Dick Smith! Cancel this Ridiculous Wake Idea.
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 394
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GA is under threat from two sides - over regulation by CASA, and being squeezed out by airport owners.
Now while Dick Smith may a different way of expressing his opinions and feelings, I reckon he's fairly close to the truth. I started flying in October 1977 at Parafield when the grass parking area to the East of the Eastern apron and South of the Southern apron was chock-a-block with light aircraft - I'd guess about 100-120, all hardstands were full, and flying schools were busy.
When I became an aircraft owner in August 1996 there were a few parked on grass off the aprons - my guess would be 20-30 at the most, with the hardstand to the South full but to the East starting to thin. In July 2016 there are (generally) no aircraft on the grass,with plenty of unoccupied hardstand restricted to local operators.
Most secondary airports are being encroached upon by shopping centres and outlet malls, with airport owners relishing the day when they can say "sorry, there's not enough business to keep it open", and there'll be champagne corks popping as the sites are rezoned residential.
So Dick, I think you're right on the money, it's only a matter of time.
Now while Dick Smith may a different way of expressing his opinions and feelings, I reckon he's fairly close to the truth. I started flying in October 1977 at Parafield when the grass parking area to the East of the Eastern apron and South of the Southern apron was chock-a-block with light aircraft - I'd guess about 100-120, all hardstands were full, and flying schools were busy.
When I became an aircraft owner in August 1996 there were a few parked on grass off the aprons - my guess would be 20-30 at the most, with the hardstand to the South full but to the East starting to thin. In July 2016 there are (generally) no aircraft on the grass,with plenty of unoccupied hardstand restricted to local operators.
Most secondary airports are being encroached upon by shopping centres and outlet malls, with airport owners relishing the day when they can say "sorry, there's not enough business to keep it open", and there'll be champagne corks popping as the sites are rezoned residential.
So Dick, I think you're right on the money, it's only a matter of time.
I do think that it's important to frame the discussion in a positive way rather than focusing on the negative. We need to be saying how it could be so much better if the rules were more coherent rather than running around saying that we are all doomed.
Sometimes this industry is its own worst enemy. I always talk to people about how I love to fly and if they show any interest will happily take them for a flight. I took a friend for a flight and he loved it. Not short of a few bob and recently retired he decided to learn to fly. Turned up at one of the well respected flying schools at Camden. He went for a TIF and loved it. Afterwards, the instructor/operator chated about the licensing process but basically ranted on about how casa would take weeks to issue a student pilot license, would lose the paperwork and with the changes to part 61 wasnt sure if the industry would survive 6 months. On the way home my friend called the sailmaker and droped $30k on a new set of sails for his yacht. Why bother with flying if it's all so hard....
Sometimes this industry is its own worst enemy. I always talk to people about how I love to fly and if they show any interest will happily take them for a flight. I took a friend for a flight and he loved it. Not short of a few bob and recently retired he decided to learn to fly. Turned up at one of the well respected flying schools at Camden. He went for a TIF and loved it. Afterwards, the instructor/operator chated about the licensing process but basically ranted on about how casa would take weeks to issue a student pilot license, would lose the paperwork and with the changes to part 61 wasnt sure if the industry would survive 6 months. On the way home my friend called the sailmaker and droped $30k on a new set of sails for his yacht. Why bother with flying if it's all so hard....
It's not much point in whingeing about the whingeing. Everyone is free to put their slant on the sad situation. You can't expect after 30 years of the worst public administration that there's an expectation that we can sit around the table all chummy and resolve the mess. I started writing to my MPs at least 30 years ago, with few notable exceptions it was lonely work. Even today where's the AFAP and its several thousand members? If I was in a sour mood I'd say most were sitting too high on their wallets to give a rats about GA. But that's just one group who are not prominent in AOPA or TAAAF. Sometimes its the stick and sometimes the carrot, can we win over the politicians? I don't know but if we take the pressure off we will not. Nothing is more certain than that because CASA will never reform itself.
