Mon Jul 25, 2011 6:39 pm
#981849
I flew from Wiltshire to Barton yesterday, and return. 1:45 each way in a N-S line up/down England.
The only people I needed to talk to were Barton (and I could have arranged a non-radio join if I'd been so inclined). VFR, obviously.
Now, as it happens I chose to ask for a Basic service from Bristol, Gloster and 1/2d Green (on the way up - closed on return), and to listen in to Manchester with the appropriate squawk when transiting the LLR. Shawbury were closed. Class G most of the way, so no drama, but my point is that on no occasion was the radio actually required by me or other airspace users in order that I safely complete my mission.
So I do view emphatic statements like "essential", "menace" and "always required" as either hyperbole or a lack of understanding of relative priorities.
I don't advocate "no radio", but like transponders it is horses for courses, and if the lack means that you cannot realistically operate in certain areas than that's part of the individual's mission trade-off. But it's not a one-size-fits-all condition.
In Morley's example, I would have aborted the flight.
The only people I needed to talk to were Barton (and I could have arranged a non-radio join if I'd been so inclined). VFR, obviously.
Now, as it happens I chose to ask for a Basic service from Bristol, Gloster and 1/2d Green (on the way up - closed on return), and to listen in to Manchester with the appropriate squawk when transiting the LLR. Shawbury were closed. Class G most of the way, so no drama, but my point is that on no occasion was the radio actually required by me or other airspace users in order that I safely complete my mission.
So I do view emphatic statements like "essential", "menace" and "always required" as either hyperbole or a lack of understanding of relative priorities.
I don't advocate "no radio", but like transponders it is horses for courses, and if the lack means that you cannot realistically operate in certain areas than that's part of the individual's mission trade-off. But it's not a one-size-fits-all condition.
In Morley's example, I would have aborted the flight.