Use of 121.5mhz (Merged)
Tabs please !
Originally Posted by Flybywyre
The point is.....................there is nothing wrong in making practice pan calls on 121.5
As you would be informed if you took the trouble to visit D & D at West Drayton.
FBW
As you would be informed if you took the trouble to visit D & D at West Drayton.
FBW
I'll dip my toe in these shark infested waters without hiding behind a "nom de plume" so please don't flame me. I was fortunate to be able to visit D&D a few weeks ago and discuss the impact of student practice PANS. The additional workload is negligible. Practice calls are welcomed in that they de-mystify 121.5 to the point that the student, low-hours PPL or 20,000 hours training captain in his home-built project when caught out in the haze with a failed GPS will resolve the issue quickly when there is a risk of infringing a zone. The calls also give the controllers the opportunity to verify the kit outside of a prescribed test checklist (my view, perhaps not theirs).
If the day comes I am talking to Farnborough and look across to the airfield and wonder why I see lots of Virgin tails, I'll make the call immediately and send the West Drayton boys and girls a few slabs of beer for getting me out of the cr@p.
The main gist of what I have read so far is that the jet drivers object to listening to practice PANS on 121.5. A quick answer is to have a dedicated practice frequency however that is not going to happen for the reasons already given above. Can I suggest that you put up with the occasional practice PAN knowing that if I blunder into the London CTR, I know how to get out PDQ.
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A few hundred years ago when I was still training in the RAF, we visited Preston Centre as it then was and saw the triangulation sit. room. The controllers there were very keen to get us to do Practise PAN calls and follow up with a complete practice diversion. I did it a couple of times and it worked very well.
As soon as they had me idented, they put me onto a discreet frequency to avoid blocking 121.5, however.
These days any 121.5 call is picked up by sattelite and it may be that the triangulation system is getting overtaken by technology in any case.
FC.
As soon as they had me idented, they put me onto a discreet frequency to avoid blocking 121.5, however.
These days any 121.5 call is picked up by sattelite and it may be that the triangulation system is getting overtaken by technology in any case.
FC.
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Originally Posted by Few Cloudy
These days any 121.5 call is picked up by sattelite and it may be that the triangulation system is getting overtaken by technology in any case.
BD
Originally Posted by Final 3 Greens
klink
Maybe it would be best if you no longer fly in UK airspace? Because our national authority do not agree with you.
And they make the rules.
And you must comply.
Have a nice life.
Maybe it would be best if you no longer fly in UK airspace? Because our national authority do not agree with you.
And they make the rules.
And you must comply.
Have a nice life.
Sure, you should always follow the rules, but not blindly. It is our duty as professional pilots to question questionable rules, and to identify potential safety problems. This is a potential safety problem, and that's not just my opinion, but ICAO's too.
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Fo all of those that think autotriangulation is available in more than about 1/5 of UK airspace, please remamber that below 3000ft, it is only available south of Manch and East of Cardiff. That is what they tell you when you visit.
With the UK weather the average VFR PPL will train in the 1500 to 3000ft band for most of the time. Thus according to D+D's own information, autotriangulation is not available.
Isn't it ironic that the best safety service is not available over the most inhospitable areas of the UK while it is most available in the SE corner where the land is low lying, lots of emergency services available, relatively flat open terrain and plenty of navigation aids and radars with low level coverage!
-------------
Final 3 Greens,
if you cannot understand the difference between being unable to confirm your exact position and being lost, you are a fool
Ah the old "I have not left planet Earth so I am not lost because I know that is planet earth down there. I haven't got a clue which bit but I am not lost because I know that is planet earth".
Other wise known as denial.
I have been lost, I have been temporarily unsure of position, I have been unable to confirm my exact position. However, I describe all those as simply not knowing where I am.
The big problem I have with your "training fix" is that;
a) It was not a training fix. You could have been told to standby while some other pilot who was slightly lost was given their full attention. During that time by your own admission you could have infringed that controlled airspace you were close to; and
b) Your call is recorded as a training call. That means that it is added to the list of nusance calls as far as other's who monitor 121.50 are concerned (Commercial pilots, towers, approach units, ACCs, Military units). It is also not on the list of flights who were helped by D+D. If everyone who needed help called for a practice, the evidence would show that no one really needed help and the service could be deemed surplus to requirments.
D+D is there to serve a miltary purpose - military D+D. That is why they have a lovely board with the latest info on all the military fields but little or no up to date info on the common civil GA ones up on their board. Since they are there anyway, and they can make some money out of it, the military traditionally have provided a service on 121.50. Make no mistake about it, if the military get into a muddle and are using D+D to sort it out, civil emergencies will have to wait. All the eggs in one basket system.
-------
If the day comes I am talking to Farnborough and look across to the airfield and wonder why I see lots of Virgin tails, I'll make the call immediately and send the West Drayton boys and girls a few slabs of beer for getting me out of the cr@p.
Why oh why whould you leave a frequency that has excellent radar coverage in that area, has probably given you a squawk and even if not is aware of you to talk to a unit that knows nothing about you and will take a little bit of time to sort you out?
If I was in that situation I would ask Farnborough for help or failing that, call the appropriate approach radar frequency.
I am sure that 1 radio call works better than;
4 or 5 radio calls, a telephone call, a discussion regarding what to do and then perhaps another frequency change and the whole identification process all over again!
Is 121.50 so popular because pilots for example flying in the vicinity of Heathrow are afraid to call Heathrow if they think thay are by accident within the Heathrow zone?
If this is the case or the case is that Heathrow would not welcome the call is there anywhere else on the world that this also happens?
Regards,
DFC
With the UK weather the average VFR PPL will train in the 1500 to 3000ft band for most of the time. Thus according to D+D's own information, autotriangulation is not available.
Isn't it ironic that the best safety service is not available over the most inhospitable areas of the UK while it is most available in the SE corner where the land is low lying, lots of emergency services available, relatively flat open terrain and plenty of navigation aids and radars with low level coverage!
-------------
Final 3 Greens,
if you cannot understand the difference between being unable to confirm your exact position and being lost, you are a fool
Ah the old "I have not left planet Earth so I am not lost because I know that is planet earth down there. I haven't got a clue which bit but I am not lost because I know that is planet earth".
Other wise known as denial.I have been lost, I have been temporarily unsure of position, I have been unable to confirm my exact position. However, I describe all those as simply not knowing where I am.
The big problem I have with your "training fix" is that;
a) It was not a training fix. You could have been told to standby while some other pilot who was slightly lost was given their full attention. During that time by your own admission you could have infringed that controlled airspace you were close to; and
b) Your call is recorded as a training call. That means that it is added to the list of nusance calls as far as other's who monitor 121.50 are concerned (Commercial pilots, towers, approach units, ACCs, Military units). It is also not on the list of flights who were helped by D+D. If everyone who needed help called for a practice, the evidence would show that no one really needed help and the service could be deemed surplus to requirments.
D+D is there to serve a miltary purpose - military D+D. That is why they have a lovely board with the latest info on all the military fields but little or no up to date info on the common civil GA ones up on their board. Since they are there anyway, and they can make some money out of it, the military traditionally have provided a service on 121.50. Make no mistake about it, if the military get into a muddle and are using D+D to sort it out, civil emergencies will have to wait. All the eggs in one basket system.
-------
If the day comes I am talking to Farnborough and look across to the airfield and wonder why I see lots of Virgin tails, I'll make the call immediately and send the West Drayton boys and girls a few slabs of beer for getting me out of the cr@p.
Why oh why whould you leave a frequency that has excellent radar coverage in that area, has probably given you a squawk and even if not is aware of you to talk to a unit that knows nothing about you and will take a little bit of time to sort you out?
If I was in that situation I would ask Farnborough for help or failing that, call the appropriate approach radar frequency.
I am sure that 1 radio call works better than;
4 or 5 radio calls, a telephone call, a discussion regarding what to do and then perhaps another frequency change and the whole identification process all over again!
Is 121.50 so popular because pilots for example flying in the vicinity of Heathrow are afraid to call Heathrow if they think thay are by accident within the Heathrow zone?
If this is the case or the case is that Heathrow would not welcome the call is there anywhere else on the world that this also happens?
Regards,
DFC
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Baloney
Xetrov and others, no need to respond to the pompous outpourings from Final 3 Greens. (Even his handle suggests amatuer status)
He gives bona fide evidence of why professional pilots are again seeking their own dedicated website, uncontaminated by non-professional cling-ons.
Which is another thread started by Danny.
AS for 121.5, I was distracted by a practice pan while dodging cb's and bumpy rainclouds on my way out of EGKK yesterday. Box 3 de-selected...shame. Probably my capacity management could come into question, but believe me, a normal morning departure from LGW can be busy enough to keep 2 folks fully occupied.
