ORAC....
So, come on tell us, what's your experience and knowledge of UK airspace and Rules of the Air?
Hmmm. Joined the RAF as an air defence controller in 1975 and served in air defence for the next 25 years. Qualified in all AD roles from IDRO to MC. Served several tours as an FA and MC intercepting Russian aircraft on a day to day basis. As an MC ran the air defences of the UK on a routine daily basis. My log book shows several hundred QRA intercepts of Bears. Left in 1999 after tours in SOC UK and the UKCAOC.
Could I ask your equivalent experience?
35 years in civil Air Traffic working for a world leader in ATC. Having to answer phone calls to ADNC asking about unidentified aircraft that they failed to identify. Having to explain to civil aircraft why they had just had an air miss with a foreign aircraft over the North Sea because the mil pilot knew nothing about controlled airspace and the military controller thought taking five through some of the worlds busiest airspace was adequate. Having to vector civil aircraft around QRA who flew into controlled airspace whilst enroute to intercepting a PLOC aircraft causing a loss of separation between civil airliners, not once but twice in the space of minutes. Even the RAF can cause havoc in the London FIR because the pilots think they are Topgun and the mil controller hasn't a sodding clue when it comes to controlling aeroplanes. So yes, I have a little experience.
