172driver wrote:
I suspect (hope) that Timothy said that tongue-in-cheek, as the UK has the worst airspace anywhere coupled with crap / nonexistent ATC (for GA, that is).
Yes, I am sure it was meant to highlight the historical arrogance of the UK re aviation versus its lack of progress in that regard. With particular reference to a very similar accident this year between a helicopter and light aircraft.
LeSving wrote:
ADS-B will never tell you what the other pilots are going to do 10s from now.
Well, it actually does, unless the other one is aerobatic. I fly with ADS-B all the time in one of the most congested airspcaces on the planet and it certainly is a HUGE help. It gives you a vector for the other airplanes so get an idea what they’re up to. Quite often I cannot vget visual with a traffic that’s been called by ATC, but have it on the screen. The downside of ADS-B is that you realize how many other airplanes are out there…. scary. If I don’t forget I’ll take a screenshot next time I go flying.
172driver wrote:
Well, it actually does, unless the other one is aerobatic. I fly with ADS-B all the time in one of the most congested airspcaces on the planet and it certainly is a HUGE help. It gives you a vector for the other airplanes so get an idea what they’re up to. Quite often I cannot vget visual with a traffic that’s been called by ATC, but have it on the screen. The downside of ADS-B is that you realize how many other airplanes are out there…. scary. If I don’t forget I’ll take a screenshot next time I go flying.
I agree. ADS-B is fantastic but only works if most people use it.
aart wrote:
UL and certified GA should come together soon to discuss this. There are various people with their feet in both worlds. I’d be very happy to contribute.
Gracias Aart! Makes all sense.
Truth is in 20 years I have been flying in Mallorca, this is the first mid-air I recall. That however is no excuse to avoid implementing some useful airspace and comm changes like possibly:
For the avoidance of any doubt, I was being ironic about the UK. Sorry for any language issues.
The UK has all those characteristics, and it’s not getting any better.
boscomantico wrote:
I am sure not defending vast and low class A airspaces, but I assume you do know how busy the airport gets between June and September? I guess it is one of the busiest airports in Europe during that time.
Yearly total traffic at PMI is 30 million pax , but in July and August extrapolated is equivalent to 55 million pax. Heathrow is 80 million, and I have not checked actual movement data, but average aircraft size is larger, so # of movements in Mallorca’s summer must be similar to LHR average.
It is therefore very important to protect the airspace that this traffic flies in. Hopefully that does not mean we have to kill the rest.
Antonio wrote:
It is therefore very important to protect the airspace that this traffic flies in.
But does the traffic actually fly in all that airspace? I doubt.
Thanks Antonio, sensible suggestions. Will take a while before the authorities would adopt changes to airspace but we pilots can change the comms habits tomorrow if we like, so when the dust settles let’s try and get some people together and achieve this.
Airborne_Again: the answer to your question is no. The limit of 1.000 ft AGL is indeed way too conservative in most parts of the island except for the mountains in the North. Having said that, in designing airspace I understand that contingencies are always needed. Think of an engine failure after take-off, seriously degrading the climb profile of a heavily loaded aircraft.
aart wrote:
Think of an engine failure after take-off, seriously degrading the climb profile of a heavily loaded aircraft.
I could argue that protected airspace is not necessary for this as it is a very unlikely event.