denk aan je vluchtplanning tijdens de olympische spelen
Wacht op leden
wsh· 12 mrt
Ik kwam deze tekst tegen met het verzoek dit zoveel mogelijk te verspreiden. De inhoud leek mij nuttig:
I thought it might be useful for those who are not members of AOPA UK if I reproduce here the article I have written for the AOPA mag.
Our foreign members should be aware of what the Olympics mean. Also, I would ask them to put the message about as much as possible.
Quote:
“Get a Gold Medal in Olympics Planning”
“If you see a military aircraft close to you, and you aren’t sure what it wants you to do, turn away from London immediately and call 121.5.”
That was the biggest and most dramatic statement in a fascinating day on 10th March, when the Airspace and Safety Initiative made a presentation to 450 pilots about the forthcoming Olympics period. The large lecture theatre was packed and apparently people had to be turned away – a great pity as it was an excellent day, full of senior and knowledgeable people making every effort to ensure that the Olympics passes without a disaster and with as little disruption as possible.
The foreseen possible disasters include an actual or attempted terrorist attack using an aircraft and an innocent aircraft being shot down because it is seen as too threatening to ignore. But even though those two outcomes are extremely unlikely, there is a big reputational risk if a light aircraft causes disruption to Commercial Air Transport, especially if that affects participants or heads of state.
The CAA made the point that the increase in traffic is expected to be massive – they are expecting half a million extra airline passengers, 150 head of state flights and innumerable extra BizJet and GA movements. They are activating as international entry points, with slots, an extra 40 airports and airfields, and have increased Airways and TMA dimensions to cope. The SE of England is one of the busiest pieces of airspace in the world on an ordinary day; the three days before and three days after the Olympics will take it to breaking point. One incursion, whether to controlled, restricted or prohibited airspace could have knock on effects to our freedom to fly for years to come. The CAA were not pulling their punches! They also told us that the chances of prosecution were considerably higher, as the stakes and disruption would be greater.
Although Southend, Manston and Farnborough get zones, most of the temporary controlled airspace is above 2,500’, a lot of it at flight levels, so the average AOPA member will be able to avoid it by staying low, so the focus of the day was on the Prohibited and Restricted Areas, P111 and R112 from 14th July to 15th August and P114 from 16th August to 12th September. There will also be a Restricted (though Prohibited to us) area over Weymouth and NOTAMed RA(T)s to cover other events around the country. All these areas have been set up by the Military as a “proportionate response to a perceived risk” and are intended to create a “known air environment.” They will have “assets” in place to monitor activity in these areas and to intercept any which are unknown or deviate from what is known about them.
The Government, Military, CAA, NATS and other bodies, such as SkyDemon, are bending over backwards to allow us to continue with our flying lives despite this disruption. It behoves AOPA members to think how much worse and more draconian this could have been, indeed was in Vancouver, Athens and South Africa. NATS are providing 12 extra radar consoles and some very sophisticated software, and the RAF and RN are providing 48 LARS controllers and 50 Air Traffic Assistants to ensure that we can get on with our lives. Our part of the bargain is to behave responsibly, to follow the rules and be flexible. The solution was the very best AOPA could negotiate, and we believe that it is as good as we could reasonably hope for.
Apart from an area between Tottenham and Brookmans Park, the whole of the Prohibited Zone will be within the Heathrow and City CTRs and should not be particularly inconvenient to most AOPA members. It is the restrictions within the Restricted Zone which will be the most onerous.
Essentially, you must have working Mode C or Mode S and you will need to file a flight plan between 24 and 2 hours before your intended flight(s). This must be done either in person with a flight planning office (ie no faxes or emails) or into the AFTN using AFPEX, SkyDemon, EuroFPL or whichever online tool. You will get a response, both via AFTN and a text to your mobile phone, which might be an approval code, a rejection because of capacity or an approval code for a different time. If you can accept that different time, you just do it without further ado, but if you cannot you are asked, for the sake of the rest of us, to cancel so that someone else will get the slot.
If pilots or operators attempt to fool the system by applying for speculative slots, they will be spotted by those 50 assistants, and the fearsome Squadron Leader Lindsey will be on the phone, probably threatening any future access to the system.
Your flightplan must be addressed to EGGOLYMP and include entry and exit points to the zone, with EETs, and must only include three letter radio aid designators, range and bearing from a radio aid or LatLong. Human readable descriptions, such as M25/M23 junction may not be used and will result in rejection (with a reason given.)
