To raise a further philosophical point: If someone does a low level finish and nobody complains, was it low enough? :)
In Europe what we call "straight-in" approaches are normal and strongly encouraged in competition. These are called "direct landings" and the aim is to land long on the active runway. The other sort of arrival, whatever the altitude, is called a "speed finish" and requires a circuit. These are seen as less efficient because they clutter up the circuit area and they are also seen as a tactical mistake because the final glide was obviously not well judged. And by the way, a rule requiring a glider to be established on final at 500 ft could be used as an example in a dictionary definition of the word "silly". Cheers Tim -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Texler, Michael Sent: Thursday, 20 May 2010 14:20 To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] New Non Controlled Aerodrome ops >Does this change in any way our exemption to perform low level finishes ? Good question. I haven't heard an official GFA statement yet WRT new regs and low level finishes. I am referring to (OPERATIONS DIRECTIVE 1/06 - Low Level Finish Pilot Endorsements): http://2009.gfa.org.au/Docs/ops/OD%201-06.doc This is my own interpretation. By my reading of this OPS Directive and the CAAPs, the new non-controlled aerodrome ops should not make a difference and seem to be in harmony with the ops directive. It is up to the pilot performing the low level finish to have sufficient skill and knowledge plus situational awareness to do it safely and to fit in with other airspace users. The take home messages from the ops directive: 1) You need to have a working radio on the correct frequency, no working radio, no low level finish. 2) Need to inform the other airspace users of your intentions early. 3) Should not unduly disrupt operations or compromise safety. 4) The low level finish should be abandoned if a conflict will occur. 5) You need to be endorsed for it. Under the new regs for non-controlled A/D, there is the requirement that you are established on final by 500' above aerodrome level (AAL). Michael _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.819 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2862 - Release Date: 05/20/10 04:26:00 _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
