..where do I start ... ?
Not all problems can necessarily be laid at the door of the CAA, but they certainly don't help - we can only pray that after initial teething troubles EASA does what it has intimated by heading toward a more GA friendly regime. However, bureaucracies never quite work like that.
Here's my list of what is now driving dedicated aviation people out of aviation - and if they leave ..... what hope is there for the rest .. ? Cost is right up there, on several counts ..... followed by bureaucratic bloodymindedness and apparent unaccountability (or hiding behind 'safety').
1 - chief amongst the costs is the continual rising cost of AVGAS - now generally £1.20 a litre plus VAT (50% more expensive than 6 years ago) - How much of that does the govt rake in in tax and duty .. ? 70p?
2 - landing fees, particularly at regional airports. Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol all spring to mind. Rates have gone up by 100% - 130% in 5 years. Squeezed out by bean counters who have the sole interest of turning OUR airports (where many of us have lived and breathed since we were lads) into shopping centres.
3 - licensing/airworthiness/exam fees - always increasing and always more than the USA or Canada.
4 - engineering costs - not the hourly rate which always strikes me as reasonable, but the continual stream of new rules or re-interpretations Classic one is the recent issue over engine TBO (hours versus years). If an engine is 12 years old it has to be replaced or flown on Private Cat only. Unnecessary. But, on that point, if it is considered 'unsafe' for Public Cat, then why is it considered safe for 'Private' ? Or the corollary, if it is 'safe' for 'private' flight then why not for flying club rental ? Same aircraft.
5 - insurance - never comes down, every excuse used to raise it (9/11 was the classic) now hitting £2000-£3000 for a 4 seat £50k club tourer.
6 - lack of answerability - a friend has been trying to get a project moving for over a year - sought advice from CAA - who said it was no longer their pigeon, and couldn't comment - so buck passed over to EASA ... who had just moved to Cologne and don't seem to have enough staff to cope with the workload .. still waiting ....
7 - FM immunity, 8.33 Khz spacing, how many old radios were whipped out at £2500 a time .... any apology, any compensation from those (the commercial radio stations) who benefited financially from our loss ?
8 - and the next one .. compulsory mode S ... £4000? by 2008 - any benefit to GA flying outside controlled airspace? any benefit to me flying VFR?
9 - any compensation to GA from the airports or commercial airlines who's rapid expansion has actually forced me out of my local airport - and who then have the cheek to get the CAA to charge me more for less service ? |My loss is their financial gain - any other sphere of influence would see us compensated for our loss.
10 - a few charlatan engineering firms have ripped people off over the years and sadly made most owners very wary of the rest. Where is the iron fist of regulation to smack them into shape. How much does an annual really cost - one pal in dispute over £20k for an annual on a Cub !! And then found plenty of work that hadn't been done, and dodgy paperwork going back several years
11 - where's the united voice ? PFA only seem to want to expand their wee empire and don't cater for PA28/C172 users. AOPA, are battling valiantly, but can't be in many places at once and need more support, but pilots being pilots are loath to spend that extra £50 and join - 2 landings at a regional
airport folks.
12 - NIMBY/councils. In the last year amongst other issues we have seen attemted bans on floatplanes in Loch Lomond and the total #### up of a firstclass facility at Oban airport by a Council that should stick to emptying bins - the truth is no-one cares (but us) -and no-one (but us) will fight our corner.