Redhill to White Waltham

[Dave Gittins]

Flying from Redhill to White Waltham on Saturday morning. Not flown through Farnborough's space since it became class D.

Having quickly reviewed the net is it as simple as it says ?

LARS service from Dorking on Farnborough West 125.250 than about Ockham change to 133.440 to request a zone transit and keep SW of Bagshot Mast and fly round to point Sierra then call Waltham Radio.

Does it work that easily or is there something else I need to know ?

[Sleeve Wing]

Flying from Redhill to White Waltham on Saturday morning. Not flown through Farnborough's space since it became class D.

Does it work that easily or is there something else I need to know ?

Dave, just expect to be treated now as a bit stupid !
Since Farnborough’s elevation of status, they have become a little like Southampton; they unfortunately think they are now on a par with Heathrow.......and yet have less traffic than Leicester or White Waltham. OK, maybe Friday nights !
Everything has become very SOP with apparently little flexibility whereas, in the past, the guys at EGLF Radar were, especially for inexperienced Private pilots, the best thing since sliced bread.
The only way to deal with it is even more thorough Flight Planning especially regarding the position of VRPs so you don’t upset the man when he asks you to change everything you’ve expected.
Sledge hammer to crack a nut comes to mind. Why not just vector us through and spit us out at the sides.......... :=

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

I must admit, I have to disagree with Sleeve Wing.

Dave, did you manage the flight with the fog this morning? I have been flying out of Blackbushe since 2005, and I have always found Farnborough Radar very helpful. Sometimes when you read the guidance in the AIP it can seem daunting, but it is very straight forward.

Another consideration is calling LHR radar and cut the corner of the Heathrow Control Zone, they usually drop you down low level, which can be fun.

I would be interested to know how you got on.

All the best.

[Sleeve Wing]

OK, Cat3C,
Maybe I was being a little bit harsh.
A few years ago, when I was doing a lot of instructing, I actually recommended the Farnborough lads and lasses for quite a prestigious award which they won.
But that was before their airspace was purloined by the business jet and unfortunately an unnecessary change in perception.
I haven’t flown out of BLK for some time so, if this is the present case, then I am pleased that they are still the relaxed, smiling faces that I saw when I was asked, some years back, to fly a low pass by the tower in a somewhat sprightly icon of an aeroplane !

[TheOddOne]

.Thread Creep.

Years ago, a friend of mine asked Toronto for a zone transit in her Pitts S2A.
'Sure', they said 'provided you do a wheels-up low pass of the Tower'.
Pause for thought, then she tightened the straps some more, rolled inverted and did the low pass.
Smiles all round, especially in the S2A.

TOO

[Dave Gittins]

The weather intervened. the White Waltham webcam right up to 10.00 am was showing it to be very murky and we abandoned the plan as we'd anticipated being back for noon.. I decided to do a few circuits at Redhill and found the vis at 1200 feet was pretty bad (could just see the airfield from the downwind).

One of our gaggle with a Pup (the others were due to be a Cub and a Katana) was originally going to cut the corner through Heathrow. As an alternative, he took off for an anticlockwise tour of the Gatwick zone but didn't make Dorking before discretion took over.

[Silvershadow]

I’ve flown that route several times and only once has the clearance been delayed.
Once I’ve settled down out of Redhill I go straight to Farnborough Radar 133.440, usually by Dorking, and request a Traffic service and VFR zone transit via Bagshot mast then towards WOD.
Last time the clearance came through quickly before I was ready to copy it!
It’s always been to maintain VFR not above 2000ft.
Just once I had to proceed SW outside the zone and was then accepted routing west of the overhead.
Give it a try, sometimes they seem busy and it’s worth having a plan in case they say no but I haven’t been refused yet.
Good luck!

[Dave Gittins]

Thanks for that .. one of our guys had also suggested going straight to 133.440 at Dorking rather than LARS West. As you say .. always have a couple of plans.