ATCO's and GA, Deteriorating situation?

[BRL]

Have a look at this thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159699)
Here is the gist of it, the replys are interestng. The Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers (GATCO) are organising a Controller/Pilot Forum at the St George Hotel, Durham Tees Valley Airport (aka Teesside Airport) on the 8th March 2005.
The evening will start at 1930 and run until 2300. There will be light refreshments (free!!) and a bar. The topic will be the deteriorating relationship between controllers and GA pilots. All welcome, come along and have your say!


I had to start a new thread about this based on the response and hit count of the other thread. Hardly anybody looked at it, but it did bring up a good situation, hence this post.......

[SATCO Biggin]

Firstly I would consider the membership of GATCO, why they consider that there is a deteriorating relationship between controllers and GA pilots, and why it is bad enough to warrant such a meeting. I would suggest that most ATCO's working at GA airfields are not GATCO members and probably do not support the idea that things are getting worse.

Are there actually problems between ATC and GA pilots.......well I would table the point that I think the PPL training syllabus does not prepare GA pilots for interaction with ATC, it is taught 'on the wing' by instructors as an aside. Even those who fly mostly from grass fields in the middle of nowhere will eventually come across ATC.

Are things getting worse......no....but they are not getting any better, and I do not forsee that such a meeting will imporve things.

Much has been written in the past as to 'what pilots can do to help ATC' and 'what ATC can do to help pilots' but fundamentally the two groups will always sit on different sides of the fence. Trying to sit on the fencepost leads to piles of problems. :sad:

[Aim Far]

I'll make again the point I made on the other thread. With the odd exception, most ATCers will grant transits, provide services etc to GA. In many cases, they go well beyond what they are required to do.

In most cases, the reason they will refuse a service or whatever is due to the effect of a particular policy decision taken much higher up the food chain. Eg not funding LARS, setting Class A too low, not maintaining the radar heads, not building in any slack to the system etc.

So, IMHO, the issue is not a deteriorating relationship between GA and ATCOs but between the community (the ATCOs and the pilots) which have to apply the policy and the community (DAP, CAA, NATS, EASA, Treasury etc) who write the policy.

No harm in GATCO meeting up for a chinwag on the issue but I just hope the agenda is focused on the right problems.

[Mike Cross]

No deterioration at LHR or LATCC, try looking here (http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=10218&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=72) for comments from 16 Private Pilots who were very well treated during a visit on Wednesday. We had a great time and if any of those who looked after us read this, thanks again!:ok: