Peter wrote:
The USA has a huge scenic diversity
The keyword here is “scenic”…
Peter wrote:
Back to the topic, maybe Europe has some sort of “peripheral defence” which involves inbound traffic monitoring and reporting.
Europe per se has nothing really, the cooperation in defense and border control matters is very limited. There is a EU organization that monitors border control and writes reports and develops recommendations: http://frontex.europa.eu/about-frontex/mission-and-tasks/
On top of that, everything in terms of defense cooperation really is NATO which is focused on maintaining combat readiness.
Peter wrote:
Doesn’t Eurocontrol monitor all radar returns, not just the ones on IFPS flight plans?
No, Eurocontrol has a very well defined mission, policing is not part of it.
Why does there have to be such surveillance in the air when there is nothing for cars and boats and trains? What are we afraid of? I am very glad that nobody takes any interest in where I am flying and I am happy that Czech can fly to Germany without informing anybody about it, well even without knowing that they are going to do it until they are at the border. That’s freedom.
Peter wrote:
Doesn’t Eurocontrol monitor all radar returns,
The military monitors all aviation by radar, now more than ever. Putin have been sending fighter-bombers in increasing numbers flying 1 mm from the Norwegian airspace for instance, sometimes even inside flying up and down the coast. Maybe even more so in the Baltic. 4 Norwegian F-16s are also stationed in Lithuania at the moment on so called 15 minute alert for the sole reason of intercepting Russian military airplanes there. Putin even say he will proclaim the North Pole as Russian territory, and I see no reason he don’t mean it. We better protect the borders as well as international waters with Putin in the top seat in Russia.
The USA has a huge scenic diversity
The keyword here is “scenic”…
Of course I understand what you mean, there is a common legal language (at least as common as that between Bayern and Berlin 
) and common Federal law. I might suggest however that the average Manhattan high rise dweller lives in a different culture than a New Mexico pueblo resident. Also I’ve also noticed that when talking about all the different cultures in Europe (the ones I certainly enjoy too), people tend to forget that along the southern border of the US is Mexico, a very different culture, and many Americans can be there and back in a day. You can fly there too, albeit with about as much hassle as flying into and out of the UK from Germany.
We better protect the borders as well as international waters with Putin in the top seat in Russia.
That is an obvious fact! It is within the Schengen zone, within that treaty, that I think anybody sensible can see the current requirements for flight between countries are pointless.
Why does there have to be such surveillance in the air when there is nothing for cars and boats and trains?
The speeds and the consequent potential for surprise are much lower.
Silvaire wrote:
You can fly there too, with about as much hassle as flying into and out of the UK from Germany.
Oh really? I can fly to the UK with a 4h notice period or immediately if I use a large airport. I can fly from the UK to Germany with 3 minutes preparation. Both from small uncontrolled airfields. Last time I checked, it was quite an involved process to fly from/to Mexico, ignoring the fact that your aircraft will most likely get searched thoroughly upon your return.
Now the real issue is that you wouldn’t want to fly to what Mexico is today, a country close to dissolution and under the control of drug cartels. I don’t think comparing US/Mexico and UK/Germany shows any similarities. What percentage of the US GA pilots have been to Mexico? 0.5%?
Yes, I agree that there are differences between Manhattan and Walter White’s New Mexico condo. However, that is not more than what you find inside one of the European countries. The cross-country aspect really is what makes GA interesting for me. My first trip after getting the PPL let me abroad. Italy wouldn’t be half attractive if the only thing I found there was Germans even if a little bit different and same goes for France and all the other countries. We have both a level of diversity and integration/cooperation that is not found anywhere else in the world and that’s one of our biggest assets. If it comes at a small cost like having to file VFR flight plans, I can accept that.
achimha wrote:
Italy wouldn’t be half attractive if the only thing I found there was Germans
I agree.
Don’t tell my wife.
(You asked for it 
)
achimha wrote:
One day it will go away. Until then — not something I am really concerned about.
achimha wrote:
I am very glad that nobody takes any interest in where I am flying and I am happy that Czech can fly to Germany without informing anybody about it, well even without knowing that they are going to do it until they are at the border. That’s freedom.
Is it just me or do you seem to contradict yourself a bit?
Rwy20 wrote:
Is it just me or do you seem to contradict yourself a bit?
I don’t think so. Nobody looks at VFR flight plans and they get lost most of the time anyway
Back to the original point that Peter makes…. I have it from a friends’ brother who works for an unpublished section of HMRC (Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise for anyone who is not British) whose job is to fly about and track suspect aircraft! There is undercover surveillance!
There is undercover surveillance!
WRT what risk exactly? Illegal importation of drugs?
