There are always those who wish to kick against the system and reading this thread it becomes evident that for a variety of reasons some pilots just don’t wish to be helpful and cooperative. They see all rules as a nuisance and for the benefit of someone else.
Booking out [with which filing a flight plan complies] is a simple procedure and takes a couple of minutes or so. As a consequence of making the effort, the following benefits are derived…….no not all by the pilot, but there are other people in this world!
The ATS unit [be it ATC, AFIS or A/G] will know who you are, what your likely requirements will be and which route you will be using to leave their airspace [particularly useful in regulated airspace].
If this is done by telephone [a requirement at some airfields] then the ‘tower’ will have a pre-prepared flight progress strip [or whatever they use]. This is particularly helpful at busy airfields where passing details on the RTF is both time consuming and an unnecessary distraction for the radio operator/ATCO etc. It also clogs up the frequency.
ATS will know whether or not to expect your return and approximately at what time.
Licensed/Certificated Airfields are required to maintain an aircraft movements log. Completion of the log requires information about the flight destination.
In the event of an aircraft going missing, search co-ordinators will have a clue where to start looking. If, perchance, the pilot and passengers are injured on a remote hillside, they will have a greater possibility of survival. Surely in the best interests of relatives/friends etc.
If the pilot/operator is engaged in criminal activities, the police, HMRC etc will have a better chance of discovering their activities and taking the appropriate action. That interests the law abiding citizens!
This may all appear ‘nanny state’ and maybe it isn’t done in some parts of the world. However the UK has applied a good SMS principle and learned from its mistakes. As a consequence of many accidents over the years, we have learned that the more readily available the information about a flight the better the chances of survival. It also makes for the more efficient use of search resources…….paid for by the rest of us!
On a personal note, as a former ATCO I have, over the years, spent countless hours on telephones trying to track down missing aircraft which the simple expedient of a telephone call would have prevented!
It’s no big deal, it’s not big brother, it’s common sense!
H49