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Thread: Columbia VLJ!
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Old 2nd Sep 2007, 06:33
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IO540
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
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BB - on my reading, I don't see anything in there which is unreasonable.

Currently, you can get your PPL (in some piece of 1970s wreckage), buy a new spaceship with a G1000, and fly off into the sunset, or in some cases into something else.

I have been doing microprocessor hardware and software design, as well as analog circuit design, since the 1970s, but there is no way I could fully use a G1000 without a fair bit of training. Most of it is obvious but a lot is pretty impenetrable.

Now, I would never argue for more regulation in this already grotesquely over-regulated business, but I think there are one or two areas which do need looking at, and I would start with making sure the pilot actually knows what every lever, knob, button, LCD screen, etc, actually does. "We PPLs" (I am a CPL but not a working one) have had it too good for a long time, but when people start getting into real spaceships they should accept having to learn how to work all the goodies in them.

Maybe I missed something - what in particular bothers you?

What would seriously bother pilots would be a mandatory ATPL for all jet ops, or mandatory 2-pilot operation. The VLJ TR material comes level to an ATPL in pilot competence but having to do an actual ATPL (1500hrs, etc) would be a major hassle, and silly under JAA.

Having said that, I don't see how Europe can square this with ICAO. If a pilot in the USA can buy an Eclipse or whatever, he can fly it into Europe and - short of specific legislation for the specific airspace and aircraft type etc - nobody here has any right to stop him.
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