He gives bona fide evidence of why professional pilots are again seeking their own dedicated website, uncontaminated by non-professional cling-ons.
Which is another thread started by Danny.
AS for 121.5, I was distracted by a practice pan while dodging cb's and bumpy rainclouds on my way out of EGKK yesterday. Box 3 de-selected...shame. Probably my capacity management could come into question, but believe me, a normal morning departure from LGW can be busy enough to keep 2 folks fully occupied.
Last edited by RoyHudd; 24th May 2006 at 13:20.
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Originally Posted by DFC
Fo all of those that think autotriangulation is available in more than about 1/5 of UK airspace, please remamber that below 3000ft, it is only available south of Manch and East of Cardiff. That is what they tell you when you visit.
Isn't it ironic that the best safety service is not available over the most inhospitable areas of the UK while it is most available in the SE corner where the land is low lying, lots of emergency services available, relatively flat open terrain and plenty of navigation aids and radars with low level coverage!
D+D is there to serve a miltary purpose - military D+D. That is why they have a lovely board with the latest info on all the military fields but little or no up to date info on the common civil GA ones up on their board. Since they are there anyway, and they can make some money out of it, the military traditionally have provided a service on 121.50. Make no mistake about it, if the military get into a muddle and are using D+D to sort it out, civil emergencies will have to wait. All the eggs in one basket system.
DFC I suggest you gather some facts before pushing the send button because you're making yourself look a bit of an @rse.
BD
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Hi All
A lot of people getting hot under the collar on this one. I think the CAA missive sums it up. I spend most of my flying with 121.5 (or Mirage FM
if flying over France) on box 2. The amount in reality that a practice pan makes is negligable compared to the other chat.
Is it a valuable service? it is. One can ask the question if it saves one life then its worth it. People are still flying into cumulo granite.
http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/cms_resou...ZAJ%202-06.pdf
As for state differences there are hundreds, us pro boys live with it. It is a fact of life. Live with it.
Getting distacted by practice pan on 121.5, then review your capacity management. It may be a good trigger to indicate overload. BASIC human factors stuff.
I also live in the GA world. Instuctors, have you prepaired you student well enough. At Waltham last week, pilot on student solo landed in 6k vis. For the previous 10 mins he had stopped lhr departures. Perhaps a call to D&D may have saved the airlines a few pounds. But I do not blame the student, The instructor however?
DFC, some good comments, but the 121.5 system works. For one % of airtime it;s worth it
If a guy is lost, I would doubt if capacity is at a state to find frequencies of an airfield he may be near.
Enough from me, I'm off to listen to Mirage FM this afternoon.
Regards and respect to all aviation people
Wide
A lot of people getting hot under the collar on this one. I think the CAA missive sums it up. I spend most of my flying with 121.5 (or Mirage FM
if flying over France) on box 2. The amount in reality that a practice pan makes is negligable compared to the other chat.Is it a valuable service? it is. One can ask the question if it saves one life then its worth it. People are still flying into cumulo granite.
http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/cms_resou...ZAJ%202-06.pdf
As for state differences there are hundreds, us pro boys live with it. It is a fact of life. Live with it.
Getting distacted by practice pan on 121.5, then review your capacity management. It may be a good trigger to indicate overload. BASIC human factors stuff.
I also live in the GA world. Instuctors, have you prepaired you student well enough. At Waltham last week, pilot on student solo landed in 6k vis. For the previous 10 mins he had stopped lhr departures. Perhaps a call to D&D may have saved the airlines a few pounds. But I do not blame the student, The instructor however?
DFC, some good comments, but the 121.5 system works. For one % of airtime it;s worth it
If a guy is lost, I would doubt if capacity is at a state to find frequencies of an airfield he may be near.
Enough from me, I'm off to listen to Mirage FM this afternoon.
Regards and respect to all aviation people
Wide
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Originally Posted by DFC
Why does no where else practice on 121.50, why does nowhere else have an IMC rating, why does no where else allow pilots to fly with only the medical standard of as typical aged car driver?
Cause they are all wrong. The UK is always right. That why they always do it their way!
Regards,
DFC
Just one innacuracy amongst many on this thread and others that you post so authoritatively on
Tabs please !
