Sorry, cats and kittens...got swamped at work - few nights in hotels with no computer (told you I needed help - anybody know a US citizen with JAA experience??).
Zero - "airspace" phrase came up because in the UK there is a substantially different response to 121.5...although most 'towers' monitor it, there is a dedicated team 24/7 (two actually, depending on your aircraft lat/long at the time). I would know exactly what to do in UK airspace - and just wanted to know the differences...if there are any.
Forgive the long "cut and paste" posting...here's a copy of the e-mail that I sent to the FAA (before I posted on here - note that I got a response on here, before I got one from the FAA)......
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Whenever I'm flying over an unpopulated area, if there is no nearby ATC unit, I tune the aircraft radio to 121.5
Numerous reasons - good frequency to be on if I have a problem, may be able to help if I hear anyone else with a problem...and peace and quiet in the headset instead of listening to dozens of Unicom airfields all chatting at the same time (and sometimes about flying).
Let's take the second reason from that list...may be able to help if I hear anyone else with a problem.
A few months ago, whilst operating in the Hernando County area, I heard the call...(on 121.5)...
"Cessna 120, request assistance". There was no response.
Five minutes later..."Cessna 120, request assistance" Again, no response.
Another five minutes later "Cessna 120, request assistance" I called the aircraft, gave him my callsign and asked if I could help. Cessna 120 told me that he was completely lost and required navigational assistance to get home.
I asked for his altitude - 2000 feet - no problem
I asked for his fuel endurance - half tanks - no great problem
I asked if he had a mode Charlie transponder and the knowledge of how to operate it - at this point came the call "Cessna 120 this is Tampa approach, call Orlando on 119.4"
My next line - once establishing the safety of the aircraft and the experience of the pilot was to suggest that he call Orlando and use the radar to get a fix.
Question is...what should the procedure have been? Why did he not get help from ATC (any ATC) during the first fifteen minutes of calling on 121.5? More importantly - for my future reference, what should I do if I hear of another aircraft calling in distress or urgency situations?
More recently, Tuesday 25th July, I was operating to the west of Orlando and heard an ELT go off. I recorded the time (16:12 UTC, 12:12 EDT), my aircraft altitude (3,500') and my position (southern edge of Lake Apopka).
I looked at the current chart for the nearest VOR, took the frequency for FSS (St. Petersburg, 122.1R) and then tuned the VOR to 112.2 (ORL) and called St. Pete. "St. Petersburg Radio, Warrior N53379 on 112.2". No reply. Second call - exactly the same. Third call, exactly the same. Having checked and double checked the frequencies and the volume settings, I made a blind transmission to St. Petersburg that I could hear a very clear signal from an ELT and gave a radial and distance from ORL.
I then called Orlando Approach on 119.4, "Orlando Approach, Warrior N53379" No response - hey, could be on the landline. Give him a minute and call back. He called a couple of other traffic and I called again. He responded with "Warrior 53379, remain outside class B airspace, I'll call you in a couple of minutes".
I immediately called back and said "Warrior 53379, just calling to report a strong ELT signal at the Southern edge of Lake Apopka". To say the guy didn't care is an incredible understatement. He was not in the slightest bit interested and gave me little response other than a "huh, OK".
I was now approaching Kissimmee, so left him, landed and reported the same thing to the ground controller - who sat up, took notice and recorded the details.
Again, I ask - for my own education - what IS the procedure? What should I have done differently?
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Any more comments or questions?