Mazda

I hope you've all been searching. I sure have.

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Yes Blueshed, you are absolutely right! UNICOMs are just there for a bit of extra advice - think of it as a safety net. UNICOM = Universal Communications. An operator is just someone on the ground talking on the aerodrome frequency. CAGRO - Certified Air/Ground Operator. Similar to a UNICOM operator but the person must have an air traffic control licence. So the person is a trained controller, but if there is no local controller available the airport has to pay to get someone to go there. AFRU - Aerodrome Frequency Response Unit. Equipment on the airport frequency which says the name of the airport (if there has been no aircraft there within a certain period of time) when you make your inbound or taxi call, and just gives a beeping sound if there has been a call on the frequency recently. It confirms that you are on frequency. ERSA shows airports which have one. CTAF = Common Traffic Advisory Frequency. NAS - National Airspace System. ADS-B - Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast. Equipment consisting of a transponder type box which shows the aircraft location/height (with call sign) to ATC, any aircraft with an ADS-B display, and anyone with monitoring equipment on the ground. TCAS - Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. A box in aircraft with a screen showing transponder equipped aircraft on the screen and giving an aural warning to the pilot telling them what they need to do to avoid the other aircraft (climb, descent, turn left or right). It doesn't need the other aircraft to have ADS-B, just a normal transponder.

Chris is absolutely right on ADS-B. ADS-B is great for enroute, but realistically here in Oz there is very little enroute risk. In the circuit area ADS-B is completely useless because it does NOT have an audio read out like TCAS, meaning that a single pilot in the circuit will have to look down at the screen - and of course that's when you need to be looking out of the window. |Then of course there is still no resolution about which ADS-B system is going to be used around the world. It's like beta and VHS. I hope we don't end up with beta. The costings you have for UNICOM operators are unrealistic. Have you considered the world model? UNICOM operators are firies or baggage handlers, and it is part of their job. It is NOT ATC and I can't see why you say if they are not there every second of the day it is not a worthwhile service. Even towered airports have no service at times - does that mean we should close down all towers if they don't operate 24 hours per day? What "ongoing training"? You are acting as though a UNICOM operator is a highly trained ATC. They are not! They need to know north from south, cloud from sun. Sain, if you were at your home airfield do you think you'd be able to tell a pilot coming in that the weather looked bad to the east? It's not hard. Have you ever flown to country strips with the farm manager on the radio? "G'day. There's a rut on the cross strip so use the main, and there's no wind." That obviously takes a lot of ongoing training and I doubt that he's paid a cent extra. As I said in a previous post, at present UNICOM operators cannot provide traffic, but in the next stage of NAS they can give basic information. You are absolutely right about the Swiss cheese theory with Olympic Dam. And that is why a UNICOM operator can help. The Metro's calls were not heard, so a UNICOM operator would only have to tell the Fokker about the existence of the Metro. Consider the rest of the world. UNICOM operators are very common. In the USA airline aircraft cannot operate to places without a UNICOM, so obviously they believe it is worthwhile. They really must think we are country hicks over here. There are known risks at CTAFs which have been identified way back in BASI days. Not long ago I had some turkey calling "entering and rolling" when I was on short final. I called, but just say I'd put the radio on the wrong frequency or it wasn't working. Personally I would have loved a UNICOM operator there that day.

