Safetycom????
Thread Starter
Safetycom????
I got this link today, thanks to Scottish Aero Club: :https://www.caa.co.uk/General-aviati...equency-Trial/
Frequency 130.490. What is the situation with Safetycom 135.480?
I flew for almost 2 hours from Inverness on 2/6, happily broadcasting my position and intentions on 135.480.
One of their 130.490 examples is in the Inverness area.
Frequency 130.490. What is the situation with Safetycom 135.480?
I flew for almost 2 hours from Inverness on 2/6, happily broadcasting my position and intentions on 135.480.
One of their 130.490 examples is in the Inverness area.
What is the situation with Safetycom 135.480?
I think the new RAF procedure on 130.490 is a good idea for Scotland....
Assigned the frequency 135.480 MHz SAFETYCOM can be used throughout the UK by aircraft operating in the vicinity of an aerodrome or landing site that does not have an air to ground frequency.
SAFETYCOM can only be used by aircraft at 2000 ft or less above aerodrome or location elevation or below 1000 ft above circuit height. It is restricted to 10 nm of the landing site and should normally be used only to broadcast the pilot’s intentions. There should be no response from the ground, except where the pilot of an aircraft on the ground also needs to transmit his intentions.
The CAA stress that it is not intended to be an air to air chat channel and is available to assist pilots to avoid potential collisions between arriving and departing aircraft.
SAFETYCOM can only be used by aircraft at 2000 ft or less above aerodrome or location elevation or below 1000 ft above circuit height. It is restricted to 10 nm of the landing site and should normally be used only to broadcast the pilot’s intentions. There should be no response from the ground, except where the pilot of an aircraft on the ground also needs to transmit his intentions.
The CAA stress that it is not intended to be an air to air chat channel and is available to assist pilots to avoid potential collisions between arriving and departing aircraft.
Thread Starter
When did this change? (Not the 135..475 to 135.480 on going to 8.33.)
"VHF LOW-LEVEL COMMONFREQUENCY
‘VHF LL-Common’is being trialled as an information service on the VHF Frequency 135.475 MHz inorder to improve the situational awareness amongst, and aid deconflictionbetween, military and civilian aircraft operating in the same area. It is available for use by all aircrewoperating at or below 2000’ AGL in the UK Low Flying System whenoperating north of LatitudeN56·00°.
Aircrewshould apply their airmanship when considering the timing and content of theirtransmissions. The following is offeredas guidance:
Timing
· When safe and suitable to do so
· When operating north of Latitude N56·00°.
· At turning points or significantheading changes
· Approaching well-known and recognisablephysical features
· Any time it is considered beneficial tothe safety of the aircraft (such as approaching choke points or knownareas of high traffic density).
Content
· Ac callsign
· Ac type (and number, in the case offormations)
· Position in relation to reference pointsimmediately identifiable to other pilots (using cardinal or inter-cardinaldirections)
· Height
· Heading
· Next significant reference point
Exampletransmission:
“Spartan, Tornado, 8nm NE of Inverness,250’, heading 170° towards Aviemore"
“Python formation, 2 Hawks, 5 miles N of Perth,250', heading East towards Montrose”
Notes:
· Using this frequency should not takepriority over obtaining a Lower Airspace Radar Service.
· Transmissions should be kept short,simple and effective, and should not clog up the frequency.
· If you do not hear any transmissions,you should not assume there’s no aircraft nearby. Use all measures available to avoid MAC, andmaintain an effective lookout scan."
"VHF LOW-LEVEL COMMONFREQUENCY
‘VHF LL-Common’is being trialled as an information service on the VHF Frequency 135.475 MHz inorder to improve the situational awareness amongst, and aid deconflictionbetween, military and civilian aircraft operating in the same area. It is available for use by all aircrewoperating at or below 2000’ AGL in the UK Low Flying System whenoperating north of LatitudeN56·00°.
Aircrewshould apply their airmanship when considering the timing and content of theirtransmissions. The following is offeredas guidance:
Timing
· When safe and suitable to do so
· When operating north of Latitude N56·00°.
