How to minimise risk in Class G airspace? Fundamentally, I think that it is up to each individual pilot to decide what level of risk his flight entails and whether he accepts that risk based on the equippage of his aircraft/glider/microlight and if he decides to make use of RIS/RAS/FIS, whetehr operating IFR or VFR, IMC or VMC. If a pilot believes that see and be seen is sufficient for him as anindividual then OK. However, I also consider that we all have some responsibility to other airspace users that expensive technology is not going to resolve. Systems such as FLARM, TCAS etc may be useful to a community that decides to voluntarily adopt them, but do not meet the responsibility we should all have to the total airspace user community. The user community most at risk who have no individual responsibility would seem to be the fare paying passengers flying into places like Humberside, Inverness etc which are outside the normal controlled airspace structure. More CAS should not be the answer.
My proposal would be that all airports involved in commercial operations that are outside CAS would be required as part of their licence to have primary radar and NATS en-route would be mandated to provide primary coverage linking the airport cover to the controlled airspace system. Then instead of mandatory transponder equippage the CAA should mandate that all air vehicles should have a minimum radar cross section such that they can be seen on primary radar. This may require the fitting of reflectors etc onto gliders, microlights but in my opinion ought to be a low-cost, low-technology, no-power solution. This will provide a guaranteed surveillance environment such that ATC can provide active separation to those aircraft that require it, whilst other users are free to operate as they wish. Who pays? Equipping aircraft etc the owner, operator. For the ATC services - the commercial operators who gain the benefit from reduced risk. As a result we can all operate exactly as we do now, accepting wahtever level of risk we wish, but have the knowledge that we have allowed other airspace users to reduce their risk by use of a third party - ATC - where they feel it is appropriate.