Hi Conflict Alert,
Nice off topic! - I soloed at NZPP in 1977 and first flew ZKDLI that year as well!
DX Wombat - I feel for you, we have been trying for years now to reduce the numbers of infringements in the LTMA and failed:
1.we introduced squawks for aircraft operating around the zones so that people could show that they we listening on the frequencies - if they get in to the zones controllers know that they are on frequency and can identify them so that we can then vector them clear.
2. we introduced Farnborough LARS (or is that Farnborough ATSOCAS now?)
3. We are producing VFR guides for flying around the london zones.
4. we give presentations to flying clubs etc about the issues so that pilots can see and understand the disruption.
5. when pilots infringe CAS we try to understand what caused the infringement so that we can see any trends.
Yet the numbers continue to go up. The only trend that we have found is that the pilots who infringe all say that they have a genuine reason for being distracted and getting lost. For example one of the recent infringers on a VFR flight to White Waltham said he flew in to the London Control zone because his ADF was faulty..... (on a VFR flight)
The last resort that we have come to is trying to get Transponder Mandatory Zones around Stansted (where the most infrignments occur) so that at least if an infringment occurs we can then be alerted by our own safety nets and if they fail the commercial aircraft have TCAS as a last resort.
That said, there is strong opposition to this one -
BUT - if pilots were able to stay out of the zones we would not have to resort to it
