At the weekend I was doing some instrument refresher training in a D-reg aircraft with a German instructor. At one point I was doing some frequency juggling and tuned COM2 away from 121.5, for which I got told off.
Now, as far as I remember from my training in the UK, monitoring 121.5 is good airmanship and obviously a good thing to do, but it’s not compulsory. However this instructor told me it was against the regulations not to monitor guard if you weren’t actively using the second COM box to listen to something else.
Have I mis-remembered? Or is this a specific German regulation? Or was the guy making up a rule that doesn’t actually exist?
In UK, 121.5 is monitored by a single unit, the D&D and they have receivers across whole country, so “listen 121.5 practice” may not be useful, in other places (France? US? Germany?), it seems this job is done by local ATC plus CAT/GA pilots, so the “listen practice” makes sense, but not sure about iany regulation texts…
In France, if you transmit on 121.5 by mistake on the ground to request taxing to fuel, ground ATC will reply and joke how they can assist you on that task: unless you are expecting engine to starve half-way on the apron 
In UK, you won’t get an answer at all if you are bellow 600ft unless some B747 is passing overhead, so you will have to make the call on local ATSU frequencies…above 500ft agl, it’s D&D at Swanwick who replies even if you make the call in Scotland
The “practice of having 121.5 on standby for transmit” is a no brainer when not talking to anyone !
SERA.14080.a is relevant:
(a)
During flight, aircraft shall maintain watch as required by the competent authority and shall not cease watch, except for reasons of safety, without informing the ATS unit concerned.
(1)
Aircraft on long over-water flights or on flights over designated areas over which the carriage of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is required, shall continuously guard the VHF emergency frequency 121,5 MHz, except for those periods when aircraft carry out communications on other VHF channels or when airborne equipment limitations or cockpit duties do not permit simultaneous guarding of two channels.
(2)
Aircraft shall continuously guard the VHF emergency frequency 121,5 MHz in areas or over routes where the possibility of interception of aircraft or other hazardous situations exists, and a requirement has been established by the competent authority.
And the AMC:
Aircraft on flights other than those specified shouldguard the emergency frequency 121.5MHz to the extent possible.
M20J wrote:
Have I mis-remembered? Or is this a specific German regulation? Or was the guy making up a rule that doesn’t actually exist?
Your instructor is (essentially) right.
SERA.14080 lists some cases where a listening watch on 121.5 is always required. Then the AMC states:
AMC1 SERA.14080: Aircraft on flights other than those specified should guard the emergency frequency 121,5 MHz to the extent possible.
Ibra wrote:
121.5 is monitored by a single unit, the D&D and they have receivers across whole UK, so “listen 121.5 practice” may not be useful
…..
In UK, you won’t get an answer at all if you are bellow 600ft unless some B747 is passing overhead, so you will have to make the call on local ATSU frequencies…above 500ft agl, it’s D&D at Swanwick who replies even if you make the call in Scotland
The D&D won’t hear an ELT, but an aircraft in flight will.
Airborne_Again wrote:
The D&D won’t hear an ELT, but an aircraft in flight will.
Very true, on SERA.14080 & AMC is that applicable to airspace/route or aircraft/equipement?
Some aircraft are exempt from ELT & PLB, I guess still need to “guard 121.5” even when not crossing water & interception/hazard?
The process junkies will say that there’s no point monitoring a frequency unless you verify that you can receive anything transmitted on it, and no point having a frequency ready for emergency transmit unless you’ve verified that your transmissions can be heard on it…
;-)
Airborne_Again wrote:
Your instructor is (essentially) right.SERA.14080 lists some cases where a listening watch on 121.5 is always required. Then the AMC states:
AMC1 SERA.14080: Aircraft on flights other than those specified should guard the emergency frequency 121,5 MHz to the extent possible.
I would argue that the OP is right, not the instructor. It is in the AMC. So it is good practice not law.
In the OP it is not mentioned how long the “frequency joggling” last or what was the aim. If I know I’m going to get a lot of handovers maybe from Control, approach, director then tower in a short time, I would pre-set all these frequencies and not bother with 121.5
Xtophe wrote:
So it is good practice not law.
You are required to follow the AMC unless you have an alternate MOC which is approved by your national authority. It is different with GM’s.
It was an instrument approach talking to Approach, Tower then Ground, but a new ATIS was also due, so I stuck that in as the fourth frequency.
“…should… to the extent possible” is pretty much what I remembered it as and to my mind distinctly different to “…must… when not monitoring another frequency”, which was what was implied.
Similarly I see “your instructor is (essentially) right” as distinctly different to “your instructor is right” ;-)
