1. The TAF's and Metar's. I get it - they have to be abbreviated to able to send over telex. Problem is the telex died, what, 30 years ago? Why on earth are we still reading an incomprehensible abbreviated piece of text?
International standard. One can read the format pretty easily (with practice) and since aviation is driven primarily by airlines (pilots who do this all day), the pressure for change is nil.
2. Why aren't TAF's and Metar's combined? Give me the actual weather and the forecast. All in one. Madness having to look in two different places.
As above.
3. And IF you're going to use a standard, please make it a standard across the board. It's nuts to have different TAF and Metar values depending on region (one more reason to write it out in plain English - so as to avoid confusions). The US and European TAF's and Metar's are significantly different.
True, but again the only people who are routinely exposed to both, and who have any say, are airline pilots, and they are not bothered.... so no pressure to change.
4. You're busy approaching an airport for landing. You have to comply with ATC and spot 5 different other aircraft whilst reading a checklist and a map, at night, all at once. Would it kill the manufacturers to have a toggle that had different settings for Taxi, Climb, Approach, Landing? That way you could just turn a knob to Landing, and the landing light and gear would come out/on. Done deal. When you've landed switch to Taxi and the taxi light comes on etc. Why have a million checkpoints on a list, when one button could accomplish all of it?
Not sure how that could be implemented without some complexity, and aviation design is rarely done by the sharpest knives in the drawer
BTW you don't read a map at night (nothing to see; it is IFR)
5. Why can't I get weather beamed to me in Europe to some device in the aircraft? I can get it on my Iphone, but not to my aircraft?
Some 99% of private pilots are VFR-only, doing £100 burger runs, and they don't need it. The UK ones are mostly so tight you could not get a tightly rolled up fiver up their back end so they would not pay for it.
But you can get it e.g.
this. It just costs a huge pile of money, and (because in Europe the Met Offices have set up a cartel to
sell their prime data even if produced with taxpayer money) the data is much less extensive and much more expensive than in the USA. And because Europe does not have the market for a satellite channel (supposedly) it is done via the very expensive Iridium satphone network.
I have satellite data in my plane (tafs/metars currently) for long flights, using a Thuraya satphone but it isn't a neat integrated system.
It's technically feasible but back to my comment about tightly rolled up fivers
6. Notams pertaining to your route into the aircraft? Forget it.
It's on a
website. Narrow Route Briefing.
The fact that nearly all notams are irrelevant garbage (because they are so easy to squirt out) is another matter...
7. If you take your FAA PPL in a multi engine, you're not allowed to fly single engine aircraft. WTF? At least JAA has got that one right.
Really?
8. Bigger fuel tanks. Yeah, so I get it - if I want to fly around 6 relatives all the time then I can't fill the tank up. But when I'm alone, have starved myself to a strand for 30 days and fly naked, I'd like to be able to fly a little bit longer than 450NM. Carrying empty tanks full of air doesn't cost anything.
I agree a lot of tanks could be bigger. My TB20 (86USG) could carry at least 100-120USG simply by moving the bulkheads which form the outer tank limits further out. I guess the mfg decided to put a limit on the spar stress...
9. Which way again? Would it kill the publishers of all the worlds VFR and IFR approach/airport plates to print the RWY pattern visually? I don't want to have to read my way through half a page of miniscule font in a shaking plane just to find out that Rwy 21 has a right hand pattern and that so-and-so nimby little village mustn't be overflown...
Yeah, VFR = very frequently random
10. Why on earth can't I carrier wave open the landing lights at most European airports? Would they rather I ditch in the sea in darkness than use their precious facilities after they've gone home at 5pm?
Yes. It's called Proper Airmanship
I have no idea why it's banned here; really stupid.
However, I could think of bigger things to moan about...
PPR
PNR
PPR for Customs
PNR for Customs
etc
Airports not replying to communications (crap management)
Limited airport opening hours (= lack of GA utility).
Lack of hangarage at most airports (discourages the basing of a half decent plane there).
Hardly any GA airports have instrument approaches.
Mandatory ATC for an instrument approach (UK) ensuring GPS approaches are never likely to have much relevance because most ATC airports already have a conventional IAP.
and other stuff like that. In comparison, obscure TAF formats are a non-issue, IMHO.