2018 is going to be great

[Thruster88]

RAA website this morning says we have flown 150,609.1 hrs in the first 67 days of 2018

 

365/67 X 150609.1 equals 820,481 hours for 2018

 

2017 379,646 hrs

 

Unbelievable growth ?

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Nahh! They all go into hibernation in winter down south, and besides the Southerners have an extra hour of sunshine each day to fly over summer.

 

The numbers might even out, there was a distinct pattern to the number of registrations / memberships in each month (renewals are where these hours are reported). There has been a rise in members since I last logged on and looked.

 

 

[Yenn]

Someone must be doing a lot of hours, because my contribution to that is miniscule.

 

 

[scre80]

Doing my best to help the numbers!!! but weather got the best of me over last few weeks, and work!! This weekend, should add 6 hours.

 

 

[Mike Borgelt]

"Unbelievable growth ?"

 

More like just unbelievable. aka "FAKE NEWS".

 

 

[Yenn]

I have just received RAAus financial report for the last period. That is their official report to "members"

 

I am not an accountant, but I find it rather an unusual way of presenting a financial report. It looks to me to be more of the airy fairy, look at how good we are kind of report. They also say that they are much better off than expected, which makes me wonder how they arrive at their expectations.

 

Can someone who is conversant with good bookkeeping comment on their methods of presentation?

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

I have just received RAAus financial report for the last period. That is their official report to "members"I am not an accountant, but I find it rather an unusual way of presenting a financial report. It looks to me to be more of the airy fairy, look at how good we are kind of report. They also say that they are much better off than expected, which makes me wonder how they arrive at their expectations.Can someone who is conversant with good bookkeeping comment on their methods of presentation?

Yes, well I'm not an accountant either, but my father was and my wife is, so I'm used to seeing what we might reasonably expect, and the email 'report' isn't a Report at all, it might be better described as a 'Statement' - though even that would be generous. In that email I would have expected to see a link to the Profit and Loss (Year to Date) and the Balance Sheet. I haven't looked at this stage, but perhaps that's available to members on the Members Portal.

 

 

[kasper]

I’m an accountant. I’ve given up on members giving a damn about being at best hoodwinked and at worst lied to because the reality is that 90% of members do not give a damn so long as their personal flying is unaffected.

 

But when you start communicating in mixed cash/accrual/budget terms I’m afraid my bull$hit detector fires.

 

Compare apples to apples. Do not bring in the bowl of oranges to distract people and of course never use metaphors as badly as I do :-P

 

 

[fly_tornado]

1@kasper[/uSER] From your reading of the report, Does this make a case for increasing fees? ie $10 for members and another $20 for planes?

 

 

[kasper]

1@kasper[/uSER] From your reading of the report, Does this make a case for increasing fees? ie $10 for members and another $20 for planes?

The “report” such that it is is incapable of supporting or denying anything. It has zero management information because it mixes everything up and wrapped it in a spin ribbon for “good news” delivery.Sorry to be so negative - and I know some see me as one of the perpetually negative whingers - but there is absolutely no actual management financial information in what’s being released.

 

 

[kgwilson]

Even when the news is good some people still find it negative. Financial reports are created by accountants and while they understand them most of the membership don't. The email from RA-Aus is to all members and provides a simple statement of the situation that everyone can understand. It is positive and shows that the strategies put in place since the great failures when the old guard were mismanaging Ra-Aus are working. Yes fees are up, yes Sportpilot is no longer part of your fee & yes I believe they are doing a good job. Membership is on the rise and RA-Aus has a good working relationship with the regulator. The report pdf is attached.

 

RAAus 6 month report.pdf

 

RAAus 6 month report.pdf

 

RAAus 6 month report.pdf

 

RAAus 6 month report.pdf

[kasper]

Ok I’ll bite

 

1. 2.12% underspend is not sognificant in itself. It’s a number that can easily be explained by costs not coming in when planned or debtors going up - this is a cash number so simply not having a payment made on something that was delayed a few weeks or months from planned covers this

 

2. The income increase is absolutely nteresting. BUT it’s on a cash basis ... did people pay more multi year subscriptions or memberships thuan planned? Without knowing how much of this cash gets deferred in the actual accounts it’s nothing information

 

3. Cash expenditure vs last year down significantly. BUT last year we were pouring cash into asset creation with the online systems. Are we not doing this this year? Assets are not going up so I guess not - again not indicative of anything without a hell of a lot more info.

