Magnificent cavok day – on departure the Air Traffic Controller wanted to know why I did not give a departure report. Being VFR I told him I understood it was the rules. He promptly told me that the Enroute Supplement makes it clear that departure reports are required for VFR in certain circumstances.
I had a very similar experience at YMAY back in mid-June. I asked the controller (it was quiet day) and he explained:
- No departure call required when departing the zone (CTR) directly into class G -- in other words, below 2000ft.
- Departure call is required when departing the zone into the overlying class-D CTA, even though I was only in it for a few miles before popping out into class-G and departing to the west at 2500.
I apologised, and I think I probably wasn't the first to have failed to understood this subtlety. I subsequently wrote to the CASA E-Learning people to suggest they update their teaching material to make it clearer -- but I don't think they have yet.