Cotswold Aero Club

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Latest on G-BKDJ

Hopefully final CAA inspection on 18th August and test flight on the same day.

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Also on his travels, your CFI spent a day with the RAF recently. Click on the link to find out what happened.

                                                    Chasing Bears.pdf

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Our intrepid aviators Richard Crosby and Graham Watson have been on their summer travels again. Click on the link to read about their trip to Ibiza

                                                         IBAR 2008 report.pdf

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Our Summer Solstice party on 21st June was not blessed with the best of weather, in fact plenty of liquid sunshine! However our hangar was transformed into a concert venue and some 50+ members and guest enjoyed a grand barbecue and musical entertainment from Eos featuring beautiful strong vocal harmonies and fine musicianship making Eos Music truly memorable. Eos are Jan Bayliss (guitar & vocals) Jan Vaisey (guitar & vocals) Ian Harvey (guitar & mandolin)

                         Contented Barbecue Goers                                     EOS in action

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G-BKDJ is not a myth, it's now almost complete. A couple of pics from last week at Shobdon. However, a couple of pressure senders have gone walk about so until replacements are sourced the project will suffer a bit of a go slow. Hopefully DJ may take to the air sometime in July

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On May 6th the club played host to a group of Cub Scouts from Longlevens who were shown over the aircraft and the airport fire vehicles - all part of their Air Activities Badge. Thanks to Paul and Hilary Haigh and Gavin Coulthard who helped run the visit.

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Bristol ATC

 From your roving instructor Graham Watson

On the evening of 12 May I was fortunate to visit Bristol Air Traffic Control.  The visit was part of the first national ‘Visit ATC’ event, and part of the UK’s ongoing Airspace and Safety Initiative.

 Our host was Sid Michelmore who asked me to spread the word - “ATC are nice and friendly” – so I am.  After an opportunity to talk about anything we wanted to raise, the tour included the approach radar room and the control tower.

 There were so many points of interest – here is a summary of the highlights.

 Bristol is happy to accommodate transiting GA aircraft so don’t be afraid to speak to them and ask.  You can even expect transit through the overhead, but the routeing may be adjusted according to the runway in use to allow for the possibility that an airbus may go-around – yes, it does happen.  If your track will take you through Filton or Cardiff controlled airspace, they recommended that we ask for them to coordinate this clearance.

 Increasingly they say they are likely to include “remain clear of controlled airspace” in their initial reply – this is more to do with their obligations under “duty of care” – but it does not mean you are not welcome.

 They request clear communications (see NATS “Top Ten Tips for Pilots”) and ask that we include aircraft type in “pass your message” as this helps coordination.

 There is a running annual average of around 40 infringements of Bristol controlled airspace and ATC consider this unacceptable.

 The approach radar room is normally manned by one controller on the LARS frequency (125.650 MHz) and one on the IFR frequency (136.075 MHz) and an assistant.  In the evening as it was relatively quiet there was only one controller.  Although occupying the IFR desk, the frequencies were magically coupled electronically so pilots on one would also transmit and hear on both.

 The message “Please squawk mode C” was made loud and clear.  The benefits to the controllers – and in return the service they can offer to us - were plainly seen on the radar screens.

 From the spacious tower the views were fantastic – not just of the runway, taxiways and apron, but of the bright orange sun slowly sinking over the Welsh hills and reflecting in the Severn estuary.

 The tower was manned by only 1 controller supported by an assistant.  It was a quiet period – we saw 5 movements in around 20 minutes – but they were gearing up for a further 25 arrivals that evening.  There are now 21 commercial passenger aircraft based at Bristol that need to be carefully tucked into bed each night.

 We were told how the changes to the airspace around Bristol and Cardiff had been successful in coordinating movements and reducing the controllers’ workload.  This essentially gives them more time for us.  Please don’t be afraid to give them a call.  “Bristol ATC are nice and friendly!”

23rd May - Latest News!!

G-OMNI has now been given a cockpit update with the fitting of a Garmin 430W and a GTX330 Mode S transponder