DFC - Why oh why whould you leave a frequency that has excellent radar coverage in that area, has probably given you a squawk and even if not is aware of you to talk to a unit that knows nothing about you and will take a little bit of time to sort you out?
Because trying to get a call in at the weekend can be nigh on impossible. The D&D chaps will be able to pinpoint me and give the (nil wind) heading to fly in the shortest possible time. If a GA muppet has brought an airport to a halt then according to many of the other postings, the jet boys will be able to hear the problem being resolved.
Please can an instructor PM me if 121.5 is not the correct course of action so we do not clutter up this emergency thread with training issues
Because trying to get a call in at the weekend can be nigh on impossible. The D&D chaps will be able to pinpoint me and give the (nil wind) heading to fly in the shortest possible time. If a GA muppet has brought an airport to a halt then according to many of the other postings, the jet boys will be able to hear the problem being resolved.
Please can an instructor PM me if 121.5 is not the correct course of action so we do not clutter up this emergency thread with training issues
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Originally Posted by BDiONU
Retention of D&D is a licensing requirement on NATS. The airlines do, in a roundabout manner, fund D&D whereas GA do not in any sense.
BD
BD
Some GA (> 2T) pay a lot in route charges, thanks.
Use some of the cash raised when we're (> 2T) OCAS at night to offset the infrastructure costs -- it isn't used for anything else...
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Originally Posted by rustle
NATS provide the infrastrucure but the MOD provide the personnel and I believe all UK taxpayers pay toward the MOD.
Hope thats clearer.BD
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As a matter of interest.
I presume that using 121.50 for CAT contact is seen as an adnormal procedure.
And as such will be logged as an "emergency" I also presume that such activitys by D&D are logged. How many times a year is this function used in the UK?
How many ATC units have access to transmit on 121.5?
How many of them can recieve it?
Personally I think that its a perception thing. One side who presume its a mission critical service. And another side, who the SRG agree with, who reckon the safety case of GA being D&D scared is a greater risk to safety than all CAT not having box 2 selected to 121.5.
I presume its all down to risk assement as usual. If the numbers of CAT which were required to be contacted by 121.5 to restablish contact are high enough to cause it to be a primary service it would have priority. I suspect though it is used very infrequently if at all in the UK, the number crunchers and have done there magic and reasoned that this multi million pound service is better served by being used by GA by giving fixes to, to avoid controlled airspace.
I would also presume that if such a contact freq is required it would be far cheaper to create a seperate "missed coms" freq for CAT which doesn't require the VDF infrastructure or training. Every AtC unit in the land could access it and transmit only. You could proberly pipe it through 4 telly masts through the UK or gawd forbid the classic FM masts. You can pick that up everywhere even if you don't want it.
I presume that using 121.50 for CAT contact is seen as an adnormal procedure.
And as such will be logged as an "emergency" I also presume that such activitys by D&D are logged. How many times a year is this function used in the UK?
How many ATC units have access to transmit on 121.5?
How many of them can recieve it?
Personally I think that its a perception thing. One side who presume its a mission critical service. And another side, who the SRG agree with, who reckon the safety case of GA being D&D scared is a greater risk to safety than all CAT not having box 2 selected to 121.5.
I presume its all down to risk assement as usual. If the numbers of CAT which were required to be contacted by 121.5 to restablish contact are high enough to cause it to be a primary service it would have priority. I suspect though it is used very infrequently if at all in the UK, the number crunchers and have done there magic and reasoned that this multi million pound service is better served by being used by GA by giving fixes to, to avoid controlled airspace.
I would also presume that if such a contact freq is required it would be far cheaper to create a seperate "missed coms" freq for CAT which doesn't require the VDF infrastructure or training. Every AtC unit in the land could access it and transmit only. You could proberly pipe it through 4 telly masts through the UK or gawd forbid the classic FM masts. You can pick that up everywhere even if you don't want it.
Having scanned my way through 7 pages of this thread I am rather bemused at how some people are getting SSSOOOOO uptight about this issue. 
In the UK a 'practice pan' is a totally acceptable part of aviation. The resultant RT exchange is therefore totally acceptable.
What is not acceptable in any country is the non-stop 'wittering' on 121.5. If you want to chat - use 123.45. As a professional pilot I try to maintain a listening watch on 121.5 on the spare box (just in case), but am forever hearing chatter and complaints.
For those of us who call ourselves professional pilots all it needs on this matter is for us to behave like professional pilots.
