[TopCat]

I watched the video. Its content seems to boil down to the following:

1. Plan your flight to avoid CAS and other notammed places.
2. Hope that an ATCO somewhere will warn you just before you blunder across that line.

I don't disagree with either of these, but I can't see a 2.5 minute PowerPoint presentation (accompanied by some very annoying music) that makes the above points making a material difference to the number of CAS busts.

This video makes exactly the same points with hugely more impact and professionalism:

[Joff]

Cockney Steve - the CAA is currently advertising for a content role https://www.caacareers.com/jobs/content-specialist123 you could always apply

[flybymike]

1. Plan your flight to avoid CAS and other notammed places.

I don’t think the video suggests that you should plan to avoid CAS, and neither should it.

[Paultheparaglider]

Cockney Steve - the CAA is currently advertising for a content role https://www.caacareers.com/jobs/content-specialist123 you could always apply

You might, though, be making CS's point for him. That salary isn't going to attract a seasoned professional.

[Straight Level]

Some interesting and also some other astonishing radar replays on "Fly on track" http://flyontrack.co.uk/radar-replays/
in particular video 8. Radar- Luton. See “CAIT”! How it should be…
http://flyontrack.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/replay08.wmv
Shows what the EASA cartoon was attempting to portray in 'grown up' way.

[G-BLEW]

Some interesting and also some other astonishing radar replays on "Fly on track" http://flyontrack.co.uk/radar-replays/
in particular video 8. Radar- Luton. See “CAIT”! How it should be…
http://flyontrack.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/replay08.wmv
Shows what the EASA cartoon was attempting to portray in 'grown up' way.

I've seen and heard more discussion about the CAA video and Sunny Swift than I have about that video.

Ian

[TC_LTN]

I think the CAA should adopt it’s own slightly surreal cartoon GA character, but more representative of the UK aviation community. More edgy, more critical, tighter, older, fatter and with more nasal hair. They need a self believe beyond comprehension and definitely must score on a least a few registers. . Finally a snappy UK centric name, an abbreviation of a very common first name, like Stephen and perhaps with a reference to a traditional area of London, in the area of Bow Bells

Any thoughts?

[Dave W]

My thoughts are that such a person wouldn't be that representative of the UK general aviation community due to not having any aviation qualifications.

But I take the wider point!

[TopCat]

1. Plan your flight to avoid CAS and other notammed places.

I don’t think the video suggests that you should plan to avoid CAS, and neither should it.

Yes, fair point. It certainly doesn't state that you should plan to avoid CAS, and you could make a decent case that it doesn't even suggest it. I should have just said "Plan your flight".

Perhaps I should be more nuanced. They set up the context at 0:43 they set up the context:

It's very important to do everything you can to avoid flying into controlled airspace without permission

... which is what I at least tend to think about when the word 'infringement' comes up.

They then go on to talk about SkyDemon. Which is all very well, and it's a brilliant tool, but the video is confusing. They refer to http://www.skydemonlight.com/, describe it as a free online tool (although the free version only works in browsers that support Silverlight), and then present screenshots from SkyDemon itself, including one that shows an in-flight warning feature that isn't available in the Light version at all.

Certainly if you use the Light version at the planning stage, you'll get warnings if there's relevant CAS or RAs, including NOTAM only ones. And that's a good thing, of course, but why make a video that's confusing if you want to get a clear message across?

There's more confusion in the Listening Squawk section - it displays "Tune into the frequency without transmitting" when the squawk is being selected, and then (point 3) it refers to "Listen out for your callsign..." which is only going to work if you have Mode S. Why refer to a Mode S feature, when seconds before they tell you to turn on your transponder and use Mode C if you have it?!

It just feels sloppy, I'm afraid. Maybe it's intentional, so as to be on the same wavelength as those that don't read NOTAMs.

[Dave W]

...(although the free version only works in browsers that support Silverlight)

And iPads/iPhones, for completeness.

Why refer to a Mode S feature, when seconds before they tell you to turn on your transponder and use Mode C if you have it?!

Mode S transponders also have Mode C functionality.

But this highlights a point @Irv Lee often makes - referring to "Mode C" is not what we should be doing in situations like this; we should say "Select ALT", because that's usually what's written next to the knob.

[TopCat]

...(although the free version only works in browsers that support Silverlight)

And iPads/iPhones, for completeness.

Fair enough, though again, not obvious if you happen not to have Apple phones or tablets.

Why refer to a Mode S feature, when seconds before they tell you to turn on your transponder and use Mode C if you have it?!

Mode S transponders also have Mode C functionality.

Is Mode S common now?

The thing about this video is that if you already have all the knowledge you need, you can interpret it in a meaningful way, and probably don't need it at all. But if you don't, then I submit that it's likely to create more confusion than it removes.

[Dave W]

Yes, fair points -and I slightly misunderstood your comment about Mode C vs Mode S, I think.

It would be very interesting to know the proportion of Mode S / Mode C / Mode A / no transponder in the UK GA fleet. Flying around with PilotAware I'd (very, very) roughly estimate Mode S and Mode C that I see in this area to be about 50:50 based on the alerts for non-position indicating traffic with/without callsigns plus those with ADS-B indications.

[Paul_Sengupta]

For non-Mode S users, I wonder how the listening squawk, "Aircraft in the vicinity of x, are you on frequency?" will work with foreign pilots who may not be familiar with the locality and the names of towns?

[Rob P]

This recalls just about my only complaint re SkyDemon in that the useful 'present position' window at the top of the screen works brilliantly in the UK, but in France seems to have been programmed to select the most difficult to pronounce feature within five nautical miles.

Rob P

[Dave W]

Fortunately, there are so many airfields in France that it's easy to instead pick one and report position as "12 miles North East of Lima Foxtrot Blah Blah".