The ATSB take on....
"See and Avoid"
Problems encountered, and ways to fix the mess of the first "go" at fixing the airspace... The most gripping reading is contained in Part 4 of the report.
How many of the people who are championing this new airspace fall into this group?
Very interesting reading...
... and what is to be gained by making the system fit their needs better, at the expense of using an on-going useful safety tool (situational awareness booster), such as a humble radio? Used correctly, it is another pair of eyes which can be an invaluable asset, especially where the airspace is busy.
The fact that some people seem to ignore the fact that most of the origin of the 'constant noise' as they put it, is primarily due to the fact that many frequencies are paired together, sometimes many many frequencies can be heard over just one outlet. This is not the aviators problem, but the fault belongs squarely at the feet of the people who decided in the first place to cut a few jobs and chuck a couple of atc frequencies together. From there it got worse.
I am sorry, but even in my position within my company I cannot see much in the way of enhancing safety coming out in these new publications that have just arrived. From what I can gather the ones who stand to gain are the ones who fly the least, and certainly not for a living.
Flying is a priveledge, not a right. Wasn't getting your levy off your fuel enough, you are now chasing the very thing that was boosted-up in it's place to keep the government coffers ticking over because now you believe that it is
your right to fly when/where you want?
The bottom line is... one of the most useful tools for avoiding a potential conflict is being further removed from our hands. A more realistic outcome would be to introduce that further spoken about gps thingie (radar replacement), and then perhaps reorganise the airspace and reporting requirements to suit that higher level of coverage.
Creamy, thanks for the link....
I know I will pi$$ many of the masses off when I say this, but I feel that I will still be position reporting when changing frequencies. Sorry, I want others to have some idea that I'll possibly be blundering through their flightpath and give them the chance to either ask me to level, or level themselves.