In the UK a 'practice pan' is a totally acceptable part of aviation. The resultant RT exchange is therefore totally acceptable.
What is not acceptable in any country is the non-stop 'wittering' on 121.5. If you want to chat - use 123.45. As a professional pilot I try to maintain a listening watch on 121.5 on the spare box (just in case), but am forever hearing chatter and complaints.
For those of us who call ourselves professional pilots all it needs on this matter is for us to behave like professional pilots.
Tabs please !
If you want to chat, use the balloon frequency of 122.475
The weather is so crap at the moment, none of them are flying.
The weather is so crap at the moment, none of them are flying.
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It is true that the UK has assigned 123.45 to ATS services.
Only the UK has done that and because it is the international chat frequency, it has published NOTAM and AIC to let pilots know.
The CAA say that the frequency is monitored!
Of course the Shannon FIR and the Paris FIR, Brest FIR, Amsterdam FIR etc have no such restriction that I am aware of and of course pilots can chat on that frequency just on the other side of the FIR boundary.
No doubt the CAA would complain about the interference from aircraft outside the UK to UK ATS facilities.
Bit of a reversal of fortunes!!!
No doubt the CAA have consulted far and wide regarding this and it will never be the case that the 121.50 speaker at Dublin ACC or Dublin Tower is turned down because of an on-going practice pan over anglsey? But is was!
Regards,
DFC
Only the UK has done that and because it is the international chat frequency, it has published NOTAM and AIC to let pilots know.
The CAA say that the frequency is monitored!
Of course the Shannon FIR and the Paris FIR, Brest FIR, Amsterdam FIR etc have no such restriction that I am aware of and of course pilots can chat on that frequency just on the other side of the FIR boundary.
No doubt the CAA would complain about the interference from aircraft outside the UK to UK ATS facilities.
Bit of a reversal of fortunes!!!
No doubt the CAA have consulted far and wide regarding this and it will never be the case that the 121.50 speaker at Dublin ACC or Dublin Tower is turned down because of an on-going practice pan over anglsey? But is was!
Regards,
DFC
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Hi all
As a controller who works in London Centre (D&D) I felt I had to register with Pprune after reading through this thread. Whilst reading it I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at some of the attitudes displayed. I am sure that there are student PPLs out there who will have been following this thread & will now be positively terrified of using 121.5 for its legitimate use in the UK FIRs of practice or emergency calls.
Some of the facts thrown around this thread about D&D are wholey inaccurate, As an example, yes the stated coverage for DF fixing is outside the LTMA is 3000 & above up to the humber estuary, over to Liverpool & then down to the south coast. Those figures are the guaranteed coverage, it can work very well beyond those horizontal or vertical limits.....
As for the comment about us as Mil controllers giving a service to Mil ac in emergency over GA in emergency, what planet are you on? As trained expierienced professionals we would prioritise and act accordingley! And as for not having the info any civil airfields.... wrong, its just displayed differently. Its on the VDF PC and we have access to details even of a large number of farm strips
Regarding the percetage of tx by PP calls versus those made by CAT etc, I can tell you from first hand expeirience that time in D&D can (& usually does) go very slowly I have never had a shift where 121.5 has been cluttered up with PP calls......It just does not happen. We do however hear lots of calls on 121.5 from CAT to other agencies etc, we do on a regular basis go out on 121.5 to get ac to go to the correct freq and might I add that this happens when there have been no "interferring" calls made on 121.5 by practice or emergency traffic. We have at least once to my certain knowledge, been sworn at by a Airline pilot!!!
As for the controller training side of it, yes we do usually have a trainee in D&D & if we relied on emergency traffic alone, we would never be able to endorse a controller because of the paucity of traffic.
Do all you Airline chaps maintain currency when you fly? Yes... well we need to as well. When PPLs get lost often they are not just lost but in a dangerous situation eg stuck at low level with a lowering cloudbase & poor viz. In order to resolve situations like that successfully we as controllers need to be up to speed instantly, be familiar with our kit and know what will work at the position / level the guy is at. If we sat on our butts all day & just handled actual emergencies you could go for weeks without talking to an ac. Would you trust me to get someone out of the poo having not dealt with any traffic for some considerable time..... No neither would I.
I agree whole heartedly the system inplace is not ideal, but its not changing anytime soon. Instead of challenging it on here and berating those who chose to use it for practice, wouldnt it be better to file the appropriate reports catalogeing events that have caused problems in an attempt to change policy?
