My goodness, she has let herself go since our last session. I doubt that she will fit into our usual 360 degree mirror, we’ll need to improvise.

The guy’s name was Robert X. Cringely and the show was called “Plane Crazy”. You can write to him if you want at [email]bob@cringely.com[/email]

The events that most closely match your recollections are actually based on a real-life story which took place in 2002.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,741142,00.html#article_continue

They have been dramatised for TV on a number of occasions, most notably on Emergency 999. I would imagine that you saw this.

Nobody could disagree.

However…a flurry of semi-literate ill-informed letters of support from Brits who have never been there are of dubious value, and may well be cited as evidence that the “pro-” camp have been resorting to desperate lengths to support a flimsy case.

Those who are complaining about the airfield have two particular gripes which the local clubs have been somewhat slow to respond to.

1) Large numbers of private aircraft operate on a waiver outside published hours under French Night VFR, disturbing local residents

2) Large amounts of aerobatic practice are carried out in the vicinity of the airport, with the resultant noise pollution

A little compromise would take much of the local heat out of the situation.

Sadly though, the CCI which runs the field makes no money from it, but is bound to operate the field until 2011. Beyond that date, things looks rather negative. If you really want to help – fly over and visit the place. That is what it actually needs.

A few facts.

Colmar is not an H24 airport. The French AIP refers.

Alsace is well served with H24 airports (if that is actually the point at issue), with Strasbourg being the most obvious.

The Town Council of Colmar (which is the body attempting to close the airport), has recently lost a legal battle in which it was judged to be unlawfully ignoring a commitment that it has to the French state to run an airport at least until 2011 on the site.

This is not to suggest that the airport is not under threat. However, facts need to be straight if foreigners are going to to write letters of complaint with any kind of authority.

Similarly, it is useful if complainers have actually been to the airport and can cite regular visits. Complaints from people who have never been, and are unlikely to visit will end up in the bin in my experience of French process.

You are right about the TB20, and there may be some news there in due course. Air Touring have certainly lost the plot there though – they weren’t even invited onto Socata’s stand in Paris.

You just have to look at the enormous numbers of Czech and other Eastern European companies producing microlights and light sports aircraft to see where the new trend is coming from. All substantially unrepresented at FFF, but fully represented at AERO2005.

The PFA Rally in its current format is doomed to wither on the vine, I fear – not least in part because of the defensive attitude displayed by the PFA in the face of overwhelming and consistent criticism.

“Pre-eminant Flying Association”

There is a certain irony in the incorporation of a spelling mistake in such a title.

The PFA has access to many views all saying exactly the same thing as those I have expressed here. They are met with almost unremitting hostility or denial in favour of statistics of the “97%” variety – if we are to judge an organisation by its own Bulletin Board and Website. I have no idea whether or not the PFA is really interested in representing somebody like me who predominantly flies factory-produced aircraft of varying sizes. Probably not. My views will be as nothing.

GA in the UK is actually let down by inability of its representative bodies to get their individual acts together and collaborate in a coherent fashion when it comes to dealing with our regulators. As a former regulator yourself, you will know that only too well. Let us hope that the GA Alliance is able to repair the damage done by the infighting that has been such a feature of the individual constituent bodies.

I think that arguments stand or fall on their own merits. I note in turn your repeated desire to support your own arguments with a CV.

I think we both want the same thing, so I don’t see us on opposite ends of the table – I just have a teensy suspicion that being “on the inside” makes it tough to spot when our representatives are not doing as well as they might. An honest admission by the PFA and a publicly stated plan of attack would go down far better than repeated denials of the obvious.