Agreed.
IAPs OCAS are always a bit of a grey area.
Not so long ago I flew one into Coventry, there was a layer of stratus about 1000ft to 2200ft so the approach started VMC on top and descended through the layer on the ILS.
As the approach controller was about to hand me off to the tower she called to me "G-XX, traffic in your two o'clock, range 1.5 miles, right to left, 1000ft".
I replied "G-XX is India Mike Charlie, do I need to go missed?"
She said "Negative, will pass well above if you remain on the glideslope. Call the tower now 118.175"
Although she seemed to have it all in hand, it brought home to me that I could be flying an ILS in IMC and there could be VFR traffic flying around near the point where I expect to break cloud. Now that traffic would be inside the ATZ of a towered airfield (and with radar in this case), so shouldn't be anywhere the controller hasn't permitted them to be, but still...
Perhaps next time I'll say "request deconfliction service and vectors to the ILS" instead of the usual "request traffic service and vectors to the ILS". Or would this lead to me being vectored all over the sky to avoid anything within a zillion miles, and a good chance of being told to go around if someone strayed too close?
I realise with hindsight that the controller was giving me exactly what I'd asked for - traffic information.
there could be VFR traffic flying around near the point where I expect to break cloud.
Actually this has happened to me several times, all quite close encounters and all seemingly oblivious of the proximity of an airfield with an IAP. As indeed they are entitled to be, in Class G and given UK's normal PPL training.
However one recent one was a twin, flying straight across Shoreham at 2200ft, which suprised me; not many people these days fly twins (a pricey hobby) without IFR capability and therefore, one might hope, awareness of what is around them.
Now that traffic would be inside the ATZ of a towered airfield
At your 1.5D certainly, but not necessarily if generally in conflict with an ILS. The ATZ is only about 2 to 2.5nm radius, while the GS intercept is likely to be at some 5-8nm radius.
Lydd EGMD has the GS intercept at 8.5nm, at 3200ft. Anybody could be up there, in those 6nm of "free for all" glideslope airspace, and I had one airprox flying the ILS into EGMD recently. At the rate I go there, not all that often, that is about a 5% chance! Normally there is very little traffic in the UK at the extreme altitude of 3200ft 
but in the case of Lydd they do it more because they are going to/from Le Touquet over the sea so they go a bit higher.
I now have a TAS605 installation so I see a lot of stuff on there which I never get visual with. It's obvious there are loads of Mode A targets flying around, and also loads of non-transponding aircraft, some of which are definitely not old wreckage but are not transponding intentionally. The Mode As often randomly appear and disappear, which could be due to various factors, one of which is flying very low (say 500ft) so the slant angle suppresses the return on the upper antenna. Without wanting to put too fine a point on it, I think there is a sizeable community of flyers who just fly around randomly, without much care for niceties like ATZs. I've seen them around Shoreham, following the coast at 500-1000ft, oblivious to the airport there. So this remains a relatively hazardous place to be. For this reason I spend the absolute minimum time at low level - below say 2000ft.
I've seen them around Shoreham, following the coast at 500-1000ft, oblivious to the airport there
I sympathise with that, but as the guy I fly with on most occasions reminds me, flying is about having fun as well. I tend to fly quite precisely, stick to heading, altitudes, give aerodromes a bit of a wide berth etc., whereas he likes going up and down and looking at things on the ground, and to be honest I quite like it down at 1000 ft near the coastline on a nice day as I can get some nice photos (not when I am PIC).
I should add I do make sure we're not oblivious to any airports but therein lies the problem because an ATZ only generally just a few nm protection around it, a lot are in class G and if you give all ATZ's with an approach a 8 mile wide berth, then your probably in someone else's extended 8 mile zone or a gliding site, a danger area, or something else.
What people should do is at least talk to the frequency of that airport so they know you're there or what your intentions are. I had that the other evening routing along the coast past Southend quite low. There was someone on the glideslope but ATC know what I was doing and where I was going and I was conscious not to start circling around or climbing and descending all over the place. Even though I was transponding and they would have had me on radar, it seems good airmanship to not skirt around people's zone all over the place. But you cant stop people though.... Worse still, every airfield with ATC Services or an IAP would have class D all around it like Norwich.
I was outside the class D, which was only a CTR in those days.
All control zones (CTR) in Germany have always been class D airspace, with VFR traffic routeing via reporting points - at least as long as I fly (35 years).
What I meant was that the extent of the class D was limited to the CTR -- all the surrounding airspace was class E. EDDG now has a large CTA around it in addition to the CTR.
EuroFlyer wrote:
Timothy, you can fly down a practice ILS under VFR any time. That’s never a problem. Maybe he did that and just didn’t write it in his FB post.
Dont wish to be pendatic, but I am not so sure you can by reference to instruments unless you have a safety pilot or observer on board, which wouldnt seem to be the case, unless someone was dropped off. Of course you could do so looking out as well, but then it is difficult to see why you would not be on the G/S. Or has that changed?
When flying VFR in VMC I have requested a practice ILS whenever possible many times, to avoid the traffic pattern, save time and practice the avionics setup.
Tower clearance is ‘cleared practice ILS 31, remain VMC at all times, report established’. Then you interecept the LOC and the GS, using your instruments, intercept the GS and fly it down, just like you would do under IFR. Which doesn’t have to be in IMC. So even if you are not capable to fly in IMC, you can still practice staying on the glidepath and within the localizer. The skills might come in handy one day, i.e. in marginal VMC. All I’m saying is you can put up a post in facebook saying “I was rusty on the ILS” being perfectly legal. It doesn’t say anything about your IMC flying skills or your licence.
Why do you use the word practice?
I just request vectors and then once vectored onto the intercept am given “cleared ILS runway 31 approach”.
The conditions, visual or otherwise, are irrelevant.
Some prat will be along in a moment to tell me that this is illegal without a safety pilot. Or perhaps they won’t here, but they would over at the red place.
Graham wrote:
Why do you use the word practice?
