Originally Posted by
Sir Niall Dementia
If you see it going on please report it. The CAA (rotary) are bursting to get one, especially in a congested area. I know of two schools who have banned customers for doing Thames sightseeing flights in R44's after I called them about it. The well known website will not take rotary now due to insurance (they can't get any) but they're abundant on FaceBook and many other platforms.
SND
SND - If CAA rotary are bursting to get one then it really begs a number of questions. Ops inspectors may be bold in front of you during an audit, telling you how terrible all this is BUT they are less bold in front of their own back at Gatwick. If the practice was so awful why not make a strong case internally and get it stopped? Assuming the individuals have credibility at CAA is that not the natural extension of what he expresses to you during an audit? Next I don't really think they are looking very hard for flights that are advertised which suggest some breaking of the rules may take place. I say may because it would require someone in a car to go and look. Do nothing more sophisticated and look at a well known experience website, say Virgin, and find under the title of Flying Lessons.a 5 or 15 minute "buzz flight" some in multi seat aircraft where the participant would be sat in the back. Which begs the question just how on earth these have any relevance to a lesson or conducted by FI(H)? But don't ask me ask the CAA and how they are tackling.
All that said perhaps the evidence just isn't so compelling and recent history does not show dozens of buzz flights getting into trouble or cost sharing flights doomed. Perhaps sometimes people make poor decisions and if we look at the recent rotary fatalities ll were in very sophisticated aircraft flown by very experienced pilots including every rotary wing accident in congested areas within memory.
It isn't that I do not think you have a point, actually I think you do but the CAA are not exactly covering themselves in glory and that includes the way some are operating these sophisticated aircraft that only becomes apparent when it ends in a smoking hole. Resource, or lack of, has been the excuse of years and at some point you can't keep riding that horse.