Mike, so you'd prefer to fly blindly into an airfield with absolutely no service, than to have someone on the ground? :confused: No radio confirmation. No wind information. No actual local weather. No basic traffic. No one to call services if there's an accident. That's absolutely crazy. Let's be realistic. You will not get a CAGRO at many airports. Now THAT is expensive. AFRUS are good but they have many limitations and they are not at every field. So, to your questions. 1. The UNICOM operator is on the toilet. I've been cleared to land from the toilet of a GAAP tower in the past, so what's the difference? Just say that he/she can't see the runway and is not available. So the aircraft returns to the normal CTAF that you love so much. I'm sure the AFRU would be on if there is one at the field. So why not have the extra safety of the UNICOM operator when they ARE available? Say when RPT flights are coming in? 2. You stuff up. You have just as much chance stuffing up when flying into a normal CTAF when you think you are on frequency and no one can hear you. The difference now is that other airport users can be told about you coming in without making calls. 3. The UNICOM operator cannot "tell" you to do anything. All they can do is to say there are aircraft using a certain runway, or the wind is from a certain direction. The runway choice is entirely yours. It's the same as if you make an inbound call and someone says they are using runway 23, but they are actually using the reciprocal (it happens). Personally, I'd tend to take the word of a resident like a UNICOM operator than an itinerant pilot. Of course they can make a mistake, just like ATC (who also get runway numbers wrong from time to time). Surely you don't blindly follow ATC instructions that are clearly wrong? Of course not. And good luck sueing the groundsman. It doesn't even happen in the USA. All you have to do is look at the huge number of incident reports in CTAFS. Like the one at Olympic Dam where a Metro and an Fokker F50 nearly ran into each other. The result of that is that the airport operator has closed the airport around the times when RPT operate. Why do you think a UNICOM operator would be expensive? It would be a local person, perhaps someone already based on the field - not like getting an air traffic controller from interstate as is done for Narromine. From your own point of view as a pilot, do you think you could look out and say there is an aircraft doing circuits on runway 23? Well, you could be a UNICOM operator at the field. It isn't rocket science.

Darren, one advantage is if someone doesn't know the frequency, the UNICOM operator could at least advise other aircraft coming in that an aircraft has flown in with no radio. David, if you make an inbound call and get no response, there may be no one there, there may be someone there with no radio, or your radio may not be working. So again, a UNICOM operator could help!

Darren the big problem is that as much as people study the frequency, even airline crews get that wrong at times, and on aircraft with multiple radios & switches it is very easy to transmit or receive on the wrong radio. If there's no third party to talk to, the pilot may not even know. That's one way that an UNICOM operator can help.

Mike I can't understand how you could possibly fail to see the benefit. Let me think of the options. Option 1. Nothing, which is what we have now in most places. All the problems above - people using incorrect runways, people on the wrong frequency or not knowing if the radio mic/transmit is selected correctly, flying in without having a clue really about any traffic that is at the airport, the wind direction, runway in use, without knowing that the weather may be clear in a certain direction, and without even really knowing if your own radio is working. Option 2. CAGRO. The original plan was for this to be a UNICOM operator, with some basic training - say a CFI at the local school. Well that didn't happen and they now need a full ATC or flight service licence ... which means if there isn't someone local, an ex-ATCer has to be relocated and paid enough money to make that worthwhile. So this isn't going to happen at every local airport, leaving most airports back at Option 1. Nothing. Option 3. UNICOM. This can be someone on the field so you don't have to move an ex-ATCer. It could be a groundsman, airline rep, flight instructor, etc. It doesn't take much training for someone to say "The wind is from the south" or "there are 2 aircraft in the circuit using runway 12" or "there's low cloud to the north" or "a Rex aircraft just departed to the west" or "there's an aircraft in the circuit not making any radio calls" or "I can't see your landing gear". If you make the call and no one answers, you'd check your frequency, volume etc, and realise that perhaps no one knows you are coming in because your radio may have failed. Now under the current AIP, UNICOM operators are not supposed to give traffic, but it was never supposed to be this way, and under the next stage of NAS they CAN give traffic. If people stopped trying to oppose the airspace changes we would already have UNICOM operators giving basic traffic. They can't give clearances or provide separation (but even GAAP controllers are not responsible for separation in the air anyway). UNICOM operators give advice which you can take or leave, but it is advice I'd rather have.