 

I am sorry but the information presented s it has been is effectively advertorial puff. It MAY be very good and equally it may be very bad. It is not enough or clear to allow any informed judgement of either the financial situation or management.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

so, showing no reason to increase membership fees?

 

 

[Downunder]

2008 membership was $160. 2018, $235. Basically a 50% jump in 10 yrs.

 

The annual average inflation rate was 2.4% which equates to a 25% increase in 10 yrs.

 

So, in a nut shell, the RAA have increased fees at double the inflation rate and they think they are "doing really well" with the financial management of the organisation?

 

 

[kasper]

FT - read my posts.

 

I’ve said pretty clearly that in my opinion I cannot use the release from RAAus to support or deny anything at all.

 

It’s not valid and useful management information in the form it’s been released so move on and live with whatever is done by RAAus

 

There be is no effective interest in the membership to demand proper information or to hold a light up to anything provided flying privileges exist and the financial changes are not individually material.

 

$10 here and $25 there whilst well above inflation are not scary numbers to most flyers and even to total number for your certificate and registration gets turned around as less than 2 hours flight trading or less than an hour in GA.

 

My position is RAAus will just keep on going as it is because it’s what people will accept and I stepped out of actively trying to change anything last year because in the world of RAAus any negative comment or divetgrnt opinion in my experience is entirely unwelcome.

 

And if anyone thinks my “objections” have nothing but destructive intent please ask Jill the ops manager where group C pilots are ithjn HER ops manual ... her oversight was pointed out to her nearly 2 years ago and nothing has been done. I am still allowed to fly group c without flight reviews and without medicals because of her lack of knowledge of the structure of the ops manual she controls.

 

Real problems created by RAAus staff and not held to account by RAAus management.

 

 

[Yenn]

advertorial puff. Oh I like that Kasper. It is such a good description of RAAus outpourings.

 

 

[SSCBD]

Must have bene my late renewal fee (FINE) - still don't know had that is justified.

 

 

[kasper]

Must have bene my late renewal fee (FINE) - still don't know had that is justified.

Well you voted for the new structure where membership in a limited company has to end and a new membership come k to existence. You may have a reactivated pilot certificate number but RAAus as a company has to mai rain seperate company membership numbers so who is surprised they charge ?Hope you only got a $22 renewal admission fee and not that and the manual renewal not through internet $11.50 fee as well.

 

 

[Yenn]

I don't understand this new company. As I see it we the "members" are the equivalent of shareholders, with voting rights to say who runs the company, but we don't have security of tenure. We have to put in more money each year and if we don't put in that money, we lose all rights. We cannot sell our shares, because we have none. If we get fed up with how the company is being run and no longer contribute, we lose all that we previously had. I suppose the only ones with any security, or who gain financially are those who we have elected to run the company.

 

Can anyone explain what I am missing, or even explain how RAAus is anything like an Australian company?

 

 

[Thruster88]

One month has flown by and we are now at 200731 hours or about 800000 for the full year

 

3313 active aircraft equals 241 hours per aircraft for the full year..... not credible

 

These numbers come from the RAA login page, if I am seeing this wrong please tell me.

 

 

[storchy neil]

looks to me like the gulllable that voted to form this great company are starting to realize they have been conned ops neil

 

 

[kgwilson]

I just logged in to see what the hours are and a couple of minutes ago the total hours flown is 300,867.2 an increase of over 100,000 hours in 1 day. Wow & I didn't fly yesterday so assuming everyone else did that is 30.2 hours each in the last day for 3312 aircraft. I only put my hours in when I renew my subscription annually so how do they get these numbers?

 

 

[storchy neil]

jee starting to sound like 2009 when there was 12000 members neil

 

 

[Ron5335]

Don't forget, we can only fly in Daylight hours. !!!!

 

So double those figures Average Figures.

 

 

[Yenn]

There are lies, damn lies and statistics. Which of these are you referring to?

 

Storchy has woken up, I wonder when all the other members will.