Flight Safety Australia magazine. A plea for plain English language

[A37575]

Flight Safety Australia magazine is free and most times I enjoy reading it, but the latest issue 71 - Nov-Dec 2009 leaves a lot to be desired.
One article, called LAME's Code of Conduct contains four pages of bullet points guaranteed to bring on a great big yawn. I just cannot imagine today's LAME's eagerly devouring these "mission statements" such as "recognise and seek to mitigate the environmental impact of aviation maintenance". Huh??

And at page 20 the CASA gentleman known to many as "The Skull" gets stuck into more "mission statements" and exhortations to have a plan what you're going to do, have sufficient reason to do it and then get on and do it. Resounding patriotic clarion calls to all pull together and help the big "R" regulator. This reader simply couldn't make sense of the gobbly-dook officialese.

Then on page 8 in brilliant psychedelic graphic design, there is a ghostly apparition of a light single making huge wingtip vortices and flying into a gory looking blood-shot eyeball to signify "Awareness in 4D".

The first paragraph of this article is more than a bit daunting where some doctor chappie called Endsley, apparently recognised by her peers as one of the SA (Situational Awareness) gurus, with her baffling definition of situational awareness as: "the perceptions of elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future" WTF!#8%@?? Huh??

And of course don't forget "The Runway Excursion Risk Reduction Toolkit" at page 28.. You just gotta have one of those - available at Bunnings at 50 percent discount - just present your pilots licence.

Do any of FSA's readers remember the wonderfully written Aviation Safety Digest magazine of yore? No ads - no bulls..t, and always clear-cut concise use of the English language. Jeez - I miss reading those.

[gobbledock]

Hi A37575, you quoted the following:

And at page 20 the CASA gentleman known to many as "The Skull" gets stuck into more "mission statements" and exhortations to have a plan what you're going to do, have sufficient reason to do it and then get on and do it. Resounding patriotic clarion calls to all pull together and help the big "R" regulator. This reader simply couldn't make sense of the gobbly-dook officialese

Slight correction,it's not 'The Skull' it is'The Screaming Skull' !!
Righto chaps, I have some work to do, cheerio then......

[Hasherucf]

Another example of new speak. There was a great interview on the 7.30 report with Bob Hawke's ex speech writer. Cant rememebr his name but he had written a few books on the subject . Hopefully someone out there will remember his name .

THe example he gave was in the inquiry into the vic bush fires the fire authority asked people to 'populate a document' instead of filling out the form :-D

Another great one highlighted on Hungry Beast was a media statement regarding a mining accident reported a rockfall as a 'gravity falling incident'

Most people see it as it is BULLS*&T

[40Deg STH]

A37575

Well said, bring back the old "Crash comics" They were great information,simple and informative:ok:

[Pedota]

Hasherucf, it was Don Watson - who was Paul Keating's speech writer.

Here's a link to an ABC AM radio segment on the subject (transcript provided) AM - PM guilty of tiresome management speak, says author 05/11/2009 (http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2009/s2733721.htm)

Some examples discussed in the program are: irregular maritime arrivals; the stimulus spending has been re-phased; detailed programmatic specificity and framework for the future.

Cheers

[tipsy2]

Poorly researched articles, erroneous quoting of AD's as to be deceptive and a demonstated lack of both engineering and regulatory knowledge.

What a great publication, NOT

tipsy:ugh:

[cficare]

Perhaps CASA could put togetrher a "crash comic" classic style in addition to the next "normal" edition of the Flight Safety magazine and let the readership vote as to which style they would prefer???

Gotta feeling I know the result....

Unfortunately the above will never happen....can't have pilots reflecting on the experiences of others......

[dude65]

CFI
About 12 months ago they did an insert section that was more like the old crash comics. I guess it was a one off.

On another topic but in the same edition, the report on page 53 makes for some pretty scary reading.

[Altimeters]

Took me about 20 minutes to read this one and then it ended up in the bin.

If anyone with influence reads this, I agree with what's been said before.

Well said chap. I did the exact same thing. Read only the 'Close Calls' then was filed away. ;)

[Torquatus]

Well you don't actually want to say anything - then you're responsible for it!

Or, for the pollies in the audience:

While it is government policy to distribute rulings and descisions to as wide and varied an audience as possible, metricization or overly verbose distribution of the specification of certain policy areas and decisions can lead to undesirable liability resulting in a net reduction of outcomes. This can, in turn, lead to little in the way of detailed programmatic specificity moving forward.

