Max Angle,
Yes, I agree with you. What you describle makes most sense, it's the easiest to apply, and to me, it's the safest. In fact, that's what I used to apply in a previous life. However, in the context of working in a large organisation, you can't go around half cocked doing your own thing. It's important that everyone do the same thing at the same time. That's what I'm getting at.
So I'm trying to find out what Europeans do in Europe in this regard, and based on documented State procedures and regulations.
Just wondering.... In the context of EU and Eurocontrol, have the individual State AIP's and ATS procedures been amalgamated into unified EU documents? If so, then I would expect that there would not be any difference between various European states on this issue.
Scud