I have flown extensively in the States and Europe, Australia, South Africa and a little bit in the Windies. I therefore dont think I have any axe to grind, not even by birth.
The States has much to be applauded. Probably top of my list is their can do attitude. This translates into access to even the largest airports on a very reasonable basis (last year Miami Int. charged be $50 landing and parking or free with fuel) and many airports are open 24/7, I landed at one at 2 am and that worked just fine for my schedule.
This flexibility is non existent in Europe. Australia and SA are somewhere in between.
However, when it comes to the actual flying I guess, well its flying, and I am not sure there is much between any of them. Then again, I suppose the only other interaction other than between you, the aircraft and the air, is ATC.
Personally I love to hear everyone’s point of view. For me that is what makes us a community. Yes, there are differences in the enviroment in which we have to work, but understanding these differences is part and parcel of our efforts to extract the best from each system.
whether by coincidence or not, since I started my thread and Peter started his there seems to have been an increased volume of GA posts compared to coronavirus. IMO this is great. Long may it continue.
No coincidence, and yes I agree 
Malibuflyer wrote:
So the only reason why avgas is more expensive in Germany is that fuel in general is more expensive in Germany. That has nothing to do with aviation or the strength of the GA community.
That’s not 100% accurate, but close enough that I won’t argue the point.
Malibuflyer wrote:
Yes, for instance they are paid by a property tax for aircraft that has to be paid in most US states but is unknown in most European jurisdictions …
That’s not how it works in the US, actually. Most property taxes are for funding civil services like schools, police and fire protection.
Airport Funding comes from Federal sources.
You gloss over enduring fights like these:
Oakland Landing Fees
FBO Fees
Tax Exemption
BasicMed
State Tax Exemption
User Fees Win
Protecting Airport Funding
More User Fee Victories
User Fees Defeated
and so on
and so forth
If everyone is happy paying out the ear and not being able to land at night practically anywhere, why would I hurt your ears with ideas of something better ;)
@Fuji_Abound similar experiences and same conclusion.
Also one additional point: at nearly every US airport, I walk in without permission and I walk out without permission. No need to ever stop and pay fees or experience any delays.
@gallois also glad to have fresh content / great topics
We are subjected to property tax on aircraft in some US areas. Mine is $220 per year based on the County’s (very low) assessment of my aircraft’s value. Why is it so low? Because if I park my plane once a month on the public ramp, chat with airport friends for a while, and then taxi it back to my hangar I’m exempted from paying property tax. I don’t do it because my time is worth more than $20/month or whatever and that’s how the County wants it to stay.
I’ve paid a landing fee just once in my life. I’ve filed a flight plan once in my life. Foreflight on my phone says Avgas is $4.45 per USG self serve and $4.95 off the truck, at my base today.
Pilots throughout the world have several things in common. Most of us love flying and most of us bitch about anything that gets in our way or makes it more difficult or expensive. US pilots are definitely no exception. :)
I would point out that in the UK and most of Europe you get very little bang for the taxes you pay on fuel. Effectively OCAS you are abandoned by ATC (and I appreciate that suits some all well and good) so forget flight following and anything resembling a hand over, unless you are prepared to work for the latter. Those are concepts that do not exist.
@Silvaire while taking an NVFR conversion flight to Brno Airport (LKTB) my total expenses for a 1.5 hr flight with a number of night landings was $750.
Ladding at EDDS cost me $135 (converted). To land and park for a night on 1000^2 of tarmac. Cheaper than a hotel I suppose…
The fun of flying in Europe is breaking enough rules to have a smirk, but not enough to get caught and fined.
When I first started flying here I (unintentionally) broke more rules/regs than I care to share…
Why is it so low? Because if I park my plane once a month on the public ramp, chat with airport friends for a while, and then taxi it back to my hangar I’m exempted from paying property tax. I don’t do it because my time is worth more than $20/month or whatever and that’s how the County wants it to stay.
@silvaire Care to please explain this a bit more? How can it be low when you are exempt? Just want to grasp what you are trying to say. Thank you!
This is really about identifying best-practice. There’s no doubt that flying in the States is far “easier” than in most other parts of the world. As @AF says above, some of that is a result of the powerful AOPA GA lobby. Just look at the US AOPA site and see the extent of their advocacy, training resources, legal assistance, etc. etc. Most of that is not evident over here.
Some of this stuff is not just confined to the US of course. For example, South Africa has a very healthy EAA with loads of fly-ins, air shows with vintage aircraft to jets, camp beneath the wing and meet folks round the brai (BBQ), good ATC and great destinations with friendly airfields (try Virginia FAVG near Durban, chat to the old guys at the bar, watch the takeoffs and landings, dip in the pool – a perfect GA destination). They do have their regulatory challenges – but the EAA (eaa.org.za) is a good organisation and pressure group. Hats off to them.
Some of the things I like about flying in the US, in no particular order, are:
- FIS-B data (wx) in the cockpit (major safety feature)
- joined-up and supportive ATC (e.g. Houston Center controller on handover offering to “thread me through” a line of thunderstorms – can you imagine that happening here :) )
- supportive FAA with good safety initiatives (Wings program etc.)
- no PPR, just turn up, usually no landing fee
- great FBOs, welcoming, good service, often with free use of a car for local trips
- of course, avgas at half the cost of European prices (or even less) and lower cost of spares
- free-lance flight instruction (easily accessible) and maintenance
- experimental category IFR (very limited in Europe)
- ease of maintaining licence ( Flight Review, rolling IFR currency)
-etc.
Despite political, economic, environmental and demographic challenges, some of this GA best-practice does “sort-of” exist in a patchy way in Europe. How could it be improved/reinforced, and who/what would be the enablers?
