Safetycom - anyone using it?
 

I've just been reading the December GASIL which has an article in it about the new Safetycom frequency, 135.475 Mhz.

I was just wondering if anyone was using it and if they find it helpful.

(Please note - I have no connection to the CAA whatsoever)

If you've not heard of Safetycom, essentially its a common frequency for use at all airfields with no assigned frequency. Its used for pilots to broadcast their intentions, there should be not be any Ground to Air comms. The basic rules are transmissions only below 2000' aal or 1000' above circuit height and only within 10nm radius of the airfield and must contain the name of the airfield or location

Once the concept takes off :{ (sorry) I can see it being quite useful for farm strips etc.


(edited to correct the height criteria)

No-one has used it yet: The frequency is still allocated elsewhere (but only for a few more days)!

Sorry Dusty, Safetycom was introduced on 11 November.

It's all well and good but what was wrong with blind calls on the freq allocated for the a/d out of hours?

F

Maybe im missing something, certainly wouldn't be the forst time.

Flash - yes, you are missing something. This is for airfields which don't have a frequency allocated to them, e.g. farm-strips.

If your field has a frequency which just happens to be closed because you are there out-of-hours (with the owner's permission, of course) you still use the airfield's regular frequency.

FFF
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Used it the other day going into a farm strip in Somerset. Was another aircraft using the strip so thought it wouldnt hurt!

:)

Trevelyan - was the other aircraft also on frequency? Far more useful to transmit your intentions if the other parties are listening! ;)

FFF
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I'l get me coat........:O

How would I know? Im in the middle of no-where, below me is the strip i need to land at and there is a lone PFA taildragger doing circuits!

Its 2 weeks after the safety-com went live, so i thought he may be listening, then again he might not, he may not be aware of this new frequency, he may be non-radio. Nothing to lose by blind-calling my intentions using the strip name in the transmission.

Or have I missed something?


:ok:

Trevelyan,

You are quite right - nothing to lose by making blind calls, and it sounds like you did exactly the right thing.

What bothers me is that it also sounds like the other aircraft probably wasn't on frequency. (As you say, it is possible he was listening out... but realistically, who listens out on a frequency at an airfield, when others are on frequency, and doesn't transmit?)

It's possible he was in a non-radio aircraft, of course. There was absolutely no requirement for him to use a radio even if he had one. He's probably been doing circuits at that same farm-strip for the last xx years without using a radio. Etc, etc, etc.

But if Safetycom had been my creation, I'd be getting warm fuzzy feelings from stories about two pilots using Safetycom to communicate with each other and carry out a safe flight, and cold (almost) why-did-I-bother feelings from stories about airfields where there were two aircraft and at least one of them wasn't on frequency, albeit both flights were carried out completely safely. Get where I'm coming from?

Still, early days.....

FFF
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Coat?
 

Get me coat?

Yeah, I think I left it in the taxi... :O :ouch:

Totally agree FFF, I think once the GA community becomes more aware of it, then it might start to become standard procedure at fields that dont have a dedicated frequency. As you say, it is early days so fingers crossed that it will be something that becomes the norm, rather than being something that "other" people do.

Regards.

You sure about that 1000 foot base height? Would seem more sensible if transmission could be made from the surface to 2000ft. How does traffic on final or about to depart broadcast?

Grovelling apologies - I misread the height:

It should read 'Transmissions should be made below 2000' aal or 1000' above promulgated circuit height (if applicable).