Winco - my reply will be something of a double-edged sword, i know but...
i agree with you in a sense, but in another i completely disagree.
i think it perfectly acceptable and quite correct that no 'official' response is EVER given here, or other similar fora - quite simply, it would set a precedent; once you are prepared to answer one question, you are compelled to answer ALL.
whilst not wishing to sound at all condescending to ANY PPruNers, there are often some very daft questions and issues raised on here which really don't warrant an answer! i appreciate that there are those who are privy to some information and those that aren't, but all too often an issue is raised on here (and elsewhere) that has been well documented before, is already publicly known, or has been answered many many times before.
examples are, "why can't the HLF give more money?" - "why can't VTS charge for cockpit tours?" - "why can't 558 be repainted in Red Bull colours?" and such like. certainly some of these ARE valid questions, but i personally would not like to see MY money being spent on the salary of someone paid to trawl through websites, answering such repeated questions on a daily basis!
of course that's all well and good if you DO answer questions/issues
in the proper place! this is where i DO agree with you Winco.
VTS has its own website, with a forum that is itself a mine of information. what VTS management have consistently failed to appreciate is that their website (particularly the homepage) has been woefully under-utilised.
considering that First Flight back in October 2007 was THE ONE SINGLE day that we'd all been working toward for over fifteen years, it was absolutely UNFORGIVABLE that the homepage remained completely unchanged for seven weeks!!!
very many of us begged and pleaded with VTS to have regular weekly updates on the homepage - i even offered to do the editorial myself, but was declined! i recall even speaking to Rusty at the time - she couldn't understand why so many people on Prune and elsewhere were moaning about this that and the other - why weren't they happy that 558 was flying again??!!??
i tried pointing out to her that, if VTS regularly updated people, on their own website, then people would have nothing to moan about!! she just couldn't see it I'm afraid.
I've also been told by several people that Dr. Pleming "doesn't do the internet" - well that's his prerogative of course, but when you're a CEO of a £7m organisation, you should realise your own limitations; if you don't understand a certain facet of a commercial operation, then employ someone who does!
luckily though, since Rusty's departure, Michael Trotter completely and utterly 'gets it' - he certainly does understand every concept and issue that we have ALL been banging on and on and on about for a very very VERY long time - THANK GOD!
I'm sure it doesn't take Einstein to figure out that this is the biggest and most important of all the changes that have occurred recently, and that i have been asked to detail on here. it might only be one solitary change, but the fact that VTS never used to 'get it' and now they do, is all-encompassing!
this was proved (as always) to me the other evening - i identified an important issue missing from the website homepage, discussed it briefly with Flying Signman, and emailed Michael Trotter about it straight away. within the hour i had a reply, "Point taken, i have circulated your email and it will be amended by first thing tomorrow morning."
it was!
in conclusion Winco, this 'communications' issue is one that Flying Signman and i have been discussing recently; other than Club newsletters and the website, how else can VTS give regular and topical information to 558's followers? with the exception of the website issue that I've just described, i can't really 'blame' VTS - what other communication channels are available to them?
there are many without internet access (an issue appreciated whilst speaking to many supporters with our current telephone campaign) - just how can we keep them regularly informed? this doesn't only apply to the bad tidings, but also the good - like airshow schedules etc.
i can assure you Winco that this is being discussed as i type - there are some good ideas which need further investigation. yes, it should have been discussed and put in place a long long time ago - but it wasn't.
i cannot stress enough that these changes HAVE taken effect already - and thank god they have!
sm