I flew past Elstree on Sunday and was pleasantly surprised by how polite and normal they sounded. I hope that a new leaf has been turned!
I had just visited Denham who were absolutely fantastic in accomodating to my requests and needs. I believe that the chap on duty is a Northolt TWR fella and was a model of professionalism - thanks boss.
AFISOs do have 'control' on the ground but like any other controller they do not have the power to 'prevent flight'. I am absolutely sure that coordination of landing and departing traffic is outwith of their technical remit but it is a really vague point. Can anybody clear this point up? Surely unless there is a clear and immediate danger of collision the phrase should be "At your discretion"?
I know that I am verging on a rant but I find the AFISO/Controller/AG thing very confusing and almost impossible to teach to students. I think that we should be moving towards abolishing AFISOs and their half and half responsibilities and be making it easier/cheaper to train a basic Tower Controller. That way we have two very distinct systems: A/G (or even a UNICOM-style system) "it's your own responsibility" and Tower "You are in a coordinated system".
The current system is absolutely mental and is open to all sorts of interpretations by more zealous AFISOs. Proper TWRs or nothing I say! I wish AOPA would lobby the CAA on some real issues.