(And it's a joke - there is no way that "distribut[ing] rulings and descisions" is in any way government policy! :E)

[FFG 02]

Direct anywhere,

Don't get stressed mate;

Do you fall asleep in meetings ? Well, here's something that will change all that !
To play: Simply tick off 5 WANK WORDS as you hear them and then shout BINGO !!!

Wank Words Bingo (http://www.hobotraveler.com/wankwordbingo.htm)

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Took me about 20 minutes to read this one

It took you that long?

I skimmed it for 5 min while having a bowel movement - then binned it.

Bring back the crash comic!

Dr :8

[VH-XXX]

I opened mine. It looked Gucci and fluffy, I started reading about some guy who became visual slightly below minima (yawn), got bored, so I threw it in the recycling unlike the non-environmental DR who threw his in the bin.

Seems to be the sentiment here.

[Tmbstory]

Far better than the so called present ones.

The old ones are worth keeping and re- reading.

Some of the posts to the PPRune forums, should also follow the concise and to the point suggestions.

Tmb

[Pro777]

There was discussion a year ago re scanning and distributing the Aviation Safety Digest . John_tullamarine was chatting to CASA re the copyright situation, though I'm not sure of the outcome?

John - any news?

I for one would be more than happy to assist. I have a few old ones laying around, and also numerous copies of Asia-Pacific Air Safety (though most are on the opposite side of oz at the moment). FWIW, there also used to be some great articles in the 80's AOPA magazines - Now that could be a terrific opportunity for them to attract new members ... join and get access to a PDF archive of all their previous publications.
:ok:

[OzExpat]

I'd never seen a copy of this magazine before today and agree that, after 20 minutes, I was almost asleep. The difference between this rubbish and the hallowed crash comic of old is that the latter was written by people with real experience, who knew how to communicate with us in our language. I suspect that the latest publication from ATSB suffers from a lack of experience and an intent to protect their backsides.

Seems to be much easier to use lots of big words to say nothing. Maybe they reckon it makes them sound knowledgeable?

[Dangly Bits]

Does anyone know the background of the Editor?

[john_tullamarine]

John - any news?

Other work caused the project to be put to one side but I have the relevant contacts and it will be resurrected in the near to medium future. Centaurus and I have long had a desire to see the old crash comics be available for all the new chums .. who would benefit from learning the lessons of those who often hurt themselves ...

[Scion]

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end"



R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC Ret


Just got this on the e-mail , it sort of fits dosn't it.

By the way one of the editors of the "Crash Comics" was Macarthur Job and I am sure he has copies of them.

[Tee Emm]

Well said, bring back the old "Crash comics" They were great information,simple and informativehttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif

The proposition to change the current format of FSA back to the original Aviation Safety Digest that had always enjoyed universal success, was canvassed two years ago with the current editor. The proposition was knocked back based on the fact that FSA magazine had to pay it's own way and it could only do that by copius advertising which is what we see now.

Just before the current editorial team took their desks, the previous editor Mr Robert Markmann was handed the job on a temporary basis (he was actually an illustrator) to replace yet another editor who had left. Markmann did an excellent job in the short time he was editor and FSA improved remarkably. He must have done too well, because he was "retrenched" by his superior who himself left shortly after.

The current editor and her staff have no operational experience (meaning pilots) and this shows in the current format of the magazine. Although so far only 20 or so correspondents have replied to the original post on Pprune about the short-comings of FSA, I would not be surprised if the majority of licence holders that receive FSA free of charge in the mail, bin it soon after. In marked contrast - and judging by the Pprune replies on this thread and previous others over the past year or so, Aviation Safety Digest copies were hoarded like gold. Surely therefore this sends a message to those who have responsibility for running Flight Safety Australia magazine that there is something seriously wrong with their product

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

The proposition to change the current format of FSA back to the original Aviation Safety Digest that had always enjoyed universal success, was canvassed two years ago with the current editor. The proposition was knocked back based on the fact that FSA magazine had to pay it's own way and it could only do that by copius advertising which is what we see now.

So how does the need for advertising revenue fit with the crap quality of the content?

Dr :8

[Tinstaafl]

I kept every issue I received of the crash comics and any others I that crossed my path that were otherwise unwanted - and then I read every word. Suffice to say I've never kept its replacement and at best have only ever skimmed the rag.

