Holloway, having spent time in Lydd Tower, wrote:
Anyway, I thought Lydd is only A/G
I guess this post illustrates the point perfectly. Lydd's radios are normally manned by a qualified FISO - operating under the callsign Lydd Information. Very occasionally, they are manned by an "unqualified" operator and use the callsign Lydd Radio.
These two callsigns imply two fundamentally different levels of service, and should provoke two different kinds of behaviours on the part of pilots operating in and around the airfield.
Neither of these are the same as having a qualified Controller in the Tower.
Confusion on the part, not only of student pilots, but also of long-in-the-tooth types who should know better, lies at the heart of this problem - not just the empire-grabbing behaviour of some of the A/G operators.