OPINION FROM THE ROCKING CHAIR A crystal ball? Our resident Old Git, Ian Frow, on how The Log accidentally became topical T he Log does not attempt to be topical there are other Association devices for that. Our copy deadline is eight weeks before the magazine drops on doormats, although there is an opportunity for some later tweaking. So, the duty editors for the spring edition must have consulted a crystal ball at the end of January to get out three topics that were still so relevant two months later. COVID-19 was then just a little flu problem in an obscure part of China. As the editors went through the production schedule, the whole nightmare developed. With extraordinary foresight, they chose Support network as the cover story and included an article entitled Where is aviation going?, plus a piece on volcanic ash and aviation 10 years after that crazily named Icelandic volcano closed much of the northern hemispheres airspace. What remarkable foresight to be so relevant to locked down Log readers. Bees in the Rocking Chair James Taylors article on aviations future stirred up a couple of bonnet bees that have been bothering the Rocking Chair recently. History might note that these were the years when ordinary people freely and cheaply travelled the world. Before the early 19th century, the only folk who travelled abroad were monarchs, their retinues, plus the unfortunates who served in their armies and navies. The thousands of UK citizens trapped abroad recently when the virus closed the worlds borders dramatically illustrated this phenomenon. Still mulling on history, it is remarkable how most public transport systems go through similar development cycles, because nothing expands for ever. A hesitant start is followed by rapid expansion, then by wildly optimistic forecasts of future growth, eventually leading to a partial collapse and, usually, a reinvention. The stagecoach networks, canals, railways, ocean liners and road traffic have all followed this cycle. While headlines such as The end of the golden age of air travel? are ridiculously premature, aviation may yet have to accept and adapt to that transport history cycle. History might note that these were the years when ordinary people freely travelled the world Too many poachers not enough experienced gamekeepers Recent tragic events have highlighted the fallacies of self-regulation for airlines and aircraft manufacturers. Apparently, within our own CAA, there are around 60 individuals responsible for regulatory oversight, but 40 of these important people will leave within the next 10 years. Not a club for the young? After a fully completed aviation career, a spell in the Rocking Chair can be quite pleasant. But that accursed respiratory bug has driven far too many pilots to a premature spell in the chair. An OG can only rock with despair at the thought of all those careers cruelly interrupted and the frustration at being unable to offer no more than pious good wishes. There is little humour in the situation, but one scatological and politically incorrect internet COVID posting did finally make the chair rock. Once one coughed to cover up a noisy fart; now you need a noisy fart to cover up a dry cough.