Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1820957
I suspect that @Ben K and @austerity are in violent agreement.

What I will say though, is that the sponsor's partner has been advertising an island wide drone delivery pilot in 2021 that is nothing to do with medical supplies...
https://droneprep.uk/drone-delivery-preregister

I suggest that shouldn't be subject to a shortened consultation.
Charliesixtysix liked this
#1821432
This ACP is our big subject for tonight's Livestream, we'll have Hamish Mitchell from Scotia Seaplanes explaining the negative effect of the proposal as it stands.



Join us on our Facebook page or on our YouTube channel

Our feature (including sidebars from Hamish, Paul Kiddell and me) can be read in the latest issue here

Ian
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By Morten
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1821452
The issue surely is one of timing. Imposing a TDA on less than a day's notice which in effect closes the airspace for half a day seem vastly overkill for a transit at 60 kts which will take much less time than that. As mentioned upthread, the lack of a DA crossing service is what is making this difficult to manage. Is there any chance that allowing a TDA would also impose a requirement on the beneficiary to provide a DACS - and for the DACS to be useful, ie allow aircraft to pass 5 minutes before and after the UAS has gone about its business?
Taking the example of Glenforsa, if they can be open as usual but arriving/departing aircraft might need to hold/orbit for 5 minutes to let the UAS pass through, that would not be unreasonable.

Until such a time as the UASs grow up and can operate in an unsegregated airspace just like any other airspace user... :roll:
#1821468
Instead of these individual ACPs potentially eroding away at free airspace, does anyone know whether there is a generic “what shall we do about drones” discussion going on? Surely it would be better for all interested parties to get round the table and develop a strategy as to how we are all going to live together in the years to come? At the moment it feels like GA is aviation’s David to Commercial’s Goliath. One cannot help but think advantage is being taken of the current situation......they carry medicines so how could anybody object?

I’ve asked this before; who gets priority when drone and GA meet in the air? Or will it be a case that this will never happen because drones will have oodles of protected airspace.

Dan
#1821501
Hangar16 wrote:Instead of these individual ACPs potentially eroding away at free airspace, does anyone know whether there is a generic “what shall we do about drones” discussion going on?

CAP 1861

Looking to the future, the CAA recognises that it is not sustainable to operate on exemptions alone, and that a business as usual approach to operating BVLOS in non segregated airspace is required.
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By James Chan
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1821616
The worst thing I'd want to see is a growing patchwork of low level corridors "reserved" for drones to use only or are difficult to cross, easy to mis-read and easy to infringe.

It would be another repeat of low-level Class A AWYs/CTAs being drawn up in the 1950s-70s where the entire non-IR community was sidelined.

All airspace needs to be simple, joined-up, and useable by all who are reasonably equipped.
Stampe, Stu B liked this
#1821771
This would seem quite a likely scenario given what would appear to be a very low threshold to setting up drone corridors - the Lochguilphead to Oban TDA appears to have gone through without any GA consultation, and the Oban / Mull TDA appears to be based on fanciful and misleading claims of fighting Covid and transforming health in the area.....
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1821809
They've sent a revised ACP to stakeholders.
Highlights of changes:
Extend consultation for a week.
Mon-Fri, not including bank holidays (previously all week) and 3 weeks instead of 4.
Removed high section south of Oban
Made a narrow section north of Glenforsa to leave space for Glenforsa circuit
Agreed to provide a phone number and are in discussions to provide an information service via Scottish info and Oban to allow short notice access to TDA when possible.
Will deactivate TDA via NOTAM at short notice if they aren't going to use it.

I still don't understand why this isn't on the ACP website, so here it is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_NRBlY ... p=drivesdk
#1821815
The emotion blackmail part of operating in the narrow route past Glenforsa seems overly dramatic.

They claim potential ditching and loss of aircraft/cargo if a need to return occurs during that part of the routing, because the aircraft would not have room to turn around within the TDA and return to base.

But isn’t a major part of their mission dependant on the aircraft being a hybrid with VTOL capability at working load.

Surely it could Just slow to hover and turn round before backtracking home...
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1821816
Miscellaneous wrote:
riverrock wrote:Will deactivate TDA via NOTAM at short notice if they aren't going to use it.

Here's the error, it should be activated by NOTAM when in use. :wink:

Lol - indeed it will be, but they will endeavour to update / deactivate via NOTAM if previously activated via NOTAM but not needed.