Silvaire wrote:
We went as a flight of three planes today, one pilot per plane with just one live-in lady passenger in one plane. One of our usual lunch spots was serving – outside only, “flight crew only beyond this point” only, picnic tables appropriately spaced. It worked fine. We actually ate on portable chairs under the wing of a C180, having brought them with us we wanted to use them!
I wonder how Chris Cuomo of CNN would handle it, if he knew about this lack of quarantine issue. After all, he made multiple broadcasts of how he was quarantined because he was infected with the virus and how everyone else should do the same to save lives. Until someone saw him out
and about without a mask, surrounded by people, also without masks. When confronted by someone who recognized him and demanded to know why if he was sick with the virus why he was not obeying the law. He became aggressive and told the guy to mind his own business.
Seriously, not only does the US have 2 sets of laws (one for them and one for us) but now we see two sets of moralities.
Fredo Cuomo seems to be having a bit of a crisis which corresponds pretty well the general media hyprocrisy that appears to be generally widespread. Presumably CNN’s audience is tanking as no one is at international airports.
A rule for thee but not for me.
I’m most frustrated that I’m stuck from even doing my engine maintenance flight because my based airfield has decided it’s closed and has pulled all out of hours permits.
Supposedly pilots can’t operate out of hours because they don’t have staff to do runway, wildlife, fod inspections through the day.
We didn’t fly today, instead my wife and I just took a top down drive to have a look at my rental property on which some remodeling work is coming to an end. That’s legal by any measure, but practically speaking it’s irrelevant: in our area of roughly 2 million people (with infection rate low) the state wide shelter in place proclamation is being completely ignored by many, outside of those with business licenses to lose, closed public restaurants, nobody in parks etc. I must’ve seen 200 motorcyclists taking Sunday rides, obviously with no health issue introduced, and no different than any other Sunday. I do think people locally are maintaining good sense in terms of maintaining distance from others, a lot less stopping and gathering, standing a little further apart, no large groups etc. That stuff clearly works.
Obviously ideas on the efficacy of staying home vary: my neighborhood is mainly retired people and some of them haven’t left the house in a month. They have no idea what is going on more widely, except by watching the media. Meanwhile the German lady who came to the US via marriage in 1950 and has never returned (guess her age, I think she’ll make it to 100) drives to do her own shopping, despite many people offering to help her. She’s a lot better off regardless than those stuck in old people’s homes, with illness moving rapidly between them. Ultimately, outside of an autocratic state, life involves individual situations and individual choices and no amount of talk by a US state governor will overcome a large fraction of the population deciding they’ll approach the problem in their own way. It will work out fine, as long as people don’t get too close to others. Dramatic theatre is a government imposed game directed at the lowest common denominator, not really a reasonable solution for the period needed, and many people are intelligent enough to know it. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing.
I’ll fly again next weekend and hope that with the quiet period now gone, the skies are a little less congested than yesterday – bobbing and weaving to avoid collisions is disquieting and one of my cohorts yesterday had a Cherokee miss his Super Chipmunk’s wingtip by only a short distance on a reciprocal heading. I’m happy to have traffic info if only from an iPad, because it works well.
UK pilot in trouble with CAA for breaking engine maintenance flight rules by exceeding the 10nm limit:
^ The NHS is slowly but surely becoming a cult in the UK. As an aside – am I I only one to find the signs ‘Protect the NHS’ rather absurd? I mean, a health service is there to protect the people, not the other way round.
PS: I have and will refrain from voicing my opinion about the NHS here. Suffice to say, the experience was catastrophic.
172driver wrote:
The NHS is slowly but surely becoming a cult in the UK
This is a concerning truth. It doesn’t seem to matter about results or quality of service, more about the ideology which pushes the service being the envy of the world (which it clearly isn’t)
If it weren’t such a bad idea, the pilot should fight this to court in order to show the value of such “guidance”. Just reading the BBC article it is mind-boggling how they can keep a straight face (so to speak) mixing terms such as “guidance”, “permitted” and “forbidden” in this way.
There can’t be a more European phrase than “the pilot exceeded what was permitted”!
Yes it is typical dumb media behaviour, but only half as dumb as the FR24 watcher who objected to it and reported it, instead of getting himself a life.
However, seeing the UK GA chat sites lately, nothing surprises me. Full of pompous sanctimonious garbage. This crisis has brought out the very worst in some people. I got slagged off by somebody for the Alderney trip which was done before the current restrictions and done with the utmost care.
Ultimately the airfield is in the hands of the CAA (which can refuse to renew its license without giving a reason) in the same way as a gun shop can be closed at any time by the local police chief. This is the principal weakness of the “guidance” system; some nasty person can still make trouble for the airfield, using this route.
Yes the pilot should fight it IF he gets pursued but I am sure the CAA won’t do that because they know they will lose. The police likewise. He has not broken any law. Had he broken the legal restrictions, the fine would still be only £30. The CAA might cause the airfield trouble, as I say above.
Link to a petition launched in France :
https://www.change.org/p/minist%C3%A8re-de-la-transition-%C3%A9cologique-et-solidaire-pour-une-reprise-des-vols-responsable
