Originally Posted by
Buster the Bear
Are Bristol combining the tower and radar functions at times. Farnborough have been doing. Might account for a reduced service, but if the frequency is quiet, ask in a polite manner why your request is being denied?
Farnborough and some other airfields were allowed to do it but only in 'light traffic' conditions (before 8 am and after 8pm at Farnborough I think but I may be wrong) and of course, the tower controller had to have a valid APS rating as well as ADI/ADV, the ATM had to be suitable for identifying the aircraft and vectoring it onto the ILS and of course, the procedures and safety case had to be vetted and approved by the CAA.
Happened after I retired; in my day the use of 'surveillance equipment' to provide APS by the tower controller was strictly verboten.