The so-called 'AOPA statement' was in fact cut and pasted from an e-mail I sent to a fellow director - without my knowledge.
However, since it simply summarises the current situation, I'm not particularly bothered.
The reason I first drafted the FCL.600(b) amendment proposal is that it would
not be UK-specific. It would also enable other Member States to meet their national needs - for example, why should a Frenchman flying a French aircraft from one small French aerodrome to another be required to communicate in ICAO Level 6 English when flying IFR? Curiously, the EIR doesn't include such a requirement... Also, it would mean that gliderists could develop suitable ratings which would allow them to be towed up to cloudbase at high elevation aerodromes without the tug pilot needing to hold an IR or the glider pilot a SCR.
But it would also secure post-Apr 2014 initial issues of the IR(R) for those who have never held IMCR privileges, of course....
