keri

Long time lurker here (PPL and former military Air Eng). The reason that I'm a lurker is that I am mostly unqualified to comment. Some scrutiny of posters' qualifications would be good as long as you still allowed the likes of myself to view the posts.

Sneezy24

SLF here, but a keen interest in all things aviation. Years ago I worked in military avionics, but escaped into IT!
I got 14 hours towards PPL (back in the 70s) and was told I was ready for solo. Unfortunately I had just bought a house so flying had to stop.
My flying is now done on a PC with FS2020 (still can't get to grips with helicopters!)

I find most of the posts interesting and some informative, so please do not exclude enthusiasts.

I'm not how how policing people as 'Airmen' or 'Aviation industry' would reliably work.

Just my thoughts, feel free to agree/disagree.

Repos

Like other non aviation professionals here I enjoy reading the collective wisdom on things that interest me and keep contributions mainly to JB.
I think there is another benefit to having non-pros here because we are effectively 'friends' of the industry and have a greater understanding of how it works so probably act as part time ambassadors.
Numerous times I have given 'advice' to friends or family who have complained about prices/routes/times/lack of flights, and politely asked what did they expect if they were paying £50 to travel 800 miles in 2024!
OK maybe 'Cheapskate' wasn't that polite. I've also corrected people who think that anyone in aviation is "highly paid and gets load of freebies"
On a more serious note I think other industries have a lot to learn from aviation in terms of Safety, CRM, checklists so I take broader lessons from my reading here and appreciate being included.

B2N2

A gentle reminder to all the SkyGods, every single one of us has been SLF, wannabe and lowly trainee…..so if we could dial down the intolerance a little bit.

Skeleton

The same tired old argument that this site has defended itself against on many occasions over the years.
This is a rumour site, always has been, and hopefully will stay that way.
You want a exclusive site for the drivers up the front, so you don't have to scroll past the comments from posters you deem unfit to be allowed to comment, here is an idea, go set one up yourself but I doubt the vast majority of the drivers who fly with you agree because this complaint about the great unwashed being allowed access is dismissed by the vast majority of them every time someone complains about a non driver voicing an opinion.
Pprune has been around for years, try replacing it if you want exclusive content instead of belly aching about those you have deemed unworthy of holding an opinion on a rumour network.

safetypee

T28 your #76 Tongue in cheek ?
If not,

Greater numbers of participants in a commercial site equates to revenue; advertisers like it.
Originally this was not the objective of Pprune.
Nowadays, whilst some of the old objectives are still met, there is a limit to how much people will be prepared to contribute - their time, their data, in return for knowledge or advancing the profession.

Too much pressure, social freedom or commerce will change the demographics - so too the type and manner of advertising.
There is a fine line to be judged; a larger site, social clutter, forced advertising, etc, could tip the commercial balance. So too the forums valued reputation, which if lost would be detrimental to professional improvement, knowledge and commerce.

Reputation, in part, depends on the difficult task of moderation; a tighter ship could alleviate some of the professional concerns. Moderation is subject to individual viewpoint, however it can be adjusted with small experiment, judged and quickly reversed with low risk to reputation if the benefits are not achieved.

Alternatively, major changes such as forced registration and advertising, validation, etc, could seriously change the commercial viability; like reputation hard to regain once lost. Also, a reminder that there are increasing numbers of alternative aviation sites who's value is improving based on the Pprune example.

Small changes in format could help; limiting, 'pruning', lengthy / repeated quotes of posts and external references, enhancing the likes / dislikes, insightful comments, etc, (e.g. LinkedIn).
Explanation; self-satisfiers, tolls, etc, avoid the 'dislikes' and factual evidence.

Moderation with public explanation could satisfy aggrieved professionals, where jointly, leading by example might deter some irrelevant views; not overlooking that the value in learning, which involves mistakes, adding new knowledge and discarding the old - change.

The calls to change Pprune might reflect worldly evolution; so yes change where required, but all of us heed Chesterton's Fence - https://fs.blog/chestertons-fence/

Asturias56

"Moderation with public explanation could satisfy aggrieved professionals,"

as a mod on another forum I can see why they very rarely explain in public (tho you sometimes get a private heads up) - all you do is set off "I never said that, he did and you haven't banned him..." riot

Some of the worst spats on here are between people who look alike they're professional flyers TBH

T28B

No. I felt that the quoted post reflected a positive approach to PPRuNe for a non-PP participant.
Originally PPRuNe was, IIRC, an email list.
I am not sure how much pruning that you think we do.

