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Pilot to Pilot frequency South of England

Are there any Pilot to Pilot frequencies one can use whilst flying in convoy – South East of England area?

If no official frequencies are there any unofficial ones :-)

United Kingdom

No official one except if you are flying gliders, microlights or balloon.

Nympsfield, United Kingdom

Not for the UK unfortunately, but Germany published last year a document outlining air-to-air frequencies

EHRD / Rotterdam

Is 123.45 not the “de facto” pilot’s chat frequency?

I believe its official purpose is to serve as relay of relevant messages on high seas crossings, but people use it as a chat room anyway.

EDDW, Germany

Indeed, I may use 123.45 or gliding cloud frequencies or my grass strip Freq for A-to-A but I understand 123.45 is not legal as some grass strip owner up north in U.K. has it allocated by CAA as it’s AG frequency, but honestly, one can still use it down in SE if they make sure they don’t get caught

Some DC3 on D-day in Jun19 were not smart enough when using 123.45 as they used their callsigns, but hey they were flying at 10ft agl to start with, only someone overhead will notice it, and 2 of them flew in formation from SanFransisco all the way to LeBourget in vintage aircrafts without transponders, including some very non VMC days, so probably not the kind of guys to give a hoot about UK Cap413 or 500ft agl flying rules

Last Edited by Ibra at 01 Apr 10:45
Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

I’ve always argued that there should be in the UK/Europe, as there is in the States, a ‘buddy’ frequency available since, provided it is not abused, it can be an aid to safety.
In the USA it used to be 122.75; but more recently I have always used 122.725 or 122.775 for an air-to-air chatter. Not sure if it’s any more appropriate than .75; but it’s always quieter!
Likewise, 123.45 seems to work in Europe sometimes if there is not too much back-ground noise.
Because such frequencies are not technically authorized, I have always encouraged people on my fly-outs to agree in advance to use a neutral call-sign and identification like ‘Papa Flight 1’. That way one can easily know if it is/is not meant for me.
Equally important, if anyone else is listening who is a barrack-room lawyer and in a litigious mood they cannot identify the caller or aircraft.

Rochester, UK, United Kingdom

The one everybody uses is 123.45; just don’t spell out callsigns or full names on it, in case some knob is listening

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

If this discussion was on the main UK GA chat site, someone would be along in a minute to tell you that you risk identification via VDF and subsequent prosecution…

EGLM & EGTN

Peter wrote:

The one everybody uses is 123.45

In many countries, 123.450 is actually an official air-to-air frequency.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

Peter_G wrote:

In the USA it used to be 122.75; but more recently I have always used 122.725 or 122.775 for an air-to-air chatter. Not sure if it’s any more appropriate than .75; but it’s always quieter!

People use lots of US frequencies to chat for just that reason, although in the US “legally, for air-to-air communications between private, fixed-wing aircraft, there is just one authorized frequency: 122.75 MHz. For general aviation helicopters: 123.025 MHz. Gliders and hot air balloons share 123.3 and 123.5 MHz” AOPA Link

Yes, 122.75 can be busy. In my area there are far too many VFR planes flying anything but straight lines to effectively utilize a single controller for traffic avoidance in Class E, and the traditional solution was Air-to-Air position or activity reporting. It’s still done extensively and is perpetuated by being taught to students for their use going to and from practice areas etc. Anybody listening in learns that people use the frequency mostly for this purpose, so there’s very little chat. Nowadays of course virtually everybody has got some kind of traffic display and can use it to find a quieter corner of the area, ForeFlight on a phone works great in a small cockpit. I think this is the primary traffic avoidance tool for most people now, with 122.75 as a backup.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 01 Apr 14:18
22 Posts
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