Differences in aviation culture around Europe

@Jujupilote, my Private flight instructor described flying to me as the last activity in which government would have no particular reaction if you or anybody were kill yourself doing it, therefore the ultimate personal responsibility and the last genuine freedom left to the average guy. While I hope the pendulum swings back on that state of affairs before I’m gone, GA remains a wonderful thing.

St Ex is revered in this part of France and yes I suppose there is that sort of sense amongst the pilots I know, whatever they fly.

Yesterday, my wife and I read the beginning of St Exupery’s Wind, Sand and Stars
We love this book.
It describes the first flights of St Exupery as an apprentice than an air mail pilot :

• The Pilot is alone facing the duty to survive his flight.
• The engine could fall apart any time, he must do with it.
• Maybe this thunderstorm is too strong, he must do with it.
• If he survives, he will come in and at the very most say “this one was rough” (probably just sit down and eat without a word).
• If he doesn’t, nobody says anything. Everyone struggles in silence.

So the Pilot is a mix of a knight confronting the dragon and a proletarian
Guillaumet is the only friendly guy who mentors him and teaches him what to expect along the route.

It stroke me how the Aeropostale spirit is exactly the spirit of most french aviation today.

• weather info, training, ATS etc… may be incomplete, well it’s your job to do with it
• maintenance programmes are followed for the sake of complying, but it may break down, and if it does, it’s your job to do with it

And how this atmosphere of fatality is the opposite of modern human factors and safety culture.

• be part of a community working towards safety : share best practices, analyse incidents, learn from your and other’s mistakes
• use procedures, improve them whenever you can
• lobby if something must be changed beyond the community (like ATS, weather, airspace)

Does anyone who read this book feel the same ?

boscomantico wrote:

An AFIS is a very clearly (ICAO)-defined scope of service. First and foremost, an AFIS is an ATS, whereas a “Radio” station is not. So be careful by using the term AFIS to denote “the man on the radio”.

Good point, my mistake. It’s like the difference between Siegerland Info (real AFIS) and Breitscheid Info (just some Flugleiter) in Germany.

Boscomantico is correct – Lelystad varies between RDO and INFO

… and that does not mean it’s an AFIS. An AFIS is a very clearly (ICAO)-defined scope of service. First and foremost, an AFIS is an ATS, whereas a “Radio” station is not. So be careful by using the term AFIS to say “the man on the radio”.

Frans wrote:

Are there any Dutch airfields without AFIS? It seems to me that every open aerodrome has someone on the radio, just like in Germany. Even at Stadskanaal.

All Dutch airfields are manned during opening hours.

Peter_Mundy wrote:

Lelystad is the busiest GA field in The Netherlands with a lot of pilots struggling with English and being verbose. If the AFIS guys talk slowly as well it just would not work.

Yeah, I experienced that. There is sometimes also a bit babbling between English and Dutch going on, which can be distracting. A bit more discipline on the radio would give AFIS more space to do normal calls. If you know that they give very summerized and quick the standard information (active runway, circuit and QNH), then its OK, but for foreigners, its comes very surprising and a bit unprofessional. Other Dutch airfields seems to do that too.

Another question: Are there any Dutch airfields without AFIS? It seems to me that every open aerodrome has someone on the radio, just like in Germany. Even at Stadskanaal.

It surprises me as well. I suspect it may be low time pilots reacting to stress and reverting to a mix of Dutch and English.

Why are a lot of pilots „struggling“ at
Lelystad? IME, dutch people speak very decent (albeit heavily accented) English and shouldn‘t have any problems doing the radio… well, except for the general apprehension most low hour pilots seem to have when keying the mic…