Dear Editor,
Soon I will have been involved in general aviation to one degree or another for 50 years and consider it one of the greatest privileges I鈥檝e ever enjoyed. When I鈥檓 operating a little Cessna 172 I鈥檓 confident that those who share the airspace with me follow specific rules.
By comparison, I鈥檓 increasingly alarmed by the ad hoc attention to rules many drivers demonstrate. There are at least two reasons why aviation is much safer, despite the fact it鈥檚 inherently riskier.
First, those that have tried to exceed the design limitations of a particular airplane鈥檚 air-frame or performance or think too highly of their personal abilities are eventually weeded out in the most natural way.
Secondly, pilots who violate very specific expectations for no good reason receive an invitation to phone the tower after landing. If they are very polite and apologetic following a first incident, tower controllers will generally be understanding and issue a pass. A very serious infraction will result in a report filed with Transport Canada.
Everyone from professional pilots to occasional renters, such as myself, must follow the same rules, and can rest assured that the worst violators of two groups I mentioned above are safely at ground level. What makes aviation so safe is predictability and adherence to well-defined procedures. Clearances, for example, once accepted, must be followed exactly, unless some change is authorized.
Ground traffic on the other hand seems to be entering a state of progressive chaos.
I can expect to be tailgated if I鈥檓 travelling the speed limit in a slow lane.
If I鈥檝e made a left turn into a left-hand lane, I can expect to be quickly passed on the right.
If I cross the Golden Ears Bridge at 80 km/h in the slow lane, I can expect to be a traffic hazard.
If I speed up to 95 km/h, I will be safely following the general flow of traffic.
At any time on the bridge, I can expect someone to pass me on the right or left at 110+ km/h.
I can expect drivers to change lanes in any intersection or just before any intersection and cut in front of or just behind pedestrians inside crosswalks.
Once in a while I catch myself getting a little too aggressive behind the wheel and acting more like those drivers that irritate me. It will be a sad day when I can no longer pass my flight physical, but until then I will respect the laws of physics, know my limitations and follow the rules.
And yes, I was once invited to phone the tower.
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Neal De Geus, Walnut Grove
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