Diddley Dee Out
As a controller who works in London Centre (D&D) I felt I had to register with Pprune after reading through this thread. Whilst reading it I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at some of the attitudes displayed. I am sure that there are student PPLs out there who will have been following this thread & will now be positively terrified of using 121.5 for its legitimate use in the UK FIRs of practice or emergency calls.
Some of the facts thrown around this thread about D&D are wholey inaccurate, As an example, yes the stated coverage for DF fixing is outside the LTMA is 3000 & above up to the humber estuary, over to Liverpool & then down to the south coast. Those figures are the guaranteed coverage, it can work very well beyond those horizontal or vertical limits.....
As for the comment about us as Mil controllers giving a service to Mil ac in emergency over GA in emergency, what planet are you on? As trained expierienced professionals we would prioritise and act accordingley! And as for not having the info any civil airfields.... wrong, its just displayed differently. Its on the VDF PC and we have access to details even of a large number of farm strips
Regarding the percetage of tx by PP calls versus those made by CAT etc, I can tell you from first hand expeirience that time in D&D can (& usually does) go very slowly I have never had a shift where 121.5 has been cluttered up with PP calls......It just does not happen. We do however hear lots of calls on 121.5 from CAT to other agencies etc, we do on a regular basis go out on 121.5 to get ac to go to the correct freq and might I add that this happens when there have been no "interferring" calls made on 121.5 by practice or emergency traffic. We have at least once to my certain knowledge, been sworn at by a Airline pilot!!!
As for the controller training side of it, yes we do usually have a trainee in D&D & if we relied on emergency traffic alone, we would never be able to endorse a controller because of the paucity of traffic.
Do all you Airline chaps maintain currency when you fly? Yes... well we need to as well. When PPLs get lost often they are not just lost but in a dangerous situation eg stuck at low level with a lowering cloudbase & poor viz. In order to resolve situations like that successfully we as controllers need to be up to speed instantly, be familiar with our kit and know what will work at the position / level the guy is at. If we sat on our butts all day & just handled actual emergencies you could go for weeks without talking to an ac. Would you trust me to get someone out of the poo having not dealt with any traffic for some considerable time..... No neither would I.
I agree whole heartedly the system inplace is not ideal, but its not changing anytime soon. Instead of challenging it on here and berating those who chose to use it for practice, wouldnt it be better to file the appropriate reports catalogeing events that have caused problems in an attempt to change policy?
Diddley Dee Out
Last edited by Diddley Dee; 25th May 2006 at 11:28.
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An excellent post that should go some way to dampening down a lot of the nonsense and "pompous outbursts" made by some of the so called professionals.
FBW
FBW
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As a UK based PPL, this has proved a very interseting thread and shows, amongst other things, a lack of understanding between two halves of the same coin... commercial and GA.
I made one practice pan call to D&D whilst training for my PPL out of Rochester many years ago and it proved to me that the D&D guys were spot and and very helpful. I don't feel any great compulsion to make them everytime I fly, but will, almost certainly make another at some point soon, just to shake off the rust.
A very good friend of mine ran the D&D cell for a few years before being posted onwards within the RAF. One thing I remember him telling me about was the amount of "cramming" he was required to do on small GA airfields and farm strips to enable him to point 121.5 callers in the right direction if needed (maybe Diddley dee can confirm this?).
For any GA pilots reading this, don't be afraid to make that call, practice or for real. Usual radio etiquette applies... listen out and if no one else is on channel, make that call.
If it's a genuine one, send the boys and girls a slab or two ... they do a bloody good job for all who fly.
Happy flying
I made one practice pan call to D&D whilst training for my PPL out of Rochester many years ago and it proved to me that the D&D guys were spot and and very helpful. I don't feel any great compulsion to make them everytime I fly, but will, almost certainly make another at some point soon, just to shake off the rust.
A very good friend of mine ran the D&D cell for a few years before being posted onwards within the RAF. One thing I remember him telling me about was the amount of "cramming" he was required to do on small GA airfields and farm strips to enable him to point 121.5 callers in the right direction if needed (maybe Diddley dee can confirm this?).
For any GA pilots reading this, don't be afraid to make that call, practice or for real. Usual radio etiquette applies... listen out and if no one else is on channel, make that call.
If it's a genuine one, send the boys and girls a slab or two
... they do a bloody good job for all who fly.Happy flying