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February 2012 Newsletter
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| LONDON 2012 AIRSPACE OLYMPICS |
Thank you for your ongoing support in the lead up to the London Olympics. It is now only a few months away, so preparations are being fine tuned. We are well prepared for July and have initiated a number of activities and products to get the message out in regard to changed operations during this major sporting event.
Regards
Ian Dix
ASI Olympic Airspace Communication and Education Team
email: ian.dix@caa.co.uk
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London Olympics Pilot Briefing Event - London 10 March
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Royal Institute of Navigation
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To help pilots prepare for flying in south east England during the 2012 London Olympics the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), through the Airspace and Safety Initiative (ASI), have joined forces to host a free briefing day in central London on Saturday 10 March 2012.
The event will be held at the Royal Geographical Society and features presentations and Q&A sessions offering pilots the chance to get the latest information from the CAA, NATS and MoD on:
- How to use Atlas Control, the air traffic control unit that will provide the service in the Restricted Zone, R112.
- The options available for flight planning to get access to the Restricted Zone, R112
- How airfields can apply for and use exemptions
- The interception procedures planned to be used by MoD aircraft
As well as the Olympic presentations there will also be a workshop on navigation techniques with Mark Batin, a RIN Fellow and former RAF Navigator and Qualified Helicopter Navigation Instructor. It will focus on VFR navigation, staying on track and integrating satellite based systems with traditional navigation methods.
The event opens at 11.00 with presentations from 13:00 to 16:30.
In addition to the briefings it is also hoped to have relevant trade stands and an opportunity for pilots to be able to buy the new March 2012 UK 1:500 000 chart for southern England, which will come with a second free chart showing the Olympic airspace.
The venue has a maximum capacity of 750. Pre-registration is required and places will be provided on a first come first served basis. To register, e-mail your full name and any affiliation (e.g. flying club) to olympics@rin.org.uk . All bookings will be confirmed.
For more information please contact the CAA Corporate Communications Department on 0207 453 6027 or RIN on 020 7591 3135.
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Submit your regular Olympics flight plans now and get them checked by the experts
Are you a flying school, club or airfield that will be filing flight plans to use the restricted zone during this summer's Olympics? The Airspace and Safety Initiative (ASI) is encouraging people to develop template flight plans of frequently used trips and is offering the chance to have those draft plans checked in advance by the NATS and MoD teams that will be processing flight plans this summer.
To use the Restricted Zone airspace being put in place by the Government to cover this summer's Olympics, pilots will have to file, and have accepted, a flight plan. Currently the majority of flights GA pilots undertake don't require a flight plan to be filed so the ASI and GA community have been working to encourage pilots to learn and use the system in advance.
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Free Olympics 1:500,000 VFR charts available in 2012
A detailed 1:500,000 VFR chart of the London 2012 Olympics airspace restrictions and changes will be given away free to pilots who purchase the new 1:500,000 VFR chart for South East England, due to be published on 8 March 2012. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it had reached an agreement with NATS Aeronautical Information Service, which publishes all UK airspace charts, to provide complimentary copies of the Olympics chart for anyone who buys the regular VFR chart for South East England. This initiative is jointly funded by the CAA, NATS and the Department for Transport.
 Copies of the chart will also be available for free download as an A3 PDF document from the Airspace & Safety Initiative's dedicated Olympics website in Spring 2012.
Also, the official latitudes and longitudes for the temporary airspace restrictions around London and Weymouth put in place for the duration of London 2012, can now be downloaded at the Olympics website . The restrictions to be put in place for the other venues will be published in early 2012.
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Atlas Control Frequencies and Procedures
 Development work for establishing Atlas Control is progressing well and the MoD should be highly commended for putting considerable effort into this work.
Atlas control will have two Initial Contact Frequencies - North 132.800 and South 123.225 - as the first point of contact. The frequencies are those that are usually used in the same area for Farnborough LARS North and East.
First contact should be made either on departure from within the Zone or on approach to the outer boundary of the Zone - aircraft should not aircraft should not leave the vicinity of the airfield or cross the boundary of the zone until they are in 2-way contact. On initial contact, the allocator will only need callsign, location and the authorisation number that will be on your accepted flight plan - without that authorisation number you are not able to fly in the Zone! Once the allocator has checked the details and confirmed that the flight is authorised the aircraft will be transferred to another controller on a different frequency for the rest of the flight. As a minimum, under the rules of the restricted zone, a basic service will be provided, but all ATSOCAS services are available. All 12 consoles have radio and radar coverage for the whole area, so by operating in this manner there is the maximum flexibility to have the capacity where it is most needed. The capacity of Atlas Control will depend on how long aircraft are remaining in the zone and the types of service that are provided and so cannot be quantified as a number, but the unit can handle roughly 120 speaking units at any one time.
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Flying Instructors Powerpoint Package
 If you are a Flying Instructor help us to pass on the details of how this year's London Olympics will affect UK airspace. We've put together a PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes for you to present to your flying club or students. It can be downloaded from the olympic's airspace website. |
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Applying for a Restricted Zone Exemption
 Airfields within three nautical miles of the outer edge of the Restricted Zone may apply for an exemption to operate and be exempt from the requirements of the Restricted Zone providing aircraft enter and leave the Restricted Zone via an agreed route. Airfield managers will be responsible for ensuring this takes place. If you wish to apply for such an exemption please fill in the online form. The CAA or DfT will then contact you with further information. |
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Aero Fredrichshaffen, Germany
Just a reminder that the CAA and NATS staff involved in the Olympics Airspace project will have an exhibition space at Aero Fredrichshaffen.
The 20th edition of AERO Friedrichshafen, Europe's largest and most important trade show, will take place in April 2012. The trade show on the shores of Lake Constance is the prime meeting place for the aviation community and a key interface between industry and the public. Hopefully, we will see you at there.
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