I don’t have any statistics about the percentage of German pilots without ELP but at least at our school they’re rare. There was only one last year, so it’s way less than ten percent.
Then of course, a Brit is less afraid to cross water than a French/German, they are a people of seamen …
If you go back far enough, we were all seamen once…..
(I’ll get my coat)
@Steve6443 and @Peter_Mundy: Great to hear Dutch Mil can do different! Lets hope they improve further in the future.
Another remarkable thing I noticed in the Netherlands, is the speed of ATC talking. Even AFIS at uncontrolled aerodromes is so quick, you need to be prepared. After initial call upon approach, for example in Lelystad, you hear “23 lefthand, 1008”. Thats it. Never heard so much information so quick elsewhere in Europe.
terbang wrote:
I don’t have any statistics about the percentage of German pilots without ELP but at least at our school they’re rare. There was only one last year, so it’s way less then ten percent.Well, I guess that the situation at controlled airports in urban areas is totally different from the many local German airfields. I bet that the situation in Bad Dürkheim looks quite different.
Just to show that the air there carries you as well as back home, procedures can be a little different but different is not necessarily more complicated.Very well said, exactly that is my point! I went recently to Scandinavia (DK+NO) for the first time and was amazed how easy the procedures are. ATC was superb and very friendly. Cannot wait to come back! :-)
Lelystad is the busiest GA field in The Netherlands with a lot of pilots struggling with English and being verbose. If the AFIS guys talk slowly as well it just would not work.
Why are a lot of pilots „struggling“ at
Lelystad? IME, dutch people speak very decent (albeit heavily accented) English and shouldn‘t have any problems doing the radio… well, except for the general apprehension most low hour pilots seem to have when keying the mic…
It surprises me as well. I suspect it may be low time pilots reacting to stress and reverting to a mix of Dutch and English.
Peter_Mundy wrote:
Lelystad is the busiest GA field in The Netherlands with a lot of pilots struggling with English and being verbose. If the AFIS guys talk slowly as well it just would not work.Yeah, I experienced that. There is sometimes also a bit babbling between English and Dutch going on, which can be distracting. A bit more discipline on the radio would give AFIS more space to do normal calls. If you know that they give very summerized and quick the standard information (active runway, circuit and QNH), then its OK, but for foreigners, its comes very surprising and a bit unprofessional. Other Dutch airfields seems to do that too.
Frans wrote:
Are there any Dutch airfields without AFIS? It seems to me that every open aerodrome has someone on the radio, just like in Germany. Even at Stadskanaal.
All Dutch airfields are manned during opening hours.
… and that does not mean it’s an AFIS. An AFIS is a very clearly (ICAO)-defined scope of service. First and foremost, an AFIS is an ATS, whereas a “Radio” station is not. So be careful by using the term AFIS to say “the man on the radio”.
Boscomantico is correct – Lelystad varies between RDO and INFO