US ATC''s Expertise & Experience Required on Dunnunda Zone - Pls Help!!

[Achilles]

There is about to be a change in the airspace system in Australia based on the North American Sytem.

If you have the fortitude, please visit: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showth...?threadid=57811
and see if you can provide some answers regarding your airspace, too many to detail here.

Thanks

['%MAC']

Dude, that post is like seven pages long. I can't figure out what's going on, except that people really don't like Dick Smith. I flew relatively heavy equipment into non-towered airports, what we call class G. He mentions something about that (page 1 or 2). We really need to use 2 radios, one on CTAF and the other on ATC. ATC will let us switch freqs, depending on traffic, 15 - 10 miles from the field. We make a call at 20 out, 15 out with plans, ie heavy xyz will enter mid-field left downwind runway 29, traffic in the bodunk area please advise. Then at 10 out, again at 5 out with intentions, and then entering the pattern and every leg in the pattern. If we are doing an approach, then the same distances apply but we say something like '5 mile final runway 29 at 1,500' descending, traffic advise'. The problem arises when the wx requires us to do an instrument approach, but someone is doing pattern work. This can happen with a ceiling of 1001ft and a visibility of 1.001 miles. Now if he is in a J3 or some such fun aircraft without an electrical system he need not communicate. So we're at 140kias on final and breaking out at 1001ft see a J-3 also on final, 1 mile in front at 40kias. At MDA/ DH one is generally looking for the runway, not nordo traffic, but you learn fast.

In different circumstances the Quincy accident is typical of what can happen at non-towered airports. Don't know if this is what you were looking for.

By the way for some strange reason the link above doesn't work. Your other link does... go figure.

[FWA NATCA]

Achilles,

For acurate answers about the US air traffic system have our brothers down below contact the National Air Traffic Controllers Association National Office at 202-628-5451 and ask for Mr. John Carr - National President, or Ms. Ruth Marlin - Executive Vice President of NATCA.

If they are willing they can also post questions on the NATCA Public BBS at: http://www.natca.org/PublicBBS.asp

Mike
FWA

[Achilles]

% MAC, sorry to be so unspecific. Your example of the J# is what people are worried about here, amongst other things.

I hope to get the fortitude to get more specifics and post them here, and hopefully transfer them across to the Dunnunda Zone.