Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1845762
Network rail looking for a TDA for drone use trials in Buckinghamshire for a 90day period .. no indication of vertical height of TDA (It states operational height of 400ft but elsewhere also notes drone will be monitored by a helicopter so the implication is that the TDA will be somewhat higher than 400ft?. No indication that it will be activated by Notam - surely they cant be doing drone surveys 24/7?

More airspace grab that is significantly over and above any justifyable need ... ?

https://airspacechange.caa.co.uk/Public ... ea?pID=351
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#1845764
Survey of the Bletchley - Bicester section of the Cambridge to Oxford line which they're proposing to re-open although I think a single track still exists for part of it.
Travelled on it Bletchley to Calvert in 1963; just east of Calvert is Verney Junction, the northernmost point on the Metropolitan Railway .
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1845765
It's for proof of concept rather than an actual survey.. and it should also be noted it's for their convenience rather than an actual need .. from the redacted minutes .. "Despite considering the use of existing danger areas across the UK in particular in Scotland since many of the BVLOS team are within close distance to the site this location seemed to be the most favourable and accessible to complete test flights."
#1845767
russp wrote:.. no indication of vertical height of TDA (It states operational height of 400ft but elsewhere also notes drone will be monitored by a helicopter so the implication is that the TDA will be somewhat higher than 400ft?.


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So we will now get another pointless NOTAM to be added to the Covid and Afghanistan ones of an airspace that has no effect on anyone flying legally and more cluttering of the chart.

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Rob P
Last edited by Rob P on Sat May 08, 2021 1:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1845770
Rob P wrote:
russp wrote:.. no indication of vertical height of TDA (It states operational height of 400ft but elsewhere also notes drone will be monitored by a helicopter so the implication is that the TDA will be somewhat higher than 400ft?.


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Rob P

That is the operational height of the drone .. I suspect the tda will extend somewhat higher, they have been very careful in their wording not to say that the tda will only be 400ft.
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#1845772
Interesting that Bicester Gliding Club are happy with this. Money in the bank for them.

This, of course, is not the long established Bicester Gliding Club who were forced out, but its new incarnation which I think (I may be wrong) is basically Bicester Heritage who were behind the exit of the original club.

Rob P
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By russp
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1845774
Rob P wrote:Interesting that Bicester Gliding Club are happy with this. Money in the bank for them.

This, of course, is not the long established Bicester Gliding Club who were forced out, but its new incarnation which I think (I may be wrong) is basically Bicester Heritage who were behind the exit of the original club.

Rob P


It's the The Bicester Aerodrome Company https://www.bicesteraero.com/ who are the aerodrome arm of Bicester Heritage who are the airfield operator now. You can hardly blame the airfield for maximising their sources of revenue .. and being tied in with the operator it would seem that they will have procedures for continuation of normal operations. Will likely jam up safetycom though as that's what Bicester are using at the moment.
#1845797
Bicester Gliding Club is effectively no more, Bicester Heritage having attempted to impose conditions on their use of the airfield which they felt were untenable. Members have dispersed to other clubs (mainly Shenington and Weston on the Green) as have the club aircraft.

There is still aero towing at Bicester by private glider owners.
#1845799
NDB_hold wrote:Bicester Gliding Club is effectively no more <snip> There is still aero towing at Bicester by private glider owners.


It seems things have moved on

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Rob P
#1845828
My co-owner is an ex-instructor at Bicester and as I understand it the 'new' club has no connection to the old at all.

The all-directions field of old no longer exists and there are now just two mown strips.

Rob P
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1845862
Both military and civil DAs and TDAs are popping up all over the place. This drone stuff is more incoherent than a really incoherent thing and we need go after Sophie and co IMHO........

If we are experimenting, then a designated experiment area like Aberporth needs to be used, if we are actually conducting a pilot on a specific task then that needs to be clear. This particular scenario could be a parallel run to see how drone versus helicopter plays out, in which case that should be clearly stated.
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