Divided by a common language (as well as other things)

I like wasting time in the internet. I’m very good at it. Now at least I have a focus for my time wasting endeavours. I find any aviation stuff on the interweb (there’s a lot!) and peruse it at my leisure.

Problem is you have to be very very careful about the nationality of the stuff. Despite the fact that most planes are not respecters of international boundaries (some pilots aren’t either!), aviation isn’t as international as you might think. US airspace is categorised differently to Canadian airspace, although I think you can draw analogies between the two systems. British airspace is quite frankly the kind of incomprehensible mess that only the Brits can conceive of and then claim that everyone else must be completely and recklessly unsafe to even think that any other system could possibly work*. Americans seem to drop the leading zero from single digit runways (8 instead of 08). They also fly a "pattern" and not a circuit. I'm sure there are other differences that I've failed to pick up on the subtle nuance of.

There are some awesome resources out there but the last thing I am capable of, is spotting what can help and what has the potential to send me in a very wrong direction. It frustrates me a little bit; I’m never really sure what to believe.

Maybe it’s actually a sign that I should spend less time procrastinating online and more with my head in the (Canadian) books.

  

*Controversial topics Include spin training, Pilot controlled lighting and strange controlled airspace that needs you to specify the type of ATC service that you require. Apparently “competent” is not an option that will win you many friends!