If 10 got the GASCo course that is presumably 5 lots of zoom courses in the month (roughly speaking), so 5 times as much instructor time, but once time saving of a hotel venue. I seem to recall the instructors receive a relative pitance so it will be interesting to see if they are quite so keen on delivering so many courses a month. I had thought there were two instructors so they had better really enjoy such a repettive process, because it would keep my attention for a month at most. They must love what they do, or have a slightly strange sense of why they are delivering these courses.
With so little interaction on the residential cources if the reports are to be believed, they might just as well run a predelivered tape and ask the recipient pilot to press a button on the mouse every 30 minutes to prove he hasnt fallen asleep, gone down the pub (I forgot that may not now be possible), or drowned himself in the bath tub.
Still whatever keeps Mr Granton in a job.
Mr Granton
Slight spelling error.
I note the 8x “Practical training”. Nearly as many as doing the course. Is this not a positive thing? At least its flying.
It depends on what you did and what the “training” is.
There is very little in the way of actual reports (it seems that people just want to keep a low profile, afraid the CAA will do something to them otherwise) but I have heard of cases in years past where somebody was required to do some combination of (a) re-sitting the PPL exams (which is a pure “p1ss you off” measure, with zero training value) and (b) flight training and a skills test. The skills test may be with a CAA staff examiner and at the Gasco “course” they showed a video of such an examiner talking. So all signs are that if you get “training” it is going to be something inconvenient. And I doubt they had eight people shutting down a major airport for half an hour, in 1 month…
The UK Pilot magazine has just published an exceptionally well informed article on the new CAA policy, which is really damning and to the point. It confirms everything I’ve been saying for ages.
Some other stuff is also going on in the background which I can’t talk about yet but which is bound to trigger big changes… well unless the CAA totally closes ranks. The above article states that one of its respondents has been threatened by the CAA with legal action.
Peter, I couldn’t find the article from that link.
Do you have a direct link?
Yes but posting it would IMHO be beyond fair use policy 
Peter wrote:
The above article states that one of its respondents has been threatened by the CAA with legal action.
For an airspace infringement or for their reporting?
It’s not me BTW; despite efforts by some
The “CAA member” is clearly the same one person, ex RAF ATC like much of the group behind this new policy, who has been discussed all over the internet. Not surprisingly; had I been a public servant who sent nasty letters to several thousand pilots, sending hundreds to a “this will leave a foul taste in your mouth so you don’t do it again” gasco “course” with a near-zero educational value, I would expect some % of them to get really angry about it. Especially if the bust was 100-200ft. Being a mod on a pilot forum makes one enemies too and a few of them are pretty energetic 
I hope that the CAA’s legal advisers have advised them of the rather large downside for a very small upside.
Peter wrote:
Yes but posting it would IMHO be beyond fair use policy
Posting a link to a magazine website would be “beyond fair use policy”? I don’t get it.
