kwlf wrote:
How should one deal with mandatory reporting in a non-radio aircraft? Some VERY flares?
Mandatory reporting points do not usually become relevant until you are about to enter a control zone – so non-radio aircraft are hardly affected?
How should one deal with mandatory reporting in a non-radio aircraft? Some VERY flares?
Or perhaps there are countries where flying without a radio is not legal?
Like the German pilots Patrick mentioned, I always thought VRPs were mandatory reporting points automatically. Initially, I even thought they were the only possible way to enter or leave a CTR as VFR flight.
This misconception was only resolved during my BZF I R/T exam, where I tried to leave the Braunschweig CTR via the nearest reporting point but the controller had given me a specific heading which missed the VRP by about a mile. This was even more confusing because I had to first fly to and report Echo 1, but then not Echo 2 which is customary.
I’m going back a long time (25 years or so) when the UK decided to change from Reporting to Reference as there had been a number of really close calls over VRPs. There was some guidance at the time which basically said that pilots should not aim to fly directly over VRPs.
Peter wrote:
The problem is that when ATC clear you to a VRP, in CAS, that is your clearance limit, so unless you are a helicopter fed via a fuel hose from a huge fuel tank on the ground, your best plan is to report at that VRP so you can get a further clearance
It doesn’t work like that. You are typically cleared inbound or outbound of the TMA via some reporting point(s). Meaning you are cleared to fly in and out of the TMA “through” the points. The points are part of the route, not the end or start. As for non-mandatory reporting points, they are always usually outside the TMA. It’s not clear to me what kind of function they have, other than as defined points of reporting and asking for clearance when entering the TMA.
It could indeed be a peculiartity of the UK. Remember you call these VRPs, where the R stands for reference. In Germany for example, these are called “VFR reporting points”. Hence, when you are instructed to fly to point xy, and it’s a mandatory reporting point, it is implied that you must report it when reaching, even if the controller did not specifically add “report xy”. Italy and France are the same.
Must UK controllers always add the “report xy” after they have sent you to the VRP xy AND they want you to report when reaching it?
I can’t speak for Germany but have never heard of VRP reporting being mandatory. My understanding – as per the other thread – is simply that ATC are entitled to send a VFR flight to a VRP and its responsibility ends there, regardless of whether the VRP can be located 
The problem is that when ATC clear you to a VRP, in CAS, that is your clearance limit, so unless you are a helicopter fed via a fuel hose from a huge fuel tank on the ground, your best plan is to report at that VRP so you can get a further clearance
Patrick wrote:
Just not sure how other countries handle this
I have always used them exactly like the “German way”. I have never seen any description of what mandatory and non-mandatory actually mean though.
boscomantico wrote:
Can you recall the radio Exchange with Luebeck TWR up to that point?If he just said “enter control zone via Lima”, then of course you have to report when reaching it. (He does not have to specifically say “report Romeo” if it’s designated as a mandatory reporting point.)
Yes – that is what he said.
boscomantico wrote:
Curious what made you think you wouldn’t have to….
First and foremost, that my understanding was different up to that point (either based on the training I had or a misconception from my side). My understanding was that if I’m cleared to enter already, I do not need to load the frequency with an additional report, unless specified – i.e. my understanding of the default, in case no other instructions are given, was flawed.
Then, I guess it took me some years to figure out because a) many controllers WILL mention “report XY next” anyway, so the situation does not arise very often and b) I guess some controllers will not bother with some lesson as in “you should have done this and that” if they don’t consider the issue at hand important enough…
Can you recall the radio exchange with Luebeck TWR up to that point?
If he just said “enter control zone via Lima”, then of course you have to report when reaching it. (He does not have to specifically say “report Romeo” if it’s designated as a mandatory reporting point.)
Curious what made you think you wouldn’t have to….
I can’t believe that this – in case of a mandatory reporting point – would be any different in another country…
