Some excellent points.
If we want to get other countries to support the IMCR, then this needs to be the first thing we attend to, as even the best of campaigns such as your own are going to fail if our own people are, in effect, 'shooting us in the foot'.
I agree.
However, I think equally we should be cautious of accepting the anecdotal comments of a single contributor. As IO540 comments it seems hard to believe if there are this many bad eggs DGAC and the CAA would not have taken more action. I can only reiterate IO540s comments that a friend of mine (it really was him not me!) infringed a military zone in France and he received his letter from the CAA within the week!
What I do find baffeling is the attitude of the European commercial pilots association,
I also agree.
However, their only members that are probably even remotely familiar with the IMC rating is BALPA. I suspect the real issue is that no one has bothered to properly put across the case to each of their members for the IMC rating. If we can get the grass roots support of GA in the main member states behind the rating they will in turn persuade their representative organisations of the wisdom of this campaign.
This is as much about education as anything else, something which I dont think any of our representative organisations have even considered.
It is all very well to have a 5 minute say at some committee meeting but as Skydriller comments if no one is a member of AOPA in France you might just as well stand on the end of Dover pier and shout, hoping that you might be heard the other side of the Channel.
Precisely why I advocate referring to 'permitted' airspace for individual states to decide, rather than an universal one-size-fits-all decision imposed upon them!
I am not convinced.
EASA want harmonisation - and rightly so!
We dont fly across America having to worry about the regulations changing just becasue we cross a line drawn in the sand. No more should we in Europe otherwise EASA is a waste of space.
I would forget all the old ideas - I think EASA fully intend to sweep that all aside from my idscussions with them and rightly so as long as they have the support of pilots who know what they want and can prove the safety case.
IMC rating access to all classes, except class A, and anythong below FL110 is simple to understand and ensures the minimium of interaction between CAT and GA. Moreover, with cross border radar services and hand offs in many parts of Europe I cant believe it helps the zone services either.