Thank you!

[blondie118]

I'd just like to say thank you to the 6 willing victims that were talked in to accepting an SRA for 'controller training' at Stansted on saturday evening.

The one aircraft that sticks out in my mind was AMM486F. Thank you very much for the kind the words, it was very much appreciated and made my day.xx

I've got another 19 SRA's to do in the next few months so it could be you!!!

Thank you all again.:D :ok: :D

[niknak]

Just out of interest, can you do an SRA for Stansted at Essex Radar, or does it have to be done on the radar at Stansted itself?

The reason I ask is that we do APR for ou base from a remote location during the day, but early morning and after 1700 it's done from the airfield itself, and we're not allowed to do SRAs from the remote location.

Which in turn raises the question, do some of the bods who are permanently at Stansted (as opposed to Essex) keep their approach radar ratings valid by doing the SRAs at Stansted?

[rodan]

I remember like it was only yesterday, (and it was only a few months back), the dread in the poor pilots voices when they realised it was me answering their initial call, and that the next transmission would inevitably be 'For controller training can you accept an SRA to runway XY?'.

Stick in there Blondie118, they become second nature after 20 or so :)

[Slaphead]

niknak

Essex Radar and Stansted Final Director are both done from Terminal Control at West Drayton. Essex does the initial vectoring for Stansted, Luton and Cambridge arrivals and hands off to a final director for Stansted or a final director for Luton when required. Sometimes the functions of Essex and Stansted are combined in light traffic.

SRAs are never done Stansted airport itself, they are always done from Terminal Control. This applies to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and, from November 27th, London City and Biggin Hill although the approach function for the latter two is already remote at Heathrow Tower

[Jerricho]

Hey Blonde One.......

Kind words help with them SRA thingies!

Although, a certain Shamrock pilot took great delight one day in informing me "You were doing so well until the last turn, which pointed us at the fence........"

Hang in there chick! :p

[blondie118]

Hey jerricho!!

There's always one isn't there! lol

I don't know if they were just being kind about my SRA's but it cheered me up all the same! :D

see you at work!:ok:

[coalface]

And a thank you to the controllers

As a pilot, I miss SRA's. It was the one type of approach when one could relax and let the controller do all the work. The pilot just did what he was told (there were no female helicopter pilots then).

Sumburgh airport used to do fantastic SRA's. The fickle weather there often caught out the oil support helicopters and we would end up doing SRA's into Sumburgh with not enough fuel to go anywhere else. The controllers would give us radar headings down to the "termination" point at 0.5 mile and then give "suggested" headings until we were over the threshold.

It was not until I was paying a visit to the radar room on a non flying day and I watched the radar controllers having to tweak the radar tilt control down to minimum to keep the aircraft on the screen as my colleagues descended way below the glide path over the sea to give the best chance of getting in did I realize how co-operative the controllers were being.

There was one particular female controller who was exceptionally good in those circumstances. She had the calmest, coolest voice I have heard over the R/t and I always thought that if I was on my last ounce of fuel, one engine on fire, my copilot dead etc it would be her I would have wanted on the other end of the radio. I think she was one of a husband and wife pair of ATC'ers at Sumburgh and I suspect they will have retired by now but on the off chance that she is a Ppruner, may I say madam "You were greatly appreciated"