The Executive Committee (EC) had a routine meeting on 8th October. Due to rescheduling, the attendance of Switzerland for a “country focus” session was postponed to the next EC meeting.
EBF affiliation to Europe Air Sports (EAS) (decision of EC at the previous meeting) has been approved by EAS Board, but must be ratified by EAS General Assembly in early 2025. EBF has immediate access to EAS meetings and staff and will pay fees from 2025. The EBF President has already received a contact from the EAS President and they will meet each other on 11th October. EBF will participate at the EAS Technical meeting in mid-November (attendance by Yves Lannoy, EBF vice President). These initial meetings will establish working relationships with key people in EAS.
The EC is preparing for the main annual meeting with EASA due in early November. Attendees will be Paul Spellward and Martijn Hoogeslag. This a meeting for all of General Aviation and topics such as drones, electronic conspicuity and pilot medicals will be discussed. In addition, three “side meetings” on balloon topics are being organised: balloon pilot licensing, safety and balloon engineer issues. A report on all these meetings will be made at the next EC meeting.
There has been limited progress with EBF members on an initiative on safety / accident reporting. We will try again to gain insights from the EBF members.
Paul Spellward, President