Waveflyer wrote:I can agree with just about all of the above because so much about aviation regulation is a mess.
But what makes me even more angry is the lack of unity on this forum especially by some of the “ big hitters”, you know who you are!
In a recent thread they were very critical of the pilot licence holders that couldn’t be bothered to dig down into the rules to find out exactly what they had to do to make sure that were operating correctly within the framework.
Where do you start looking and when do you know you have found the answer? A long as those mentioned above support the regulators the complexities won’t be addressed and the problem remains.
Rant over.
I have to agree about the complexity of the regs these days.
I did my PPL(A) in the early 1990's. A PPL for life (ha!) and 5 hrs every 13 months and I was good to go. Has the accident rate changed significantly since then? I don't think that it has in any statistically meaningful way.
I recently did my hour with an instructor, which was very enjoyable I flew with a friend, but then we thought that we noticed a discrepancy in my paperwork. It turned out to be fine, but for a brief period I was sweating because I thought that I had been flying illegally for the past couple of years.
It took me (not a lot of help, I admit), two flying instructors and an examiner to realise that everything was actually fine. That my paperwork was correct, and my hour reval was OK to sign.
It really shouldn't be that complex!
This seems to be true nearly everywhere that you look.
I too dislike the "Mandatory PPR" and despise the "High Viz Jacket" nonsense (well done Sywell by the way), but the complexity in airspace, procedures, licensing, maintenance, even in things like how far to fly clear of clouds when VFR, are bureaucratic and, as far as I can see, add little or nothing to our safety.
Commercial aviation has a remarkable, wonderful, safety record. We don't! I don't believe that is only because we are all reckless, irresponsible idiots. I think that the system is messy and broken in many places.
I fly because I love it. I don't enjoy reading through reams and reams of, what looks like, amateur legalese. I recognise that I have a duty of care to me and others, and must bear some of the burden of the things that I dislike in order to enjoy the privileges that I do like, but the licensing system is a mess, airspace is a mess, and flying regulations are in some places over complex.
There seems to be a culture of blame too (I mean broadly in GA, not necessarily here), which I am sure doesn't help to improve the safety culture. I think that it is too simple to always say "It's your fault you should know the regs" if the regs are so complex that even full-time experts get them wrong.