Of course; that is standard. That is the GA scene everywhere. More in some countries, but basically similar.
But what I was getting at was the issue of liability. I think that if you just nominate a destination, there is no liability on the organiser even if he knew that everybody has an SR22 but the runway there is 200m grass. I think that if you supply charts etc, that is possibly different.
There is (country-specific) case law on this. For example the UK has some case law (from vague memory) whereby a “well meaning amateur’s advice” (my words) does not make the advisor liable. That would cover say pilot forums. That is obviously important otherwise you could simply sue anybody who gives you wrong advice down the pub (or on a forum), which would be a horrible scenario from the public policy point of view.
But it is crucial to avoid the creation of any business/professional relationship and the first point there is to avoid charging any money. IANAL – just a businessman of many years.
Peter wrote:
But it is crucial to avoid the creation of any business/professional relationship and the first point there is to avoid charging any money.
Here in Germany, whether money changes hand or not does not make the least bit of a difference. If you organise something, you are responsible.
For example, in about two weeks time the non-profit astronomical society of which I am a member (and committee member, therefore personally responsible) holds the annual “Perseid night walk”. This is published in the local newspaper and everyone who wants to attend can join us. Last year we had between 50 and 100 visitors – difficult to tell in the dark – but very few meteors. There will be a couple of astronomers who explain the night sky and the meteors we (hopefully) will be going to see, but we don’t charge anything and the guides do it without receiving any compensation (maybe they will be invited unofficially for a beer afterwards but this doesn’t count). Even the newspaper prints the invitation free of charge. Yet we have to take out a liability insurance for the event, otherwise we committee members will be held liable in case somebody trips over a stone in the dark and hurts himself.
I believe that in this case the organiser might be found liable.
During the years I have organised 9-10 fly ins to various parts of Europe. I have organised the program, book the coaches, restaurants, guides and arranged a discounted rate with the hotel/s. The participants had to plan their flight, book and pay for their hotel room (some hotels won’t deal with individual booking if you get a group’s discount) and pay our type club treasurer the cost of the program, I as an organiser paid the same amount as the rest. By following this rules I can’t see how an organiser can be held liable.
I got this view from a UK lawyer
Peter wrote:
I got this view from a UK lawyer
Sounds like a lot of common sense to me. But certainly not applicable in my part of Europe. On the other hand: Why would anyone pay 200 currency units for such a service?
Predictably we have a self-selected community here on EuroGA.
For a start, it is an internet forum so I am sure everybody here knows how to hit booking.com etc etc. Also most pilots on here are quite experienced and don’t need briefing packs.
So not many EuroGA pilots will want this level of flight support.
But on an aircraft type specific meet-up you will get the whole cross-section, starting from 20hr/year pilots, with many pilots who aren’t comfortable with the internet. And there are plenty of IFR SEP and MEP owners who really do 20hrs/year and these people will want lots of help. I know a 3000hr pilot (homebuilt) who cannot read tafs and metars… he uses the BBC and flies within a ~100nm radius.
So one can deliver apparent value by arranging everything for people, including wx and route packs, a bus from the airport, and block-booking a hotel so getting a room discount.
And a bus visit to the local Zeppellin museum completes the social requirements 
Speaking of the German liability, how often does this materialise? Can one not get cheap insurance? For example Justine (my GF) is a qualified nutritionist and she can get insurance for peanuts, despite the potential for causing damage could be huge (most practitioners in that field make their living not from consultations but from commissions on supplements).
Peter wrote:
Can one not get cheap insurance?
Yes, if one is a club/non profit organsiation (“Verein” in german). For our astronomical society we pay short of 200 Euros per year for the liability insurance. The main risk is that people (we have visitors of all ages) fall in the dark or bang their head against the massive counterweights of the telescope mount (we have had several such cases already). I guess if AOPA (non profit) organises a fly in, their insurance premium will be in the same range. The figures will quite different though for a commercial event organiser.
Did people actually sue?
Peter wrote:
Did people actually sue?
We had one case, before my time, where a visitor lost several fingers because he got his hand caught in the mechanism which drives the dome of the observatory. Since the building and this antique drive mechanism is owned by the university (who otherwise do not use it any longer but appointed our organisation of volunteers to keep it open for the public) the case was settled by them. They have now installed protective covers around the drive gears, but there are plenty of potentially dangerous spots left.
But in case someone gets hurt the sueing is usually done by the health insurance. They don’t like to pay and always try to find someone else who settles the doctor’s bills for them. So if they find out that the injured person had been taking part in some event they will go after the event organisers.
what_next wrote:
On the other hand: Why would anyone pay 200 currency units for such a service?
That’s what I am wondering about also. It is on the edge of being a scam, and people can sue you for that alone (false marketing etc). This will be very different if you actually do provide something, even though it is simple “non essential” things. Like organizing and making sure there is enough fuel, good parking spaces for everyone, a BBQ, free drinks and so on.
