When is "well clear" well clear?

[karrank]

Again from the Launy incident ATSB report. As I read the report the pilot thought he was doing the right thing by looking out his windows and keeping his gob shut. He was even tin-plating his @rse by offsetting his track by an admittedly ineffectual margin.

In the roadshow Smith expressed very keenly that VFR should be quiet if they are well clear, but never actually committed himself as to what "well clear" meant, or for that matter never actually admitted that there may be occasions where the VFR talking may help.

How clear do you think a VFR should be from a "known" IFR flight before he doesn't announce his presence/location?

Having sighted the IFR traffic, how clear should the flight be before it would not be nice to announce, "hello jet, I'm in your 11 o'clock low at 2 miles"?

[Spinnerhead]

When ever I hear someone use that term "should be well clear then", it means one of two things:-

1. We are so obviously well clear that it need not be mentioned (like thanks for stating the bleeding obvious you twit).

2. The person who said it has absolutely no bloody idea where I am (but by saying those magic words they will now be 'well clear').

[Spotlight]

Spinner head. Quite true but the inverse can also be true. i.e stating the bleeding obvious to someone going north who persists in asking your details when you are inbound from the south.

[Continental-520]

I don't wanna sound like a walking/talking CAR/CAO/AIP, but is the term "well clear" even included in the official phraseology?


520.

[GrossWeight]

a legal definition or a little help here dick, wouldn't go astray...

or must we rely on that elusive "common sense"?

:=