MedEwok wrote:
Of course “Verkehr in Sicht”…
… is the standard textbook phrase. There is zero need to add any words to that.
EuroFlyer wrote:
sorry I know it may seem sexist, but the tradition is a very old one)the gender equality folks will be all over you ;)
You mean normal people with respect for others?
I actually think “she” be it an aircraft or yacht shows enormous respect. It recognises the beautiful side of the human race, I just cant imagine referring to a Spit as anything else if I was lucky enough to own one, and my sailing yacht is such a beautiful lady she couldnt possibly be anything else.
and come tho think about it, even for a pilot web, we seem to have too few contributions from the fairer sex – I think Peter that is something you should encourage more, as well as new threads – after all where are all the girls and ladies?
As to “finals” I think the confusion comes about from thinking of it as a single function. In fact it comes about from the basis that the pilot is completing all the procedures required during the last stage of the flight as “she” is positioned on the final approach of the runway.
Quite a number of pilots who I know are women do read EuroGA very regularly. In most cases I don’t know who they are and why they don’t participate. Of the ones I know or have known personally and spoken to about this, most have told me they feel the forum is too technical; a sentiment echoed by many others but there isn’t much one can do about it apart from encouraging more VFR-type posts, which is not easy because the willingness to write (I mean write informatively, in detail, etc) seems to correlate with both aircraft ownership and more complex flying. Personally, I have always encouraged women in GA, offered trips, etc.
How do you all know the gender of contributors? (Genuine question.)
Email addresses are a reasonable clue.
Peter wrote:
most have told me they feel the forum is too technical; a sentiment echoed by many others but there isn’t much one can do about it apart from encouraging more VFR-type posts,
If they say “too technical” and that’s what they really mean, I would interpret that as meaning having a stronger than desired emphasis on aircraft technology, maintenance or modification. IFR is procedural, not particularly technical. Regardless, one solution might be to encourage more EuroGA discussion on piloting technique, developing skills in flying the plane, whether under VFR or IFR. If that doesn’t work, maybe there is no solution to encourage participation with those individuals, simply because they aren’t sufficiently interested in writing on any subject.
Re calling aircraft ‘she’, I do see some planes as beautiful things but I’m more focused on the possibility of them killing me due to my own carelessness, incapacity or neglect. That doesn’t in general lead me to call aircraft ‘she’, even while having known women that provoked a similar feeling.
Regardless, one solution might be to encourage more EuroGA discussion on piloting technique, developing skills in flying the plane, whether under VFR or IFR. If that doesn’t work, maybe there is no solution to encourage participation with those individuals, simply because they aren’t sufficiently interested in writing on any subject.
I tend to agree… and with ~1500 pilots (and other aviation-interested people) reading EuroGA daily, a 100:1 read:write ratio is probably common across all “writable” media.
In a few cases however the women get put off posting, by an aggressive attitude from another contributor. One once posted a low pass in her new plane and one guy here (he was still working the first of his five personalities at that point 
) criticised it, saying she doesn’t have much experience, etc. The result had to be comprehensively cleaned up. Normally I would not allow this to happen but I was asleep at the time…
Email addresses are a reasonable clue.
Maybe for you, but most users can’t see others email addresses (can they?) yet there seems to be a general knowledge of people’s genders, which I certainly don’t have and was wondering where others get.
I think of it as being very 1930s to refer to inanimate modes of transport as “she”. The kind of thing my grandfather would have said. And therefore from a different age and understanding of gender issues.
yet there seems to be a general knowledge of people’s genders, which I certainly don’t have and was wondering where others get.
Other users can’t see emails other than those which a few people put in their public profile (and it would be hugely wrong if they could) but I was just answering your Q
Other factors might be:
) and there is always discussion of this topicWomen seem to be a miniscule presence on all aviation forums – Europe and USA – and appear with a % which is way below their % in the pilot population.
I think of it as being very 1930s to refer to inanimate modes of transport as “she”. The kind of thing my grandfather would have said. And therefore from a different age and understanding of gender issues.
Indeed.
