One of the things that Private pilots have a tendency to do much more than the airline jockeys is to infringe restricted airspace. 99% of the time it is as a result of bad navigation or not paying attention or not realising that there is a restriction in place. It's is very rarely, if ever, deliberate.
Nonetheless there are an increasing number of controlled (or restricted) airspace infringements on a year by year basis. In just about every case where this happens there is an impact on other air users. Whether it is a controller having to divert 747's around you to avoid an airprox, or an air show having to cancel a Red Arrows display, the impact on others is rarely negligible.
Fly-On Track is a web site that aims to inform pilots of the impact of these infringements as well as educate them on methods of avoiding infringement, providing links to sources of controlled airspace information and also highlight the dangers and impact of an infringement.
One of my favourite parts of the site is the radar displays. This shows actual radar scans from NATS of various light aircraft infringing airspace and causing problems. Just to emphasise the impact of this, read the section at the bottom of this stats page which quantifies the cost of diverting a 747 from approach. It's more than you think...
The site also has links to a lot of CAA safety sense leaflets which I find invaluable in helping me understand and learn about some of the safety issues in aviation. I also like the printout which you can slip into your kneepad to give you a visual aid to preventing infringement (it also has a template for radio calls to ATC units to help you sound more professional!).
I recommend you allocate a good chunk of time to read through this web site as it has lots of links to lots of different publications and pages. It's a very useful site that should be on every UK aviators bookmarks.
22 February, 2008
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