It appears increasingly obvious that the % is much lower than most would think.
I just cannot imagine doing a PPL, let alone anything beyond that, just for flying around the UK
I fully agree. And there are eccentrics out there who do nothing but fly between airports, have a meal, and never leave the airport.
It’s a personality thing innit?
Some of us are brash, confident “sort it all out on the hoof as we go, it’ll all turn out alright” types.
Some of us are transfixed by worries about getting it wrong, being embarrassed, the weather, getting stuck in foreign parts, the formalities, the language issues and a thousand and one other imponderables.You don’t need to be a “sort it all out on the hoof as we go, it’ll all turn out alright” type at all, to fly abroad.
The opposite attitude is more useful for flying abroad, although the above attitude probably works more often than most would think 
The more people one can drag, kicking and screaming if necessary, away from the Bembridge Burger Run, the more people will stay in flying in the longer term. Even if they get dragged only as far as Le Touquet
Also your medical is going to survive for at least 10 more years if you eat French food 
Even if they get dragged only as far as Le Touquet
I think Le Touquet does not qualify as “abroad” for British pilots.
Hm. I even heard some actually did file a flight plan!
I even heard some actually did file a flight plan!
A flight plan does not count. I have to file a flight plan (or get it filed) for most domestic flights.
Some of us are transfixed by worries about getting it wrong, being embarrassed, the weather, getting stuck in foreign parts, the formalities, the language issues and a thousand and one other imponderables.
This is a very real and common problem, and not just for new pilots. And it’s especially true for microlight pilots, who numerically now represent a significant proportion of the UK pilot population. Because most microlighters learn at tiny grass airfields and then go on to fly from farm strips, they often have little experience of dealing with ATC. So flying to Calais or Le Touquet with the need to file a flight plan and then to deal with talking first to Approach and then to Tower can be a daunting undertaking.
I think Le Touquet does not qualify as “abroad” for British pilots.
If you fly a Citation, probably not. But if you fly a microlight it definitely qualifies
I started flying with microlights and still fly when possible with a microlight touring club. The club’s mission (other than its members having a great time flying!) is to introduce microlight pilots to European touring. The first outing this year will be a long weekend trip taking in Calais LFAC, Dieppe LFAB and Abbeville LFOI. Experienced touring pilots will help the newbies file flight plans, deal with customs formalities, make sure everybody is carrying all the required documents and generally be around to help out with issues as they arise. The trip was advertised in the microlight flying press and was oversubscribed with ‘channel virgin’ pilots wanting to come along. I think there are something like 15 aircraft now enrolled for the trip, most of which have never ventured outside the UK before.
Because most microlighters learn at tiny grass airfields and then go on to fly from farm strips, they often have little experience of dealing with ATC. So flying to Calais or Le Touquet with the need to file a flight plan and then to deal with talking first to Approach and then to Tower can be a daunting undertaking.
I know that this is true but is still so difficult to understand.
ATC is there to serve pilots. They are normal human beings. No air police.
What makes people get nervous when they need to talk to ATC? It’s so irrational…
Actually our microlight pilot members seem rather more enterprising than the SEP ones.
ATC is there to serve pilots. They are normal human beings. No air police. What makes people get nervous when they need to talk to ATC? It’s so irrational…
Putting aside that ATC does have the capability to initiate prosecutions, maybe its not pilots being nervous but instead that they find dealing with ATC unpleasant? I operate from an ATC controlled airport with traffic volume unheard of in Europe. It doesn’t make me particularly nervous, I’ve yet to know anybody who has been prosecuted for an airspace violation, and in some areas ATC can be beneficial… but its a burden not a pleasure.
The reason I don’t move to an uncontrolled airport is because of the local infrastructure of people and aviation businesses, a great benefit that outweighs the hassle of dealing with ATC for several minutes at the beginning and end of every flight.
What makes people get nervous when they need to talk to ATC?
I think it is because they know they are talking in public and are afraid to make a fool of themselves. Just the same way many people get nervous when they have to stand up in front of an audience and give a talk or lecture – even if they know their subject very well. When talking to ATC, a very strict and precise phraseology is required that is completely different from everyday’s talking (and in a foreign language for most of us as well!), so the odds of getting it wrong are very high. But the biggest critics of poor radio proficiency are not ATC, but the other pilots who listen on the same frequency… How often have you thought yourself: “Well, if this guy flies the same way he talks on the radio, I better run for cover quickly”
