Like him or loathe him, Dick is passionate about aviation and he has contributed more towards aviation financially and by giving of his personal time, than many armchair critics have done. Much of what Dick parrots about aviation, particularly in regards to poor regulations and bureaucratic red tape, is 110% correct. The reason some people who don’t like him is because he is a multimillionaire, not because of his contribution towards aviation. It’s a tall poppy thing. Unfortunately for Dick his tenure with the CAA was doomed to fail due to the underlying iron ring that had a political stranglehold on aviation. Bloated bureaucraps who didn’t want change and who made sure that Dick didn’t succeed with his vision of aviation reform.
I would much rather listen to a seminar conducted by Dick than by someone like Gina Swineheart or Gerry Harvey.