Skybolt1 wrote:Abolish the one-hour flight with an instructor concept, and revert to the previous currency by flying hours achieved (only).
No, No, No
With the CAA mandate to make UK GA the best in the world that won’t do. There is a wealth of options
1.As you say back to the old UK certificate of experience/test
2.Adapt the EASA system
3.Adopt the FAA system
4.Come up with something new and completely random*
*this would give far better opportunities.
Just think. Working parties staffed by people with zero GA experience. AOPA making out they are involved the process when actually they have no mates or influence in any shape or form.
After some 6 months of “work”the largely ex RAF navigators, although there is one ex royal navy helicopter expert on the committee, come up with something almost as unworkable as LAPL currency.
Unfortunately this doesn’t work for TMG’s so 6 additional ‘sticking plaster’ measures are applied to the orginal concept. With the end result that something that didn’t really work in the first place is now almost impossible to understand and 40%** of pilots are actually flying illegally
5 years later following industry pressure (up to this point all previous input was ignored) decide on a review and employ “contractors”(basically the same ex RAF and CAA staff who now offer their services to industry as the regulation is now so complicated that the only way to get stuff approved is to pay the person who previously wrote the regulation) and following this consultation we come up with something else equally ineffective.
Of course all costs incurred for this fiasco are met though charges on the industry which continues to falter and spiral ever downwards.
Now people might think that this is all a bit far fetched but to me that's what it has looked like for the last 20 plus years.
Or we could just except that the FAA system works and adopt it.
** Based on the number of LAPL ratings pages I have seen that are signed