General Aviation - How good does the US have it? 

It's not just aviation. When I was a member of the sailing club at the University of Washington a German student told me about all the hassles it took to sail a boat in Germany. You not only needed to be certified by the government for the particular class of sailboat you were using, you needed to be certified for the lake or river you were sailing on.

Brillant episode , yes, the US is the dreamland for many Pilots over here (in Europe)...just Imagine AVGas being $2,50 / Liter 😩....it‘s getting more and more comparable to North America regarding regulation but still a long way.....Keep up the great work! Thanks and regards from Germany. Happy Landings.

As a flight student from Germany id say the main reason why GA isnt that popular over here is cost. Flight training itself can be quite expensive here and the costs only begin once you finally have your license. You can buy a plane, but since there are barely any GA airplanes over here you have very little choice on the second hand market. Finding a spot for your plane is also difficult, at my home airport theres a waiting list for hangar spots, they easily cost 400 euros a month and from what ive heard bigger commercial airplanes are always preferred anyways. Not to mention pretty insane fuel prices of 2 euros per Liter AVGAS or JET A (yes, per liter, not gallon) and other service and maintenance cost. Renting a plane from a flight school or FBO is expensive too and they usually wont allow you to take the plane for longer periods of time (to go on vacation for example) unless you pay for a fixed amount of flight hours daily (whether youre flying or not). Another option are the flight clubs mentioned in the interview, they offer good comeradery and are a great place to meet fellow aviation enthusiasts, however most of them only have fairly basic aircraft that are booked frequently (obviously everyone wants to fly) and if youre in a flight club youre usually required to work a certain amount of hours for the club on a voluntary basis (paint the club home, cut the grass on the apron, you name it) which i would imagine to be quite annoying. There are also small airfields that close during for several months during the winter, so even if its a beautiful winter day you cant fly out of there. Instrument rating: Yeah not much point here either, aside from the big international ones only a handful of airports are equipped for it, and those usually scare you off with high landing/tie down fees and fuel prices. I want to get it anyways.

That's no excuse for not making the United States better and keeping it the best in the world.

As an Englishman who learned to fly in England in 1971 and then moved to the US in 1979 I was going to comment on how much I liked this video. GA in the US is much simpler than in Europe. Trying to fly IFR in the UK for GA is a joke in comparison. But I was dismayed when I read a lot of the comments here that people have to be so negative towards others. That just baffles me. After I got my license, I flew a Cherokee 180 from London to Mykonos in Greece and back. The trip took two weeks and was terrific fun, so GA is possible and that was all VFR. France is probably the best European country for GA. The French are very aviation minded and they have good airports run by local municipalities, just like in the US. Many small airports in France also boast excellent restaurants - restaurants so good that the locals go to the airport restaurant for Sunday Brunch. There are not many US airports that support excellent restaurants, although there are some exceptions. In the days before the UK was in the EU, a day trip to Le Touquet for lunch was a pleasant trip and allowed you to pick up duty free goods. One positive about GA in the UK is because it is done mostly in flying clubs, it is generally a much more social activity than here. I am still friends today with many people I first met there. When I learned to fly I was working for British Airways in IT and they had a Flying Club and that is where I learned. And every year, the club would take all the airplanes to Hamburg to meet a similar club for Lufthansa. And they would come and visit us one weekend a year too. Believe me, those were some fun weekends! Anyway, next time you file on ForeFlight, drive to your airport, start up and call for an IFR clearance remember it's not that easy everywhere else.

A really fascinating and informative discussion. Thanks! I was in South Korea earlier this year and asked about GA. I was told it was quite difficult to fly in many areas and the rules were very restrictive.

I think this can be seen as yet another extension of American “individualism” (and the freedom stuff that annoys so many). The fact that our economy and our transportation system is largely built around cars as opposed to public transportation is probably the most apparent manifestation of that in day to day life. The fact is, we’re a big country…and to top it off, we’re a wealthy country. When you couple that with the general American attitude (as well as the numerous corporate interests that have popped up in the last century), it’s not surprising that we have the most robust GA infrastructure in the world.

I have my FAA PPL. I was in New Zealand for a month on business. Looked a local flying club and got signed off for a New Zealand Microlight (LSA in USA) certificate in hour and half! NZ Airspace is a bit odd, very very GA friendly!

After hearing this conversation, most of my flying in the US is Germany Style. I take off, fly for an half hour. Land. It’s for fun. I’d be happy there.

I studied flying in the United States. The United States has the best system in the world. After the study, I returned to China. China's general aviation is really bad. Our airspace is not open at all, only the troops and airlines are allowed to use it. . All flights are subject to vetting and approval from the military and the Aviation Authority, and our general aviation pilots are losing their jobs, including me. Civil airports do not even allow general aviation aircraft to fly over, and landings are even more impossible. Compared with airline pilots, salaries for general aviation pilots are very, very low. In addition, an hour's flight cost of a Cessna in China requires a month's salary for ordinary people. I would love to go back to the US to continue my dream of flying, I am very disappointed with our environment.

Been to Germany several times. Was told that to get a drivers license in Germany a driving course is mandatory and can cost more than $5,000. Now you can get an idea why aviation is so expensive over there. They are a society based on mass transit. Driving and flying are only available to those that can afford it and I believe is a purposeful barrier to entry.

