What I'm still missing is a legal reference, applicable to JAA (or UK CAA) flight under Instrument Rules, that would disqualify putting Lydd as an alternate, or make it a "fail item" on a check ride. I have not seen this and it probably doesn't exist.
It seems to me that most (all?) of the topics discussed are legitimate items of feedback.
- you mustn't arrive late for a check ride appointment
- you'd better give more plausible scientific explanations when you make a statement about an action necessary for safety reasons (such as claiming that wind can blow back stones or debris back into a propellor)
- you must be capable of properly debriefing a candidate, so that regardless of the result, he walks away with a worthwile learning experience
- especially if you are operating regularly as a check pilot or an examiner in the area, you need to familiarize yourself with the training operation so that you know what you can expect from a candidate.
would also be legitimate items of feed back about this particular event.
Even the debriefing item
- call "localiser established" not just when within half-scale deflection on intercept, but also having rolled out and stabilised on the inbound heading
which I have been taught to do appears not to be a legally challengeable issue, as pointed out accurately by Billiebob. Indeed, the ICAO definition of "localiser established" appears to be a half-scale deflection and just that (at least in the context of a VOR or ILS). A proper check pilot or examiner would have told Peter : "Legally speaking you're in the clear, but I would seriously recommend you to wait with the call until you're stabilized on the inbound heading".
Overarching here is a false sense of superiority of - especially UK CAA - JAA instructors and examiners. As a result, they focus on trivialities like whether a gyro is spinning to the right or to the left, and forget about the essence and practicalities of safe private operation. While apparently innocent, this chip on their shoulder has stood in the way of many a proper and useful European Aviation integration project and has contributed to skyrocketing cost inefficiencies in the European Aviation scene. Believe me, it is frustrating to witness this from abroad.
But a lot of you don't care, because you make a (poor) living out of these cost inefficiencies.
The PPL/IR quote is quite telling. Referring to beginning IR students as "cadets".
Next thing we have to wear eagles with swastika's ?