1. Students who don't show up;
2. Students who show up late;
3. Students who are not-prepared (didn't read up on exercise/no equipment etc);
4. Spanish ATC who let aircraft in ahead of you - as long as they are Iberia and in the Northern Hemisphere;
5. French ATC who let every Air France aircraft take-off ahead of you, provided they have their engines running;
6. The stewardesses who ran a poll for 'sexiest pilot in the airline' and when asked told me I wasn't even on the list!;
7. Refuellers who think the World revolves around them;
8. Trial lesson candidates who don't tell you they feel unwell until they splurt it all out;
9. BA strikers - especially when the country is in recession, airlines are on their knees and vast numbers of people out of work why should they complain about their already preferential terms and conditions? (I don't like to criticise but it all seems very badly considered); and finally
10. Security procedures and personnel (how do you permanently remove someone's sense of humour - and be consistently good at it everywhere in the World?!)

KR

FOK

Well, I'm going to buck the trend and say 'none'.

I have always felt privileged to be able to fly, and recognise how fragile (financial, medical, etc) that privilege is. I've never quite been able to get over the fact that every time I line up I'm being 'allowed' to commit aviation.

A cantankerous and sometimes cruel mistress but never an annoying one:ok:

They exist but cost a lot of money. For less, you can install a fuel totaliser (flowmeter) e.g. Shadin or JPI and forget the gauges...

GA aircraft electrics are not yet at the 1972 Vauxhall Viva stage, for the most part.

You are not wrong ;)

Mind you, today I did some ILS receiver testing... very satisfying to compare the tracking with a GPS in the OBS mode, set to 0.3nm FSD :)
Or faxes, or they hang up when they hear you speak English. Or airports whose published GA contact # is the passenger flight hotline ....

TBH, emails are not the method of choice for reliable comms anyway. The majority of published emails don't work for businesses generally, not just airports.

people who claim to have flown everything

people who claim to be qualified flying instructors but actually are CRI's

people who claim to run legitimate AOC charters

People who claim to have a professional licence ( CPL or ATPL)

People who lie about there total hours experience

people who spend too much time on these forums and dont actually fly very much

:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O

Anyone involved in aviation who doesn't know how to spell the name of the building that aircraft are kept or maintained in. :(

Well, for me it's quite a high workload. I've not flown at night much before and the ATC and various Bravo airspaces with different floors around this area certainly keeps me on my toes.

But when they come in from Malibu/Palisades or North West, they fly a right hand circuit to rwy 21 as advised by the TWR. That's what happened the other night - multiple aircraft coming from NW joining a right hand downwind, whilst we came from the mini-route above KLAX and joined the lefthand circuit. I'd never encountered this before and it was hard to spot all of them whilst doing all the other stuff.

10 things....?
 

Sorry, I wouldn't know when to stop...:}

Another thing I grow somewhat tired of is the inevitable comparisons, nay cliches, mostly from non-aviation folks, drawn from a certain Hollywood movie of 1980s vintage about a group of US Navy pilots. Many references when talking about anything/anyone aviation-related are made to said film and its prat actor, fancy sunglasses, flying jackets with badges all over, chatting up females, pratting about on motorbikes and F-14s etc. The sound track was decent but that's about it :rolleyes:

There again like most things in life I just laugh them off. Hope I didn't come across as being some cantankerous git in my previous (flippant) post :)

Aviation is great. Some minor irritances, mostly from outside quarters, but great nonetheless.

Smithy

• People who suggest "the 10 best/worst things" lists.
• Student pilots who slag off the CAA 'cos it's trendy and makes you sound like one of the guys. Get some experience first.
• Student pilots who get their licenses and then have to buy a set of Raybans, a square box pilot case and a headset "to look like a pilot".
• Pilots who can't navigate and expect a GPS to do it for them.
• CRIs who think they know everything, but who couldnt quite make FI.
• Panshanger.
• Retired pilots who insist on calling themselves "Captain"
• Baby Instructors with 300hrs who wear epaulettes and captains bars. Also Flying schools who insist on it..
• Pilots who havent got a clue about propwash and it's effects at a crowded parking area.
• Guardian reading NIMBYs who move next door to an airfield and then expect it to close "because it's against our human rights" !
• People who waste time and sound like a miserable git completing lists like this

:E

My life in aviation is amazing. I spend my days listing the things that make flying, and it's people great.

I count on appreciating those aviators who try to avoid fulfilling Chuffer's list!

As my Dad used to say, "There's no bad beer. Only beer and good beer".
Same applies to aviation. :)

1. The cost.
2. The dire state of the 1960s fleet of GA training aircraft.
3. The cost.
4. The CAA.
5. The cost.
6. The British weather.
7. The cost.
8. Flying club coffee.
9 The cost.
10. The resident flying club expert who has to regail you of his anecdotes and advice without bothering to find out who you are or what experience you have. All clubs have one and you can usually spot him because he's wearing a flying jacket with badges of aircraft of which he has never flown.

I think what you mean is that sex is like a pizza: even when it's bad, it's still very very good :)

Oh, I dunno. Ever had a Tesco pizza? :}

Sorry, was on a roll and just couldn't stop...:ok:

1. The moment of advancing the throttle(s) as you begin t/o
2. Braking out of the clouds just at minimums and seeing the rwy in front of you
3. When a student finally learns shomething after doing it wrong for a million times
4. Flying a single engine piston in uncontrolled airspace on a beautiful summer evening
5. The smell of JetA/100LL
6. The camaradery among pilots
7. Pulling 6G
8. Taking someone up for the first time and seeing them smile and remembeing that what is normal and everyday to you is still special for most.
9. The rush of performing a very complicated task at the very edge of your capability and getting it right.
10. The view

Rubbish...hate it, everything about it...:}

Yeah Northrider, you've got it...

I'd like to add:

Having to slightly roll the ailerons during a landing, to see if you're on the runway, 'cause you cold not feel yourself touch,

Feeling the slight acceleration as the second float comes out of the water during a glassy water takeoff,

Doing a helicopter toe in landing in a rocky mountian river confined area, so small that after you flew over it the first time, you lost it,

Having the tower controller ask you if the plane you just landed is STOL equipped, when it's not,

Finally getting the gear down after an hour of flying around with a landing gear failure,

Finding a lost boater in the middle of the lake at night, and leading rescue teams to them,

I could go on.... even past 11!

Some good suggestions you bring up.

The thing that annoys me overall is just how dated most things to do with flying are. Similar to your comments about telex and tafs etc

I also like your idea of different modes for landing/cruise/takeoff etc

;)

PilotDAR is right that there are many joys in flying, which no doubt is why we hang in there despite all the crap we European have to put up with.

However I think it is useful (in a perverse kind of way) to focus on the crap with a view to developing procedures to minimise its effects, for that makes flying (especially going places) a lot easier.

I actually think EASAs JAR, when fully implemented, could clarify and be beneficial to European aviation. Most of the problems today stem from differences between the Euro countries (but under the veil of JAR). Once one rule fits all, then everything will become a lot clearer. Even if that means that maybe a loved national rating or procedure falls by the wayside.

Flying is great and wonderful. It's just the crap around it that sometimes gets you down.