Barton to IOM
 

I am working in the IOM at the moment and have been checked out on Manx Flyers 172.

My usual haunt is Barton so it made a nice change of scenery flying round the Island.

A logical progression and a must do for 2005 is a Barton IOM trip or the other way round depending on my location at the time!!

I have asked various people about such a trip over water and have made a provisional plan.

See what you think and would be grateful for any input.

1. Pick a good day. Light winds and good vis.

2. Check weather at both ends/on route and study the NOTAMS.

3. Contact Ronaldsway and tell them my intentions.

4. Contact Special Branch with details of my flight.

5. Plan full tanks with 1 POB for maximum duration should diversion be required.

6.Route plan BTN-Southport-IOM.

7. VFR Flight but using WAL and IOM VOR for tracking.

8. Carry life jacket and immersion suit if I can get hold of one.

9. Use Blackpool as diversion and use Blackpool APP for Radar Info Service. IOM when in range.

10.Check servicability of on board Nav Aids (VOR ADF TRANSPONDER DME and give the aircraft an extra special lookover with regard to oil level and clean windscreens.

11. Track to North of Laxey to stay clear of controlled airspace to allow Ronaldsway to "fit me in" between inbound commercial traffic.

Some folks say to treat it as any other flight as if you were over land. I guess the plane doesn't know the difference but it sure concentrates the mind when you see all that water below!!!

Playing it safe means you get to fly another day so thats fine by me!

Anyway your thoughts please.

Coop & Bear

Why Southport and Blackpool ATC?

I don't have a current UK chart at the moment - but is there still an advisory route from BPL to Carnane? Fly that with full radar service from Manchester (and you'll be fitted into IOM traffic with ease).

Enjoy the trip.

Suggest you WEAR lifejacket or immersion suit and not just (mistakenly) hope you can don it while descending oh-so-rapidly if things should go drastically wrong. Unlikely I know, but ...

I also carry liferaft and ELT over water. Furthermore I carry GPS and backup VHF on all flights. Oh yes.

Enjoy the flight !

I have to agree with the life raft. For me, it would be a no no without a life raft.

I'd also suggest you don't do it too early in the year, so that the water had got a little heat back into it.

You mentioned the weather, but the one thing you didn't mention was cloud base. Don't be tempted to do this without a good cloud base. I don't know what the trip from Barton to IOM would be like, but I can tell you that at 2000ft from Dublin to Liverpool, you will be out of radio contact for a while. So obviously the higher the better.

Also, you might consider it overkill, but I think it's a good idea to have a responsible person that you will call when you've landed, and that if they haven't heard from you by a certain time, they will take follow up action. I really don't like the idea of having to ditch, when out of radio contact, and no one waiting on you! Who knows when the search would begin!

You might also consider a VFR flight plan. It too might help a S&R if required.

Hope you find some of that helpful!

dp

You can hire life-raft and ELT from SEMS - South Eastern Marine Services I think... their details are somewhere on this forum if you search it. Highly recommended, and good value.

Andy

If going early in the year, try IOM-Carlisle-Barton.
About an hour extra (or so) but a much shorter water crossing

Barton - WAL-IOM
 

Why not fly direct to WAL then IOM.

If LPL is busy they will route you around their zone, pick up the radial for WAL, climb once beyond WAL dme 8d, and ask LPL for a FIS. At approx half way, contact IOM (and use IOM VOR at the same time).

It's a doddle. It's also a super flight.

Point of advice, call up Manx Flyers before you leave, and tell them you are visiting.

Once landed, tell IOM ATC that you don't want the terminal, you want the Manx Flyers - much cheaper. They have a nice club house on the beach also.

tb10er - would have been my choice, too - but if memory serves me well (note the Florida address [seven years]) there's 101 nautical miles of salt water between those two beacons.

coopervane is clearly approaching this flight with a little trepidation, rather than lots of experience, we shouldn't encourage such long (to them) overwater crossings to someone who has already considered the potential for problems.

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Actually, to be totally honest, I would draw a perfectly straight line from Barton to Ronaldsway and go that way with a LARS from Warton and IOM(it's cheaper).

C-v, I agree with Keygrip, but will add a few thoughts as well;
I routed overhead Warton with their radar service, which may be weekdays only, but you can go up to Fl155 if you want, whichever way you are going.....the higher ,the better if s/e; more time to pray, write last letters....joking ,of course.
If you are going to wear an LSJ and immersion suit, I`d try them out beforehand, with someone else in the a/c , as they can be cumbersome, especially a `one-size-fits-all` imm. suit, and especially the feet.
Carry a PLB/ELT in one of the pockets on a cord attached to you; if you take a dinghy, it will have to be easily `get-out-able`, hence a little practice.

Should you have to ditch,get your Mayday off early, point at the nearset ship/oil-rig/coast and breathe deeply and slowly..You`ll be fine, don`t inflate anything until you are clear of the aircraft..

You will probably find the flight( ignore ref. to ditching) all goes off easily, and you may feel a `prat` in an Imm. suit, but your conscience and confidence will be clear..
On a day like today ( in Essex) you will enjoy it , seeing the Seven Kingdoms...............:ok:

Coast - OK!! Ship? Point NEAR it but remember that if you splash down right in front of it.........it will run you over (and that will probably hurt, or at least leave a mark). If you land alongside it....it will keep going in the same direction for quite some time before it can stop or turn around.

Anybody got some good reference material for this educational opportunity?

If Warton is weekends only then it's back to my Manchester Sub-Centre plan (is it?). Don't forget that climbing to Flight Level Nose Bleed could cause airspace problems when approaching IOM (this flight planning is bugging me - must find a Northen 'half mill' and have a look).

Keygrip......Is it not better to approach this trip with a little trepidation, than just get in and go? Doing it right first time can only breed good airmanship.

Coop & Bear

Absolutely - and that's what I was trying to promote when commenting on the longer over water flights suggested by tb10er (for example).

I'm pleased to read that somebody is thinking through the flight beforehand and considering the worst case scenarios.....and it's exactly what bugs me when, as a flight examiner, we are expected to give a PPL candidate just 45 minutes to plan an entire, albeit somewhat easier, trip.

I think you are approaching this in exactly the right way for your experience level - it's not they way I would do it personally, but I'm probably a bit further down the food chain than you are right now.

Keep it up - let us all know how it went. Whilst I agree with 99% of your planning ideas, my first suggestion is......RELAX!!. You'll enjoy the trip much better.