Posts #14 & 15.
The two posts above are an interesting view to risk management in that they seem to view any precautions as an over reaction to that amount of risk that light aviation presents.
Some of what has been said is true, if all your flying is good weather day VFR over populated areas than as I said in my post above that only bit of safety equipment that you need is a mobile phone. To treat an aircraft in the same way as a car in terms of safety equipment is wholly wrong if you intend to go any distance when the weather might turn bad. Unlike a car that sticks to a well worn line of communication aircraft are most likely to be forced to land away from the beaten tracks of normal human communication and so some form of self help may be required.
It is not inconceivable that in the event of a forced landing in winter the emergency services could take three to four hours to find you if you have the misfortune to come down on the Welsh or Scottish mountains so some sort protection from hypothermia is required to stay alive.
As I said in the first post on the subject the equipment that you carry should be based on the risks of the flight and the conditions that are expected on the day, not on an emotional response that the likes of me and most of those who have posted above are doom and gloom types who see disaster around each corner, I except the risks of light aviation and choose to manage them rather than ignore them.
The chances are that all of my safety kit will never be used just as the chances are that the guys who wrote posts #14 & 15 will never be involved in an accident but should the worst happen the chances are I will survive and they will not.
Last edited by A and C; 10th Jul 2013 at 09:32.