Originally Posted by Monocock
My biggest gripe is the people who go to the US, spend their £5k, return to Blighty and then moan about the age/condition of the a/c they have to hire to stay current. If more £5k's went inot our club's coffers might we all benefit from better hardware and therefore a more flourishing industry?? I don't know but it must be a contributor to the issue.
There we go again with an attitude that suggests pilots who trained in the USA owe UK GA something?
Most people who go to the USA to train don't do so just for the sake of it - they go there because the USA can offer them something that the UK can't or won't offer, typically a fast paced course in pretty much guaranteed weather, or lower prices. I learned in the USA for exactly one of those reasons, and its UK GA's loss that it couldn't offer what I needed - sorry, but I think its called globalisation or something like that!
Sure its a difficult problem to fix, but it isn't just going to go away. I don't feel embarrassed that I cut UK GA out of my training needs, but on the other hand I believe I've supported UK GA in the 11 years since I got my PPL by consistantly putting money into it week in week out, year in year out. Without the initial training in the USA, I doubt UK GA would have had any of that money.
At the club I use, the rental fleet is to a large extent isolated from the training fleet, so unless there's some cross-funding involved, I fail to see how people who learn to fly in the US cause the rental fleet to be old and tired. Clapped out rental aircraft in the UK aren't the fault of those who go to the USA, but they may well be contributory reasons why pilots don't stay in the system and provide UK GA with a steady income when they get back. Again, instead of criticising those who go there to train, those who train in the US need to be embraced by UK GA and encouraged to stay in the system and provide ongoing income on a regular basis.
I am of the opinion that with ever increasing costs, the UK training and club scene has got to do something radical if it is to last - I don't think it can just go on hiking prices for ever ageing Cessnas and Pipers. Without ongoing income its difficult to see where the funding for improvements comes from, so if those who train in the USA come back and provide some of that income, I see no reasons for UK GA to complain about that.
Andy