No Clive Wilson no longer provides any service at Lord Howe Island. I will quote from the front page of The Australian newspaper, June 13, 2015.

Quote:

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“Then, last year, CASA would not renew what is known as his CAR 120 licence, which allowed him to provide detailed weather observations to pilots in a more proactive fashion, unless he took at $20,000 meteorological training course.”

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A little later it says:

Quote:

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“Of aviation authorities’ efforts to smother Mr Wilson, Air Vice Marshal Evans said: “It is a great safety enhancement that isn’t part of the official safety environment so the bureaucracy tries to kill it.” An Airservices spokesman said Sir Angus was not available to comment.”

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Traffic. I introduced the Unicom as an important part of AMATS in1991.

It was to be non prescriptive. Just like the USA and Canada .

Very quickly CAA people said such a non prescriptive system could not be safe.

It's gone downhill since then. In the US unicoms give weather and traffic information with no limitations. They are fantastic.

And it's now 26 years later, and the only one who seems to care about Unicoms is you Dick.

Yes. Even after 15 were killed at Lockhart River where the groundsman had a radio but was not allowed to advise the aircrew that it was CAVOK to the east of the airport.

One day we will get North American type Unicoms. They are totally non prescriptive and work really well. The operator can give local WX and traffic . Fantastic

OK..now you are drawing a pretty long bow, Dick.

Dick you are the Donald Trump of Australian aviation. You just say outrageous things as though its the truth. Lockhart River was always an accident that was going to happen because of poor regulator oversight, no TAWs fitted and a PIC who had previously admitted to "shooting the hole" to get below cloud. Nowhere in that report does it state that the accident would not have occurred if a Unicom operator was at Lockhart River airport.:ugh:

Why is it that some of the Australian very wealthy, expect those not to work for free?

Certainly not me. The groundsman was already being paid. Same as the Firies at Ballina .

By not allowing US style Unicoms it's not as if we have lots of paid people performing the service . Most of our non twr airline airports have no Cagro or Unicom.

Because they're not needed! You just don't get it, Dick. You need to move on from the 1950's USA mindset of friendly FBOs and follow-me girls.

Make that practically all.
But I'll bet that all those airlines have a company frequency that they use to communicate company info and maybe local conditions on. They just won't sit there all day doing it for everyone else, because it's NOT THEIR BUSINESS!

Yair. Whatever we do make sure we don't copy the best from other countries. Those Unicoms that all US and Canadian airports have giving traffic and weather are not needed here. Our pilots are just that much better,!

UNICOMs can be approved without any training or qualification of the operators except for a radio operator certificate.

Ive run one, also flown into some very good ones but also seen some real shockers. Such as a certain SW airport where the ground operator thought he had some ATC authority and directed a GA aircraft to hold to the south to let a larger RPT or charter in.

Or another one who used to like to use the term "clear to land".

then another operator who didn't understand how to interpret a windsock and gave a pilot completely wrong information about which rwy the wind was favouring.

Yp. Good points. It's our Unicom operators that are incompetent compared to Unicom
Operators in the USA and Canada.

We will have to stick with the requirement that any operator who dares give WX or traffic info must have held an ATC or FS licence and gets paid I mint to provide the service .

Aussies are clearly inferior.

Did you mean superior Dick? Because what I've always known is what an Australian doesn't know about aviation, isn't worth knowing. Clearly world leaders in everything aviation :ok:

Interesting Dick how you tell blatant mistruths to the uninformed to try and push your point. The FAA regs clearly forbid your fantastic USA Unicoms from giving traffic information. They are allowed to do basically what a Unicom in Australia can do and no more.


I still remember very clearly when you spoke in the Hilton ballroom and talked about "Affordable Safety" and "Full cost recovery" and how the industry would have to pay.


Now you make out like it is someone else's doing and responsibility. Dick, you directly started the ball rolling on the demise of GA and services to the aviation industry. Step up be a man and take it on the chin instead of the crap you pedal on these forums.

It is worth noting the US is toying with the idea of privatising their ATC services. Interesting times ahead! I am not familiar with the level of charging for RPT service (or, even if there is any...or, how it is levied now) but will be very interested in this outcome.

By the way...Renegade:ok::ok:

And Dick, at the BBQ who held for Sydney ATC one of the wife's of a controller asked you some pointed questions about affordable safety which you struggled to answer. Afterwards you came up to her to ask "why did you give me such a hard time".

Dick! Is this true?

Renegade154, I can see why you post anonymously. You simply don’t have the guts to put your real name behind what you are actually saying.

I can assure everyone that the myth propagated for over 20 years that you can’t give traffic information in the USA is just that – a myth.

Have a look at the US Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) under ‘UNICOM Communications Procedures’:

While the FAA procedures are non-prescriptive, traffic information can be given – and is given all the time.

I find it amazing that people can keep anonymously posting disinformation to stop us from copying the best in the world.