Great. I think most informed flyers agree that on balance the best frequency to have preselected for an urgent mayday call is 121.5.
No, they don't agree at all. The informed flyers use the frequency most relevant to the circumstances they're currently in, which for 99.99% of the time is
not an emergency.
It's also very simple compared to changing frequencies all the time as the flight progresses .
True enough. I cannot fathom how we manage the strain of changing knobs on a radio once in a while. Similarly, retracting the gear after takeoff is becoming a bit too complex for me in my declining years, especially as I'm only going to have to lower it again when I arrive. Might just start leaving it down for the duration....
As more aircraft monitor this frequency-even if just on the second or third radio - it will become even more effective. Now we somehow have to get AMSA to expand on their recommendation.
Remember not to use as a chatter frequency. Not needed as you can see its working because airline pilots constantly accidentally call on this frequency when calling centre due to a mic selector error!
That's right. Whatever you do, don't use that radio as a means of talking to anyone, especially Big Bad ATC, to tell them what you're doing.
No wonder I don't like a CTAF system without a Unicom where "calling in the blind" relies on pilots transmitting on the correct frequency. Even Proffessional Airline pilots constantly make mic selector errors- no doubt us private pilots would make even more.
Dick, I thought I'd already seen the depths to which you'd plumb in order to twist every topic around to your favourite. But here we go again. It's like playing online whack-a-mole.
Are you really making the the ludicrous assertion that no-one should make calls to announce their presence, because they might get the frequency wrong? Better not even to try, then, you believe?
I wasn't going to rise to the bait again, but I cannot let this nonsense go unchallenged.
I understand that you have a firm view on how all this radio malarkey should work, and you are certainly entitled to an opinion. But your reasons for your position have been thoroughly and repeatedly debunked. Similarly, your claims of "most pilots believe" and "everyone I talk to" have been shown to be fabrications, because I don't see too many people here supporting your stance.
Despite all of the contributors here (many professionals, some not) who've pointed out the gaping holes in your arguments, you just keep plugging on. Has it occurred to you, in the face of all this opposition, that you might be in the minority? And that maybe you therefore
don't know better than everyone else?