There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See
I like the posts here - shows some lateral thinking.
In regard to the blind bit, it's my experience that knowing where to look makes all the difference. That's not to say that Mr Average PPL will work out where to look, because many simply don't hear all radio calls fully, and many lack situational awareness to the extent that they are unable to work out where the traffic will / should appear. Much, much more instructor effort needed to bring pilots up to speed in these matters during BFR's.
RPT,RAAF,IFR and other professional pilots should try not to rattle off an inbound call at the speed of a Melbourne Cup call. I note that many pilots just don't understand the call, and this could in part be to not being able to 'hear' it. Professionals - it's up to you to set an example of clarity and pronunciation in your calls.
A recent example: Muffled call from RAAF PC9 inbound elicited a response from PPL, who responded I'm 13 miles to the SE. So far so good - but then PC9 wants to know the pilots radial and distance PPL just doesn't respond to this because he doesn't know what the bloody RAAF are doing if they can't understand his initial call. Next thing - RAAF responds forget it Not a very understanding attempt by the professional in this case.
I am hearing much angst in regards to frequencies. Many are simply staying on 126.70 everywhere. OK - until you get to somewhere with a different CTAF frequency! The real problem between Centre and MBZ/CTAF changeover is that there is such a difference between aircraft speeds, and traffic can conflict simply because so much time has elapsed since initial calls. In a 15 kt headwind, a C172 could take 11-12 mins to do 15nm, whereas a 240 kt turbine will do it in under 4 mins. The turbine wouldn't have a clue about the 172, despite the best intentions of both pilots.
The other issue is where there is fast traffic both ways - 160 kts + 240 kts results in a crossing time of just over 2 mins since a 15nm call. Too close!
I think we have it all wrong here. Why not have people report in @ say, 8 mins from the airport - forget the distance. So the turbine might well be pre TOD, but, what's wrong with that? They usually monitor the CTAF/MBZ frequency well in advance anyway.
I'm not hearing much about emergency situations. It doesn't seem to be a big deal for most - you can use Centre if you know it, but 126.70 would be OK as there are plenty of aircraft on it. There's also 121.50, although many pilots are afraid to use it in case of mistakes.
As usual with changes, it will take time for things to adjust. I think that the NAS has greatly,grossly,immensely,ignorantly overestimated the abilities of Mr Average PPL, and has not made provision for instructors/flight schools to teach the system. In fact - we've been sidelined by NAS trying to do it by direct mail - most of which is still sitting in Mr Average PPL's navbag, because it looked too bloody hard.
I say overestimated with some knowledge of what Mr Average PPL is capable of - I do a lot of BFR's. Let me explain:
situational awareness - not a clue when it comes to traffic, but most could navigate to Widgiemooltha on a dark night -without a map!
TXP/C serviceable and operating - why isn't the light flashing? (we're 200nm from radar!!)
COM is on correct frequency - sure is, but the volumes down, the audio panel switch is rusted in no-mans land, and that bloody cabin speaker's been useless since I bought this thing in 1965 - bewdy!
Avoids IFR approaches and dense traffic areas - jeez, where's it say anything about that on my Country Road Directory? Would willingly deviate via Meekatharra to avoid talking to those guys!
Uses Landing Lights - you're joking, they're on the 'cruiser we use for shooting! Anyway, I'm having alternator trouble.
Understands VMC/VFR - yeah, I always keep outa cloud, but it means lots of bugs on the wings, and sometimes people complain about my being a bit, er... low. (stop worrying RPT, this guy will only ever worry you on a LJR)
Should we let 'em loose in E? Hell no! Refer to the 'blind' bit.
Most of them don't aspire to anyway, but they are going to mix it with everyone else in MBZ/CTAF.
And this is where I beleive the risk is greatest, because if people are unsure of their position, don't speak because they're unsure or want to avoid landing charges, don't understand what's being said by others, and don't really understand their radio gear - where are we?
This industry has a lot of awareness work left to do, and frankly, CASA would be better giving their budget to we instructors to fix things, after making a few changes to the structure of it-all over again!
cheers,