As promised, the Europa Club committee considered whether we should
get involved in getting officially-made tapes of this programme
produced for distribution to members.
It appears that we do not have to make an immediate decision, as the
production company (as opposed to the broadcaster) appear to own the
masters (and are probably taking good care of them!).
The committee felt that the episodes seen so far indicated that it
was aimed very much at the general public, and not intended as a
"Europa-builders training video". The Europa content so far has also
been low; what has appeared has glossed over some important details.
The factory do not appear to have any interest in making tapes
available, so we are not likely to launch any joint venture with them.
So, the present decision is to wait and see what the reactions of
enthusiasts, builders and flyers is to the whole series as broadcast,
before committing to any arrangements with the producers
(particularly in view of the quoted 450 pounds fee for producing a
master tape of all-Europa stuff).
It may be possible that a Europa Club member will be able to tape the
end-to-end transmission of all episodes scheduled for later this
month; and such a tape might be circulated among Europa Club members
free of charge for individual viewing without any legal problems.
That might satisfy some of the demand in UK, but clearly would not
address the requests for access already heard from overseas
(especially with regard to standards issues).
Hope this goes some way to answering all the queries. Further
reactions to the series as it is screened will no doubt appear on
this forum ...
regards
Rowland
| Rowland Carson Europa Club Membership Secretary
| Europa 435 G-ROWI PFA #16532 EAA #168386
|