>Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 16:13:40 -0700
> From: Dan Casali
>Subject: we're from the Government and we're here to help you (Really)
>
>My local GADO recently made me aware of a great deal now available from
>the FAA: all your aircraft records recorded on a CD ROM. You can print
>copies of whatever you need from the CD.
>
>The cost: $5 (and that includes shipping)
>
>That's pretty hard to beat.
Here in Her Majesty's wonderful Great Britain we have the CAA, or as
they are known, The Campaign Against Aviation. These wonderful
people, some of whom had parents that were even married, are known
for their caring support and nurturing of the general aviation
community. Y'know things like prosecuting for 'low flying' over open
land when the guy was practicing emergencies. They *can* be helpful
at times but this is unfortunately very rare (I was lucky, I was
going to get prosecuted for a zone infringement and managed to prove
the map was misleading and got away with it. It WAS a genuine error
rather than just sloppy flying and the guy I deal with was one whose
mum and dad had the same surname!). We are now being forced into the
European Union. There are undoubtedly some good things from this but
there are others that are definitely NOT good. I know the F24 guys
from La Ferte Alais read this (I'm the guy you met in Jersey who
commentates the show - that hotel fire as fun wasn't it!). Most of us
in the UK are not against Europe as such but we don't want our
government replaced. Hitler tried that in 1940. We don't mind
co-operation but not Federal Government and that is what is happening
(we were never asked).
The effect on aviation is that we have all countries trying to make
their rules the prominent ones in the new system so instead of having
one bureaucracy we now have loads, and when you add them together the
amount of paperwork goes up exponentially. Some countries have
"experimental" categories, others do not, some have organizations
like the PFA who oversee light aircraft, others do not. Some don't
want any aircraft and make it even more difficult than the CAA.
There is now a danger that older aircraft that no longer have factory
support, (you know, the ones we all like, the ones we rebuild and
preserve) can be deemed obsolete. This is stupid and what is even
more stupid is that I have had to find an excuse to get my Rearwin
into the new system. You F24 and PT26 guys are OK as the type was
used by the military, although why this should make a difference is
not clear, and I could only find the tenuous link that at least one
Cloudster was used by the Civil Air guard and this might be enough to
get me into the new system. It is very worrying and we have a great
ally in John Tempest at the Popular Flying Association (PFA) who is
battling long and hard to get some common sense into all this.
Please can we have your FAA they seem like nice guys.
Issuing a licence in the UK - Over $250
Issuing the new limited licence to an existing licence holder $180
A friend of mine has just rebuilt a Rheims Rocket, that is the Cessna
Hawk XP that was built in France, and this had been o the US
register. He had all the paperwork that all mods had been done and
the CAA made him take it apart to prove it. Not only that but they
charged him time for their engineer.
PLEASE can we have your FAA instead of what we have!
Also if any of you guys are over here, let me know and we'll have a
beer. It's a pretty good place and if we can get the flying sorted
would be much better!
Melvyn Hiscock'