Everyone in this country needs them to be there. As pilots, we need them to make sure the airspace in the country is secure but sometimes it all gets a little bit close. So what can UK pilots do to protect themselves when they venture into a world that could have you looking at the pointy end of the latest fighter jet with a closing speed of 200+kts?

 

Here are our top 5 suggestions to make sure you are as safe as possible while in the air.

 

1) Use your radio
As BT told us all back in 1994 'It's good to talk'.  This is still poignant today and especially when in the air.  Every day the boys and girls of ATC head into the office, put the headphones on and ensure that everyone in the air is kept safe. Sometimes, the general aviator forgets that ATC go into work because we are all up in the sky, and believe it of not, they want to speak to us.  So make sure that whenever possible you are speaking to a regional or airfield ATC. By doing this, ATC will be able to tell you what aircraft movements in the area and will also be able to advise fast jets that you are in the area.

2) Squawk
Transponders are now becoming smaller and lighter and with the introduction of the new TRIG TT21 Mode S at the light weight 500 grams, now a real option for microlights.  We have heard many rumours saying that fast jets are not able to pick up squawk codes / transponders, which is partly true, but it’s not just the fast jet that needs to pick up your position it's the controller. The RAF are under radar control 90% of the time but the 10% that they are low flying by it's nature means they are trying to stay out of radar tracking.  The point is the more you increase your signature the better the chance the jet will spot you, a microlight or light aircraft may not register or be 'cleaned out' of fast jet radar which don't have collision avoidance such as TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System) also the more you allow ATC to see where you are the better they can advise you of local activity.

3) (1*)NOTAMS
What more can we say apart from CHECK THEM. There are now several websites and applications that make it as ever easier for you to check what’s in the local area or where you are heading.

  

 

NATS – The Oracle. Everyone should check here before they depart any airfield or head on any trip. This information is not there for the good of the people publishing it but for yours!

Each airfield card has NOTAMs ordered by distance from the current airfield. We recommend that you user

Great application for pilots that downloads and plots NOTAMs on a map of the United Kingdom and Ireland. This makes determining which NOTAMs are relevant to a flight much easier than manually looking through a raw text bulletin

NOTAM Check is a powerful Windows based NOTAM software which checks and plots NOTAMs on to a map. It is intended for use as part of flight planning. Users can 'Try before you Buy' with a fully functional 30 day trial.

Knowing your position and it's relation to surrounding airfields can help - If you are between a known exercise area and an RAF airfield, chances are that something may be heading your way.  Did you also know that the MOD publish an LFA (Low Flying Areas) guide and also publish a basic timetable of activity (2*). At the moment, RAF pilots are not getting the air time they used to. This means that when they take-off they want to get to the trails area as quick as possible, and we all know that that means, straight line and not at great height! If you are near an RAF base make sure that you don’t fly low, near cloud, and think about how fast jets will be heading away from the airfield when you are heading towards them.

5) THINK HEIGHT
I guess this is the most obvious one but height is the most important aspect you should consider when trying to avoid military aircraft. As the term suggests low flying aircraft operate low, normally around 500ft AGL lower in certain LFA's. The term low flying applies to below 2000ft AGL so if you want to stay completely safe stay above this.