Differences in aviation culture around Europe

boscomantico wrote:

An AFIS is a very clearly (ICAO)-defined scope of service. First and foremost, an AFIS is an ATS, whereas a “Radio” station is not. So be careful by using the term AFIS to denote “the man on the radio”.

Yesterday, my wife and I read the beginning of St Exupery’s Wind, Sand and Stars
We love this book.
It describes the first flights of St Exupery as an apprentice than an air mail pilot :

• The Pilot is alone facing the duty to survive his flight.
• The engine could fall apart any time, he must do with it.
• Maybe this thunderstorm is too strong, he must do with it.
• If he survives, he will come in and at the very most say “this one was rough” (probably just sit down and eat without a word).
• If he doesn’t, nobody says anything. Everyone struggles in silence.

So the Pilot is a mix of a knight confronting the dragon and a proletarian
Guillaumet is the only friendly guy who mentors him and teaches him what to expect along the route.

It stroke me how the Aeropostale spirit is exactly the spirit of most french aviation today.

• weather info, training, ATS etc… may be incomplete, well it’s your job to do with it
• maintenance programmes are followed for the sake of complying, but it may break down, and if it does, it’s your job to do with it

And how this atmosphere of fatality is the opposite of modern human factors and safety culture.

• be part of a community working towards safety : share best practices, analyse incidents, learn from your and other’s mistakes
• use procedures, improve them whenever you can
• lobby if something must be changed beyond the community (like ATS, weather, airspace)

Does anyone who read this book feel the same ?

St Ex is revered in this part of France and yes I suppose there is that sort of sense amongst the pilots I know, whatever they fly.

@Jujupilote, my Private flight instructor described flying to me as the last activity in which government would have no particular reaction if you or anybody were kill yourself doing it, therefore the ultimate personal responsibility and the last genuine freedom left to the average guy. While I hope the pendulum swings back on that state of affairs before I’m gone, GA remains a wonderful thing.