Timothy wrote:
They will be in AIP supplements, but I am not quite sure whether that means that they will appear in Jeppesen, SkyDemon etc in a timely fashion.
Jeppesen should use long-term or permanent data from AIP SUPs, but that doesn’t mean they will amend the plates at the same rate. I wouldn’t be sure about SkyDemon.
SkyDemon does not incorporate AIP SUPs. They claim it is too much manual labor.
With very few exceptions, all the completed and planned conversions are from the 25kHz band to the same frequency with 8kHz band (e.g., from 123.000 to 123.005).
(around 90)
The exceptions are/were:
Even of the above, only Oxford is using “genuine” new 8.33 frequencies, while all others are 25kHz frequencies with reduced bandwidth.
If that pattern remains (i.e., old frequencies get “converted” to the same frequency, and then later additional stations take the spectrum that has been freed up that way), nobody will notice if the pilot misdials 90% of the time.
Cobalt wrote:
nobody will notice if the pilot misdials 90% of the time.
Brilliant, isn’t it
I did report ages ago that one UK airport I spoke to was going to just call their frequency an 8.33 one and job done
Whenever you set some rules, their limits will get tested. You get that in car emissions (the VW cheat being the best known among others), you get it on pilot forums too
But why not? If you don’t actually need new frequencies, why not just convert 25k ones to 8.33 and then nobody almost nobody needs to spend money on new kit. Especially airports which would face paying a lot more money, and their transmissions are “8.33 compatible” anyway (as are all others made with 25k radios) and they are unlikely to see interference on incoming stuff because they are, ahem, on the ground. I bet you that the radio kit at most airports, especially the GA ones, is ancient stuff no longer supported by the manufacturer.
A list of conversions does not show that new frequencies are needed, we will see this in the coming years as new ones get assigned. AIUI there is a backlog of requests for company, handling and ops frequencies, and some ATIS frequency could use moving around since they get bad interference when high up.
Don’t get me wrong – 8.33 remains a technical solution (new kit for all) for an administrative problem (Europe couldn’t coordinate frequencies properly across borders) and is a bit silly, but simply changing most frequencies to their 8.33 equivalent is a reasonably pragmatic approach.
It slightly surprises me that Europe could manage to get EASA through, which is much more complex than the allocation of airband frequencies, but they couldn’t force through the central management of airband frequency coordination.
Only 25% of the changes have been made so far. They are being made as airfield licences come up, hence year to March produces 25%, there will be the remaining 75% between now and the end of the year, when it becomes compulsory.
The airfields make savings in the reduction in the licence fee, so it is in their interest to change.
I noticed a few days ago that one of the London Control south east sectors has moved from 133.175 to 133.180. That is the same frequency, if I got it right