Rough reception at Popham!
 

I flew my little home-build over to Popham on Sunday for a cup of tea and chat with the boys, I did all the usual things that I've been doing for the past 25 years when I plan to visit another field, ring for PPR, study the pattern , frequency, joining procedure, make sure nothings changed.
I called up and obtain the details and join on the base leg, on reporting established I'm told "who are you? I've never heared of you" I was a little surprised as I'd passed my details only minutes before, but I relayed them again. I was then issued with a hold-nothing-back b******ng, over the airwaves , by the time it finished I was on final! I reported "final" but heared nothing back, a stoney silence, I could see the wind sock and as I didn't need a clearance (its an air/ground ATSU at Popham) I landed, only for more of the same when I entered the club house to pay my landing fee and sign in.
I was also accused of cutting up another aircraft in the circuit, which was complete rubbish, I was starting to wonder if this was some sort of set up and I was being filmed, but sadly it wasn't. This numpty was in deadly earnest.
Give the wrong guy a clip board and you create another Stalin, well thankfully my aircraft isn't based there so I've no reason to go back, and I wont, its a real shame, its a lovely little field that Dick Richardson has built up since the crazy days of Jim Espin, but if the fee-paying public are treated like this then it wont be long before it's just another ghost station. Unless you have the hide of a rhino -- Avoid--

Write a chirp on it.

Seems to be either the same perosn or there have been a spate of less that satisfactory goings on by FISO's at certain airfields.

Seems like its a growing problem which needs nipped in the bud.

http://www.pprune.org/atc-issues/503...about-atc.html

Just tell him to F off.

I think you should keep going and keep telling him to F off too.

P.S. Not on the radio though.

A great pity. My wife and i spent many happy hours at Popham and it seems that one fool is doing the place a terrible diservice.

Definitely complain. I would even suggest you consider a MOR - or the voluntary version - link below:

Accident and Occurrence Reporting | Aircraft | Operations and Safety

Popham uses and A/G (air/ground) facility and is NOT FISO equipped (to my knowledge). Having some guy reprimanding you on the radio while you are joining the circuit is unacceptable, and I hope you told him so. R/T transmissions are supposed to be strictly operational.

If for any reason they were not able to accept you, they should have requested (and I mean requested as that is all they are allowed to do) for you to remain clear of the circuit / standby.

I've flown in/out of Popham many a time - using a/c based there and not, and have on more than one occasion requested joining instructions / PPR over the Radio from 10 mins out. This did not create an issue.

I would also suggest you email the airfield operator complaining about the individual in question. B*****king you on the air while you're configuring your a/c in the circuit is borderline dangerous and distracting and there's no room for idiots like that. Popham is not a licensed airfield and its a shame that such people address incoming traffic as if they were approaching a major class D aerodrome!

What makes this even more sad is that the field itself is lovely and lots of the folks there are equally as nice.

Good luck and don't let this incident slip through the net!

So run that by me again.

You phoned for PPR, gave an ETA, studied the pattern, conformed to the circuit direction and joined in a normal way and landed as you were entitled to.

In amongst that you got shouted at on the A/G frequency and again after landing when you got in the clubhouse.

So when you patiently explained per para 2; what was the rant about ? and the response ?

Were any of "the boys" present .. and what did they say / do ?

And, if you DID cut anybody up, did they themselves make themselves
known to you? I concur with the earlier post to tell him where to go...

This is the problem with letting 'amateurs' loose on the radio. I would question whether the radio operator concerned even has a Certificate of Competence; I'm sure none of the people I've examined for them would not normally act like this.
Many people are STILL under the mistaken impression an FRTOL permits you to do A/G which it doesn't, you must still take the exam with an authorised examiner, and those holding FISO (Aerodrome) or ATC Licences with ADV/ADI ratings must still hold an A/G C of C also, usually by just applying and giving your licence number. Regretfully the issue of the AGCS Certificate of Competence is no longer free; wef last October it wil cost you (£35 I think).

Which numpty was it?

"ATC" Information

If it's the top one, then it looks like no apology would be forthcoming..

Oxo, how can you tell from his picture?

Is it cos he's a baldy?!

Well that would of course contribute.. but no.

It's because he seems to be the head honcho there and the website is his copyright (see at the bottom of the page)

If it is 'the top one' on the list, why not email him through the website, providing him the opportunity to explain what he thought it was you'd done, rather than publicly lambast him on here.

Are you sure you didn't cut someone up?

Thread drift

Thats a really cool ICON. How did you get that on.....:confused:

Make a formal complaint.

There was a string of similar situations at Cumbernauld, just about all of us complained, the guy no longer works there and we are all safer as a result of that.

Maxred,

Simple http://c20xe.co.uk/board/images/smile/facepalm.gif

It's an image from another website:-

http://c20xe.co.uk/board/images/smile/facepalm.gif

Given the way many pilots - not ALL rotary, but they are the worst - have no clue what to do with the airfield information they are given, whether it's by an A-G or by other aircraft in the circuit, and then just blunder into the circuit from any direction at any height with not a thought about anyone else, I doubt that your statement is true.

There's a happy medium to be found. In my view it has to include conformity with Rules 12 and 13 of the Rules of the Air.

NS

The easy way is to right click it, then click copy, add it to your store of photos then upload it to somewhere like Photo Bouquet from whence you will be able to post it here. :ok:

So, just to clarify...

Regardless of whether you telephoned ahead or not, am I right in my understanding that your first RT call was on Base leg?

I don't think so. It looks like he called up first, then joined base leg then called "Established base" then got a bollicking. Lets not pick holes in the pilot with "Are you sure?" It looks like to me he did all he could.