Hi guys,
what is your response to a controller who cannot offer a service but wants you to squawk for "indentification purposes"
My response is "JFDI"...
- where's the harm in it?
- it might help the controller feel confident that you are where you say you are
- this is more important in certain cases (like EGLC) where some older airspace boundaries exist even though cvertain permutations of current approach procedures and faster speeds mean that part of the approach may take place OCA... would we prefer them to increase the amount of controlled airspace?
- pre-GPS people gave a wider berth to controlled airspace - now we can fly right up against the little line on the moving map, so given the above there is greater potential risk and so the controller might be interested to keep an eye on us, not unreasonably
- it costs nothing
- it's just a bit of give & take
- if you are not flying within CAS then you have nothing to worry about; if you are then better that they advise you of this, surely?!
Not to do so IMHO is kind of paranoid and uncooperative - after all, we often get services that they are not obliged to offer us (OK, maybe they should be obliged to give us e.g. RIS when we want it, but the fact is they are not). As part of good airmanship we should aim to be cooperative wherever possible: OK, the favour is not always returned I'll grant you, but to take the opposite stance would seem to entrench "us and them" too much and potentially make matters worse.
Andy
