Rustle - I ain't an old codger
, but I DO know how TCAS and SSR works. (cheeky young scamp)
PS Glass cockpits are not ALL good news BTW too many people don't look out as it is !!
The CAAs premise is built on a false prospectus. They say it will improve the 'interoperability' between aircraft. They then quote very selective statistics to try and show the number of GA aircraft involved in Airproxes, while ignoring the greater military v civil risk. It is this duplicitous stance that really gets my goat.
1 - Unless you are fitted with TCAS (which all CAT is) you will not be warned of traffic. AT the moment there are some 25,000 flying machines registered in the UK .. I believe about 7000 have transponders. The CAA wallahs that have these grand plans live in offices - they do not work in a radar room, and certainly do not seem to understand that the rules for the congested airspace round London TMA are not necessarily suitable for the Celtic Fringes.
2- The only way therefore to be warned on traffic if you don't have TCAS fitted is to call for a radar service, (unless we went for a TIS type service as found on the USA eastcoast). To call for a radar service you must have a radio (not compulsory). I think that is a reasonable demand (to ask for a radar service) given that it is the CAA that is demanding the fitment. Now just imagine .... all 86 aircraft that visited Strathallan last July's fly-in .... all calling for a service with their shiny new Mode S transponders .... do you know how cluttered 3 or 4 responses look like overlapping at the same airfield ? ... do you know that on some sectors (the big 200 mile sectors) because of the screen size the smallest size SSR label can take up almost 15 miles of airspace ? Do you how tricky it is to hook and rotate even one of these ? Explain how we filter them out ? By height (is it correct)? By destination (how do we know) ? Or do we jsut drop them entirely ... how do we then avoid them if we can't see them ... I really want to know.
3- There is no requirement to have your Mode C verified on every VFR flight - how do I as a radar controller, or the Easyjets TCAS know that that 7000 squawks Mode C is actually correct ? Duff Mode C does happen, and TCAS only calculates avoidance based on Mode C info and climb/descent instrcutions. It does not provide turn or vector info.
4- the highest risk to CAT and GA in class F+G is actually with military maneouvring and ignoring Advisory routes - if you don't believe me, come for a visit to Scottish Centre on a busy mil day and see for yourself.
5- There is no plan to make TCAS or CWS (collision warning system) compulsory in military jets. I would fit Mode S in an instant if there was - my modus operandi is low level in and out of lochs ... (well below radar cover by the way) .. what benefit is mode S to me ?
6- This is all about appeasing the airline lobby (again) and facilitatiing low-cost 737s and A320s flying outside CAS and "opening up new routes" - so what happens when the planned for growth doesn't happen - or shock horror we reach the traffic peak and start a gentle readjustment .. ?
Imagine the principle of insisting that because more trucks wanted to use the road .. YOU, little man in your little car would have to fit an electronic device so that er.... someone else could watch you .. and err... maybe charge you for the privilege ... and er .... try not to hit you .... .. no silly idea our over-controlling Orwellian government would never think of that one ....
7- if there is an established risk of a mid-air with an easyjet or ryanair flying into Inverness (for example) ... some bean counter will have worked this out ... there must then be an equal cost benefit to someone from the lack of a mid-air ... £150 million plus ? .. so if that risk is perceived by the airlines and their bean-counters, I think the airlines and the insurers should be prepared to pay for overall installation. Say £5000 per fitting times 18,000 aircraft = ... about £90 million.
Fantastic !! At a stroke I've just saved £60 million - saved the airlines a lot of bad publicity - saved 100 children from being orphans - saved insurance companies a huge loss (and obviously reduced the risk which will obviously be passed on to all aircraft insurance premiums)- and I've made 17000 aircraft owners safer and happier ....
If someone benefits from this imposition, then it seems reasonable that rather than pass the cost of this onto everyone else, THEY should stump up for it.
