I only tried explain what the system was supposed to do if your flight was for inside CAS.
Things don’t work that way in the UK, with Solent especially. I can point that out only so many times. It’s the difference between reality and some “perfect world”.
Why, I am not sure, but it could be due to limited coordination capability with London Control, or just a limited willingness to make the phone call. UK ATCOs are prohibited from commenting publicly, of course. That thread I linked is worth a read because on that occassion I phoned them up.
This is why I said you need an IR so you can fly these routes and see what actually happens, rather than what should happen in an ideal world. When I got mine in 2006 I used to file FL100 EGKA SAM ORTAC EGJJ etc and got it. For years now that has not worked. The departure clearance says “contact Solent 120.230” and as soon as I hear that I know I am not going to get a climb above the airspace which Solent owns (see the linked thread). So, absent hazardous wx, going VFR is just easier.
If no airline settles in Southampton, which is likely with months of lock down ahead of us, could they close their approach unit and release all their CAS
As of Tuesday 17th March, EGHI was still fairly busy on the radio, despite the FlyBe demise. What things will be like with the virus related shutdown, I have no idea, and probably aren’t going to find out because I won’t be flying down there anyway 
For years now that has not worked. The departure clearance says “contact Solent 120.230” and as soon as I hear that I know I am not going to get a climb above the airspace which Solent owns
I see. So what happens if you filed these routes from the SRD? Same outcome?
- DCT GWC Y8 SAM Q41 ORTAC (MC in CAS – FL105)
- DCT GWC Y8 SAM N63 LELNA (FL105 – FL195) [RNAV1]
This is interesting
B0613/20 NOTAMN
Q) EGTT/QAECD/IV/NBO/AE/000/055/5050N00132W023
A) EGHI B) 2003211500 C) 2003212300
E) SOUTHAMPTON ATZ/CTR AND SOLENT CTA DEACTIVATED. AIRPORT CLOSED
FOR REMAINDER OF THE DAY, AIRSPACE REVERTS TO CLASS G.
CREATED: 21 Mar 2020 13:34:00
SOURCE: EUECYIYN
Must be due to a total lack of commercial traffic, perhaps combined with nobody in the tower:
C0521/20 NOTAMN
Q) EGTT/QSPLT/IV/BO /AE/000/055/5050N00132W023
A) EGHI B) 2002010630 C) 2004302359
E) FLIGHT INFORMATION SERVICES FROM SOLENT RADAR WILL NOT BE AVBL
DUE STAFFING. MAINTAIN A LISTENING WATCH AND SQUAWK 7011
CREATED: 29 Jan 2020 06:45:00
SOURCE: EUECYIYN
“Flight Information Services”
I find the above almost incomprehensible.
flybymike wrote:
I find the above almost incomprehensible.
Paste it into here http://www.drorpilot.com/English/notam.htm
and it will format all the machine-readable stuff in a more digestible manner.
Today, EGHE-EGKA I got a total refusal from Solent. No transit via SAM (they were ok yesterday in the other direction) and nothing via the 3500-ft-base airspace to the south. Bournemouth tried to coordinate and got nowhere.
Actually Bournemouth were really great and when I said this will create a very difficult situation for me unless I act early (I was at 4500ft, TINAN-SAM) and they gave me a transit via their CAS, taking me to the south of the IOW, and then I dropped to 3000ft to cross below the 3500ft Solent CAS.
I will write this up later, when I have the GPS tracks etc but I think if everybody was filing that “transit refused” report for Solent, there would be lots of them. Where is the form for doing that?
FLYBE has gone bust and that was their main traffic! What the hell is going on there?
You can see the problem if Solent refuse transit, especially if they do it really late, and if Bournemouth didn’t allow the transit via their own CAS. If you are at say 5000ft then you have to do a really rapid dive to go through that gap near Lyndhurst; you will probably have to do several orbits near Vne
I asked for the Solent (transit via SAM) coordination all the way back at Exeter; they told me to call Yeovilton who were not interested and handed me to Bournemouth.
The other aircraft was never spotted probably because he was totally stationary in the field of view. Got to about 1 mile.
I will definitely file that form.
I flew to EGHI to do some approaches last week. The service was very good and reasonably cost effective. I think what has happened is that due to the reduction in commercial traffic the number of controllers has reduced. Approach and Tower were being covered by one person who was certainly working very hard when we visited, so it would seem controller workload is becoming an issue.
Potentially there is a need to do some co-ordination with EGHH since that big block of airspace is serving to protect traffic to/from both airports. I guess EGHI being a NATS unit and EGHH not may make that a political hot potato!
I guess EGHI being a NATS unit and EGHH not
That would explain the gulf in general friendliness of the two ATC units, though the former may have additional political problems by adjoining the London TMA which almost absolutely rigidly does not provide any services to GA, other than on Eurocontrol IFR flight plans.
It has often amazed me how Solent just simply refuse to talk to Bournemouth re transit, when I am flying west to east. For two units with adjoining CAS, this is just incredible.
