dgger
17th Mar 2018, 14:02
Fellow pilots,
I am looking to overfly the Okavango Delta and perhaps pass along the Victoria Falls next week. While I have all my permits, charts and whatnot down already, I still wonder, if there are any Air2Air frequencies in use in these areas - or perhaps unoffical frequencies even. I did not find any in my documentation or the charts. Can any of you guys advise?
I appreciate your help.
PilotInPink
18th Mar 2018, 11:24
The uncontrolled frequency in Botswana is 125.5. Be aware, it does get a bit busy sometimes with the local operators in the Delta.
Keep your calls short and concise. A basic format that you can use is registration, aircraft type, departure point and destination, altitude, position.
Eg. "XYZ, cherokee, Maun to Kasane, 5500ft, abeam Khwai"
The local operators use the same format (minus aircraft type as we are all familiar with each other's fleet). There are guys who speak very fast, and there are bound to be places you can't find on the map, but don't despair, we all recognize a non-local aircraft immediately and will chat to the pilot directly if we identify a conflict. If necessary we might ask you to change to 124.5 briefly to resolve the conflict.
If you are stopping by Maun at all feel free to pop in to one of the charter companies and chat to a pilot for any route advice.
I can't help much with Vic Falls I'm afraid, it's been a few years since I last flew there. There is a discrete frequency though for the Victoria Falls Special Rules Area.
dgger
18th Mar 2018, 16:33
Awesome! That sounds like solid advise. Thank you so much for your help. Catch you on 125.5.