By: ozplane - 8th October 2004 at 18:22
I operate from a farm strip and I think it will be very useful as long as the R/T is disciplined. More than once I’ve had visitors taxiing on to the active when I’ve been on final. This might have been prevented if Safetycom had been available.
By: Moggy C - 6th October 2004 at 13:05
As long as this isnt a diabolical scheme to get rid of LARS then I guess I cant see the harm in it,
Dean
I think that’s what’s left of LARS after the next round of RAF closures, will be safe. The same cannot be said of the lesser airfield frequencies.
On the other hand, my experience of would-be ‘controllers’ on these frequencies leads me to believe we might be better off without, at least, some of them.
Off hand I can’t recall a single collision at a non-radio field, so I really can’t see what this is a fix for. :confused:
By: Deano - 6th October 2004 at 12:31
Robert
The problem the CAA has is people like you who can do nothing but criticise, you seem to spend your time looking for the bad in everything and not concentrating on the good, give them a break, get off their backs.
D.
By: Deano - 6th October 2004 at 12:27
As long as this isnt a diabolical scheme to get rid of LARS then I guess I cant see the harm in it, but on the other hand if its a nationwide frequency (which obviously it is) then Im just a bit concerned with the comments above about some a/g stations will vanish and this could overall effect safety, if at weekends (the busiest time for GA) you switch to SafetyCom and you cant get a word in edgeways I wonder how many pilots will say “ah well, it doesnt matter if I dont broadcast” and then inadvertantly end up colliding with someone turning finals etc. Keeping a good lookout is obviously paramount in the circuit (as it is in all stages of flight) but when flying to an a/g aerodrome its still comforting when you call finals to hear “G-ABCD winds 100/100 no known traffic.
Dean
By: Melvyn Hiscock - 5th October 2004 at 17:11
Using the system in the US was not too bad as it is an established way of doing things. Estabishing something, especially when the introduction appears to be done by telepahy, is a diffferent matter.
In practice flying around Bakersfield I found it worked well but required a good listening watch and common sense.
Melv
By: Moggy C - 5th October 2004 at 16:13
Are there airfields that are actually busy enough to warrant talking on this frequency that don’t already have at least A/G?
It is possible that a number of the A/G frequencies can be done away with.
Break Break
That’s why I mentioned it here Steve, the CAA doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job of informing people.
What will apparently happen is that proper ATCOs will hand you off to Safetycom. Hence your final call from Lakenheath would be.
GolfDeltaEchoFlightinformationserviceterminatedsquawkseventhousandfrequencychangeapprovedsafetycomisavailableononethreefivedecimalfoursevenfiveg’day
Moggy
By: Arabella-Cox - 5th October 2004 at 15:55
Hmm. Initial thoughts are that it’s potentially a safety enhancement in terms of providing a frequency for aircraft visiting non-radio airfields / strips.
I can see the benefits there, in that a pilot can now broadcast his intentions and therefore make others aware of his presence.
However as you say, it does depend on whether or not anyone else is listening. And of course, it being a single frequency, there’s a wide scope for confusion if people are broadcasting in relation to different places.
The other concern that springs to mind, is that occasionally you find strips which are situated close to ATZ’s (such as Knettishall, and also a farm strip just a mile or so north west of Clacton), so there’s a potential for people to just stick to ‘Safetycom’ frequency and end up bimbling through an established ATZ without contacting them.
Hmm. Reckon I need to give this a bit more thought. Operational as of 11th Nov, you say? I wonder whether Flying Clubs and Schools at established aerodromes will be briefing their PPL’s and Students? I’ve certainly not been told about it yet…
By: Moggy C - 5th October 2004 at 15:34
As of the 11th November a frequency (Which I think is 135.475) has been allocated by the CAA for a UK equivalent of the US ‘Unicom’ system.
How this is supposed to work it that you will leave Cambridge, probably working Lakenheath, then with my strip in sight, sign off from Lakenheath, switch frequency, and solemnly broadcast to the unhearing ether
“Knettishall Traffic, Golf-Bravo-Charlie-Delta-Echo intends joining downwind for 26 right hand, Knettishall”
The fact that there won’t be any other traffic is not the point. Meanwhile you will hear lots of other people broadcasting very similar messages, but topped and tailed with the names of other strips. Well, that’s the theory.
Moggy
By: Arabella-Cox - 5th October 2004 at 15:28
Not entirely sure what you mean by Safetycom Moggy. I’ve done a google, which is inconclusive. My guess is that you mean the change to Mode S?
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October 5, 2004 at 11:48 am