Now I'm getting wound up...
"Broome Radio, Qantas 678, 150nm south south west inbound!"
"Qantas 678, Broome Radio. Traffic is, well, I dunno, as you won't be here for another 20-odd minutes, whatever is in the circuit will be long gone by the time you get here, there may be other traffic by then but I'll tell you about it later on as soon as I find out about it. In the meantime, as I'm also listening to Centre and know you're coming, I'll give anybody that needs to know a headsup on your later arrival. Centre will gice you traffic on any departures in your direction. You know what the airfield weather and preferred runway is, as I have had the ATIS running for the last well, since I've been on duty, and the AWIS before that. Now can I get off the CTAF so I don't annoy anybody any more?"
"Err, thanks, Broome Radio, we'll give you another call a bit later on. Qantas 678."
Thye CAGRO is not a tower. He knows you're coming, you know the ATIS, and you can/should be listening to the CTAF to start building a traffic picture as soon as you get a handoff to the Area Low freq (if it's not doubled up). There is no need to call at 150nm. IMO a poor SOP that has seems to have infected some others. I can't think of any info that I got at 150nm into a CAGRO CTAF that I cannot get comfortably later on (or at the time via the ATIS). All conversing with the CAGRO at that distance does is clog up the CTAF.
It is then often a request from ATC for the aircraft to call leaving CTA (say FL180) or around 80nm. I know we do an all stations on area (traffic XYZ and ABC Centre) and kill two birds with one stone,
I hope not. AIP requires a call to be made BEFORE FL180 (in the Broome case). The idea is to warn the VFR people (or IFR not able to get a clearance...) cruising at FL180 you're coming, not as you hit them.
the 10nm call is to advise changing track from the 200 inbound radial to join for a 5 mile final.
For goodness sake include that with the 15nm call and stop clogging up the airwaves! How long does it take you to go from 15nm to 10nm?
One thing I reckon is worth passing on to the RPT guys and gals is to not include IFR approach points in your radio calls.
How about this for an SOP: "When advising intentions on the airport frequency, it is preferable to describe any instrument approach procedure in plain language eg “at 25nm, tracking to intercept the 8nm arc for an 8nm final onto runway 08”."