While it is acknowledged that many VFR pilots have little or no experience with flightplans, and even for those who do, these flightplans are even more strict and onerous than usual, Tim Dawson of SkyDemon has jumped into the breach. He is offering everyone free access to SkyDemon Light (http://www.skydemonlight.com) during the games, with free automatic generation and filing of plans. All the user has to do is to click and drag on a map on the computer screen and SDL will work out everything else, package it up neatly and file it. This will be far and away the easiest way to deal with the situation, and the whole GA community owes a debt of gratitude to Tim who is doing it, as he says himself, out of the goodness of his heart.
There will be another “File a Flightplan Day” on 5/6 May and SDL will be available on that weekend for people to practice. You can ask questions or get help with how to format flightplans from [email protected]. There is also much more information at http://www.airspacesafety.com/olympics
Once you have your approval number you must depart, or cross the zone boundary if inbound, within 30 minutes of your planned time. There is no further leeway on that, and you will not be accepted into the airspace a minute earlier or later. Even if there are delays beyond your control, you simply have to re-file. However, you can link together two plans for out and back, such that you get both approvals or neither.
Once in the air, or approaching the zone from outside, you must call Atlas Control on the existing Farnborough North and East frequencies with your call sign and approval number (no approval number, no clearance) and service required. Nothing more. You will be given a squawk and a contact frequency and you will then be given a LARS service by an experienced controller. You must fly your planned route. If you need to change your route, or divert because of weather or technical reasons then tell the controller, and safety will come first.
Aircraft will be able to fly in the circuit of airfields within the zone without a flightplan, but only if they can squawk and by prior notification to Atlas. They will have to remain within 3nm of their airfield.
But the highlight of the presentation was from two pilots who will be intercepting errant aircraft, in Typhoons, Pumas or a combination. If you are going to fly in the Restricted Zone, or anywhere near it, you must get familiar with standard interception procedures, and these will mostly be adhered to, but there are exceptions. The interceptors will not have much time to make decisions and will be expecting a positive and rapid response from intercepted aircraft. Whether it is a fast jet or a helicopter, it will make its presence felt. It might fly right across you, showing its upper surface, fly so close that you can hear it and feel its wash, it might even fire flares. You should acknowledge that you have seen them by waggling your wings and turning immediately onto the course they initially turn on to. The Pumas will have big boards with instructions, such as FOLLOW ME. The interceptors should make it very clear what they want you to do, but the watchword is, if you are in any doubt:
TURN AWAY FROM LONDON and CALL 121.5
I thought it might be useful for those who are not members of AOPA UK if I reproduce here the article I have written for the AOPA mag.
Our foreign members should be aware of what the Olympics mean. Also, I would ask them to put the message about as much as possible.
Quote:
“Get a Gold Medal in Olympics Planning”
“If you see a military aircraft close to you, and you aren’t sure what it wants you to do, turn away from London immediately and call 121.5.”
That was the biggest and most dramatic statement in a fascinating day on 10th March, when the Airspace and Safety Initiative made a presentation to 450 pilots about the forthcoming Olympics period. The large lecture theatre was packed and apparently people had to be turned away – a great pity as it was an excellent day, full of senior and knowledgeable people making every effort to ensure that the Olympics passes without a disaster and with as little disruption as possible.
The foreseen possible disasters include an actual or attempted terrorist attack using an aircraft and an innocent aircraft being shot down because it is seen as too threatening to ignore. But even though those two outcomes are extremely unlikely, there is a big reputational risk if a light aircraft causes disruption to Commercial Air Transport, especially if that affects participants or heads of state.
The CAA made the point that the increase in traffic is expected to be massive – they are expecting half a million extra airline passengers, 150 head of state flights and innumerable extra BizJet and GA movements. They are activating as international entry points, with slots, an extra 40 airports and airfields, and have increased Airways and TMA dimensions to cope. The SE of England is one of the busiest pieces of airspace in the world on an ordinary day; the three days before and three days after the Olympics will take it to breaking point. One incursion, whether to controlled, restricted or prohibited airspace could have knock on effects to our freedom to fly for years to come. The CAA were not pulling their punches! They also told us that the chances of prosecution were considerably higher, as the stakes and disruption would be greater.
Although Southend, Manston and Farnborough get zones, most of the temporary controlled airspace is above 2,500’, a lot of it at flight levels, so the average AOPA member will be able to avoid it by staying low, so the focus of the day was on the Prohibited and Restricted Areas, P111 and R112 from 14th July to 15th August and P114 from 16th August to 12th September. There will also be a Restricted (though Prohibited to us) area over Weymouth and NOTAMed RA(T)s to cover other events around the country. All these areas have been set up by the Military as a “proportionate response to a perceived risk” and are intended to create a “known air environment.” They will have “assets” in place to monitor activity in these areas and to intercept any which are unknown or deviate from what is known about them.
