Basingstoke
 

Now hold on, I live in Basingstoke and I think it's a fine place to see from the air!

It's !!!!! on the ground, so 1,500ft + above it is ideal... :E

Yours, wishing houses in the south east were cheaper,

Daifly.

I was once given a telling-off by an Examiner when on a renewal at Blackbushe for joining over the 07 numbers. He said that it wasn't the C152s that were the problem but the high-performance a/c like the B200 etc that could well intersect with you and that a mid-point join was SOP.
Such nonsense from a so-called examiner. The Be200 pilot would know from his self-briefing that the circuit height for singles is 800 aal and would receive traffic information on joining traffic from FIS anyway ;)

OK, I'll try that in my little jet, and see how you like it.
The CAA Air Traffic Engineering decide on the DOC, not FIS. It's a way of sharing frequencies around ;) I'll accept '5 minutes flying time' to the ATZ boundary in 'your little jet'. Or is it a Lightning.....?

Though thiers no obligation to call Farnborough, why miss out on a FIS from 25+ miles out? Especially when the service is closer to an RIS.

Upon rejoin (in my case) from the north, I usualy decend to c2,000' a few miles to the north & decend deadside when in the ATZ. The QNH - QFE swap will lose you 328' so that a good start.

The only precautions I can add are:

• Be wary of feature followers (M3)
• Odiham & Farnborough can be busy mid week
• Most traffic from the S will enter the cct downwind (some may join base)
• Can be a high amount of learner traffic on decent weekends - ATZ will often inform you if any 1st soloers
• Proximity to LHR airspace

As for the local flight, if you can't go house spotting due to its location, go south between Odiham & Farnborough - see the seaside!

No, they don't.

So who does?

CAA Directorate of Airspace Policy, Frequency Spectrum Management section, who decide it in consultation with neighbouring countries (which is why there are constant moans about people using 123.450 as an air to air chat frequency 'cos it's allocated to some French ATSUs).

I was trying to keep it simple for jet pilots.

When I was flying from Blackbushe, about 2 years ago, I was also advised by the school/instructor to do the mid point join because of departing traffic !!. Found it a little strange myself, but complied anyway !!. Only ened up flying out of there 3 times then went out of currency with the school and didn't go back as they were not exactly the friendliest of people !!.

:\

No, TDM, you didn't know what you were talking about, and bull**itted.

A cardinal offence in aviation, whether bar or flight deck (or even AFIS facility)