· At turning points or significantheading changes
· Approaching well-known and recognisablephysical features
· Any time it is considered beneficial tothe safety of the aircraft (such as approaching choke points or knownareas of high traffic density).
Content
· Ac callsign
· Ac type (and number, in the case offormations)
· Position in relation to reference pointsimmediately identifiable to other pilots (using cardinal or inter-cardinaldirections)
· Height
· Heading
· Next significant reference point
Exampletransmission:
“Spartan, Tornado, 8nm NE of Inverness,250’, heading 170° towards Aviemore"
“Python formation, 2 Hawks, 5 miles N of Perth,250', heading East towards Montrose”
Notes:
· Using this frequency should not takepriority over obtaining a Lower Airspace Radar Service.
· Transmissions should be kept short,simple and effective, and should not clog up the frequency.
· If you do not hear any transmissions,you should not assume there’s no aircraft nearby. Use all measures available to avoid MAC, andmaintain an effective lookout scan."
This was a trial in 2015 for aircraft north of 56N
This was a trial that ran for a few months, six years ago, north of 56N.
As an additional step, a trial has been initiated in Scotland, in conjunction with the CAA, of a VHF Low-Level Common frequency so that civilian operators, limited to VHF comms, can benefit too. The CAA was originally approached by a civilian commercial operator to expand the SAFETYCOM
frequency 135.475 MHz as a more general SA-enhancement tool in Scotland. SAFETYCOM is intended for use as a common VHF frequency by pilots arriving and departing aerodromes having no notified ground radio frequency - details can be found in AIC Y 014/2010. This coincided with an RAF aspiration to develop a UK-wide VHF common frequency as a Low-Level MAC mitigation measure. The CAA have agreed with the Safety Centre to trial SAFETYCOM in Scotland and we have asked them to amend AIC Y 014/2010 to reflect this trial; they are doing so, but have agreed not to delay the trial until the AIC is amended. This initiative has also been supported by GASCO and UKAB. It is widely understood that success of this trial in Scotland does
not imply similar success elsewhere, where the use of SAFETYCOM for its original intention may be more prolific and therefore unsuitable for the wider ‘LL-Common’ role. The trial will run until 1 October 2015
Have you just carried on with that on your own?
As an additional step, a trial has been initiated in Scotland, in conjunction with the CAA, of a VHF Low-Level Common frequency so that civilian operators, limited to VHF comms, can benefit too. The CAA was originally approached by a civilian commercial operator to expand the SAFETYCOM
frequency 135.475 MHz as a more general SA-enhancement tool in Scotland. SAFETYCOM is intended for use as a common VHF frequency by pilots arriving and departing aerodromes having no notified ground radio frequency - details can be found in AIC Y 014/2010. This coincided with an RAF aspiration to develop a UK-wide VHF common frequency as a Low-Level MAC mitigation measure. The CAA have agreed with the Safety Centre to trial SAFETYCOM in Scotland and we have asked them to amend AIC Y 014/2010 to reflect this trial; they are doing so, but have agreed not to delay the trial until the AIC is amended. This initiative has also been supported by GASCO and UKAB. It is widely understood that success of this trial in Scotland does
not imply similar success elsewhere, where the use of SAFETYCOM for its original intention may be more prolific and therefore unsuitable for the wider ‘LL-Common’ role. The trial will run until 1 October 2015
Have you just carried on with that on your own?
Thread Starter
No. Not on my own. Safetycom trial was successful and became standard. The "Trial" quote was the easy reference to find - from my own posts on this forum. 135.480 came after the trial year.
Reference
Do you have a link to anything from the CAA about this change becoming accepted? Was there a published statement saying the trial was to become the new way of working?
The 'new' frequency being used is mainly for low level TRANSIT traffic ie NOT arriving departng at an airfield and is a trial replacement of a UHF frequency which has been in use for many years for operations in the MILITARY low flying system.
