IAOPA Europe
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Mode-S: must have, but switched off
Pilots should be aware that despite the recent order to turn off Mode-S transponders in the Amsterdam area, it remains illegal to fly in Dutch airspace above 1200 feet and in TMZs without a Mode-S transponder, and if you don't tick the correct box on your flight plan, it will not be accepted.
Ary Stigter of AOPA-Netherlands has been heavily involved in moves to try to alleviate problems caused by Holland's demand that all aircraft should install and use Mode-S transponders. Holland has run well ahead of the rest of Europe in mandating Mode-S despite the many concerns raised by IAOPA, including the fact that GA Mode-S returns would blank out commercial aircraft returns in heavily-trafficked areas. The original demand was that all aircraft in Europe should be Mode-S equipped by 2007, but the lack of a low-power lightweight transponder made this impossible. The Dutch CAA, however, mandated that all new aircraft be equipped with Mode-S from 2007, including even non-powered aircraft. The fact that Mode-S transponders for these aircraft did not exist led Holland to adopt a gradual introduction scheme for gliders ending in 2010.
For years, transponders of any type have had to be switched off below the Schiphol TMA because they triggered TCAS alerts on approaching CAT aircraft at 2000 feet. A minimum vertical separation of 800 feet is needed to avoid false alerts, so when Mode-S was made mandatory, GA aircraft were ordered to fly below 1200 feet. The Mode-S requirement came into force on March 12, 2009 without a safety assessment and in the face of doubts expressed by ATC, who had proposed that software be incorporated to filter out 7000 returns below 1500 feet. The Dutch CAA refused to allow this.
On the first day of clear VMC after March 12, Schiphol radar screens were cluttered by Mode-S returns to the point where CAT could not be seen, despite tags being reduced to the smallest print size. It was decided to close the VFR area below the SPL TMA except for some state and commercial operations. AOPA-Netherlands proposed a reversion to the previous system of switching off transponders, which has proved safe over the past 20 years. Initially the Dutch CAA opposed this, but on April 10th it agreed to reopen the airspace to VFR traffic with transponders switched off.
Ary Stigter says: "We expect a large number of protests addressed to the Minister of Transport from pilots who are affected by lack of harmonisation in EASA airspace. Lack of harmonisation will increase infringements. Safety was never not the issue for Mode-S transponders - easier identification of infringers was the driver for the Dutch CAA to force the introduction."
ELTs: don’t need, must have
IAOPA is trying to find a way around a new anomaly which means that neither British nor Dutch GA aircraft need to carry fixed ELTs, except when flying into Dutch airspace. Both countries have granted exemptions from an ICAO recommendation that all aircraft carry ELTs, so pilots don’t have to have them installed for flights at home, but the Dutch CAA says an aircraft crossing an FIR boundary from the UK into Holland is an international flight subject to ICAO rules, which require a fixed ELT. The situation came to light when a group of UK AOPA members asked IAOPA to clarify the situation because they intended to transit through Holland. The Dutch said they would make an exception for the group, but that no future concessions would be made. This could be nothing more than another laughable piece of legalistic nonsense but for the fact that in some circumstances, it might affect insurance claims. IAOPA says PLBs are far more effective and useful than ELTs, and that every pilot should have the best PLB he or she can afford.
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"The Mode-S requirement came into force on March 12, 2009 without a safety assessment " 