All very well this happening at one airfield with experienced pilots. However, when you are at Caboolture with three busy training airfields at weekends with trainees doing circuits....... I have just timed my downwind call at Caboolture and it takes me on average 7 secs to do it. You need to listen out first and that takes at least a second. Trainees will probably take at least 10secs.
Not only is it an inbound call, you are required to make a crosswind call as well, so that is 5 calls per flight, plus five calls for the tug as well. When you are instructing, invariably the student is cramping the circuit with by the time you have finished the call "turning onto base", you are starting the call "turning onto final" or even worse not obeying your order to go in because they are too low on base for comfort...........it all adds up to not doing the calls except the downwind one because aviating, especially looking out comes first. For example: Last Saturday at Caboolture, we had booming conditions and no students so I took up the Club Libelle which I had not flown for some time. I had a brilliant 110 minute flight and at this time, I can only recall doing the joining cross wind call. The rest of the time I was concentrating on looking out and landing in a cross wind with the possibility of a steep wind gradient and tree induced downdraft in an aircraft that I had not flown for some time. (and I did make a good landing , the gusting crosswind that I took off in had dropped considerably) I have had an experienced ex-glider now ultralight instructor telling me as South Qld. RAPAC Convenor that it is impossible to do all the calls during a 500' circuit in an ultralight for the same reason: no time. He was also at an airfield on 126.7. Looks like the NT RAPAC area has the same problem. PeterS ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Shirley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.'" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 9:43 AM Subject: RE: NAS2c circuit calls Re: [Aus-soaring] QueenslandEasterCompetition and FLARM > I recently had the pleasure of listening to the controllers at Kennedy > Centre, La Guardia Approach and LGA Tower calls on a night after 65kts > winds had closed all the NY crosswind runways and stacked up aircraft > across America. The controllers managed a course correction call of 3-4 > seconds duration, with a read-back of similar length, followed > immediately by another call, etc. This resulted in about 7 - 8 > instructions with read-back every minute. > > If an average circuit is say 2 minutes from the joining call to turning > final call there is time to make 32 NY style calls (without a read-back) > and we have only to make 3 per circuit, we should have little difficulty > landing 3 - 4 gliders almost simultaneously and all making their > required 3 circuit calls plus inbound calls. > > "NY style calls" does assume glider pilots will use the stated minimum > call contents and not discuss separation matters. > Michael Shirley > _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
