what is going to be
looked at (with the implication that that is all you have to bother
comply with), then you clearly need to be monitored closely.

Ramy wrote:
Doug, none of this mention any particular FAR. Since obviously you are
not enforcing all FARs, when exactly was it decided which FARs are to
be enforced?

Ramy


Doug Haluza wrote:
Yuliy Gerchikov wrote:
"Paul Remde" wrote in message
news:KaRQg.200456$1i1.196173@attbi_s72...
Fly your task so that you land before any known definition of sunset and

...and they'll come up with a new one.

That is the problem with the rules being changed on the fly. You submit a
flight and never know who, when and why will be scrutinizing it and for what
violations. In this atmosphere of FUD, can you guarantee that the next
flight that you submit does not break any rules -- including those that
aren't defined yet?

This whole subtext of arbitrary rule making is becoming an Internet
myth, started and nurtured by people who assume that since they did it,
it must have been OK, and the trolls they feed with this logic. The
origin of the SSA FAR policy goes back more than a year, and is
repeatedly documented in the SSA Board Minutes. So it was not
arbitrary, or secret, or retroactive, or any of this nonsense.

Now I know most SSA members probably do not regularly review the Board
minutes, but they are published on the SSA website in the members
section. At the risk of injecting facts into an otherwise assumption
driven thread, here are the relevant quotes along with the links to the
source:

6/5/05
Agenda Item 16.0 On Line Contest Update Report

Mr. Garner reported on the work done to date on the development of a
Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the On Line Contest owners concerning SSA's
participation in the
program.

During discussion, an issue of posting flights to the OLC where there
is a violation of a Federal
Aviation Administration rule (such as an airspace restriction) came to
the fore. The committee
agreed that no badge or record should be approved if the flight
involves unsporting behavior as
set out in the FAI Sporting Code. The committee also agreed that a
statement of policy on this
issue must be carefully worded. The committee asked that this issue be
referred to the Badge
and Record Committee for a policy that can ultimately be approved by
the Board of Directors.
Chairman Carswell agreed to review the draft MOU again before
proceeding. The sense of the
committee indicates the desire to proceed with an agreement with the
OLC officials.

ACTION ITEMS RESULTING FROM THE MEETING
11. The Executive Committee asked that the Badge and Record Committee
be asked for a
statement of policy concerning the disallowance of any badge or record
flight that
involves the violation of an FAR.

http://www.ssa.org/download/ExCom_2005_Jun_05_Final.pdf

9/30/05
Agenda Item 11.0 SSA/OLC/FARs

Mr. Garner reported on the discussions that had taken place prior to
the meeting concerning the
issue of possible violations of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR)
in flights posted on the
On-Line Contest (OLC), flying in SSA sanctioned contests, and flying
for badges and records.
This issue would be further discussed at the meeting of the Board of
Directors.

http://www.ssa.org/download/00-Final...tes%209-30.pdf

10/1/05
Agenda Item 9.0 Vice Chair Member Services & Information (Garner)

Mr. Garner reported on the On Line Contest (OLC). He advised a MOU had
been signed which
gives SSA exclusive right to the OLC in the U.S. This included hang
gliders as well. SSA did not
write the rules, just administer them. He reported that some flights
had been posted which
showed possible violations of FARs. He requested that a written policy
be adopted addressing
this problem.

A lengthy discussion ensued and Mr. Spratt moved to table the
discussion of this and form a task
force to recommend SSA policy on FARs. Mr. Reid seconded the motion and
it passed 14 in
favor, 7 against.

Mr. Reid moved the SSA adopt as official policy to FAR violations "The
policy of the SSA is
that FARs must be observed." Mr. Mockler seconded the motion, and it
passed unanimously.
A task force to study the application of this policy was formed with
Mr. Reid as Chairman, and
members, Ms. Brickner, Mr. Sorenson and Mr. Garner.

http://www.ssa.org/download/2005_Oct_01_draft.pdf

12/10/05
Agenda Item 11 OLC Enforcement Procedure

Mr. Garner introduced a paper with a draft enforcement policy that
would supplement the
Federal Aviation Regulation Policy approved by the Board at its meeting
in October, 2005. The
enforcement policy was then discussed at length, the provisions of
which were generally agreed
to. The committee asked that a sub-committee of the Badge and Record
Committee be
established to enforce this policy and to report to the Board of
Directors on the number of pilots
that are sanctioned under the terms of this policy. The policy will be
mounted on the web site.

ACTION ITEMS RESULTING FROM THE MEETING
7. A sub-committee of the Badge and Record Committee will be
established to enforce the
policy on FAR violations, and report to the Board of Directors on the
number of pilots
that are sanctioned under the terms of this policy.

http://www.ssa.org/download/00-PostedMinutes12-10.pdf

2/3/06
Agenda Item 7.0 - Vice Chair - Reid
. . .
Reid reported on detailed implementation of the SSA s general policy
that FARs must be
observed and referred to the draft motion in the Board Book. After
discussion, Reid
proposed and Hines seconded the following motion - "The SSA Board of
Directors can,
at its discretion, review the circumstances involving any flight and
can, at its discretion
after receiving the advice of any responsible committee, take any
action at any time it
deems appropriate". After discussion, the motion was passed with one
vote against.

http://www.ssa.org/download/2006_Feb_03_draft.pdf