From the very first edition of FSD even Blind Freddy could see it was a poor substitute for the ASD.

[twodogsflying]

Sun-Tzu remarked over 2500 year ago:

If the instructions are not clear, if the orders are not obeyed, it is the fault of the general. But if the instructions are clear and the soldiers still do not obey, it is the fault of their officers.

Too bad no-one in power seams to have read Sun Tzu:ugh:

[tipsy2]

Why CASA bothers to print and distribute FSA is a mystery.

According to the 'fine print' on the contents page

"The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority"

So it would seem, one can't believe or take anything published in FSA seriously.

Sums up the value of it pretty well I think.

tipsy:eek:

[Pro777]

Other work caused the project to be put to one side but I have the relevant contacts and it will be resurrected in the near to medium future. Centaurus and I have long had a desire to see the old crash comics be available for all the new chums .. who would benefit from learning the lessons of those who often hurt themselves ...

Thanks John, I've got 40 issues scattered between No. 42 and No. 138. Just give us a yell when the ball starts rolling.

I've also got a few duplicates so if anyone's keen on a copy or two shoot us a PM and I'll put it in the mail.

[HarleyD]

Bring back the Crash Comic - Totally agree, Mac Job, we miss you.


ASD was well written and illustrated articles from which major safety lessons could be gleaned. Totally absorbing and based on a wealth of experience from industry and GA especially. This publication reflected the issues that faced those who were likely to become statistics by review of the type of accidents that had happened.


Not this glitzy Graphic artist's playground that we are subject to now.


count the amount of words on the pages!! this pathetic offering could be condensed into a few pages of so-called 'information' and the rest is a waste of brightly coloured ink used on meaningless graphics created by some one who does't even know which way and aeroplane points. the proper purpose of graphics (or pictures or even illustrations as we used to know them) is to ADD to the overall tranfer of information by making things clearer and easier to understand. These juxtaposed shaped and colours are not only useless at improving knowledge of the topic, but are in many instances incorrect and distracting from the core article that is a couiple of hundred words with lots of bullet points spread over several pages, big typeface and single column per page in some instances. utter waste of resources, trees chould not die for this nonsense.


I have seen all the excuses and 'explanations' of why it all went pear shaped and why we must accept this pap that is dished up to us now - what utter tripe!!! If this is a really is better type of format then all our manuals should look like children's books, a few words and lots of big colourful but factually innacurrate graphics.


The requirement for technical style of writing and illustration is endemic to aviation, we want to stick with this theme, we understand it AND LIKE IT. At least I do and all those I talk to about this from time to time do as well.


I have only the anecdotal eveidence of every one who knew the old crash comic to go on, but I just cannot see the so-called safety benefit that this current garbage could possibly provide over the old crah comic, that I still have a pile of and that I still browse to this day.


Put ads in if you have to, though i can see conflict of interest rearing it's ugly head, but go back to a more traditional and improved format , writing and editing style my friends and we will once again have a wothwhile and useful safety product that will stay with pilots through their flying careers and beyond.


(Shakes head in complete disbelief that ANYONE could attempt to justify the current pathetic magazine as a 'safety' publication and slowly walks off, broken and dispirited by this obvious symbol of a CASA absolutely out of touch with reality)


Rant over - for now


HD

[Brian Abraham]

subsumed - To classify, include, or incorporate in a more comprehensive category or under a general principle.

[ZEEBEE]

Harley

Put ads in if you have to, though i can see conflict of interest rearing it's ugly head, but go back to a more traditional and improved format , writing and editing style my friends and we will once again have a wothwhile and useful safety product that will stay with pilots through their flying careers and beyond.

Generally good points there Harley, but unfortunately the glitzy graphics are expected these days and any publication without them is now considered "amateurish" (not by me, I hasten to add).
Perhaps it's symptomatic of the modern tendency to favour form over function that is becoming more prevalent day by day.

I do believe that your point about "conflict of interest" re the advertising is worrisome and would welcome more discussion about that.
I don't believe that ANY publication can totally disassociate itself from the dictates of advertisers to whom the publication owes a part of its revenue. :uhoh:

[crocodile redundee]

As a 40 year recipient of these Digests I have to agree they are, of late, pathetically weak in informative , interesting & technical content . Something has to be done about the excessive amount of advertisements in them too.
It's about time the government realised the lack of appropriately qualified technical personnel to produce these periodicals. Instead of relying on the public to submit stories , how about some decent technical articles.......:suspect:

[Fantome]

Have got a stack of Air Safety Digests from the 60s to the 80s , going cheap.

