This looks good. There are four weekends in August… let’s work on the first three.
I would love to go to my first ever fly-in but with us moving in August there is simply no way to fit this in my schedule. Maybe Erfurt next year?
House moves are well known to bring most couples close to a divorce; well they do here in the UK for sure. So, you could sell it to your wife as a de-stressing weekend The “main” EuroGA meet-ups are all done to nice places where there is something for the whole family.
If we go into choosing dates, either one of the first two week-ends (aug 5-6 and aug 12/13) are best for me, as I can easily extend them from Friday to Monday or more, and planes are available at the club. Week-end three (aug 19-20) and four (aug 26-27) are more difficult for various reasons, if at all workable.
Just realised that Dresden requires Mode S. Might not be able to make it depending on our transponder situation in the club by the time.
It’s a misunderstaning anyway; German airports do not require a transponder (and thus no Mode-S) for low-level VFR arrivals. There is no strict transponder obligation for VFR in CTRs (class D) in Germany.
Good to know, I thought all controlled airspace in Germany required Mode S. Learning something new every day =)
Btw, the class D TMA above the CTR still requires Mode S, right?
TBH, I can’t tell you with 100% certainty. 97% of GA aircraft resident in Germany today have Mode-S, so most people don’t care about the rules for Mode-C.
This is what the German AIP VFr says:
…but, as you can see, the wording is fuzzy. Plus, it might be outdated / superceded, etc.
Anyway, when approaching an airport such as Dresden under VFR, you will usually not use their class D (the one above the CTR), since you have to descend to land anyway.
boscomantico wrote:
This is what the German AIP VFr says:[…]…but, as you can see, the wording is fuzzy.
GEN 1.5 §4 is more explicit
(5) For the following VFR flights, aircraft shall be equipped with an SSR transponder:
1. fights in Class C Airspace or Class D Airspace (not control zone);
2. flights in transponder mandatory zones (TMZ);
3. flights at night in controlled airspace;
4. lights with power-driven aircraft, except for gliders, above 5000 ft MSL or above a height of 3500 ft GND, whichever is higher.
The transponder shall have Mode A 4096 code capability and Mode C automatic altitude reporting. Mode S technology for transponders in compliance with applicable international standards (at least level 2 with SI Code and Elementary Surveillance ELS functionality) will be required for new aircraft with effect from 31 March 2005 at the latest, and for all aircraft with effect from 31 March 2008. The air navigation services organisation shall publish exceptions to items 1 and 2 in “Nachrichten für Luftfahrer”
So if you need a transponder, it must be mode S, but you don’t need one in control zones.