"I'm Waiting for the Man"
"I'm Waiting for the Man"
“I’m waiting for the man” is a song from the late 1960s by a band called The Velvet Underground. Having heard it on the radio just before leaving home, the song was playing in my head as I cycled to work through the beautiful (but somewhat wet…) Dorset countryside on my way to my office. As regular readers of the blog will know, I have highlighted previously how much I like Lou Reed (a founder member of The Velvet Underground), but what does the song have to do with aviation … well, dear reader, read on and all will (hopefully) be revealed…
Image Source: Wikipedia
Some of you will know that Avigation is delighted to be supporting Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) with the implementation of GNSS IFPs (i.e. a PinS approach and instrument departure) at the DSAA operating base at Henstridge Aerodrome on the Dorset/Somerset border.
Late last year, we highlighted that we were finally off and running on the ACP’s Stage 3 aviation stakeholder engagement; we concluded this Stage 3 in late January 2024. We completed our corresponding stakeholder engagement report and progressed to compiling the requisite Safety Case, before wrapping it all up with the formal ACP Stage 4 submission at the end of March. It was a very rewarding and exciting moment to be part of this (first…?) tranche of applications of the DfT-supported GNSS PinS roll-out programme, but now - and in the immortal words of the titular song - we are very much left waiting for the man.1
In our analogy, the "man” is Avigation’s metaphor for the CAA regulatory decision (i.e. the Stage 5 “Decide” phase of the ACP) that will take north of 4 months to be completed… For those of us involved in the airspace change process, this is a seemingly interminable wait (especially, given the relatively small change that is to be effected), but, wait we must! So, while we wait…
At first glance (erm, listen), the song is about someone navigating the gritty world of 1960s New York City to secure the purchase of their recreational pharmaceutical enhancement of choice. But “I’m Waiting For The Man” is much more than that; there are many facets to the song, including describing the feeling of intense frustration and the desperate longing for something more… For those actively involved in trying to get GNSS PinS implemented in the UK over the past number of years and those of us directly involved in this tranche of ACPs, feelings of “frustration” and “desperation” resonate somewhat strongly!!
Unsurprisingly, many songs emerging from the late 1960s, were during the era of Flower Power and Make Love Not War; this was the time of the hippie movement and the so-called counterculture of drugs, psychedelic music and art and social permissiveness (ahem…). Many iconic artists of that period were very much on their individual/collective journeys of discovery. It was also a time of many icons in popular culture, icons like the VW Type 2 Campervan (unashamed shout-out for the classic vee-dub van, as I am the proud owner of one)!
These psychedelic influences percolated through to mainstream, even into children's TV programmes - like “The Magic Roundabout” - were mooted to contain adult references, and if you are old enough to remember “Roobarb and Custard”... you must surely ask
what on earth were the writers on when they came up with the storylines!!! And, let’s not forget “The Banana Splits” and others from the Hanna-Barbera stable…
Again, you must be asking what this has to do with an aviation blog - well, the connection is that so often when reading aviation regulatory documents, both national and international, I often find myself wondering as to what the authors were on at the time!! Accepting that documents of a technical nature are always challenging to read and decipher, too often it is like wading through treacle trying to understand the proper meaning contained therein.
In the aviation business, one is obliged to delve into regulatory documents in an attempt to understand the associated requirements clearly and get answers - but too often, one is faced with gobbledygook, jargon and legalese (to quote the Plain English Campaign). It is a truism that bad writing is often a barrier to communication; trying to decipher the true meaning of regulatory tomes can be an immensely time-consuming and frustrating exercise; in aviation, confusion constitutes a serious safety risk. Added to this ball of confusion is that, so often, regulatory documents contradict each other regarding regulations and advice… sometimes even in the same document!
One of our great authors, Dorothy L Sayers (she1 of Lord Peter Wimsey fame, amongst others) once said "[a] passage is not plain English - still less is it good English - if we are obliged to read it twice to find out what it means". A salient lesson, perhaps, to our erstwhile regulatory overlords and their document compliers, proofers and approvers! #justsayin
So, there we have it - this blog is a journey that started with the Velvet Underground and the counterculture of the late 1960s, passing through VW Type 2s and children’s TV and ending up with Dorothy L Sayer and plain English. As always, a bit of humour and tongue-in-cheek, but hopefully bringing out a couple of salient points. The first point is that any journey through the UK aviation regulatory process seems unduly protracted, akin to running a ‘process’ marathon. Surely, it is not beyond the wit of man to get these processes more abbreviated - to quote the CAA, “scaled”, even! And the second point: make the regulatory documents consistent and more readily understandable; take a leaf out of Dorothy L Sayers' book (...see what I did there...)!!
Avigation is off to Barcelona next month for a long overdue catch up with Pildo Labs (okay, maybe some tapes and cerveses...). Wait, wasn't there a song about Barcelona...? Stay tuned!
Avigation Can Support You
Avigation has a demonstrable breadth and depth of experience in PinS development and implementation through our long association and close working relationship with Pildo Labs, a UK CAA-approved instrument procedure design organisation with unrivalled experience delivering PinS in mainland Europe.
Additionally, Avigation has first-hand, practical experience in the management and delivery of the UK CAA’s CAP1616 and ACP processes and continues to support its clients through these activities. Avigation is, therefore, ideally placed to support organisations who are considering airspace changes and the design, development and implementation of instrument flight procedures.
Contact us on info@avigation.co.uk.
#AvigationLtd #PildoLabs #dsairambulance #gamaaviation #airambulance #HEMS #GNSS #PinS #ACP #CAA #CAP1616
1. Noun: the human individual, as representing the species, with neither reference to, nor favour of a specific gender. Avigation recognises that other non-binary gender identities are available, but the titular song was written in the late 1960s…
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