Cubflyer
I don’t think anybody here really wants mode S compulsory; the point being made by some is that it should not be such a big deal. You say the cost is too much for infrequent pilots but infrequent pilots with no money are usually self fly hiring so won’t be paying that money. If you are an owner then the XP cost will be a small part of the ownership costs, and if you are an owner and fly say 10 hrs/year then you can’t claim you are particularly concerned about value for money.
If anyone is backing an XP for VFR it would be Mode C; Mode S brings no additional benefits because mode C is just as good for telling the local radar how high you are (which really IS pretty important) and for activating other peoples’ TCAS.
The # of aircraft on the register may be increasing but that’s to be expected, with the average age of the GA fleet increasing almost a year for every calendar year. The planes aren’t the future problem; it’s the operators. There is another 10-15 years to go...
You are dead on about better navigation being needed but that opens a much bigger can of worms. There really isn’t any way, or a will, to teach better navigation within a “45-hour” PPL than the traditional dead reckoning, flying a wind corrected heading by reference to a dodgy DI which drifts a few degrees every few minutes, a dodgy ASI, and having used rarely accurate winds aloft data off Form 214, even if you do a super accurate calculation using that ridiculous circular slide rule. What is needed is a wholesale intro of GPS into the PPL; perhaps you can mention it at the next CAA safety seminar and see the reaction from the audience there…
