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RPS and QNH mixed messages

skydriller wrote:

You should be given the most appropriate QNH by the FIS you are talking to

You might not be talking to them or anyone.

But if you’re talking to London Info, you can ask them for the same information. It’s just faster and uses up less radio bandwidth (no need for the exchange to request, get, and read back) to pull it up on Skydemon.

Andreas IOM

skydriller wrote:

But why would you even think to do this… You should be given the most appropriate QNH by the FIS you are talking to, as in every other country in Europe.

Perhaps he’s turned off the radio, as I often do. The other day I reminded myself that I should talk to ATC en route once in a while for practice, especially since in the US you can now get a Flight Following squawk code etc from many airports ground control frequency. However, with ADS-B In my utility in talking to ATC is not high unless it’s an airport tower and I’m e.g. landing.

I think the future will involve not talking to anybody, or nearly so.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 14 Feb 15:04

alioth wrote:

The “usual pilot guide” these days is SkyDemon (or similar) and it’s one screen press away to find Gatwick ATIS. It’s really not hard. I didn’t need to be trained to do it — it’s something I find pretty obvious, to be honest.

But why would you even think to do this… You should be given the most appropriate QNH by the FIS you are talking to, as in every other country in Europe. As someone pointed out earlier, this is down to the fragmented UK ATC “system”…

Regards, SD..

Peter wrote:

and the usual pilot guides PPLs use won’t list Gatwick info because of zero GA using it.

The “usual pilot guide” these days is SkyDemon (or similar) and it’s one screen press away to find Gatwick ATIS. It’s really not hard. I didn’t need to be trained to do it — it’s something I find pretty obvious, to be honest.

Andreas IOM

Peter wrote:

So if flying from say SE UK to SW UK you might get QNH from ATISs frequencies at Lydd, Shoreham, Solent (Southampton) or Bournemouth, then there is a gap (Boscombe maybe), Exeter, Newquay. You will have to dial up each of these, or call them up for a service.

Or use an ADL device and have the METARs all at one, sorry could not resist ;-)

www.ing-golze.de
EDAZ

Peter wrote:

The “problem” with continually getting the nearest QNH is that most CAS owners don’t readily (or at all) offer a service OCAS. For example, if flying near the London TMA, near Gatwick EGKK, you would have to dial the EGKK ATIS.

It would sufficient if the UK’s FIS used radar (to incentivize pilots to remain on FIS in instead of some local ATC unit) and had a screen which shows the FISO the current QNHs of all airports, so he can read the appropriate one out to the pilot. That is how the German FIS works.

It all comes down to the fragmented ATC puzzle that you have in the UK, without any wholistic approach.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

flybymike wrote:

I’ve been given to understand that the RAF are in favour of retaining RPS for low level sorties.

Hard to believe as these are done bellow the radar and even so controllers don’t give much importance to “vertical separation”, few have secondary radars or transponders now claiming they need RPS to fly at 300ft is a good one…

Last Edited by Ibra at 13 Feb 12:57
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

“Fascinating” is the word

The “problem” with continually getting the nearest QNH is that most CAS owners don’t readily (or at all) offer a service OCAS. For example, if flying near the London TMA, near Gatwick EGKK, you would have to dial the EGKK ATIS. Of course you can do that, but it is never trained, and the usual pilot guides PPLs use won’t list Gatwick info because of zero GA using it.

So if flying from say SE UK to SW UK you might get QNH from ATISs frequencies at Lydd, Shoreham, Solent (Southampton) or Bournemouth, then there is a gap (Boscombe maybe), Exeter, Newquay. You will have to dial up each of these, or call them up for a service.

It’s ok but you have to work at it. And the procedure is not trained in the PPL. The other option is to fly way below any CAS base, say 1000ft below.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

It’s always fascinating to read about some of the UK particularities.
As said before, RPS is not in the European Syllabus, and hadn’t it been for the military, I’d never have heard of that concept.
And again there seems to be a different name for the same thing in the UK. In Germany, RPS is called “Area QNH”- aren’t we all NATO, by the way? Can’t they agree on one term?!

Anyway, it has never crossed my mind to use it in a small airplane. I only ever thought of the area QNH as something for low-flying fast jets that simply can’t ask for and dial in local QNHs quick enough to keep up with their speed.

Train pilots to ask for the most appropriate QNH.

That’s what I was taught in 2014, and German FIS also explicitly hands out the QNH of the nearest controlled airport, e.g. “Wittmund QNH 1008” or “Hannover QNH 1010”

Last Edited by CharlieRomeo at 13 Feb 11:43
EDXN, ETMN, Germany

Let the RAF retain it. They can request it if they need it, millitary controllers can give it to military aircraft on UHF.

For everyone else, it should have not merely been deprecated but got rid of years ago. Train pilots to ask for the most appropriate QNH.

Andreas IOM
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