Max Seaman is a reasonable chap, but I have to say that his portrayal of the party line from the CAA, complete with gross innaccuracies on things like unit cost, did really make me wonder a bit.
It's clear from the contents of the proposal in the RIA that the CAA consider this a done deal, and that we should all just bow down and accept it.
They really seriously need to get their head around the biggest growth sector in UK recreational aviation and try to see how the heck they are going to implement this regulation. 26% of the UK aircraft fleet is unregistered, unregulated and flown by pilots with no CAA issued licence. I'd just love to hear how they are even going to know of the existence of these aircraft, let alone try to track them down to ensure compliance. I've got a couple like Parapunter, does this mean I need to buy two transponders?
It's plain barking. The class G airprox statistics simply don't support the argument for transponders in any way, shape or form. The CAA are being driven to do this by the argument being put forward by budget carriers like Ryanair and Easy Jet, who wish to avoid airspace charging by operating in "controlled" class G for approaches to cheap out-of town airports.
VP