More than a cheerleader of Australian Patriotism.
****su Tonka, 4711, VOR and everyone else for that matter...
Somewhere along the line the responses are still getting lost in translation. By my estimates VOR has invested at least 70 hours of work into research and response on the PPrune forums in the last week. I think that Dick Smith could easily have spent more...I am guessing that he has fewer assistants, but I don't know that for sure.
The debate is becoming more logical and indeed, more educational now that we are starting to graduate beyond name calling, but once in a while we seem to be going back to our "kick the dog methods".
I am still not sure about the incentives being offered to/for VOR. Having fed my family out of the American System for the last fourteen years, I can think of no better airspace system to reform than the American one. In fact, Dick Smith's ammendments to, "the American System", seem to be worthy Stateside as well.
These major differences are:
1. Australia requires mandatory transponder usage in Class E airspace.
In America, we are only required to carry transponder above 10,000 feet AMSL or inside the 30 nm perimeter of a Class B airport.
and;
2. Clearances are required for entry into Class D Airspace.
In America, they are not, meaning the concerns that many PPruners have raised about midair collisions at common entry points is very real.
Icarus 2001 raises some very valid points about the welfare of the industry and an aging fleet of training aircraft. Whilst I agree that it is harder to maintain dispatch reliability on an older fleet, Northwest airlines has a fleet of DC-9s that date back to the early 1970s, their safety record is at least as good as any major airline. The ability to use cockpit retrofit technology should make any transponder installed today as reliable on a used aircraft as one that is brand new.
To Dick Smith. On a seperate post, you felt that it was unfair that I ask you to stop threatening people that piss you off. Well, I think it's perfectly fair that I ask you to stop that. Your opening remarks in you first response to Mr Williamson were about your perceptions of his making a defammatory remarks about you. You have used the media as a conduit in very disparaging terms towards the Virgin Blue crew and ATC, with regards to the Smoka incident and have made remarks that you will take to task the QF Chief Pilot. This may seem "aggressive negotiating" or "fair game" to you. But, the truth is, most people, (not me) might find your fame and fortune intimidating to begin with. You can have a strong opinion, we all do. It's all in the presentation!
Dick, I will also tell you this. Apart from being a pilot, I am also a business man with ownership in two small companies. My wife has a company that exports all over the world, and we have benefitted from the fruits of our labour. We have to be careful though, on our same street we see families that are over extended. The other day I used swimming pool glue to put the soles back on my nine year old's sneaker. It's important that we remain humble, or risk the wrath of the tall poppy syndrome that you are suffering from.
What has happened now is that we have come about as far as we can with this debate on an open forum.
I am not going to give up on it, I think August would make a great meeting time.
We need to think about this some more as the debate continues.
Sincerely,
Chris