I've used the Champagne PC one extensively and it is great. I'm also trialling the AirNav one, which is also great in a different way. The Champagne PC one puts the waypoints in a table, and you can look at the route on a basic graphical display. If you put in a distant destination if planning IFR it will automatically plan via the IFR route. It does weight and balance, PNR, CP etc. It has lots of little ALAs, towns etc in the database and is very accurate. It is a very sophisticated program. It doesn't have the maps of the AirNav. I'm still learning the AirNav one! It's very different in that it is based on actual Airservices maps. So you can draw the line on the map like you would on a real map. Initially it felt a bit clumsy because you run out map and have to switch to the next one, but once you get used to it that is no problem. For a long flight you could plan on a PCA and the track then appears on all other maps. I found it very useful because you can use the VTCs or VNCs to plot a VFR route down a lane (like Nowra etc) and that route then appears on your WAC, ENC etc. Very handy. It won't automatically plot an IFR route like Champagne PC. It doesn't have the weight and balance envelope, just basic max weight data. It doesn't have the accurate climb performance data of the Champagne PC, but it does have a simple to use rule of thumb method (which you'd probably use anyway). It uses the real maps and you can print them out with your route on them. You can put notes on the charts or plans too - like "tune CTAF 126.7" or "have a sandwich" or whatever!

We need to push for UNICOMs!

The safety aspect needs to be addressed. Driving from Canberra to Sydney may be for commercial or "hobby" purposes, but imagine if there were no rest stops and no service stations enroute? Goulburn is in part a service station for people flying to Canberra. It is a "stop, revive, survive" stop with fuel and a safe place to land when the weather closes in. The non-aviation people might understand this. I'm sure the Council would like to save lives (in the air and possibly on the ground) by providing a safe haven, not cause deaths by leaving VFR pilots with nowhere to land. More imporantly, the commercial aspect needs to be addressed. Firstly, there is a shortage of airline pilots. Airline pilots need instrument ratings, and many do training at Goulburn. If this is not encouraged, all our airline pilots will end up being trained in places like China. This is not "hobby" training, this is training for pilots who will fly Goulburn residents in Qantas aircraft one day. Secondly, towns without airports and services do not thrive. Just talk to people in towns that have lost an airline service. Maybe talk to the people at West Wyalong and Parkes, who have found out today that Rex are no longer going to operate there because the Council taxes have made flights unviable. In comparison, look at how Temora has gone ahead, and it seems mainly due to the airport becoming a tourist attraction for the town. Instead of fading away, Temora is now thriving, with thousands of tourists, plenty of work, booked out hotels, busy restaurants and cafes, and even better roads. Could something similar be done? Or could it be made more like Wollongong with a fantastic cafe/restaurant for people to visit while watching the airport action? Instead of trying to get rid of it, the Council could consider making it a real asset. With the Police academy, prison and Wakefield Park nearby, there is certainly potential for more use. With the huge prices charged at Bankstown, Canberra and Camden, and with Hoxton Park closing, there is potential to turn it into a thriving GA airport. A scheduled service could take people to Sydney in next to no time (although this would work best as an air taxi service which we don't have in the regulations yet). Do the bank runners use Goulburn? I would think so. What about an international flying school? Instead of us using foreign trained pilots, we could train foreign pilots! We have a great country for aviation. Goulburn would be great as students would have navaids on site, a good runway, and easy access to Canberra, Wollongong and the Sydney airports.

Tim, would you mind putting a reminder on here before the next BBQ?

I did some flying yesterday and there were no problems. There were 3 aircraft in the circuit at the time, and there were also some aircraft flying today.

