Transit London/City CTR (again)
I've just heard three light singles (PA28 for example) transit the City zone. Two were at 2400' and one was cleared at 2000'.
I've read lots of threads about this and looked at the maps pretty closely. I am interested in the legality of this, NOT the sense nor the merit (routing round taking very little extra time, possibly none at all if you have to orbit before entering the zone).
In an effort to get a really good handle on this, this is what I'd like to know, in decreasing order of importance:
1) There is a theory that if the CAA disagreed with this process they'd have done something about it by now, given they know that it happens, but they've not. This seems kind of reasonable - does anybody know of some concrete examples of other ANO related items where this has or has not happened?
2) Has anybody ever tried to get a ruling from the CAA about it? I am guessing that they would just cite the various rules and regulations that we already know, which isn't very helpful.
3) The argument of "there are places to glide and land clear" seems to be based on using some questionable landing sites. (i) Given the need for prior approval to land at City airport does it constitutde a valid candidate for landing clear of the built up area? (ii) The Thames and the Lea Valley lakes/reservoir are also cited as landing possibilities - is there any concrete documentation or anecdotal evidence that ditching is valid as a land clear possibility?
4) Given that wind can make a big difference, am I right in assuming that the rules mean that one must be able to land clear at that particular moment when the flight is being made? In other words, being at a particular point over a built-up area might be legal one day but not the next, on the basis of the wind?
5) Just because you can glide to an area, is that enough? i.e. Is the LEGAL requirement to be able to land, albeit maybe roughly, fast, etc. or are you "allowed" to just smash it in to the ground, in an open space? Obviously this question is more academic than anything else, though it applies to anywhere, not just the City zone. What I'm thinking of is that it is one thing to be able to glide a particular distance, but one requires additional height to prepare a proper landing.