Peter wrote:
With a certified plane, I can just jump in, file a flight plan, and more or less anywhere I want. No permits, VFR or IFR… A lot of stuff which is taken for granted happened on the back of that.
Amen to that.
You can fly an experimental from the USA into either Canada or Mexico…all that’s required is a PPL and a current airworthiness certificate. The pilot must also have a passport…and the plane a registration cert.
Peter wrote:
The uncertified community has grown on the back of the certified community.
This doesn’t make much sense. There has never been a requirement for an aircraft to be certified, and there isn’t today either. The requirement is (for a registered civilian aircraft I believe) to be airworthy according to the regulations of the national civil aviation authority. Thus, any aircraft with permanent civilian registration marks should receive a certificate of airworthiness when it has shown it is airworthy. Just because some “clever” minds have found ways around that concept in later years (aircraft are flying all over the place with no C of A at all, only a permit to fly), doesn’t mean the concept isn’t valid.
Besides, people flew all over the world long before ICAO was made, in all kinds of contraptions.
Peter wrote:
GA is very much an expression of personal freedom which is why every half competent dictator doesn’t allow it, or alows it only under strict controls.
I disagree. Certified GA is indeed something that only is allowed under strict control, it’s a privilege given to you by the state, and can be taken away any time. Experimental homebuilt and microlight are much more expressions of personal freedom, but are in fact also nothing more than privileges. It stopped being an expression of freedom sometime in the 20s or 30s when state wide regulations started to appear. It’s the same with cars. Only boats are still free (in a legal sense).
The point about freedom is appropriate. The idea is to free oneself from the bonds of the Earth.
Sure there are regulations and rules and yes it is a privilege to be able to fly. But non military use of the sky is a freedom not everyone is able to enjoy.
The latest news from the UK
I wonder who this industry source is.
How dare general aviation get in the way of much bigger issues.
Also who would claim that saying the CAA should be “at the forefront of promoting the UK aviation industry” is extraordinary? Perhaps the think they CAA should try to cancel all aviation instead.
The big iron industry is smart and influent. Seems easy to make journalists write anything you want.
I have seen recently a strong campaign defending CAT against Greta’s friends. They can pay PR experts.
Notably, Grant Shapps “owns” the DfT and the DfT “sort of owns” the CAA.
But yes if you are a politician then you will be attacked along every possible angle, and the current opposition is relatively left-wing so this is ideal for them.
God save the good from the “greater good”…
“Hobbyist pilots” incidentally is used as a pejorative term by the US press too. Everyone will have forgotten this article by tomorrow, including the writer and his editor.
