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Old 16th Oct 2003, 06:01
  #171 (permalink)  
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What I am interested in is the misguided perception that VFR aircraft in enroute class G airspace have to talk on the radio as much as possible and maintain a careful listening watch on a specific radio frequency in order to avoid a mid-air collision. Such notions are demonstrably untrue.

As has been posted elsewhere, these ideas are a throw back to the days of VFR full reporting.
No-one is advocating these ideas in this thread. No-one is saying that VFRs should talk on the radio as much as possible in order to avoid a mid-air. You make the argument into something it is not.

I’d use 121.5 MHz or any nearby air traffic control frequency.
So for an emergency, you'd rather broadcast on 121.5 hoping that some other aircraft, if one is there, will hear you and be able to help. Or you would divert your attention from the emergency to look up a chart to find the nearest ATC frequency to broadcast on. I assume by "nearest ATC frequency" you mean then nearest controlled airspace frequency? Why do this when, in Class G, the nearest ATC frequency is the frequency for the airspace you are in?

If it’s controlled airspace then the air traffic controller should be transmitting on the air traffic control frequency.
So a VFR about to violate CTA or a restricted area should switch to the frequency of the airspace he is about to penetrate to listen out for any warnings from ATC.

If it’s an “an aerodrome in her airspace” then it must be a controlled aerodrome. Broadcast the hazard alert on the air traffic control frequency and/or ATIS / AERIS / VOLMET.
An aerodrome can be in a controller's airspace and it not be controlled airspace. If you are just playing semantics you make no argument. The controller will broadcast the hazard alert on the air traffic control frequency. In this case the air traffic control frequency is the area frequency. If you want to hear hazard alerts for the relevant aerodrome then you will want to be on the correct area frequency.

Neither VFR aircraft nor IFR aircraft should be making broadcasts or making pilot-to-pilot transmissions on an air traffic control frequency.
Class G frequencies are ATC frequencies.

You have stated that you don't care whether frequency boundaries are there or not. You base this on what you think Glass G should be for, and not what it currently is. In the points you make, you consistently seem to think that ATC frequencies are those for controlled airspace only. If this is the case then until the rules are changed, you will remain wrong.

You personally may not care whether you are on the correct area/ATC frequency, on 104.7 or even on 116.80. There are other VFR pilots who do, and they want the correct frequency information available to them.
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