I’m getting the feeling that this class of airspace is becoming more prevent in the UK and I expect it will continue to do so.
However there seems to be a lot of Class E plus TMZ/RMZ. Why is this? isn’t there enough airspace classifications as it is?
I have to say having flown quite a bit in Germany I though it worked incredibly well in fact the only Class plus TMZ I came across was Frankfurt Hann
I don’t think it adds anything new: class E, TMZs and RMZs have been around for a while in the UK. I’m hoping that the acceptance of class-E (and class E + TMZ) will result in some great swathes of class D being reclassified to class E+TMZ in the future (especially now that the report into UK airspace and the process by which it’s created/removed is actually being taken seriously).
Germany has a blanket TMZ above 3500 AGL/5000 MSL and a Mode S transponder is required, which is why you do not see a lot of TMZs, however lower-level ones are starting to pop up.
wbardorf wrote:
Germany has a blanket TMZ above 3500 AGL/5000 MSL and a Mode S transponder is requiredNot really a TMZ, as it only applies to powered aircraft. Gliders can operate above 5000 MSL without a TXP, whereas in an TMZ they can’t.
Germany tries to avoid TMZ as glider flying is a big thing here and a TMZ is an ED-R for many gliders (as most of them are not transponder equipped)…
tschnell wrote:
Gliders can operate above 5000 MSL without a TXP,
Why? A glider is still an aircraft AND is less likely to show on radar so more of a hazard maybe.
Fenland_Flyer wrote:
Why?Because that’s the way the rule is written. Basically making a transponder mandatory for all gliders is (still?) considered as too big of a burden upon this very popular pastime.
And it would be a huge burden on many glider pilots, and that’s why the pushback against mandatory mode-S in the UK was so strong from glider pilots.
A transponder in a certified glider (even if the box is relatively inexpensive) could cost double the value of the glider it’s fitted to, and on top of that there would be ongoing cost (transponder checks etc) that would likely have to be done by an external company, not the owner or glider club. Many glider pilots just can’t afford that, and would have to simply leave the hobby altogether.
O.K. but a TMZ is there (I think this is the reason!) for the safety of ALL airspace users so why should one section have positive discrimination that may affect the safety of others. I have no issues with the gliding community, just trying to see the point of the exemption.
Trig Mode S transponders cost less than £2000, and fitting to, and maintenance in, an LAA Permit aircraft is DIY, with Inspector check.
I can’t see why it’s impossible on modern gliders, with modern batteries.
Most seem to have radios, which cost about the same.
