Pace...
Why the rules should be determined by the BGA an organisation that has its own interests at heart and not all of us puzzles me.
Ask the CAA or EASA or whoever
However, the CAA (EASA?) still have oversight, so if the BGA do somehting barking mad, I am sure they will be overruled
The CAA should be the regulatory authority which should lay out regulations to protect us all in an even handed way.
They do... they just delegate some/all to the BGA, LAA, BMAA or whatever...
Realistically if you are flying solid IMC and ask for radar and when asked to squak say you do not have a transponder you will get raised eyebrows.
There can be very few aircraft who fly solid IMC and are irresponsable enough to do so without a transponder.
You are now moving from the "rules" to what is typical / sensible in your opinion
Please can you confirm (I may be wrong?) that:
- Under the BGA rules, which upset you so much, a glider can fly IMC without a Xpdr and without talking to a radar service.
- Under the CAA/EASA rules, a powered aircraft can fly IMC without a Xpdr and without talking to a radar service.
This whole thread started because of a tragic collision between two aircraft one a complex twin and the other a light aircraft.
The question was where are the risks and how can those risks be minimised.
Disagree... This thread was started to deliberately move away from Coventry, which is under AAIB investigation, and there should be no speculation / conclusions until the AAIB report or AAIB issue earlier recommendaitons. IMHO
But IMC is a different matter because the idea of keeping a good lookout becomes irrelevant and hence I personally would have regulations which stipulate a transponder for all IMC flight and basic IMC flight training for those who enter IMC conditions.
OK - and I trust you expressed in detail those opinions to the CAA consulation which finished in May? But please bear in mind you are criticising the glider community for something which solely contradicts your opinions, and which I believe is actually allowable by powered aircraft. What part of IMC training is relevant to collision avoidance? And would be applicable to the glider pilot over and above whatever training the BGA enforce?
I have learnt a lot from this thread, and it's predecessor
But knee jerk reactions and finger pointing do not work IMHO. "We", parts of the GA community have fought off compulsory Xpdrs for some time, using risk v cost arguments, and who pays v who benefits. It will take some convincing evidence to reverse all that
NoD