Whoever says that pilots with licences issued after few hours training should bin their licence must have a very big bin. Of course, since many pilots do not even need a licence to fly in UK airspace (or much of Europe) and now there is the option to fly a fixed wing aircraft that is totally uncertified and untested, one must wonder how big their bin is!
As for the IMC Rating, the postings of many here just show how little understanding many holders of the IMC rating have about IFR IMC operation.
We have IO540, admitting to illegal flying -
he knew nothing about IFR/airways flight planning or enroute strategy. I did all the planning and all the flying
(you can not say that and at the same time claim that the PIC satisfied themselves pre-flight that the flight could be completed safely and legally there is also the fact that a smart insurance lawyer would easily show that the other pilot was simply a passenger based on what you said.) and others failing to remember or simply forgetting the often transmitted statement from the CAA that the IMC is not designed for prolonged flight IFR in IMC and the reminders that the IMC rating is not an instrument rating.
The UK aviation industry has complained that costs increased because of JAR. There is no evidence to back that up and I can tell you that for many including me (and it should be no different for any other training provider), the costs have substantially reduced...............many of the UK resident pilot population believed what they were being told and happily paid more for the same training failing to recognise that for example RTFs are issued free of charge and simply made the training providers pockets bulge further.
Then there was the CAA paper completed which showed that there was no change in safety caused by JAR-FCL. Why on earth should harmonisation of licensing make things more (or less) safe......it was a harmonisation project not a safety initiative.
The UK has similar weather to Ireland and other parts of the world have worse weather at times. The UK is unique in providing VFR pilots the legal ability to depart VFR when the weather is less than VMC contrary to the VFR rules and the international standards. They can then later abandon the VFR flight to fly in IMC and never be required to report the poor pre-flight planning that caused them to abandon the VFR flight they departed on.
The rules are clear - if you plan to fly A to B VFR then the combination of actual and forecast weather must indicate that the flight can be safely completed in VMC. If not then the options are stay on the ground or plan and execute an IFR flight.
How much safety reporting data is lost in the UK simply because unexpected or rather expected but ignored IMC enroute on VFR flights is simply un-reported.
In other countries, VFR flights going IFR or VFR flights unable to maintain VMC are taken very seriously by ATS and the authorities.......why is the UK so lax?
There are advertisers in the current UK pilot mags providing JAA-IRs for about £6000. That is good value for what you are getting but you will not get it in the UK.....because people there prefer to pay £12,000 or moan.
Regards,
DFC