On 02/06/2010, at 12:53 AM, Texler, Michael wrote:
> The overfly approaches may be problematic because gliders may be thermalling
> above the airfield in this area, do we a glider pilots no need to limit our
> activities directly above our airfields, seems restrictive. Also, the tow
> aircraft often tows up through this region of airspace too. However you may
> have itinerant power aircraft descending and orbiting right over the
> airfield, and they may be more than 500' above the CCT height initially.
> Hopefully they know what a double cross symbol on their chart means.
The other bit of the relevant CAAPs which has been missed is that
carriage of radios is mandatory by all aircraft at most "established"
airfields (registered and certified), and pilots are expected to use
it to announce position and intentions as they approach the circuit.
So I'd posit that there's a growing assumption in the CASA regs that
aircraft are radio-equipped and that pilots are actively monitoring
and broadcasting on the radio, using it as an aid for situational
awareness and separation.
Indeed, non-radio-equipped gliders seem to be prohibited from
the vicinity of registered and certified aerodromes now. I've not
found exemptions for gliders of the kind allowed for transponders,
so it appears to me that any glider that isn't fitted with a
serviceable VHF cannot legally operate within 10nm and 2000' of a
registered or certified aerodrome.
(I wonder what the Vintage folks think about that?)
I'd also point out that historically GFA training has minimized
emphasis on the radio, which could very well be taking gliding in a
different direction to what the regulator is currently intending.
I'd suggest that gliding instructors need to redouble any efforts to
(accurately) teach radio procedures to trainees, and that a GFA
Radio Operators' endorsement probably needs to be a standard
non-optional part of the gliding syllabus. And that any assumptions
about the desirability of minimizing use of the radio might need
to be revisited to ensure that gliding operations can remain
comfortably compatible with non-gliding operations. I hear a lot of
glider pilots criticizing power pilots for yakking on the radio all
the time, but little appreciation of the fact that they're doing it
because it's often a legal requirement to do so.
- mark
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