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The image of GA in the media: Commuting by plane causes media hype

Michael_J wrote:

Just point to the fact that newly published climate research concludes that the climate’s sensitivity to CO2 is much lower that what the UN preaches.

Come on! A single study negates decades of climate research? Science doesn’t work that way. If and when there has been a large number of supporting studies, then we can start talking.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I read about it on watson.ch. On Watson the comments were rather positive and in support of flying as a hobby. Most readers had a liberal perspective (some compared it to oldtimer driving). After reading the Watson comments only, I was impressed that so many people in Switzerland disagreed with the newspaper’s negative article.
On the other hand, it made me think about the PR work that the GA community should invest in (for example, we should as often as possible take people along).

ArcticChiller wrote:

some compared it to oldtimer driving

Does that not offend the environmental wackos in the same way? Perhaps to them it’s more the social envy/class issue associated with flying a puddle jumper plane? In the real world if they were to get out on the Swiss passes and see how much gasoline is being burned on the weekends, it might put this into context.

From a distance this kind of thing is comical nonsense and I’m so glad it’s not part of my life.

alioth wrote:

No one in the UK has even mentioned the environmental impact of flying my own plane, so I don’t necessarily think so.

Agreed. I was referring to the broader ‘millionaire’ perception of flying. I once visited a retailer in the SW and arranged for a taxi to pick me up from a nearby strip and take me to the meeting. The driver turned out to be an attractive young lady. I arranged for her to pick me up again and at the appointed time and she came into the premises looking for me. The retailer’s eyebrows leapt skyward and he said to me “Now I see why you were so keen to be in Cornwall on a Friday”. Of course I could not tell him the truth and had to leave him under this misleading impression. If only he’d been right!

EGBW / KPRC, United Kingdom

Airborne_Again wrote:

Science doesn’t work that way

If people new how science actually works today with insanely inflated cause – result relationships in order to get more multi million funding from brain dead politicians so they can satisfy their PC vanity, I think things would take a turn.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

Not my impression of how science works, LeSving, maybe leaving aside some isolated cases. Are you a scientist and therefore have special insight in how it all works?

Last Edited by aart at 29 Mar 17:47
Private field, Mallorca, Spain

Most research is driven by what research grants are available. For a full time researcher, it is a way of life and he has to eat, feed the family, etc.

Ideally, the quality and impartiality of the research should not be compromised by this constraint

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

You make it sound as if the scientific community is just a herd of free-lancers each individually scouring for money

I don’t think the bulk of scientific research is organised that way. It is done in institutions with salaried personnel and of course an overall budget and a program that needs to be approved. Like for instance an academic hospital or an organiation that may do nuclear fusion research. Multi-year, long term, funded programs, not individuals groping for money all the time?

Private field, Mallorca, Spain

There is a whole spectrum

Today, most research is collaborative, because most research funding is channeled to collaborative projects.

A GA SEP plane does a similar MPG to the sort of “4×4 tank” you see all day long doing the school run, so there is no case for criticising GA travel.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

Today, most research is collaborative, because most research funding is channeled to collaborative projects.

My experience in research management is in a slightly different sphere, but the two of the basics of maintaining the gravy train are the same:

1) Funding institutions like lots of players because managing all the interactions, with associated meetings and travel, supports their role. It’s no bad thing for at least one principal player to be in a place with nice winter weather.

2) Lots of impressive organizational logos on the project website helps secure next years funding.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 29 Mar 19:18
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