Tim, you might want to point out to the Council during your BBQ that there would be many more aircraft coming along but APEC means that a lot of pilots can't get out of Sydney if they haven't registered or if they don't have a transponder. Say that Goulburn is one of the closest airports to Sydney that is fully operational during APEC. I agree absolutely on the safety aspect - people can drop in there when the weather closes in (as it often does). I've done this myself, and there were several other aircraft there that couldn't get through. Many of the pilots actually ended up staying overnight in Goulburn (so more money for the area!) The airport is also used extensively for instrument training for pilots from Sydney, Canberra and much further affield. Have the councillors seen the 16 Right DVD? If not, it would be a good idea to set up a DVD player and run it during the BBQ. It really stresses the importance of airports to the local community, shows the employment it generates, and also mentions the affect that the airport closures have had. It's beautifully shot with lovely, real human interest stories. Maybe after seeing that the Council will see the benefits of actually improving the facilities there and utilising the airport more? It could be used by the racing guys using Wakefield Park, the Police, for the prison, plus local businesses. Not to mention fire fighters, parachuting and general joy flights/tourism.

Sain, reading it again I think you are right. I've read the AIP and it does say flight plans are required, but the NOTAM seems to counteract that.

Does everyone know about this? There is now an ADIZ 200nm around Sydney. Yes, 200 nm. So if you are flying anywhere from Jindabyne to north of Port Macquarie, out to Temora, West Wyalong, Dubbo and Tamworth, this affects you. This means you need to submit a flight plan unless you depart from the ADIZ on a steady outbound track, only operate within 10 miles of the departure point, or are performing an instrument approach. You might want to have a look at AIP re intercept procedures. C1252/07 REVIEW C1241/07 ADIZ ESTABLISHMENT FROM 0708292300 TO 0709101400 IN ADDITION TO THE AIRSPACE AND PROCEDURES DETAILED IN AIP SUP H23/07 AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH ICAO ANNEX 15, APPENDIX 1, ENR 5 - NAVIGATION WARNINGS AND ANNEX 15, APPENDIX 4, INFORMATION TO BE NOTIFIED BY AIRAC, THE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE HAS ESTABLISHED AN AIR DEFENCE IDENTIFICATION ZONE (ADIZ) WI 200NM RAD OF SYDNEY DME, SURFACE TO FL600 FOR APEC 2007 ECONOMIC LEADERS WEEK (AELW). THE PROCEDURES FOR AIRCRAFT OPERATING WI AN ADIZ ARE DETAILED IN AIP ENR 1.12 - INTERCEPTION OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT. HOWEVER, ONLY THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES FROM ENR 1.12 SHALL APPLY TO THE ADIZ FOR AELW: 1.3.1 SIGNIFICANT DEVIATIONS FROM THE REQUIREMENTS FOR FLIGHT IN AN ADIZ AND REASONS FOR THE DEVIATION MUST BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY TO ATS FOR TRANSMISSION TO THE AREA AIR DEFENCE COMMANDER. 