Airfields NOT require PPR by phone
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I don't think many people have an issue with a private airfield requiring a phone call. After all, it is private. Most of them are on the 28 day rule so they are going to be ultra sensitive.
However, if an airfield is a public one then there is a conflict between it requiring PPR, and being public. A puclic airport must accept traffic unless obviously not possible.
More or less every airfield has movement limits but they don't use PPR to work within these i.e. there isn't some bloke in some office looking at their traffic projection for the year, and allowing people to come or not. So, why bother doing it? Probably 99% of "PPR" airports do it for a laugh and nothing else.
I suppose one could come off the enroute controller, call up Approach, and if refused, set 7600, make some blind calls, and land as per the filed flight plan 
I'll try that next time.... south of the "border" 
However, if an airfield is a public one then there is a conflict between it requiring PPR, and being public. A puclic airport must accept traffic unless obviously not possible.
More or less every airfield has movement limits but they don't use PPR to work within these i.e. there isn't some bloke in some office looking at their traffic projection for the year, and allowing people to come or not. So, why bother doing it? Probably 99% of "PPR" airports do it for a laugh and nothing else.
I sometimes wonder if with all the faxing, calling, emailing and AFTNing you are not just waking sleeping dogs
I'll try that next time.... south of the "border"
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My experience with PPR's is that no one answers on any published number, or replies to any email. And if you by a great fluke should happen to get someone on the blower, they always say "ahh, we don't bother with that here - just fly in". So the published PPR req seems mostly like window dressing.
Granted, this is mainly on the smaller fields.
Granted, this is mainly on the smaller fields.
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Half the time as far as I can tell from ATC mates the only reason why they want PPR is so thay can have a strip prepared for the controller.
O and Dundee accepts no PPR as long as you have a radio.
O and Dundee accepts no PPR as long as you have a radio.
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I suppose one could come off the enroute controller, call up Approach, and if refused, set 7600, make some blind calls, and land as per the filed flight plan I'll try that next time.... south of the "border"
Just one more thing: make sure you land between 1400 and 1700 local. Nobody will be there. Park you a/c, walk to staff canteen and join everyone for lunch. Make new friends. Just don't try to uplift fuel
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No, that would be breaking another aviation tradition: always get refuelled immediately after landing. Even the most primitive airport tries to get you off airside fast, and if you don't budge until you have fuel, fuel turns up very fast.
If you choose to refuel before departure, the fuel man has no incentive to turn up - they couldn't care less.
If you choose to refuel before departure, the fuel man has no incentive to turn up - they couldn't care less.
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Both myself and others in our 172 group had have a roasting from ATC at both Aberdeen and Inverness for no PPR. Aberdeen are getting increasingly shirty about it (even though the aircraft is based there and was just away for an hour or two down to Dundee and back), but I wonder if that just depends who you get (and to be fair to them, it can be helluva busy with the whirly mob and commercial stuff). (they're getting a bit odd in general - i.e. doing away with booking out via the phone - it'll need to be done by the stupid AFPEx non-website in the future they tell us 
)
One of our group was out on a bimble out of Aberdeen, headed up to Inverness and thought he'd pop in for a coffee/have a chat about training - all quiet, nothing in-bound/outbound - called up to ask and was told "no PPR, no landing" in no uncertain terms.
So he routes overhead to bimble onto the North, and suddenly they're back on the horn asking him if he'd like to land and it's all fine really. He declined based on their previous attitude and headed home.
)One of our group was out on a bimble out of Aberdeen, headed up to Inverness and thought he'd pop in for a coffee/have a chat about training - all quiet, nothing in-bound/outbound - called up to ask and was told "no PPR, no landing" in no uncertain terms.
So he routes overhead to bimble onto the North, and suddenly they're back on the horn asking him if he'd like to land and it's all fine really. He declined based on their previous attitude and headed home.
