Nonsense NOTAMs
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Milton Keynes
Age: 66
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An AIC has now been issued on the location of RAF AEF, times of operations and contact details.
It can be found on the front page of the AIS website, www.ais.org.uk
It can be found on the front page of the AIS website, www.ais.org.uk
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: UK
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The latest update seems a mix of good news and bad news....
The good news is that it looks likely that the NOTAM's may not be issued for this weekend. Hurrah.
The bad news is that an AIC has been published (http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/aip/current/aic/AEF.pdf). Basically it says that there's flying taking place.
One handy thing that the AIC provides is a list of VHF frequencies that can be used to establish contact if flying within the notified airspace (each of the 12 AEF sites has an area of 700nm/Sq from ground to FL100). Strikes me as quite a good idea actually to publish contact details. Let's hope that the units are manned appropriately to deal with the number of calls that may arise from traffic transiting such a wide area.
The good news is that it looks likely that the NOTAM's may not be issued for this weekend. Hurrah.
The bad news is that an AIC has been published (http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/aip/current/aic/AEF.pdf). Basically it says that there's flying taking place.
One handy thing that the AIC provides is a list of VHF frequencies that can be used to establish contact if flying within the notified airspace (each of the 12 AEF sites has an area of 700nm/Sq from ground to FL100). Strikes me as quite a good idea actually to publish contact details. Let's hope that the units are manned appropriately to deal with the number of calls that may arise from traffic transiting such a wide area.
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Hampshire
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The only "closer than I would have liked" encounters with other aircraft that have happened to me both inolved RAF aircraft flying air cadets. One was just North of Benson, when the weather was fairly poor and everyone was huddled up just beneath the cloudbase; a Grob Tutor came out of nowhere and we had to take avoiding action. With hindsight, the weather was marginal (albeit legal) for VMC and I don't think I would intentionally fly in such conditions again unless I absolutely had to; why take the risk?
The other occurence was just West of the Brize/Abingdon gap on a beautiful day with nil weather, when a Grob 109 motor glider, co-altitude (completely ignoring the quadrantal rule), flew from left to right across my flightpath and didn't even notice me. Again, avoiding action was required.
Would the NOTAMs have prevented these occurrences? I don't think so. What avoided disaster was a good lookout. The only thing that may have helped would have been one of those TCAS-like devices (the name eludes me) that some GA aircraft have fitted to provide an approximate indication of the relative position of other transponder equipped aircraft. If the RAF really wants to improve the safety of VGS and AEF operations then they should consider fitting this equipment to their powered aircraft, and battery powered transponders to their gliders.
Should the NOTAMs continue? Well surely it is a matter of education? GA pilots and glider pilots should make sure they know where the congested area of airspace are likely to be and plan their flightpath accordingly, while noting areas where an extra emphasis on lookout would be beneficial. In the long term the AIC seems like as good a method as any for communicating this knowledge to the GA community provided, of course, people read it...
The other occurence was just West of the Brize/Abingdon gap on a beautiful day with nil weather, when a Grob 109 motor glider, co-altitude (completely ignoring the quadrantal rule), flew from left to right across my flightpath and didn't even notice me. Again, avoiding action was required.
Would the NOTAMs have prevented these occurrences? I don't think so. What avoided disaster was a good lookout. The only thing that may have helped would have been one of those TCAS-like devices (the name eludes me) that some GA aircraft have fitted to provide an approximate indication of the relative position of other transponder equipped aircraft. If the RAF really wants to improve the safety of VGS and AEF operations then they should consider fitting this equipment to their powered aircraft, and battery powered transponders to their gliders.
Should the NOTAMs continue? Well surely it is a matter of education? GA pilots and glider pilots should make sure they know where the congested area of airspace are likely to be and plan their flightpath accordingly, while noting areas where an extra emphasis on lookout would be beneficial. In the long term the AIC seems like as good a method as any for communicating this knowledge to the GA community provided, of course, people read it...
