[matspart3]

We've produced an informal guide to flying at Gloucester. Aimed primarily at first time visitors and students and intentionally written in a relaxed, informal style, we hope it will prevent some of the regular 'gotchas' we encounter during the busy periods.

I'd be grateful for any feedback on the content:-
http://www.gloucestershireairport.co.uk/Portals/4/PDFs/Guide%20to%20Flying%20at%20GLO%202016%20Edition.pdf

[BlackheathBloke]

Ah yes, you need a runway webcam these days to be up with the cool kids.

[Boxkite]

I'll wait for the abridged version.....

[rich_g85]

I read it cover to cover and I think you've got the tone exactly right - it's light-hearted, but instructive without being patronising.

As a relatively low-hours PPL holder, even with the best Pooleys/AIP self-briefing in the world it can be still daunting landing away at an unfamiliar airfield. I wish more airfields would produce such a guide.

[leiafee]

I thought the tone was spot on and the length fine due to the informal chatty style which made it very readable.

I would have adored having that to read prior to my first evet visit there complete with little confused swerve at the hold looking for the right hold point and wondering if it'd sound incompetent to ask for a more detailed set of directions, just as one example.

Hits a lot of unsaid assumptions in the doc.

[akg1486]

That's one of the most comprehensive documents of this sort that I have ever seen, and I usually look at dozens of airfields/airports every year when planning summer trips. Really informative and very welcoming. Great job! If Gloucester had been on my summer holiday route, I would have picked it as a destination based on this document alone. I suggest you add a post about it to the thread about EGBJ in the ATIS Forum.

I've visited Gloucester once when I worked for a year in the UK in 2005. By then I'd had my PPL for only a year and I was alone. This would really have helped! I remember preparing for overhead join for the six potential runways, but when I actually got there I was told to join "runway XX, right-hand circuit". Doh! I was only mentally prepared for left-hand... But no issues: I landed without problems, had my planned lunch with SteveH, was treated to a local flight over Severn and then returned to Popham after a nice day out.

[FlightDek]

Hi MP3

I only have one criticism - you're a week late

I flew in for the first time on Friday. I'm a low hours PPL and this was my first flight to a completely unfamiliar airfield that I never even seen with my instructor. I flew with a fellow low hours PPL and between us we managed with some helpful RT from your people. The whole process was relatively painless and I even managed a reasonable landing.

A big thanks to you all and I'll be back sometime in the future

Cheers
Dek

[alexbrett2]

Only one minor comment - on P.13 you talk about responses to a pilot calling ready for departure, but you don't mention conditional clearances (e.g. behind the landing...), would that be worth doing so?

[kanga]

..

I flew in for the first time on Friday. .. I'll be back sometime in the future
..

next time at a weekend (or a school holiday/halfterm Wednesday) to include a visit to JAM, I hope

[FlightDek]

Kanga

Definitely going to visit the museum next time. Maybe even meet you.

Problem I have is how would I even recognise you?

Cheers
Dek

[Learner_Driver]

Professional and welcome
Suggestion: Cut out a few syllables by using '...request join' in the RT example.
Grand job

[Jamesc_1729]

Hi -

I've spent the last year doing a ppl with one of the ATOs at Gloucester, culminating in a successfull skills test recently.

Just to echo the other comments as to how useful that doc is, pulling together all of my notes obtained via googling/local knowledge into one place. It would be great if all uk airfields copied your example (some have, most have not).

Comments thus:

1) The overhead join pictorial - the most ambiguity on the OHJ is if joining from the dead side (due south in your example, but not shown), would you expect them to directly descend into dead side, potentially head on conflicting with the majority of traffic from the north, or would you expect them to route overhead then 180' into the dead side from above the runway. This is a topic I've discussed with an instructor recently as it has contributed to airproxes in the past.?

2) I've been held off the airfield in a stack recently due to a limit on the number of aircraft in the circuit at any one time (which I believe might have come from updated policy after airproxes?), which doesn't seem to be mentioned?

3) I am sure you are planning this but assume you will make this fantastic doc very clear on website, and referenced during ppr phone calls?

Cheers

James

[JonathanB]

1) The overhead join pictorial - the most ambiguity on the OHJ is if joining from the dead side (due south in your example, but not shown), would you expect them to directly descend into dead side, potentially head on conflicting with the majority of traffic from the north, or would you expect them to route overhead then 180' into the dead side from above the runway. This is a topic I've discussed with an instructor recently as it has contributed to airproxes in the past.?

It specifically says that descending directly into the dead side constitutes a "direct join". So you should route overhead (with the airfield on the appropriate side of you as per the circuit direction) then make a turn in the circuit direction back into the dead side to start your descent.


One slight error (?), in bullet point 5 on page 6 it says "Fly around the overhead until you’re parallel to the runway in use and, approximately half a mile south of the landing threshold." but this only refers to some runways I think.

[Balliol]

Great work!! Many Thanks - a really useful guide and I have sent to all my club pilots and instructors! A few queries below if I may (standing by to be educated!):

Sometimes, we will ask you to report “ready for base leg” – this is usually because we’ve not yet set in stone the landing order, and it may be that we can either get you in ahead of instrument traffic, or require you to extend downwind or orbit for spacing. If asked to report ready for base leg, please do not turn onto base until advised by Tower.

Is this official phraseology? I think "ready for base leg" is ambiguous and doesn't make an explicit restriction to maintain downwind circuit track until authorised otherwise? Surely it should be extend downwind until notified or something similar?

If you are ‘number one’, please don’t extend your circuit unnecessarily. Many people are taught the ‘45° behind’ technique for turning base and, with quite a few urban areas near to our final approaches, we encourage you not to overfly our neighbours!

What does this actually mean? Are you trying to say please use the 45 degree method as a guide to where your base leg should be?

Further, if we have given you an instruction to follow an aircraft, please don’t turn onto base leg or final if you are not visual with that aircraft. Again, if in doubt, ask us, and we will update you on the position of the traffic you are to follow or, if we can see that it is safe for you to continue onto final, we will let you know.

I get the sentiment, but surely the Tower controller can only provide information on where he believes the other traffic to be unless he is visual with it? Separation in the visual circuit is always the responsibility of the pilots concerned so the controller can only assist rather than declare it to be safe?

We sometimes get pilots coming in VFR but wanting to fly an instrument approach for training or currency purposes

I think you mean 'coming in VFR and requesting an un-notified change to IFR'?

ps - on the 'land after' I think the preceding type is supposed to be specifically mentioned as part of the clearance and read back?

[Waveflyer]

Very good write up, easy to read, easy to understand.