Flew in Philippines in 1972 through USN Aero Club, had to carry dozens of pages for clearances. Flew a friend to Manila Int’l and was escorted by armed guards everywhere plus two inspections of the Cessna 182.

Single engine piston sales in U.S are just over 1,000, with a growing percent of those heading to schools that are focused on training commercial pilots. For a country with ~300M+ people that’s more than a concerning sign that the GA contingent in the US is dying and we’re at risk of (de)evolving towards a commercial biased environment.

Very interesting. Did anybody notice Josh (Aviation 101) and Marisa in the audience?

GA is dying in Australia. Landing fees by greedy Councils and over regulation by CASA....

I've never flown GA in Europe, but I've had the privilege to have visited and seen it out an airplane window. The most striking thing about it for me in comparison to the United States is how densely populated it is. Germany has almost three times the population of Texas squeezed into half the land area! There just isn't the airspace for extensive GA to coexist with airline ops.

Chile is probably one of the best countries in south america to fly in...a lot of foreign pilots that arrive are pleasantly suprised how well things work especially after going through a lot more troublesome countries...o my god “they accept credit cards!!!”...controllers speak good english, but most local pilots speak only spanish. The dgac(faa) unfortunately has its problems and doesnt seem to support GA a lot of the time...medicals can take up to 2-3 weeks to process. The infrastructure is good, though night flying vfr is only a few years old...there are not to many small lighted fields and especially in the North it can be 150nm+ between airports. On the whole though its a great place to fly and ifr is handled very professionally. More radar and radio coverage for GA would be better due to the high terrain...there are quite a few MEAs at 10.000 so not very practical for most non gps equipped aircraft. But at least there is no bribery needed like some of our more northern cousins. Lima, Perú is a known suck hole for multiple thousand dollar landing fees..eek

There is lots of GA in Germany, especially during the summer time. But the cost... Many small airfields are run by local clubs, so they are usually only open during weekend daytime. Then there is the "Flugleiter" requirement. Sort of a controller "light", who actually has no controlling authority. Did I mention noise dependent landing fees, Reliability Certificates, Language Certificates... Love it much more in the US. Did fly in both worlds.

So, how can one become a member of your studio audience?

Tried to arrange a flight with an instructor from Slovenia to Italy in a Cessna 172 in mid 90's and was told that a 2 week prior notice was required to be filed with Italian Aviation Authorities in order to get a permission to cross the border with Italy in a GA aircraft. Don't know if that was true but that's what i was told at the time. So, we flew from Slovenia to Austria, Innsbruck instead.

As always, I enjoyed the information, but noticing the Sensenich prop in the back ground made me get mine out of storage. I'm going to wipe it off, leave the patina, and hang it in my garage. My Grandfather (recently deceased at 101 years old), a pilot who inspired me, got it from the Napa County Airport (KAPC) around 49 years ago for me. It was hanging on their wall at the FBO. Yes I'm an old 52 year old now. Thank you for the video.

You comment on Europe as being abroad and "everything outside of the US" ---> What about Asia (which dwarfs Europe) or South America? ((We USED to have lots of "cafes" here --- until the 70s/80s, when US GA basically shut-down {thank the lawyers} --- Used to find them at any sizeable airport (present Class E & G airports --- didn't need Class D, C, or B). Back then, any airport that was a Cessna or Piper dealer had cafes))

I flew a civil airplane with an N- number in Korea, but I had special qualifications that allowed me to operate near the DMZ no-fly zone... There is GA at most of the commercial airports, but most airfields are military and heavily secured with armed security. You can fly pretty freely South of Seoul, but the country is dotted with prohibited military areas and they will shoot you down if you wander into ROK special airspace. There is a decent IFR environment and the controllers are very strict and will "council" you if you mess up. I'd love to go back and fly bush planes into riverbeds...

Totally agree with Martin's closing statement. If we don't actively support what we have, it will be too late by the time we recognize that damagae has been done.

Other countries speak different languages? Who knew?

Hi Guys, just found this channel.Having listened to the conversation, i would agree with a lot of what is said.European GA is in poor shape, with Airfields being closed, high costs of rental and fees.However i have found the th US and Canada to be excellent in a lot of respects and now try to fly over there as much as possible.Keep what you have guys, it is an absolutle pleasure flying there

Even though there are less GA pilots in other countries compared to the USA, it would have been good to ask the percentage rate of accidents.

Cool video

5:00 Martin Pauly is describing Australia.

Have to remember that regulations are made for a reason, not just on a whim to make your life difficult. Quite often it takes deaths to get a regulation made. A aviation regulator that doesn't have regulations is a regulator that doesn't work, often in the control of corporations, who put profit before people. So becareful of having a knee jerk reaction to regulations, they tend to save lives and property.

👍

In my experience Canada and the US share pretty much the same general aviation freedoms. Xing the border is a piece of cake in either direction. The controllers in Canada say “eh” a lot. Lol

Is this serious!!!!!! Hillbillies on TV. The bloke repeats, Wow!!!!!!!

Government takes freedom as well as cash.