The General Meeting of the association was held Sunday, September 21 during the annual meeting.
You can read the report below:
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Association of the Owners and the Amateurs of plane GARDAN Association governed by the law of July 1st. 19011 General Assembly of September 2014 MELUN - VILLAROCHE |
At 11:30, the President opened the Annual General Meeting.
It was noted that only 20 members (aircraft) are present or represented (17 + 3 proxies). Noting that the quorum was not met, the General Assembly may not take place and it is therefore closed.
At 11:32 AM, the President called an extraordinary General Assembly,
which could deliberate with a majority of members present or represented.
The 2014 gathering to brought together 11 aircraft on the airfield of MELUN-VILLAROCHE. The President thanked the members present, including those that traveled by air, despite unfavorable weather conditions, but in conformity with the rules of flight.
The treasurer counted in 2013 / 44 memberships (aircraft) renewed and news; they represent 50 members. The Treasurer pointed out that the Association's cash flow is healthy; it helps to cope with the cancellation of a gathering in the event of unforeseen circumstances, and to develop, produce, and stock spare parts that are unobtainable on the market but needed to maintain airworthy GARDAN aircraft.
However, the Treasurer draws attention to the need to properly anticipate the needs of the members in kind and volume of spare parts that must be stored.. That way the stock could be renewed quickly
The President draws attention to the financial impact of the late cancel (the day before or the day of the meeting) of some members and registered guests at the meeting, that have or don't pay in advance all or part of the fees. For the meeting 2014, some members and even some registered, that have not bothered to prevent their absence.
To balance the budget of the annual meeting and to avoid situations in which participants who attend at the meeting must bear the expense of costs incurred by APAG before the annual meeting – such as food purchases, purchase and rental of materials, reservation of hotel rooms and transportation – the President put forth two proposals for future annual meetings:
1) Required payment of a deposit up to 15 days prior to the rally, of which 30 Euros would be non-refundable in the event of last-minute cancellations that are not justified by a force majeure situation and validated by the General Assembly. (Deteriorated weather conditions, for example).
2) A required minimum deposit of 80 Euros, which, in the event of a late cancellation, would be applied toward the cost of the gathering organized for the following year, only.
After debate, the Assembly voted unanimously for the first proposal, to take effect beginning with the 2015 gathering
In addition, the Assembly voted unanimously to renew for 2015:
- The annual membership fee of 50 Euros per aircraft.
- The annual membership fee of 10 Euros per individual supporting member (non-owner of a Gardan aircraft).
- Each new member makes a one-time contribution of 50 Euros, to take advantage of spare parts . ( Financed entirely by our members)
In accordance with the Articles of Association, some positions for office must be renewed: those of the President, the Technical Expert, and the Communications and Regulations Expert.
Christian PAOLONI expressed his wish to be replaced as Communications and Regulations Expert. The President thanked Mr. Paoloni for his contributions to the Association over ten years, notably in the area of particular complex and evolving regulations in recent years; and for his personal investment in the development and maintenance of the APAG website.
The Assembly voted unanimously to re-elect Thierry BLANCHARD to the position of President of APAG for three more years; and Clément VITRY to the position of Technical Expert. The Assembly voted to elect Thierry LE FLOCH to the position of Communications and Regulations Expert.
The next annual gathering shall be held on 12 and 13 September 2015 on the airfield “AUBENAS-LANAS (LFHO) in southern Ardèche (07).
At 12:15, having dealt with all agenda items, the meeting was adjourned; and the President invited the participants to share ideas about technical issues related to the maintenance of our GARDAN aircraft.
Technical Meeting
Clement Vitry:
Recalls that APAG has made 8 nose gear forks; 4 are still in stock,
Clement presents the specific kit of 12 fixing screws aileron (nuts, You can buy them from SOCATA) remains 6 copies in stock,.
He presents the bellcrank and the fuse axis (#8) which connects the torsion bar between the various commands rods of retractable landing gear ,
Finally, He presents also, the manufacturing project, "flap / aileron" , including the extremity ribs made of pressed steel. Manufacturing 20 pieces would cost each, about 400 Euros.
Kit A + B + C of the nose landing gear is appreciated. A new fabrication is envisaged
Thierry Blanchard :
The stock of items (with our logo) is running low.. ( after consultation with members ) The intent would be to increase the numbers of certain items (such as polo shirts, for example) before the meeting of 2015.
Other matters:
There remain to be discussed of the exchange of messages between members and the office and between members themselves when, for example, a participant looks to APAG for the means to resolve a technical problem.
The solution to this problem might lie in better use of the website or by a change in its design and its accommodation (organization and updating of information, encouraging members to consult it, exchanges among the members in the context of an internal forum). The solution might also be found in a better exchange of information between the members of the office and a heightened responsiveness on their part.
Conversely , in the past years APAG consultations In order to receive specific opinion, on a topic of general interest or their response to a questionnaire showed the limits of this exercise
It is reported that the company Aquitavia Marmande no longer exists.
The question of the adhesion to RSA as a "club" is raised again. APAG wishes to remain independent and not be forced to submit their publications to the prior approval of the RSA.
The interest to join an organization such as the AOPA more "European" or "Mondial" is expressed; it is not certain that the small number of aircraft GARDAN with still airworthy, but old design,
Interested the international organization whose many members " flight under IFR rules", with newer aircraft than our modest GARDAN.
That said, membership in AOPA France is more of an individual approach than, a collective approach.
