Booking out has never been mandatory on a legislative basis.

Yes, it was!


2 s

Was this Dave Norris, one time of Bournemouth Flying Club.

flybymike

You need to look up what happened after the "Bentine" accident many years ago. There was a famous comedian - Michael Bentine - whose son went missing in a Piper Cub out of Blackbushe. The wreck wasn't found for a considerable time and the rules for booking out were tightened thereafter...

Club rules maybe but not legislation.

A question for those who think that booking out has always been legally mandatory: How would a helicopter pilot departing from a farmer's field comply with such a requirement?

Hazy memory but wasn't the requirement for an airfield to maintain a movements book, rather than for a pilot to use it?

If you're going to "land away" you naturally tell someone at your Club what your intentions are - if only to ensure they don't declare you "missing" when you don't return after a reasonable time. In this situation, you're probably not asked whether you agree with "the plan" so you maintain a respectful (especially in this case) silence and hope for the best.

Many years ago before I had my own strip I kept my plane at a local airfield, returning from a flight I was contfronted by a FI from the school next door who gave me a bollocking for not signing out. I asked him why he thought I was obligated to do so. He responded that if authorities ever showed up to investigate illegalities like drug smuggling he was obligated to turn over all movement records. I got the impression it was more to do with this particular guy wanting to boss people around than a legal obligation he or I had to log all my movements. I politley explaned that if I was indeed planning on doing a bit smuggling he'd be the last person I'd share my plans with. Never heard any more from him.

Arfur, Obviously it makes total sense for SAR purposes but that's not the same as a legal requirement.

Chalgrove as a destination
 

Being at the bottom of the Chinnor Ridge, Chalgrove airfield used to be handy if your glider was too low to make it back to Booker. During the week we used to warn beginners to look out for Martin Baker's testing of ejector seats.
If you landed there on the weekend, there was no way out because nobody was looking after it! and surrounded with very high strong wire fence and locked gates. Our only way out was to phone for an airtow which meant nobody left on the ground to run with the wingtip, but we managed. Didn't have to worry about other traffic. Martin Baker didn't seem bothered.

Apparently they are planning to sell off some of the land for housing.

Or a fixed wing aircraft from a private strip.

Who are you going to tell? Where are you intending to go? Have you even made up your mind where you are going when you took off? Who cares anyway?

The whole world is familiar with the Bentine incident, but there has still never been a legislative requirement to book out.

You can hardly expect younger people to know about Bentine. What is it about the ANO and RoA (as were) as quoted by LookingForAJob that you interpret as "never been a legislative requirement"?!


2 s

Booking out by phone prior to flight is often a requirement at larger ATC-equipped airfields. At smaller GA fields the booking out provision - that several people here have identified in what used to be Rule 17(2) of the Rules of the Air - is normally done over the radio. I'm not overly familiar with AFISO procedures but certainly at Air-to-Ground airfields there's no requirement for the Radio Operator to log any of the information passed by pilots. So in the context of this accident I don't think there's any relevance to what the pilot may or may not have told Turweston before departing.

2sheds.
The section highlighted in bold by LFAJ may be achieved over the radio before take off or arrival, without any formal "booking out" procedure. Many pilots bimble aimlessly with no specific destination or time en route in mind.

Thousands of flights take place to and from private strips or airfields where there may not even be a radio operator never mind any formal logging procedure.

The requirement only means that the airfield operator (if there is one) ha a log of arrivals and departures. The origin of the arrival, and destination of departure information is customary, but not a legal requirement under Rule 17 (2).

Show us the legislation please.

LFAJ,

It's impossible to "book in", or out if there is no book and no-one to keep one.

However, as far as helicopter landings go, the UK CAA do require an operator to keep a record of helicopter landings carried out under a written permission to be exempted from the 1,000 foot rule given by (sorry, purchased from) them with regard to a particular landing site in a congested area.

From CAP 694 "The UK Flight Planning Guide":-

Chapter 1 Page 4 para 5

Ok this Rule no longer applies but this seems to confirm there was a requirement to book out.