Sea Plane Driver

A pilot being paid to fly perhaps, like being pregnant, either you are, or you are not.

TowerDog

You called?


I met the Governor I Florida some 20 + years ago, he was in town to buy a fleet of parked YS-11 Freighters, or so he said.
Don’t know if he bought the planes, but he did pay for my beer, much appreciated since I was unemployed after
my company Tower Air had filed for bankruptcy and furloughed most of the pilots.
At the time nobody knew what the Governor was really up to, which is why he is in jail now. ​​​​​​​

Pinkman

I am not a pilot but I've been a member of pprune since 2000 when I was in Bahrain and GF 072 crashed. I tried then to add local knowledge but since then I have only posted when I have had either local knowledge or technical insights (BA 38 - fuel). Most people do the same but of course there is the odd sciolist or braggart who thinks what they say is important. But where would we be for example without Willow-Run 6-3's analysis in the current Boeing situation?

P

Bergerie1

To all you SLFs, of whatever variety, I humbly value and salute your contributions to aviation, not only to this site, but also, to all the many fasceted aspects of our flying world. Unfortunately, you may often be hidden behind the scenes and not given due recogintion by those of us who were at the pointy end. I salute you all for keeping us safe. Please keep posting!!

Jack D

Please do all professional pilots the courtesy of not using the term “ drivers” . Thinly veiled derogatory comments aren’t appreciated, and yes let the posts roll along , the input is frequently interesting or at the very least amusing , idiotic or peculiar , it is entertainment after all .

go-around flap 15

It's quite a well used term within the industry to call one's self a 'driver'. I wouldn't see this as deregatory at all. Most of us could do with a bit of grounding in reality every now and again. Agreed though with the rest - interesting to see the inputs from those behind the FD door.

Tech Guy

Not a pilot, but I do work in aviation. I enjoy reading the forum and very occaisonally join in, or ask a question hoping that someone with more specific knowledge can provide a a suitable answer. I hope my questions and comments are more pertinent than those made in the Daily Mail.

Jack D

Is it really a well used term ? Not in the world I inhabit , each to his own I suppose , may I suggest that you stop using the term ? You are not a driver you are a pilot … commercial or otherwise .. in Europe F1 drivers are also referred to as pilots, but not lorry or taxi drivers , they are still drivers .

Lookleft

Having SLF post does give an insight to the professional pilot about what the people behind the cockpit door are thinking and their perceptions of what is happening in front of the cockpit door. Where I personally draw the line is when people with MS FS offer comment as an equivalence to the real world job of being a pilot. If you want to have a discussion on "pilot stuff" then go to tech log.

island_airphoto

Random person way back in the day: What do you do for a living?
Me: I am a flight instructor.
Random person: Do you want to be a pilot one day?

Me: Well the FAA is pretty strict about letting non-pilots teach people to fly, so I actually do have a pilot's license.

Winemaker

SLF here. I understand the angst professional pilots might have to see some of the vacuous comments made by us. I also think it would be a diminution of this site to exclude everyone but licensed pilots; the contributions (and questions) from SLF are not all dross. I'm now a winemaker, but my previous career was as a composite tooling designer in the B-2 bomber program, the C-17 transport, and commercial production of composite structures for Grumman and Fokker, as well as being a mechanical designer for the marine industry. I have always had a fascination for aircraft, and although I don't fly them, I have helped build them and have good technical understanding. I really enjoy reading the Tech Log and such threads as the amazing Concorde thread. We're not all idiots.

Max Tow

That certainly brought a chuckle. Is this not PPRuNe where aspirational flyers, airline colleagues, members of the public and our customers are variously described by pilots (and on occasion by the esteemed Mods) as Wannabes, Beancounters, Spotters and Self Loading Freight? And as mentioned above, in the US of A, fighter pilots (who are not usually known for lack of self image) often proudly refer to themselves and colleagues in banter and squadron patches as "drivers".