What are the rules in relation to position reporting in non-controlled airspace?
Thread Starter
What are the rules in relation to position reporting in non-controlled airspace?
I flew the Caravan C208B to Merimbula on the weekend and decided to go IFR so I could pay a little bit towards the controllers’ salaries and superannuation through the enroute “toll” charge.
I asked the controller in the Melbourne Centre if I needed to give a position report overhead Nowra at 8,000 feet but was told that this was not required because I was within radar/ADS-B coverage. It appears that commercial pilots routinely do not give position reports in uncontrolled airspace when operating IFR when they are in radar/ADS-B coverage.
In looking up the CASA regulations, it looks as if you still have to give a position report under certain circumstances when under surveillance. If you don’t (and I didn’t) how does an unsuspecting VFR pilot who is descending through your level know where you are?
As you know, we are the only country in the world that has all of the frequency boundaries on the charts so VFR pilots must monitor and answer IFR pilots when in the vicinity of each other. In this particular case, all the hundreds of VFR pilots flying nearby, monitoring the frequency and passing through my level would have had no idea I was there.
Can someone bring me up to date on what the rules are?
I asked the controller in the Melbourne Centre if I needed to give a position report overhead Nowra at 8,000 feet but was told that this was not required because I was within radar/ADS-B coverage. It appears that commercial pilots routinely do not give position reports in uncontrolled airspace when operating IFR when they are in radar/ADS-B coverage.
In looking up the CASA regulations, it looks as if you still have to give a position report under certain circumstances when under surveillance. If you don’t (and I didn’t) how does an unsuspecting VFR pilot who is descending through your level know where you are?
As you know, we are the only country in the world that has all of the frequency boundaries on the charts so VFR pilots must monitor and answer IFR pilots when in the vicinity of each other. In this particular case, all the hundreds of VFR pilots flying nearby, monitoring the frequency and passing through my level would have had no idea I was there.
Can someone bring me up to date on what the rules are?
Hundreds of VFR pilots nearby descending through your level?
Doesn't fit the CASA has killed GA narrative.
Doesn't fit the CASA has killed GA narrative.
From my experience Dick, in similar airspace where IFR are mixed with VFR, they simply advise the IFR aircraft where the VFR are if they are nearby and are perceived to be a threat. The issues with that are that the controller hasn't necessarily spoken at all to the VFR pilot in class E airspace so he doesn't know who they are or where they are going or even verified their altitude, so they will need to report to the IFR guy as such.
You'd have to think the risk was moderately low if you're up high as not many VFR are within the 8,500ft to FL180 but you never know do you, perhaps a VFR L39 from the AOPA L39 owners club could be playing up there! The VFR guy only needs to be capable of comms with ATC and not demonstrate it unless I'm mistaken so who knows if he will respond to requests from ATC...
You'd have to think the risk was moderately low if you're up high as not many VFR are within the 8,500ft to FL180 but you never know do you, perhaps a VFR L39 from the AOPA L39 owners club could be playing up there! The VFR guy only needs to be capable of comms with ATC and not demonstrate it unless I'm mistaken so who knows if he will respond to requests from ATC...
Thread Starter
So Captain. What is the answer? Are position reports required overhead NW for IFR in uncontrolled airspace when in radar coverage.
It may be a worry to you but do you know the factual answer?
It may be a worry to you but do you know the factual answer?
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Who did your last IPC? hmmmmmmmm
Short answer is no, routine reports not required
The AIP says, unless identified, position reports for IFRs are mandatory. If you are in radar coverage, you are identified, thus they are not mandatory. But of course you are IFR in VMC, so you will be looking out the window, as will the VFR. If you are IFR in IMC, you won't have to worry about the VFRs.
Amen to that.
Dick was the head of CASA. He flies turbine fixed, and rotary wing equipment in Australian airspace - he also seems to have an overwhelming desire to make position reports in controlled airspace when radar identified; Just in case some guy/girl in a C152 happens to be there ?
WTF. How do we have the ex-head of CASA that doesn’t understand how IFR works ? I won’t even start on the complete lack of understanding of RNP and RNAV from his previous posts. No wonder Oz still lives in the dark ages.
Dick was the head of CASA. He flies turbine fixed, and rotary wing equipment in Australian airspace - he also seems to have an overwhelming desire to make position reports in controlled airspace when radar identified; Just in case some guy/girl in a C152 happens to be there ?
WTF. How do we have the ex-head of CASA that doesn’t understand how IFR works ? I won’t even start on the complete lack of understanding of RNP and RNAV from his previous posts. No wonder Oz still lives in the dark ages.
He wanted the approach charts renamed to match whatever non standard, shonky Garmin Software he was using. Someone should have forced him to try and pass an airline PIC check before he started the job at CASA. No, I don’t think that’s a badge of intelligence, or courage. But it would have given him at least an idea about standardization and how the industry works (unles you own a turbine helicopter of course
Now, I hesitate to propose a solution.
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Touché. Still I find confusing that uncontrolled airspace has non-controlled aerodromes. However flying to non-controlled aerodromes sounds a little safer than to uncontrolled aerodrome, where no one cares.