At the risk of.......................
Dear Woomera,
It's a nice slip.....<g>
I apologise for taking so long to reply, been busy trying to get aircraft out. Have we crossed paths/swords in the past? Did I perhaps fail you on one of your flight tests?
"....legal background..."? Now where did you get that? A logical mind, I think, but no llb here. Perhaps you have the wrong person in mind!
And your: "A smart organisation would take the constructive criticism by experienced aviation people on board and try harder next time." takes a little understanding. Why on earth do you think I bother to open the thread, if not to seek input? And if I get input which is useable/applicable, it gets fitted into the scheme of things.
I have to say that I don't quite understand the significance to you of 1999, - "I see you have been around since 1999" - that (presumably, I don't recall) being the year that I decided that I had enough spare time to stop lurking and start contributing. Whatever, I have certainly over the years valued the inputs of people such as Gaunty and John E, who take time to give/initiate considered and useful replies/comments within a subject thread. Any embarrassment I might have relates to the seemingly unclear English expression I used, and the ease with which you set the wild geese chasing, although imo that is not the role of the moderator. Context, man, context.
The context was the comment by some gentleman who suggested that we "winged" the flying display, and that's what I addressed with my comment. Although I generalised a little out of that trigger-point, sadly, others have since validated my comment, to which issue I shall return. However, to those knowledgeable people who saw fit to take offence at my comment, I apologise unreservedly, for I sought only to put down the idiot fringe.
But first; my comment, to whit: "many people who comment on this forum have zero knowledge or credibility" is sustainable on a daily basis. I'm positive that you read many threads on Pprune, and I would worry if you disagreed with the statement. Zero knowledge of a subject or portion thereof equals ignorance, and shooting one's mouth off from a basis of ignorance surely reduces credibility to zero level, does it not?
Let's drag a couple of examples out of this thread. Critical Reynolds No wrote: "Maybe a trip to RIAT or another large airshow may be the go." Now, whilst the two ASDU executives who worked at RIAT last year might be a bit offended by that, I consider that the imputation that can be drawn, ie that the RIAT Ringmaster on our team (thanks Geoff) and the other senior executive from RIAT (thanks Brian), who between them have in excess of 40 years experience at the tattoo, have not contributed to our show, is quite an unacceptable slur. Perhaps CRN would like me to magically import full-length parallel taxiways, more concrete than there are squadrons to cover it, benign military airspace (and controllers), albeit a bit tight, minimal to zilch RPT considerations, and a charitable environment, which ensures significant low cost support. Do you think that I should allow CRN any credibility on this basis?
Or triadic: is he a politician? Of course the Minister was there, but did triadic try to establish that before his comment? Would someone who had personally committed a significant portion of the Nation's hardware to a show not turn up to see how it was presented? Again, triadic, credibility score zero.
Finally Woomera, there are corporate issues that are better not (from my perspective) dragged through the court of uninformed public opinion because in subsequent years the absence of confidentiality might militate against continued support. I'm sure you have been around long enough to understand!
Cheers
Gru
Gaunty: Your comment about stretching 3 hours into 2 addresses, I take it, the Trade Day displays. Actually, they were always two hour displays. The rest was practice flying by those who hadn't arrived in time to practice during the preceding practice days, if you see what I mean. Something to do with tropical cyclones, it seems. But the significant thing for me is that it is now extremely difficult to get an Exhibition, as distinct from Display, aircraft to actually put on a display, as distinct from a demonstration flight, of which there were many. You may recall that this was the original idea of the Trade Day flying. If there isn't a potential bag of gold to be seen (as there was during the helo acquisition times a few years ago), nobody is going to spend a few grand to please the ordinary punter. For the public days, there were more acts available than we could use in the six hours (minus RPT traffic time) available. Further, may I say that in this business, PT Barnum is long dead. Flying circi are out the window. Deliberately crashing surplus biplanes into barns is forbidden. In this environment, a bit of G&S with sound and light is all that is allowed, along with the rare woman prepared to stand on top of an ultralight doing wingovers.
John E: Yep, the weekend weather was all that could be asked. Don't know why you need to explain your quals, they're already known. For me, of relevance, display pilot in the sixties, ringmaster 70's, boss of heavy jet outfit 80's, also RPT examiner, aviation consultant later 90's, 8 years with ASDU, on the way out (good riddance no doubt!). Also an RPT Surveyor for a while, so very close to your business as well, indeed had about 20 ATC's working for me this show. BTW, I thought the pyros were quite well orchestrated, given the OHS considerations and limits. I'll bet young Larard has never before flown a Kittyhawk with more apparent firepower, and the praccy bombs in the Amberley store don't have quite the resonance that we saw last week.
To those who dream of the so far unattainable: every show we go through the process of establishing wish lists, and every show, it seems, something prevents our wishes being fulfilled. We don't decide who or what comes from far away, more is the pity. Too many opposition airshows (eg, the Baghdad Airshow in '03, other considerations this year, surely that must be obvious to anybody who reads the international pages) interfere with due process. Hornetboy, neither have I seen Harrier or Jaguar or F5 in Oz, but I would very much like to. How do you suggest we "bring back" the Tornado, B1 or Super Hornet? Who is "they"? I'll go talk to them if I can find them. Who would you have fly the Tiger? Night Owl, your penultimate para is prescient.
May I philosophise a little? Subject to Woomera pulling the plug on me, I'd like to give you an opinion. I have taken a hell of a lot out of aviation in 45 years, and in the last decade, I have tried very hard to constructively return something. It seems to me that there is a huge amount of negativity about at the moment as we go through a low in the sine curve of aviation activities. I see in the media (including Pprune) a lot of bad-mouthing everything to do with GA and RPT. There is often nothing but idiot input to serious discussion. Many folks don't have a positive bone in their body, it seems. Better to denigrate and slang off than to actually do something to promote the industry. However, I will take bets that the forthcoming inevitable shortage of pilots and LAMEs will have a very positive effect on the employability of the next generation (possibly the fourth generation in my family, so I certainly hope so). The current generation will have to put up with being at the low point because there is no alternative, no more, no less. However, aviation is always in a state of flux, look to the future and make plans based on what is more likely to happen, not on what used to be.
All you people with bright ideas, how about putting your skills and reputation on the line, and assist at Avalon in the future. Answer one of the periodic advertisements in the aviation press if you are qualified, or even pm me with credentials. As a volunteer (one of about 750 or so) it will only take about 14 days at 12 hours a day out of your life each two years, but you will be doing something positive for aviation. If you really wish to wring yourself out over several months, go for a senior job.
However, I've done my dash, so to speak. Rant over. One job left, that is to write a biography of one of Oz's unsung pioneer heroes, AA Koch. That'll take a few years, no doubt.
Good luck to you all, even the idiots.
Toodle pip chaps,
Grusome
Takes of hat, hangs it on hook, walks slowly to the exit, sets off in the general direction of the golf club.
Young whippersnappers.......Bah!