Watch Out! Life in Class G

摘要

Some recent Airproxs near regional airports in the UK have highlighted the issues involved in operating into places where there is no associated Controlled Airspace (CAS). But worry-ingly these have also revealed an apparent general lack of awareness on the part of aircrews of the limitations of the Air Traffic services available in uncontrolled airspace (Class F ADRs and Class G). Several of the fastest expanding airports (Doncaster Sheffield, Coventry and Inverness for example) are separated from the Airway system and only have basic Aerodrome Traffic Zones (ATZs) - these have a 2nm radius (2.5nm if the longest runway exceeds 1850m) and extend up to 2000ft AAL, hardly enough to contain a B737 conducting a normal visual circuit let alone a full instrument pattern.