booke23 -
With all due respect, I think you must either be dangling a hook with this thread or you are a very clever troll. I have never been quite this blunt before on PPRuNe but I do believe you are talking out of your chocolate tea towel holder.
seem to take off, head into the open FIR without even a thought given to calling a radar unit for Flight information or radar information service
Yes, indeed. This is me every time I fly from my strip. Is this dangerous?
even more disturbing is that alot of these guys don't even switch their transponders on
Do you assume that everyone has one? I don't, and I can name 14 flying friends who also don't. Does this make us more risky airborne obstructions?
Its wise to remember that by making yourself more visable not only safeguards others, but also yourself
Thanks for the tip.
And this bit....
a mid-air will in all probability, result in all involved getting killed.
is a peach. I will bear this in mind in future.
booke23 - AndyR referred to a post I made last night. I decided to delete it as it might have offended. In hindsight, 24 hours later, I still find your comments quite incredible. Please bear in mind that we're not all out there collecting gold stripes in the hunt for the RHS of one of Boeing's finest. Some of us fly for the sheer fun of it and would rather apply wet-look hair gel that install a transponder
The day I stop maintaining a good look out is the day I become unsafe and the day I stop flying. Please don't be so dogmatic about the importance of instruments in aircraft. Although useful, I do not believe they help prevent "getting killed".