[ozplane]

Heard a whisper that there is to be a meeting about 8.33 implementation at the CAA today. I have no idea of content. Anybody? Relevant for me as my 25khz set has packed up right on cue.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

As your 25kHz radio has packed up, if you are going to replace it at all, why would you not want an 8.33kHz radio?

[ozplane]

Did I say I didn't?

[Shoestring Flyer]

As your 25kHz radio has packed up, if you are going to replace it at all, why would you not want an 8.33kHz radio?

I guess because if the implementation is deferred there are plenty of old 25kHZ units around that can be picked up for a song!

[cockney steve]

if you are going to replace it at all, why would you not want an 8.33kHz radio?

*Devil's Advocate*

There's a big demand for 8.33.......prices are high......lead-times long.......fitting lead times long.

lots of used 25 kHz kit on the market........peanuts prices......high likelihood of a direct slot-in replacement (maybe even the identical model)

If, indeed, 8.33 mandatory introduction is postponed, late adopters will get better availability, quicker fit and hopefully , lower prices,as production is ramped-up but market becomes saturated.
The longer the old set lasts, the "newer" the new one will be and , all things being equal, will last longer before failure.
*devil's advocate off*

Or buy a Yaesu* handheld as a stop-gap which will then become a permanent backup.

*Seems to be well thought of, on this Forum, compared with the Icom alternative.

edit: Ha ha, Shoestring!....Great minds?

[flyingeeza]

Or buy a Yaesu* handheld as a stop-gap which will then become a permanent backup.

*Seems to be well thought of, on this Forum, compared with the Icom alternative.

Indeed.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

Did I say I didn't?

I misinterpreted the last sentence of your opening post as potentially hoping for further extensions to the deadline and perhaps contemplating a cheap old 25kHz radio.
Ok so I got it wrong.

The CAA have previously written they cannot extend 8.33kHz exemptions beyond this year so maybe they are going to speculate how many GA aircraft will be non-radio on 1st January due to the queues to have 8.33kHz radios fitted....

[G-JWTP]

I cannot see the CAA giving an exemption or extension to this, after all the huff and puff they really have painted themselves into a corner.

Could you imagine the flak they'd be subjected to if they came out with an extension like the French.

Mind you it would show a bit of 'bottle'.

G-JWTP

[Bathman]

Well I wonder if it has anything to do with not actually being able to buy an 8.33 radio.

We been told that our supplier cannot get us a GNC225 and that the lead time on a Trig TY96 is 3 months.

Of course you would have thought the CAA made sure that there was sufficient supply to met the proposed deadline.

Even such a simple thing as a Class G exception would help.

[Charliesixtysix]

The deadline for 8.33 installation has been known for some considerable time and supply of radios to market has been adequate until quite recently.

I think the problem is jointly limited availability compounded by late commitment to upgrade by aircraft owners - my order for a Trig radio in December 2016 was delivered ex-stock.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were a degree of double/speculative ordering going on now, with owners/installers hoping that of one of two (or more) manufacturers be able to deliver faster than the other one(s).

[GolfHotel]

.......

Of course you would have thought the CAA made sure that there was sufficient supply to met the proposed deadline.

....

We all expected the CAA to be right on top of all issues.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

I cannot see the CAA giving an exemption or extension to this, after all the huff and puff they really have painted themselves into a corner.

They have not painted themselves into a corner. The law is the law. They made it quite clear that legally they could not do any more exemptions for 8.33kHz.
Aircraft owners have had years to do this upgrade and have either been blissfully unaware or buried their heads in the sand hoping there could be exemptions forever.

[GAFlyer4Fun]

Of course you would have thought the CAA made sure that there was sufficient supply to met the proposed deadline. .

(This is equivalent to the UK government saying replace all diesel vehicles with petrol vehicles by a particular date N years in the future when we think the manufacturers can cope with demand, but you cant all leave it to the last minute before the proposed deadline).

The CAA cannot tell the various manufacturers how many units to make for a particular model as the CAA do not know what aircraft owners will choose to fit. All they could realistically do is say the legal change is coming and have exemptions for N years to upgrade the fleet, but remember we cant all do it at once, so some will have to do it sooner rather than later.

Don't blame the CAA if too many aircraft owners leave it to the last minute that the manufacturers/installers cannot cope with demand.

[peter272]

Just remember the fuss over Mode S. We were told we had to equip but then it was kicked into the long grass. Early adopters found the ones they bought might have to be replaced at additional cost

Yes, we were given deadlines, but experience shows that going early is usually a bad idea.

That said, the CAA has a very good idea of how many aircraft need to be reequipped, as do the manufacturers. I would have thought 12-18 months lead should be just OK but at the rate things are going, there will be a lot of owners who haven't sorted it by Jan 2018. I would guess that the CAA won't accept a mass grounding of the GA fleet - too embarrassing - so will accept an extension.

[G-JWTP]

I remember the chaos caused when we went to EASA lifences. Here the CAA told everyone to get their applications in early. Which lots of us did. Then what , they couldn't cope! I took nearly 4 months to get my licence back.
Let's not forget that 8.33 is CAT/CAS driven because EASA couldn't get through SES, due to most Governments dragging their feet, and not even agreeing on a single office to allocate frequencies across Europe!

G-JWTP