Wiz,
You say that everyone at Liverpool is happy. That does not sound like a farce.
I think your ATS airspace classification chart and my Aerad data are entirely consistent. Were you suggesting there was an inconsistency?
I will make the assumption that you fly IFR most of the time.
Have you ever been lined up on Liverpool’s runway and ready to go and been told :
“XYZ, traffic is a Cessna 152 on upwind, he’ll be making an early right turn and remaining in the circuit – report sighting?”
“Traffic in sight, XYZ”
“XYZ, with that traffic in sight, clear for take-off runway 27”
That’s traffic information. You are not being “positively separated” from the VFR aircraft, nor is the controller required to provide a separation service.
I imagine that’s what they do at Liverpool?
Air traffic controllers are not required to separate IFR from VFR in class D – just the same as controllers are not required to separate IFR from VFR in class E.
As you point out, the only real difference between class D and class E is that in class D all VFR traffic is known.
But the VFR Lancair in the SMOKA incident was known, had been assigned a discreet transponder code, and had been radar identified.
Yet the controllers still cleared the IFR aircraft to descend through the level of known VFR traffic. Why would they do that?
I am not aware of any rule that says Australian class E radar controllers MUST descend IFR aircraft through the level of known VFR traffic. If you are aware of such a rule then please provide a reference for it.
To the contrary, common sense dictates that to do so would be highly unwise.
A responsible controller would say to an IFR aircraft :
“XYZ, traffic in your 2 o’clock, 1 mile, maintaining 9500 feet, a Cessna 182 – report sighting?”
or
“XYZ, traffic in your 2 o’clock, 1 mile, maintaining 9500 feet unverified, type unknown – report sighting?”
(as they do in the USA about 10,000 times a day)
“traffic in sight, XYZ”
“XYZ, descend altitude 9500 feet”
That is a traffic information service, not a separation service.
A controller who was trying to notch up another “NAS System Failure” would say to an IFR aircraft :
“XYZ, traffc in your 2 o’clock, 1 mile, maintaining 9500 feet, a Cessna 182 – descend altitude 9500 feet”
That goes just the same for class D as it does for class E.
Now THAT’S a farce.