LeSving wrote:
I just don’t see the reason
Because it is not all about you and your needs, it is also about forming a support network for those who might be in trouble.
Do you monitor 2 important channels? As I remember you don’t even listen to ATIS ;) so do you have an use for box 2?
We are talking here of having a primary frequency (e.g. Flight following / Radar service / Whatever is relevalt) + listening to 121.5 on the secondary.
I just don’t see the reason, unless of course you are specifically instructed to do so by the ATC for some odd reason.
If you made an emergency landing on a lake in a remote location, only had a meager handheld transmitter with weak battery and needed help, wouldn’t you be extatic if some nearby VFR flight picked up your transmission and could divert to localize you?
When you transmit on guard you expect someone to answer. What you expect of others, others expect of you. Therefore the responsible and civil thing to do is to monitor guard when workload permits.
Agreed. On at least one occasion I have heard an ELT and reported it to FIS (incl my position) and they were most happy to receive the report, regardless if it turned out to be a real emergency or an accidental activation. If I had an emergency landing, I’d certainly be appreciative if someone were listening on 121.50, picked up my ELT signal, and relayed the info to others for follow up.
In IFR it is common practice to find lost aircraft on the guard frequency 121.5. I do monitor it all the time and frequently I hear ATC looking for a lost airline. I’ve been contacted by ATC myself when I was given the wrong frequency for the next sector and was already out of range for the previous one.
Now that I have moved I find myself frequently in an area with spotty radio coverage, IFR in class G but cleared further ahead. The last instruction does contain a frequency to call in xx NM but if I screw up, they will certainly try to talk to me on the guard frequency.
I always monitor 121.5 on my second radio. It is true that you can sometimes hear different scrap but it is quite common to hear unresponsive airliners being called on this frequency after they tuned wrong frequency on their number one radio. It gives youand ATC second chance, second channel to reach you and it is much cheaper than scrambling jets to intercept you…
I need second radio for ATIS only, which takes just a minute or two otherwise it is always tuned to 121.5 as this is absolutely free, cost nothing but can save a lot. It is a no brainer.
great comments guys, and thanks for the support to my website!
Our single 8.33 Trigg radio has the option of monitoring the stand-by frequency. Press the button and you have it as the main. In Scotland I have 135.475 Safetycom as standby, and Scottish or an airfield as main, when away from the airfield traffic. Safetycom is used by the military to say where they are going. If I hear something relevant, I buttonpush and say my position and intentions. With only one radio, I don’t use 121.5 in this area.
In the US there is this NOTAM about listening to the Guard Frequency.
FDC 4/4386 SPECIAL NOTICE NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM INTERCEPT PROCEDURES. … ALL AIRCRAFT OPERATING IN UNITED STATES NATIONAL AIRSPACE, IF CAPABLE, SHALL MAINTAIN A LISTENING WATCH ON VHF GUARD 121.5 OR UHF 243.0.
I did wonder how one is supposed to get intercepted if you are in IMC…
The requirement to monitor 121.50 all the time is not in the standard interception procedures, or is it?
It would take fairly aggressive ROE to shoot down at an aircraft in IMC, in peacetime. I guess most of the interception targets these days (airliners which dropped off the last frequency) are at FL300+ which is usually VMC.