[compressor stall]

If you're in Hobart town, I'd be interested in those crash comics!

[Top_Cat]

Very (very) new to aviation in general and was a bit surprised to be receiving free reading material in the mail. I was pretty happy to be reading anything aviation-related but, to be brutally honest, the magazine was a bit meh. The close calls are alright (the writing a bit amateurish) but the stories re-enforcing regs are just bollocks. Dispassionate, bureacrat-speak which, honestly, I would start to skim but then lose interest within seconds.

Can only surmise they're incuded for legal requirements but to be part of a magazine, y'know, something people will actually read, reckon they need to be a little more human about it. These sorts of 'REMINDER: REGULATION 8008L3SS.OU812/WTFBBQ' smack of school marm scolding. What functioning adult is going to respect or adhere to that? Being reminded to do something you probably were doing anyway generally doesn't work on people with a vaguely functioning cerebral cortex.

That said, I did a bit of searching for these 'crash comics' and found a couple of excerpts;

http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/Downloads/ASD-51-7-67-Hudson-VH-AGE.pdf
http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/Downloads/ASD-51-7-67%20HS%20125%20VH-CAO.pdf

Informative, specific, interesting and still relevant lessons abound. But, these sorts of things (minus some editorialising) are already covered in ATSB incident/crash reports available online, yeah?

The usual purpose of a digest of any sort, pre-internet, was to disseminate info like incident reports to practitioners. With reports up for easy search/download these days, that elimiinates the need to put it in a digest I'd have thought. So you take away what is probably a large chunk of the publication (please, correct me if I'm wrong as I've not seen one).

So, with the above sorts of articles removed, this probably means you're not left with much to work with. In light of the above, what do people think should be in FSA? Is it even relevant to have it at all any more? It seems a pretty light-weight publication to me and, I'm sure, to a professional pilot, would seem even less relevant. Is the professional pilot the target demographic any more? I wonder because mates who grab a copy and read it when visiting like it a lot.

Thing is, amany industry digests seem to be stuck in a bit of a web-access void where bits of them are available online but the uproar from the lack of relevence would probably pale in comparison to the scenario where the publication was stopped entirely. FSA would be better served as a web publication in its current form, I think.

[CHAIRMAN]

Just checked my collection - July 1968 for the old Safety Digest and about every one since. Every one a relevent read even today.

Bit like FTDK, the latest offering lasts about 5 minutes, unless of course severe constipation sets in.

[Spikey21]

Add me to the list of people who just bin it when it arrives, utter waste of paper.

[Centaurus]

But, these sorts of things (minus some editorialising) are already covered in ATSB incident/crash reports available online, yeah?

Fine if you are happy to spend your time glued all hunch back to a computer screen. Personally I prefer to sit in an armchair with my feet on the dog/cat and sit back and enjoy reading the magazine while occasionally pausing to make myself a cuppa.

The ATSB reports are sanitised to the nth degree and are carefully vetted by the legal eagles. Lots of reference to "Significant factors" leaving the reader to assess for himself the cause of the accident. In marked contrast, Mac Job's ASD magazines were completely different in style and there was no beating about the bush. In other words, you could picture the scene because of Mac Job's fine way with words. There is simply no contest between the two magazines - Air Safety Digest was light years ahead of the current CASA flight safety mag.

Regretfully I can't see any changes happening in the near future, especially as the current mag is driven by advertising revenue.

[Counter-rotation]

Yeah, add me to the list too.

The rubbish graphics hurt my eyes!! :hmm:

Kind of reminds me of a school kid's book report or something - "now class, you have to write an essay, and it's got to be [insert number] words long"...

So you do the minimum, and pad it out with bul**hi* (worked for me :})

Do they write those letters themselves? And what's with the error count?

[ozleckie]

Talk about "here's a wheel let's reinvent it"

When I had sorted out the parts that I understood, from the 10 Commandments for LAMEs, I realised that it was exactly what I had been doing for over 45 years.

The rest looked like something from one of KRUDD's scriptwriters so in the bin it went.