Air to Air Chat?

[Genghis the Engineer]

129.825 is the microlight common use frequency. Not for air-to-air chat, but certainly acceptable for formation practice and circuits at farmstrips, albeit that most have gone over to safetycom for that purpose now.

Phone text messaging is fairly reliable.

G

[horizon flyer]

Correction on 118.00 list in a few tables as an air to air frq but only in UK with it allocated to a few places and operations. Not well defined legaly.

123.45 is an international air to air frq but only over remote areas and oceans with no contact to a ground station, so not legal over southern England.

Only other international frqs are as expected 121.5 also 123.1 SAR frq used during an emergency if needed.

Always thought it a bit stupid there is no reserved air to air haling frq.

[snapper1]

'Phone text messaging is fairly reliable.'

Can you do that and maintain good lookout?

[TheOddOne]

Probably at least as well as the van driver who was doing 80 on the A30 yesterday whilst texting!
TOO

[Genghis the Engineer]

Originally Posted by snapper1

'Phone text messaging is fairly reliable.'

Can you do that and maintain good lookout?

There's a passenger ?

G

[FullWings]

Another option could be one of the non-protected training frequencies for the appropriate aircraft category, i.e. Glider (when I was young we used 130.125) or Microlight (129.825) or even the shared Glider/Hangglider/Parachute (129.900). As far as I am aware of, there is no motor aircraft training frequency in the UK, or?

Expect a less than cordial response if you start yakking on any of those frequencies.

One of the better solutions is to use non-airband radios aka walkie-talkies. That way you can communicate with each other and monitor ATC at the same time plus you won’t annoy anyone else.

[alexbrett]

And if you've got a music input to the aircraft intercom you can probably even hook the walkie talkie up so you get the audio in your headset...

[alex90]

And if you've got a music input to the aircraft intercom you can probably even hook the walkie talkie up so you get the audio in your headset...

Could probably also put in a second PTT button on the yoke too! :-) So is the general consensus that in the UK FIRs - the only "available method" of having air to air chat is by using non-airband walkie-talkie.

I was just wondering what people did here and if there was any non-official or official air - air chat frequency!

[PA28181]

So to sum up then, options are,

1: Use your phone to send text messages,
2: Buy whatever number of hand-held "walkie-Talkie's" need for formation flights?
3:Rewire the aircraft's inter-com/yoke with exta PTT button so you can attach the above "walkie-Talkie"
4:Use signal flags
5:Carrier pigeons
6:Signal mirror's
7:Smoke signals (no that would be really stupid)
8:Pick a recently closed aerodrome (there are a fair few) and use theirs. Ipswich has always been my favourite. Solved...

9: Petition the CAA/Ofcom for a reality check and allocate a frequency.................

............................................................ .....

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by PA28181

So to sum up then, options are,

1: Use your phone to send text messages,
2: Buy whatever number of hand-held "walkie-Talkie's" need for formation flights?
3:Rewire the aircraft's inter-com/yoke with exta PTT button so you can attach the above "walkie-Talkie"
4:Use signal flags
5:Carrier pigeons
6:Signal mirror's
7:Smoke signals (no that would be really stupid)
8:Pick a recently closed aerodrome (there are a fair few) and use theirs. Ipswich has always been my favourite. Solved...

9: Petition the CAA/Ofcom for a reality check and allocate a frequency.................

............................................................ .....

You forgot :
10: Use Verey Pistol signals

Ref 8: It was suggested 123.4 could be pinched ex Lyneham.

[Reverserbucket]

I find cross-country navigation dreadfully dull and wonder if any of you chaps could recommend a yoke or preferably a coaming mount for my ipad Pro - it's got a 12.9-inch Retina display so is perfect for watching films (I like Western's and anything with Jean Claude van Damme) and with my new Bose Bluetooth enabled A20 ear defenders that my partner bought me for Valentine's Day, I can sit back and relax (whilst keeping half an eye on the GPS of course!) and while away the boredom.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[PA28181]

You will be in trouble not taking the forum seriously, as I do, I got into a bit of a pickle many years ago and was admonished on another well known flying forum when asking best way to cover my logbook with some left over wallpaper to make it nice like when I was at school.

[piperboy84]

and anything with Jean Claude van Damme)

Bars pulled of your shoulders, buttons of tunic, headset broke across the knee and drummed out of the clubhouse in front of jeering fellow members for that one.

[Reverserbucket]

And not before being stripped of my flyingsuit whilst being forced to eat my Raybans.

My point is that air-to-air chat, unless for a specific operational reason is unnecessary and should not be encouraged. It only serves to diminish airmanship and degrade safety whilst encouraging others to practice poor habits. The aeronautical VHF radio spectrum is saturated now and under threat of being 'narrowed' by a European Commission keen to provide bandwidth to commercial entities prepared to pay a premium for its use and if we abuse such 'low-volume' frequencies as described (no pun intended), we truly risk losing them. Ramifications of that could well result in further frequency spacing adjustments to maximise the remaining bandwith, requiring avionics modifications and additional, burdensome costs to GA.

As for covering logbooks - I find old 1/2 mil charts do the trick nicely

[abgd]

Am I correct in thinking there are legal restrictions in using 'walkie talkies' from aircraft? Not sure where I get this idea from - I think hang-gliding days where we used CB radios (I think) and I was told it was legal for my instructor to talk to me from the ground, but not vice-versa.

To be fair, a loose formation of microlights could probably generate quite a high level of useful chitter-chatter even if that isn't always the case.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Originally Posted by abgd

To be fair, a loose formation of microlights could probably generate quite a high level of useful chitter-chatter even if that isn't always the case.

Probably essential, as they're likely to only have one map and one GPS with an out of date database between them.

I've never heard of a problem with walkie-talkies, and can't see why pax can't text each other - just not helpful for the pilot to get involved.

G

[rans6andrew]

I can't help thinking that a chat frequency would be a real safety benefit especially when flying as a loose formation. Several times I would like to have been allowed to warn others in my vicinity of "chinook at 11 O'clock climbing towards" or "gliders circling ahead" or even "kinnell, that was close, where is the other one" (fast jets always fly in pairs!) but it seems that we shouldn't.

Ho hum.

[150 Driver]

Originally Posted by rans6andrew

I can't help thinking that a chat frequency would be a real safety benefit especially when flying as a loose formation. Several times I would like to have been allowed to warn others in my vicinity of "chinook at 11 O'clock climbing towards" or "gliders circling ahead" or even "kinnell, that was close, where is the other one" (fast jets always fly in pairs!) but it seems that we shouldn't.

Ho hum.

Umm, isn't that why we get an ATC service ?

[Jan Olieslagers]

Umm, do you get one? Always? Everywhere? One that is guaranteed to tell you of all traffic nearby?

[PA28181]

Umm, isn't that why we get an ATC service ?

In class "G" don't think so.

Extremely lucky to get the very basic "Traffic Service" providing "controller workload" isn't too high, maybe a couple of aircraft in the sky at a time.