General Handling within a MATZ

[VNAVSPD]

I have a friend who's asked me if it would be possible to fly over his farm, so that he can take some pictures. The only snag, is that his land is beneath the Lakenheath/Mildenhall CMATZ.

Are lakenheath App likely to be very accommodating with regards to general handling between 1500-2000ft, and if so, what sort of RT would you use in order to request this. I've only ever transited a MATZ in a straight line.

Sorry I know it's a bizarre question. :bored:

[Lister Noble]

Lakenheath are usually very helpful,but why don't you post this in the ATC section?
Lister:)

[stiknruda]

VN

You will find Lakenheath very helpful but you may be slightly unfamiliar with their terminology.

If the farm is not close to the ATZ for either L'heath or M'dnhall then I forsee no issues.

On transit I am generally told, "Flight Information Service, Zone penetration approved. REMAIN CLEAR OF Likinheath and Midnall ATZs."

A couple of times in the past few weeks I've been really high, FL nosebleed - above 3000' and they've cleared me straight across.

On the most recent Bank Holiday w/e I was cleared direct at 1600' and gota super view of 30 odd KC135s as I flew up the runway.

Hope that this helps.

Zulu Alpha regularly aerobats in the zone!

Stik

[FlyingForFun]

I've got no experience of Lakenheath, but as a general rule, if you ask nicely and there's no reason why it will cause a problem, you'll get.

Not too long ago, I had a trial lesson student who wanted to see his house near Warrington. We got the chart out, and he pointed out where his house was - right inside the Manchester CTR. I told him I'd do my best, but I couldn't guarantee. R/T - which will probably be quite similar to what you can expect with Lakenheath - went like this:

Me: "Manchester Approach, G-ABCD"
ATC: "G-CD pass your message"
Me: "G-CD is a C172, Blackpool to Blackpool, overhead Wigan, request to general handle in your control zone to the east of Warrington for a short period"

Ominous pause....

ATC: "G-CD... why exactly do you need to be in my zone?"
Me (as politely as I could manage): "G-CD, I have a passenger who would like to photograph his house, but it's nothing very important so no problem if you're too busy to accomodate us."

Another pause.....

ATC: "G-CD, remain clear of controlled airspace initially and squawk 1234. Report approaching your site from the low level corridor. You can expect to be cleared into the zone, but I want you to circle the house once then leave."

Me: "Squawk 1234, remaining clear of controlled airspace initially, and thank you, it's very much appreciated."

My student soon spotted his house - which turned out to be well north of the zone, nowhere near where they'd pointed to on the map, so I ended up having to make an apology to Manchester for wasting their time - but it goes to show that if you ask, you might well get!

Hope your friend enjoys it!

FFF
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[Zulu Alpha]

I think you will find Lakenheath very helpful.
Generally you can go anywhere and do anything in their MATZ apart from fly through the ATZ.
As Stik says I regularly aerobat in their zone and they are very helpful even though I don't sport a transponder.
They do have instrument approaches with everything from KC130 transport/Tankers to F16s and are busier during the weekday than they are in the evenings or at weekends.
I would therefore suggest choosing a nice evening or weekend and if you are not going into their ATZ you should have no problems.
I would speak to them on 128.90 and tell them what you want to do.
If you need to go in their ATZ then maybe a call beforehand would get you a clearance but just in case they cannot then a phone call beforehand might save a wasted trip. Again this will only be needed if you want to go into their ATZ.

FYI you don't need permission to go into a MATZ and they cannot stop you but it is common sense to talk to them

Hope this helps
ZA