dublinpilot wrote:
Rather the point was that for every large airport that we lose, we are gaining more smaller airfields
nice if that works in Ireland. Sure as hell does not here.
While we got a pretty tight net of airfields and in the 1990ties got some additional ones in the form of former airbases, the only airfield which opened recently is Bressaucourt which replaced another in Porrentruy.
dublinpilot wrote:
much of the doom and gloom relates to airports which have priced GA out of the market.
Correct. And it mainly involves those with own planes who can’t find a new homebase suitable for their intents. Mostly it also concerns people who like to travel with their plane. That aviation is ok or even bright for those who do 25 min roundtrips out of grass fields may well be true.
There is lot of hassle flying international GA from/to US: visa, flight plans, eAPIS, CBP, land at nearest POE first, handlers, expensive fuel, no flights after sunset…
Obviously, there is plenty of stuff to see within US and it’s huge and that what most people see 
Mooney_Driver wrote:
That aviation is ok or even bright for those who do 25 min roundtrips out of grass fields may well be true.
Why do you have to do (only) 25 min roundtrips out of grass fields? I only need a couple of hundred meters of grass (not even that), but nothing stops me from flying to airfields that are 3-4 km of tarmac.
With all respect M_D this is the attitude that divides. You said in another thread you were all against being divided… If you cannot find a proper airplane nor a proper airfield for that airplane for you to enjoy flying, that is mostly a “you-problem” in 2023. I also think back to the 90s when flying was easy in the old fashion way, but we are 2023 now. Things have definitely changed, but my experience is that I can definitely enjoy flying today, and in some aspects more so than before.
To stay on topic, I agree that there is a lot which has become much better in recent years.
- For Europe the biggest step in the right direction was the founding of EASA as the over all aviation regulator which stops national CAA’s to harass people with their own idea of what flying should be. Granted, it had a very adverse start, but in recent years it has become a big breath of fresh air for many.
- EASA Part FCL: One licence for all. Prior to that, pilots had to get validations for each country they wanted to rent airplanes in. Now you can operate any EASA registered airplane you are rated for without any further ado. IMHO, the biggest thing we ever had.
- EASA Part NCO: This has done away with lots of gold – plating for IFR and other operation by small GA airplanes. It has opened up IFR for more airplanes than ever before. It also has done away with most TBO requirements. MASSIVE step in the right direction.
- EASA ELA1: Has made maintenance for airplanes below 1200 kgs a lot more affordable.
- Schengen has theoretically made flying between countries both in Schengen and the EU easier. (Unfortunately some countries still try to get around that, i.e. Greece and France).
- GPS and IT have made a huge difference to flight planning and actually flying itself. (Unfortunately also a dire necessity with the airspace mess we have).
- ADS-B has made low cost collision avoidance affordable and feasible.
LeSving wrote:
but nothing stops me from flying to airfields that are 3-4 km of tarmac.
Happy Norway. Practically all airports which have this kind of runways over here these days are outpriced or straightforward closed to GA.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Practically all airports which have this kind of runways over here these days are outpriced or straightforward closed to GA.
That’s hardly a European problem is it?
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Granted, it had a very adverse start, but in recent years it has become a big breath of fresh air for many.
It suffocated most of GA (and still do), but has realized in recent years that this is wrong That’s a grade F in my book.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
EASA Part NCO: This has done away with lots of gold – plating for IFR and other operation by small GA airplanes. It has opened up IFR for more airplanes than ever before. It also has done away with most TBO requirements. MASSIVE step in the right direction.
Don’t know about that, but what I do know is that due to the suffocation above, simply obtaining an IFR rating requires a long stay away from home. In practice it does not work, unless you live close by an approved school (that also actually take in old, PPL pilots. There are very of those due to sausage factory principles, and you can’t really blame them for running their businesses efficiently).
Mooney_Driver wrote:
EASA ELA1: Has made maintenance for airplanes below 1200 kgs a lot more affordable.
Hardly
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Schengen has theoretically made flying between countries both in Schengen and the EU easier.
Not even an issue in the Nordic countries for many decades (as long as I can remember). But I agree, Schengen is one of the truly good things that have happened.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
GPS and IT have made a huge difference to flight planning and actually flying itself.
Yes, one of the really true changes for the better.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
ADS-B has made low cost collision avoidance affordable and feasible.
No (very few) GA planes have ADS-B, and low cost? hmm.
That was a good summary, LeSving.
Paraphrasing: it is mainly an attitude thing.
If you constantly live in memories of 20-30 yrs back, you are unlikely to be happy in any hobby.
Admitted, I only fly for about 10 yrs now.
But I do trips all over Europe, weekends and weeks.
Scandinavia, North Sea, Baltics, Mediterranean. In fact, these flexible trips were the reason to learn to fly in the first place. And it works.
Yes, there are expensive / rip-off places, which means to inform yourself beforehand and decide then.
Even in the area of Munich, one can operate an own plane. Could it be easier, more comfortable ? Yes. So?
Mindset is the answer to many questions.
ch.ess wrote:
Mindset is the answer to many questions.
100%
LeSving wrote:
That’s hardly a European problem is it?
Depends what you call Europe. I guess from your reaction that it is not a problem in most of Scandinavia.
It is most certainly a problem in just about everywhere south of the Alps (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, non conclusive list) . It is becoming more and more of a problem in Switzerland and Germany, where several cities are no longer reachable by GA in any reasonable way. France still seems ok mostly (not everywhere though) so is Austria for now and some others.
LeSving wrote:
It suffocated most of GA (and still do), but has realized in recent years that this is wrong That’s a grade F in my book.
Originally they were a disaster. With the GA roadmap in place however, they massively changed a lot of things for the better, often against resistance of the local CAA’s, namely Germany, Switzerland and, before they left, UK. Right now, at least for us here, EASA s part NCO and ELA1 have given us a much needed respite of gold plating and cost exaggeration. Personally I doubt I’d still be able to fly without EASA keeping our CAA in check.
I do grant you however, the way that ELA and NCO are seen is hugely dependent where you are based.Part FCL however has given all of us the possibility to fly airplanes regardless of what register within EASA. That is definitly a huge improvement from before.
LeSving wrote:
obtaining an IFR rating requires a long stay away from home.
Why? Here we can do almost all IR and CPL theory from home. The problem may well be the practical part, as most IFR airports these days get outpriced however. That on the other hand is hardly EASA’s fault.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
The problem may well be the practical part
I don’t know what the problem really is, but it has been explained to me as “EASA regs”. The school has to be an ATO, it’s not enough with a DTO. Most, if not all schools for PPL are today DTOs. This means one has to find an ATO. Which means going away, unless you live close by. There aren’t that many of them. OK, fine, but what do ATOs do? They are typically a commercial flight school for CPL/ATPL. When asked, they say they don’t do PPL pilots because it doesn’t fit into their schedule/organization or something like that. An old “emeritus” of an FI could perhaps do it, if affiliated with the ATO or something similar? I have heard of no such people. In practice there are no way the get an IR unless really going way outside of what most people are willing to do just for fun. I don’t know where I would have to go, UK, Germany?
This is THE big problem with EASA, and it’s exactly the same with maintenance. It works only where the density of people is super high and distances are short, like the big population centers in Europe.