1.4.2 IF ANY DOUBT ARISES AS TO THE FRIENDLY INTENTION OF AN AIRCRAFT, CLOSER IDENTIFICATION MAY BE NECESSARY, IN WHICH CASE THE IDENTIFYING AIRCRAFT WILL MAINTAIN VISUAL OBSERVATION OF THE INTERCEPTED AIRCRAFT, AND: A. APPROACH AT THE SAME LEVEL FROM ASTERN ON A PARALLEL COURSE TO THE LEFT OF THE AIRCRAFT TO BE IDENTIFIED, WITH A MINIMUM LATERAL DISPLACEMENT OF 1000M B.IF STRICTLY NECESSARY FOR IDENTIFICATION, MOVE CLOSER WHILE MAINTAINING A GENERALLY PARALLEL COURSE, BUT NEVER CLOSER THAN 200M C.IF IDENTIFIED AS FRIENDLY, MAKE THE APPROPRIATE SIGNAL TO PROCEED FROM A POSITION SLIGHTLY AHEAD, BY A CLIMBING TURN OF 90) DEGREES TO PORT AWAY FROM THE INTERCEPTED AIRCRAFT,IF PERMISSIBLE, CONSIDERING OTHER AIR TRAFFIC. 1.4.3 AIRCRAFT IDENTIFIED BY INTERCEPT AS: A. FRIENDLY-SHOULD THEN PROCEED ACCORDING TO FLIGHT PLAN AND/OR ATC INSTRUCTIONS B. UNKNOWN-SHOULD BE PREPARED TO BE SHADOWED, DIVERTED OR INSTRUCTED TO LAND AT A SUITABLE AIRFIELD C. HOSTILE - AIRCRAFT POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS HOSTILE MAYBE ENGAGED AND DESTROYED. 1.5.1 AN AIRCRAFT WHICH IS INTERCEPTED BY ANOTHER AIRCRAFT MUST IMMEDIATELY: A. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY THE INTERCEPTING AIRCRAFT, INTERPRETING AND RESPONDING TO VISUAL SIGNALS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TABLE AT SECTION 2 - VISUAL SIGNALS FOR USE IN THE EVENT OF INTERCEPTION B. NOTIFY, IF POSSIBLE, THE APPROPRIATE ATS UNIT C. ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH RADIO COMMUNICATION WITH THE INTERCEPTING AIRCRAFT, OR WITH THE APPROPRIATE INTERCEPT CONTROL UNIT, BY MAKING A GENERAL CALL ON THE EMERGENCY VHF FREQUENCY 121.5MHZ AND REPEATING THIS CALL ON THE EMERGENCY UHF FREQUENCY 243.0MHZ, IF PRACTICABLE, GIVING THE IDENTITY AND POSITION OF THE AIRCRAFT AND NATURE OF THE FLIGHT D.IF EQUIPPED WITH SSR TRANSPONDER, SELECT 7700, UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED BY THE APPROPRIATE ATS UNIT. 1.5.2 IF ANY INSTRUCTIONS RECEIVED BY RADIO FROM ANY SOURCES CONFLICT WITH THOSE GIVEN BY THE INTERCEPTING AIRCRAFT BY VISUAL OR RADIO SIGNALS, THE INTERCEPTED AIRCRAFT MUST REQUEST IMMEDIATE CLARIFICATION WHILE CONTINUING TO COMPLY WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY THE INTERCEPTING AIRCRAFT. 1.6.1 THE AREA AIR DEFENCE COMMANDER MAY, THROUGH ATS, DIRECT THE FLIGHT OF AIRCRAFT IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY. MESSAGES INITIATING SUCH REQUIREMENTS WILL BE PREFACED BY 'MILITARY OPERATIONS REQUIRE'. THE ADIZ FOR AELW DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY CHANGES TO EXTANT AIRSPACE CLASSIFICATIONS, FLIGHT PLANNING, AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES OR AIR-GROUND-AIR RADIO REQUIREMENTS. HOWEVER, THE RESTRICTIONS AND PROCEDURES DESCRIBED IN AIP SUP H23/07 FOR FLIGHTS WI R902 REMAIN IN FORCE. CONTACT DEPT OF DEFENCE TEL: 1800562222 FOR FURTHER ADVICE. SFC TO FL600 FROM 08 070554 TO 09 101400

