History of the BMPA

1978 Spring Meeting, February 25, Marble Arch

An Extraordinary General Meeting on February 25th agreed the form of future winter meetings. After debating a suggestion from Sydney Agnew that had been circulated with the Notice of the meeting it was unanimously agreed that non-flying CAA Authorized Medical Examiners (AMEs) could be offered Associate Membership.

1978 Autumn Meeting, September 15, Newcastle

Bad weather, monsoon conditions with winds gusting over 30 knots, caused the propsed navigation competition to be cancelled. Karl-Heinz Schmidt arrived "out of the blue" from Cologne after the welcoming committee had disbanded. A party visited Alnwick Castle, where the Walt Disney film "The Spaceman and King Arthur" was being filmed. Mary and Johnny Smith flew over fairly low, necessitating the reshooting of one scene. Excellent dinner at the Airport Hotel (all th meals there were first class) with a humorous account after dinner of his private flying by Mauric Hallett. The Sunday morning lecture by Mike Somerton-Rayner on his flight to Australia in an Auster had to be cancelledbecause his wife had been taken ill, but David Reader provided a NASA film instead. The form that representation of AMEs might take figured largely in the deliberations at the AGM. Members were cautious about any political involvement. Occupational Therapists who fly were deemed to be eligible for full membership.

1978 Lectures

• The impact of cardiovascular risk factors on professional aircrew license loss in the UK (Joy)
• Developments in cockpit instrumentation for air combat aircraft (Reader)
• Aeronautical flight research at Fanborough (Root)
• Selection and training of test pilots (Merriman)
• Flight Safety (Reader)