The discussion here, and in particular ChrisN’s sensible practical comments (thanks again!), motivated me to spend a wet Sunday looking at the books once more, in turn prompting a few observations…
Matspart3 (and glider pilots might note): There’s a comment in an unfashionable corner of the half-million chart that “Pilots who intend to fly to or route adjacent to aerodromes with IAPs are strongly recommended when flying within 10nm of the aerodrome to contact the aerodrome ATSU.” Five mile finals from an instrument runway seems pretty well covered by that to me. (There’s also the rule about keeping clear of circuit traffic, but five miles looks a long way if you’re used to glider circuits…)
How many of the glider pilots that day had R/T licences, though? I’ve already hinted that even those of us (non-power types) that are legal find chatting to controllers a bit daunting, so maybe there’s some education - spreading encouraging rumours - to be done.
Both the old Upper Heyford Mandatory Radio Area and the new rules about corners of the Brize Norton zone let glider pilots call without holding an R/T licence. If someone in authority had the enthusiasm, that idea could in principle be extended to all glider calls from, say, class G airspace – which ought to limit it to advisory calls, special calls as for Brize, MATZ crossings, and DF requests from the bewildered.
Gengis: that could also include ATZs.
QDM^3: The greatest peril seems to me to be in cloud. That’s one reason – the other being lack of necessary competence - why I don’t fly there, so the following is second hand: but my impression is that most glider pilots reckon the biggest danger is from other gliders, which is why they chatter to each other on 130.4. I’ve yet to see a glider with a second radio, so I don’t imagine they’ll be talking much to nearby airfields or radar at the same time - though it would be wise to do so and someone might correct me. So 130.4 is the frequency to monitor.
(For non-glider pilots: as I understand it, the freedom from official licencing for gliding extends to IMC and, as the BGA’s Laws and Rules say on one of the few pages that doesn’t refer to road trailers, ‘Since gliders are always either climbing or descending and never in steady level cruising flight the “quadrant rule” is irrelevant to them. There are therefore no special rules for IFR flight by gliders outside controlled airspace…’)
ChrisN: The Devon flight in particular sounds wonderful, and an excellent advert for getting an R/T licence. I’d guess that was 500km, maybe a smidgen more?
Tim