APEC AELW R902 - Insanity or are we just plain scared?
 

There is an AIP SUP available from the airservices web site that describes the restrictions on Sydney airspace for a period from 30th August to 10 September. Unreal. I thought I was reading a document written by the Kremlin in Cold War Russia. As a pilot, I feel my Australian rights have been subsumed by a force residing in the White House, thousands of miles away. Why 10 days? Why not the 2 or 3 days when "Mr Simple" is in town? Why write a paper that is so anti civil aviation? I understand if they have to impose HIDACZ, but why irate the tax payers that fly outside this area?

Then, I read in the papers that 3 train stations will be shut, cell phone jammers will be used in parts of the CBD? Snipers will be posted on buildings. Have the lunatics really taken over the asylum? Hmmm, and I used to think we live in the Lucky Country. May I propose Poeppel's Corner for the next APEC conference?

This has been covered before, but I think it's important that your rant be acknowledged and agreed with. Otherwise, it looks like no-one cares.

If I had a bunch of "APEC Go Home" buttons and distributed them, do you think any significant number of Sydneysiders would wear them during the conference? It's a realistic mode of protest.

Thanks Crosshair.

I am prepared to back up my rant by a substantial donation for your buttons if you can PM or post here the details of how they can be distributed.

Isn't it the ultimate irony that we are prepared to destroy our democracy and aviation freedoms in order to save it?

Thanks for that.

Who else is willing to participate? Who's willing to take a consignment of buttons and distribute them at their place of work?

A mode of protest that might be more likely to get on the news would be to have a series of GA aircraft launch from somewhere outside the Circle of Doom and approach it en masse, diverting just before entry into the prohibited area. Not illegal, not too dangerous, and would get more attention.

Or perhaps constantly circle it for 3 days!:ok:

PS: How much for 50 buttons?

It sounds more like a "circle of stupidity" that someone has drawn up. Why just 45 miles? Why not go whole hog and go 500 miles or more? I am sure "security" can justify anything. Our tax payer funded F-18 pilots can really have some fun with a larger area to patrol at the expense of our GA pilots. Our Seasprite helos (oh, I forgot, another $1bn wasted with no one being accountable) can also get into the act. And why just 28,000 feet? A hijacked B-52 can drop from 40,000 feet. I worry sometimes about some public servants drawing up these aviation restrictions that just don't serve the interest of the tax paying public.

From a 45 mile radius they would have to be damned good to do anything about a "stray", at least from a 500 mile zone they have more time to detect, investigate and shoot to kill.

45 miles is a w@nk!

But it makes some of them fell all warm and fuzzy.

I mean really, there is a greater chance of one of our F18 pilots being a bit trigger happy or extremist than most of the GA flyers.......but hey, some managed to fly Boeings into buildings.....so who knows!

they should have held this in Woomera:}

SQ

The only problem with Crosshair's idea is that there isn't any airport in the Sydney basin that isn't in the Circle of Doom!!

Good point. Didn't our military lose 6 rocket launchers? Didn't the AG office's military audit showed $9bn in missing assets?

Good point!:eek:

i was being a little cheeky, but when you think about it, armed F18's buzzing around, you wanna hope they don't lose one overhead:uhoh:

SQ:E

According to flight safety if not preregistered by 22 JUNE will not be able to fly in the basin on the 10th SEPTEMBER. 10 weeks advance notification - what a :mad: joke. Are the getting a police check done on the aircraft or something?:rolleyes:

OK for the airlines and Sydney based operators - but what about out of town operators?

The terrorists have won.:(

Here's what it all boils down to. Our top officials at CASA and ASA who are on multi hundred thousand salaries are more concerned about how much they ought to top up their Super in the next few days or protecting their lucrative packages than speaking up and protecting our aviation rights.

CASA needs one more charter into its incorporation. And that is that they are there for Safety AND to promote GA in Australia. Then incentivise these multi hundred thousand dollar packages with Key Performance Indexes for success when the fleet gets bigger, more hours are flown, etc.

The Aviation Minister needs to learn one new word in his vocabulary - "Accountability". Whilst his ego is being stroked by that corporate jet with both engines idling on the apron in Taree waiting up to an hour or more for him (2 pilots and 2 air stewardesses twiddling their thumbs), he ought to think about how he can protect our aviation freedoms.

I think as pilots, our next challenge is how do we hold our officials and Aviation minister accountable? As James Hacker will say, "And that Humphrey, is the problem with the Civil Service..."

Sorry everyone, I've been on tour for a couple of days. I'll see what buttons and stickers cost.

Have to deal with this every week in the US!!

Hmmmm....Buttons.....
 

Hey 'Crosshair'....

Sorry mate, buttons not allowed to be worn in said area due to that little sharp pointy thing where it is affixed to clothing....might be able to be used as a 'weapon' you know, & stab some visiting 'foreign dignitary'......:}

No biggie.

Just use stickers instead...

No one has yet raised the issue that there will be a couple of F/A18s circling on combat air patrol continuously above SY at incredible cost just waiting to shoot down a highjacked aircraft to stop the terrorists from crashing into the city -

It hasn't happened of course since 2001 - 6 years ago and then only once but -

Oh - we shot it down and it crashed into the city - and killed all on board and xxx on the ground - doesn't matter THEY didn't get away with it.

Um - back to the drawing board.

:\

Okay, I have a sticker quote.

This is from a True Blue Aussie manufacturer.

Completely insane, really: AUD 0.40 each for 1000 stickers (45 mm diameter circles, multicoloured print).

I'm going to ring my (true blue Aussie) mate in China now and see what he can do.

I will also donate for the cause.

AIP SUPP authors - pl listen Green Day's Hit (American Idiot). Imp msg.
 

Except of course, we are not the 51st state of the US of A. Yes, yes, I know, they're our national role model like, we're in Iraq, went to Vietnam, AWB behaves like Halliburton, we support the illegal military commissions at Gitmo, etc, but we are a sovereign nation.... at least that's what I tell my kids.

Here's a suggestion for the asinine authors of this AIP SUP. As they know, holders of ASIC cards go through very thourough security checks. Why not make pilots with ASICs, phone in their request, read out their details, file a flight plan and then allow the flight to proceed. Grounding the GA fleet by that Kremlin era AIP SUP, would be like restricting the movements of every soldier in the army for the loss of those 6 rocket launchers.

ADF staff, believe me, what you are enforcing is dumb and an over-reaction. I am a tax paying civilian with an aircraft and I am telling you that for a fact. Just like building airport fences at Thargomindah, Oodnadatta, Narrabri and Birdsville. It might make you feel good but it is dumb and costly.