It is my understanding that a Police Air Wing Citation will be doing the scouting around, not Hornets. I'm sure they could call for military back up if required, but I really can't see the RAAF flying around all week in Hornets looking for stray Jabirus. After all, they are so used to flying in sterilised airspace with no traffic they might have forgotten how to look out for lighties anyway.

Where have you heard the "no go" from? I registered by the date required and received all the paperwork, registration details etc, then had a representative go to the briefing. Flying schools attended the briefing and they sure plan to operate during that time. There was no need to submit plans long ago. A request must be put in 24 hours in advance and a flight plan lodged (even for circuits). An approval number will be issued for each flight. I plan to go to a fly-in during that time so I'll need approval to get in and out of my home airport.

Is this true that no recreational registered aircraft are permitted? I fly VH registered aircraft, and they are certainly permitted to fly in that area as long as the operator registered by a certain date, an approval number obtained and a flight plan is submitted for each flight. The aircraft must have a radio and transponder though. Is this the same for recreational aircraft or is there some sort of difference? Surely recreational aircraft wouldn't be banned if VH registered aircraft can fly? Has everyone registered? Of course it is inconvenient ... but so is closing off some of the CBD. By the way, I don't think Rudd would have done anything differently (because he seems to copy everything the Howard Government does anyway). Come to think of it, what will Rudd do when he can't follow the lead of Howard any more??!!

Here are a few things that might help. Firstly, you were probably very excited about the flight which may have made you a bit anxious. That will subside! Next, make sure you have a good breakfast. If your blood sugar is low you are more likely to feel sick. Doing the flying yourself might help too because you are in control and concentrating. Don't think about being sick. An old instructor of mine told me he could make anyone sick (straight and level) by constantly asking them if they felt OK, not queasy, not getting that sick feeling in the stomach or tasting bile. He could TALK them into being sick! The mind is very powerful so think about the flying, not about feeling sick. Keep the flights short and do go back as soon as you feel unwell.

I got 6 - does that mean I'm 14 years old?

I have the Airmap as well. I haven't tried loading much information in there though, thanks for the info. I chose the Airmap because it has so many good features, and the suction cup mounting bracket is great for canopy aircraft. Just stick it on the canopy to the side and turn the unit around. You then have a big display which doesn't cover any instruments. It's not as intuitive to use as the Garmins but once you know which buttons to push it is OK. The database is good enough, but pretty basic for Australia compared to the US. I guess we just don't have the population to warrant the cost of producing it. The airports, navaid etc information is great but the geographical information is pretty basic. There's a great option in flight planning to enter a waypoint wherever you put the cursor, but if the town you want isn't shown on the map you can't do that unless you guess the location or work out the exact position. Why is it though that Jeppesen include IFR waypoints on the database, but not Aussie VFR waypoints, when it is a VFR GPS?! In the US all the VFR waypoints are shown. VFR waypoints can be entered easily enough but it would be nice if they were included.

The AOPA directory is national and gives information like nearby attractions, accommodation, taxis etc. There are also Country Airstrip Guides published for each state, which have really good pictorial information showing the strip layout, easy to read when airborne, but it actually doesn't have the extra information that the AOPA guide has. So you might want to get both!

Tony, I don't know if this will help you, but I find trying not to land can work - holding off. Disperse, here are some links to have a look at spins from the inside. normal spin http://youtube.com/watch?v=iENarpO3dLQ flat spin http://youtube.com/watch?v=zhzyib4ci8Y accelerated spin http://youtube.com/watch?v=AY_YPXs-vag

Send them the 16 Right DVD (if they can be bothered watching it) or maybe even offer to address the group and give them a screening. Of course it will be a hostile audience, but if you appear to be normal and sensible, and point out all the benefits of aviation, it might make them reconsider. It would be great to avoid the "us" and "them" mentality, to show them that pilots are people just like them, and they are people just like us who perhaps don't understand. Let them know there are professional people there - maybe point out that you have doctors, engineers or whomever flying there, not people they might assume to be risk takers. Offer to set up a "fly neighbourly" system and brief the pilots. Is there an area that they are concerned about? Show them that pilots are responsible members of the community. Perhaps they don't want people flying over a residential area, or doing practice forced landings over a dairy farm etc. Say you are happy to work with them wherever possible. Make them like you! Show them the advantages, show them the magic. Perhaps invite them to the airfield and maybe take them flying. Tell them to bring a camera to take photos of the magnificent scenery. If you do take them flying, be as professional as an airline pilot. Point out any safety equipment. Nice gentle angles of bank, point out what the instruments do, point out landmarks. Show them how you avoid flying over built up areas where possible. Point out the changing engine noise during different power settings and say it is perfectly normal. Good luck!