Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By BobD
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1871286
We finally managed to get there. Disappointed with the reduced turn out, probably down to the couple of postponements. The on site staff were very friendly & helpful. As a fly-in, it was a bit of a non event really, as there was not a lot at the airfield to hold one's attention, but hey, it was for a good cause. Shame the on site cafe/restaurant chose to shut for the day, but the butty van was doing good business.

For once we decided to forgo the £100 burger, and walked 20 minutes to the Fontygary Inn, were a tasty Gammon, Pineapple, Peas & Chips was followed by an equally delicious Ice Cream Sundae, all for a very reasonable £11.95

After that, it was a bit of a slog walking back uphill to the airfield though. :oops:
ivor.phillips liked this
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1871299
MikeB wrote:There was 1 cake left in Aeros when I returned from Wycombe around 5pm - are you on a diet Paul?


I asked about you and they said you'd gone out. I said I'd talk to you about return times so I could maybe say hello, but I went down Barry Island instead and got some chips and ice-cream.

BobD wrote:Shame the on site cafe/restaurant chose to shut for the day,


It's a private members' club at the moment. There are rumours of it becoming a free for all restaurant again, but it hasn't happened. It's a shame as it was a great place.
By Oldfart
#1871431
An enjoyable visit to Aeros at Cardiff on Sunday. Not too many visitors, presumably put off by a pessimistic weather forecast.
A couple of ATC traps for the unwary on departure.
A clearance not “not above 1500ft”. which routes you to a television mast 1300 ft amsl. Allowing a recommended buffer of 100ft to avoid busting your height restriction, not too user friendly.
Then, under radar control at 3000ft with no other traffic, the controller leaves it so late to release you to the adjacent Bristol airspace, that you infringe, before you can make contact with the Bristol controller. Despite a last minute unplanned 180 deg back into Cardiff airspace!
And the odd requirement to file a VFR flightplan “. To reduce ATC workload”, when the only movement for some time around my a departure, a lone BA 787 positioning to LHR.
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By ivor.phillips
#1871433
:D Saturday wasn’t a problem, VFR departure to Flat holm not above 1500 ft and change to Bristol listening frequency and Squawk, All done in good time with no drama,
I Tried to use SkyDemon to file my VFR flight plan for my return journey unsuccessfully so resorted to booking out by phone from Aeros, Again no problem and very professionally handled, really enjoyed the trip :D
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1871470
Oldfart wrote:A clearance not “not above 1500ft”. which routes you to a television mast 1300 ft amsl. Allowing a recommended buffer of 100ft to avoid busting your height restriction, not too user friendly.


Not as bad as inbound, when they want you at 800ft AAL passing the masts! You're supposed to fly past them, not over them... (yes, there are two tall masts, both VRPs to the north, Wenvoe to the north east and St Hillary to the north west). My standard inbound from overflying the valleys was "between the masts".

Oldfart wrote:Then, under radar control at 3000ft with no other traffic, the controller leaves it so late to release you to the adjacent Bristol airspace, that you infringe, before you can make contact with the Bristol controller.


I always tended to fly around Bristol airspace, but you can always request a frequency change rather than leave it up to the controller. Cardiff Radar will generally not tell you to leave them, it's up to you to ask, and that includes what you think might be the limit of your radio range.

Oldfart wrote:And the odd requirement to file a VFR flightplan “. To reduce ATC workload”, when the only movement for some time around my a departure, a lone BA 787 positioning to LHR.


Yes, quite, though I can imagine the controller would like to keep their eye on the ball rather than have to input all the data onto the electronic flight strip computer doodah, just in case. Maybe they'll get used to it in time....
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By xtophe
#1871479
Paul_Sengupta wrote:Yes, quite, though I can imagine the controller would like to keep their eye on the ball rather than have to input all the data onto the electronic flight strip computer doodah, just in case. Maybe they'll get used to it in time....

They could use the time saved to hand-over people to the next frequency in good time.
By Oldfart
#1871485
Yes my mistake in assuming the late handover meant controller coordination with Bristol. Although he was busy, I only heard one other aircraft on the frequency at the time!
What a disjointed system we endure, where under radar control, we are observed approaching someone else's controlled airspace without a clearance, without a gentle reminder perhaps!
Lesson learned for next occasion.
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1871488
Oldfart wrote:Yes my mistake in assuming the late handover meant controller coordination with Bristol. Although he was busy, I only heard one other aircraft on the frequency at the time!
What a disjointed system we endure, where under radar control, we are observed approaching someone else's controlled airspace without a clearance, without a gentle reminder perhaps!
Lesson learned for next occasion.

Are they beating you up going through the 'just culture' process over this?
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1871507
Oldfart wrote:What a disjointed system we endure, where under radar control, we are observed approaching someone else's controlled airspace without a clearance, without a gentle reminder perhaps!


I hear there are similar issues between Bournemouth and Southampton.
By Oldfart
#1871512
TopCat,
I later apologized to Bristol re the late call. There was no problem as my Cardiff transponder code was recognized approaching. The Bristol controller remarked they sometimes got a handover from Cardiff when they were not busy. So I suppose the two aircraft I heard on my transit through Cardiff radar is “busy”.
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1871515
Oldfart wrote:TopCat,
I later apologized to Bristol re the late call. There was no problem as my Cardiff transponder code was recognized approaching. The Bristol controller remarked they sometimes got a handover from Cardiff when they were not busy. So I suppose the two aircraft I heard on my transit through Cardiff radar is “busy”.

Glad to hear they were pragmatic about it!

As you say, the lack of joined-upness is shocking! Ridiculous really that Cardiff/Bristol and Solent/Bournemouth aren't better connected.

On the up side, think how much worse it would be if the UK wasn't on track to be the best country in the world for GA... :roll:
By Uaglio
#1871542
Oldfart wrote:TopCat,
I later apologized to Bristol re the late call. There was no problem as my Cardiff transponder code was recognized approaching. The Bristol controller remarked they sometimes got a handover from Cardiff when they were not busy. So I suppose the two aircraft I heard on my transit through Cardiff radar is “busy”.


You may have only heard two aircraft on your frequency, but the other traffic Cardiff were managing could have been on on a dedicated director frequency.

Uaglio
By Oldfart
#1871545
Uaglio,
I observed
Still a poor service from an airport with virtually no traffic on my departure, and under radar control, observing a possible conflictiion with the adjacent airspace.