The Government, Military, CAA, NATS and other bodies, such as SkyDemon, are bending over backwards to allow us to continue with our flying lives despite this disruption. It behoves AOPA members to think how much worse and more draconian this could have been, indeed was in Vancouver, Athens and South Africa. NATS are providing 12 extra radar consoles and some very sophisticated software, and the RAF and RN are providing 48 LARS controllers and 50 Air Traffic Assistants to ensure that we can get on with our lives. Our part of the bargain is to behave responsibly, to follow the rules and be flexible. The solution was the very best AOPA could negotiate, and we believe that it is as good as we could reasonably hope for.
Apart from an area between Tottenham and Brookmans Park, the whole of the Prohibited Zone will be within the Heathrow and City CTRs and should not be particularly inconvenient to most AOPA members. It is the restrictions within the Restricted Zone which will be the most onerous.
Essentially, you must have working Mode C or Mode S and you will need to file a flight plan between 24 and 2 hours before your intended flight(s). This must be done either in person with a flight planning office (ie no faxes or emails) or into the AFTN using AFPEX, SkyDemon, EuroFPL or whichever online tool. You will get a response, both via AFTN and a text to your mobile phone, which might be an approval code, a rejection because of capacity or an approval code for a different time. If you can accept that different time, you just do it without further ado, but if you cannot you are asked, for the sake of the rest of us, to cancel so that someone else will get the slot.
If pilots or operators attempt to fool the system by applying for speculative slots, they will be spotted by those 50 assistants, and the fearsome Squadron Leader Lindsey will be on the phone, probably threatening any future access to the system.
Your flightplan must be addressed to EGGOLYMP and include entry and exit points to the zone, with EETs, and must only include three letter radio aid designators, range and bearing from a radio aid or LatLong. Human readable descriptions, such as M25/M23 junction may not be used and will result in rejection (with a reason given.)
While it is acknowledged that many VFR pilots have little or no experience with flightplans, and even for those who do, these flightplans are even more strict and onerous than usual, Tim Dawson of SkyDemon has jumped into the breach. He is offering everyone free access to SkyDemon Light (http://www.skydemonlight.com) during the games, with free automatic generation and filing of plans. All the user has to do is to click and drag on a map on the computer screen and SDL will work out everything else, package it up neatly and file it. This will be far and away the easiest way to deal with the situation, and the whole GA community owes a debt of gratitude to Tim who is doing it, as he says himself, out of the goodness of his heart.
There will be another “File a Flightplan Day” on 5/6 May and SDL will be available on that weekend for people to practice. You can ask questions or get help with how to format flightplans from [email protected]. There is also much more information at http://www.airspacesafety.com/olympics
Once you have your approval number you must depart, or cross the zone boundary if inbound, within 30 minutes of your planned time. There is no further leeway on that, and you will not be accepted into the airspace a minute earlier or later. Even if there are delays beyond your control, you simply have to re-file. However, you can link together two plans for out and back, such that you get both approvals or neither.
Once in the air, or approaching the zone from outside, you must call Atlas Control on the existing Farnborough North and East frequencies with your call sign and approval number (no approval number, no clearance) and service required. Nothing more. You will be given a squawk and a contact frequency and you will then be given a LARS service by an experienced controller. You must fly your planned route. If you need to change your route, or divert because of weather or technical reasons then tell the controller, and safety will come first.
Aircraft will be able to fly in the circuit of airfields within the zone without a flightplan, but only if they can squawk and by prior notification to Atlas. They will have to remain within 3nm of their airfield.
But the highlight of the presentation was from two pilots who will be intercepting errant aircraft, in Typhoons, Pumas or a combination. If you are going to fly in the Restricted Zone, or anywhere near it, you must get familiar with standard interception procedures, and these will mostly be adhered to, but there are exceptions. The interceptors will not have much time to make decisions and will be expecting a positive and rapid response from intercepted aircraft. Whether it is a fast jet or a helicopter, it will make its presence felt. It might fly right across you, showing its upper surface, fly so close that you can hear it and feel its wash, it might even fire flares. You should acknowledge that you have seen them by waggling your wings and turning immediately onto the course they initially turn on to. The Pumas will have big boards with instructions, such as FOLLOW ME. The interceptors should make it very clear what they want you to do, but the watchword is, if you are in any doubt:
TURN AWAY FROM LONDON and CALL 121.5