I base the assertation on the FACT that UK has some of the most dense traffic in the world
I couldn't possibly comment, not being privy to the statistics you quote, but even so a causal link would not follow in any possible way.
I was clearly pointing out that just because flying around Jerez is piss easy, why would that make it 'better' than the UK?
Hmm... ExcelXLS main assertion was that it was a 'lovely' flight (having flown in the area I'm led to believe that), he also said that receiving what in the UK is known as a RAS (FIS for the rest of us) makes it 'easier' (hard to argue with that, I would think). Lastly he said such a flight 'Beats anything in the UK'. While not explicitly stated, I took that to mean that being somewhere different to your local area, up there at FL100 nearly mixing up with the big boys, and receiving the same level of attention from ATC as they get, he felt it to be a more enjoyable experience (perhaps dare I say, more relevant to a CPL candidate) than bimbling about at 3000ft steering clear of CAS between two minor airfields in Britain. I might be completely wrong about this, of course, I'm just subjectively interpreting his words.
I would agree that flying VFR in the UK would be interesting if you could routinely ask (and be granted) transit through the likes of Heathrow or Gatwick, if you routinely landed at big international airports where taxiing to your parking area tests your navigation skills more than getting to the airfield in the first place (and GPS usually doesn't help there), or if the level of service you received, in the air and on the ground, was comparable to that the big guys get.
But IME, that is not the norm over there, and the VFR flying I've seen and experienced there was, quite frankly, dull. Watching out for other traffic and making sure I don't enter CAS without a clearance gives me as much of a buzz as staying in lane and not bumping with the car in front while driving, you see? Don't know... I'm sure there's more to it than I've experienced
May I ask, just what kind of VFR (or otherwise) experience have you got outside the British Isles (or inside, if you prefer)? Only reason I'm asking is because I can't quite understand where you might be coming from, with such a disparaging reply to what, it seemed to me, was essentially an interesting suggestion from ExcelXLS.
Simon150,
Could anybody answer the previous question as to whether 3 landaways (i.e. 4 airfields in total) count
Sorry, don't know where to look for a quote other than LASORS, but may I suggest, phone the CAA and ask them directly (Ok, a little bit late now, do they work Saturdays?
) [FWIW, I too think it counts]