The consequence of an airspace bust at these days would not have been some nasty letters as it was today, but a starfighter chasing you. Guess what: Airspace busts did not really happen back then …
That is prob99.99 a myth. Both items.
Malibuflyer wrote:
a starfighter chasing you
:-D with a Starfighter stall speed of around 170kt, that would have been … interesting.
Malibuflyer wrote:
it is also true that we as pilots simply do not care that much.
I don’t think that’s generally true. I don’t think I’ve met any pilots who are blasé about airspace busts, and the vast majority of them is because someone perhaps got distracted, or perhaps had to climb to avoid another aircraft and while concentrating on keeping a lookout, touched the bottom of some piece of airspace, or were going through the Manchester LLR (where you can’t “take 2”) and went through a very strong thermal.
@alioth, or my favourite example – flying IFR OCAS between Biggin & Rochester – TMA is 2500ft AMSL & MSA is 2400ft AMSL. :)
Although I’ve noticed within last few years that instructors sometime to no bother keeping away from ATZ even when you try to suggest that we might be too close.
And a couple of times there was a bust as per my SD (it was unreported I think).
Malibuflyer wrote:
Thousands of variants of "Nobody gets hurt by busting the airspace by a few ft/mtrs/…) is not only the opinion of Off_Field but if we are honest the opinion of the majority of pilots.
Rather than opinion I’m just pointing out facts.
Oh yes, the consequences of a bust being fighters will be chasing and shooting you down. Perhaps Mathias Rust had some super special missile and bulletproof paint on his steed?
The reality of busting an airspace by 10/100 feet is very different to attempting to bust granite airspace.
There places where it is not possible to avoid airspace by 3-5 miles as has been discussed many times previously in these threads.
There is an interesting new angle here, with the Farnborough Class E which you can bust if IFR but obviously not if VFR.
But you can change IFR-VFR without radio contact, in the UK 
so they don’t know which you are. And even if you say got a cleared crossing of the Solent Zone IFR, that doesn’t mean that you changed to VFR inside your head right afterwards.
I wonder if they will start busting IFR flights through the Class E, and what evidence they will come up with that the flight was IFR?
Peter wrote:
But you can change IFR-VFR without radio contact, in the UK so they don’t know which you are.
Not anymore – you have to use 2000 if you fly IFR or get individual Squawk code from an ATC.
You cannot use listening squawk in CAS if flying IFR – it was in one of the UK CAA papers.
You should use 2000 but they can’t bust you for 7000 in IMC because nobody can see you 🤣
I’ve never used 2000.
I had an interesting example of the issue of whether you are IFR or VFR. I was travelling down to Montpelier IFR at F90 in solid IMC and the controller gave me traffic information “traffic 12 o’clock, opposite direction, indicating similar level, reported VFR, report traffic in sight” to which I replied that it was solid IMC and I wouldn’t see anything. A moment later the call came from a D registered aircraft asking for descent to remain VMC. So how does anyone except the pilot know what flight conditions you are experiencing.
Peter wrote:
You should use 2000 but they can’t bust you for 7000 in IMC because nobody can see you 🤣I’ve never used 2000.
:))) Unless some eagle-eye pilot sees it!
The interesting bit is that in the south of the UK you frequently fly on a listenning squawk while VFR or IFR, and in that case there is no difference! :)
