Updates in 23rd & future 24th editions
RULES OF THE AIR
Any glider on a beat with the hill on its left has a particular responsibility to keep a good look out, and to give way in plenty of time. Since a glider may suddenly turn away from the hill, it was once recommended that you should only overtake another glider on a hill by flying between the glider and the hill. Some hang-glider and paraglider pilots have found this alarming! The recommended practice is now “Overtake with caution, bearing in mind the other glider could suddenly change direction”
AIRSPACE
VMC minima for aircraft flying at less than 140 knots are:
- at 3000 feet altitude or below: clear of cloud and in sight of the ground and 5km of flight visibility
- above 3000 feet: 1000 feet vertically from cloud AND 1.5km horizontally away from cloud in 5km flight visibility
but note that gliders can fly in less than VMC minima outside controlled airspace
KEY OPERATIONAL REGULATIONS
EASA Part-SAO
In addition to the European laws in Part-M (maintenance & airworthiness) and Part-FCL (flight crew licensing) are other assorted requirements in Part-SAO (non-commercial operation of sailplanes). Many of the complex requirements in Part-NCO were deleted in 2019 and the rest were transferred to this special set of rules.
RADIO
The CAA no longer looks after radio licences. Application forms for aircraft and aeronautical (ground) station WT Act Licences can be found on the Ofcom website.
From 1 January 2018, all aircraft, that are equipped with radios, must be capable of an 8.33 kHz channel
spacing. Radio frequencies in the book have been changed to the new 8.33kHz channel spacing
Note the cloud flying channel has changed to 130.535MHz
118.685 Common Glider Field Frequency within 10NM radius and up to a height of 3000ft above certain approved airfields
121.5 Emergency frequency
129.890 Primary use: Competition: Secondary: Coaching
129.905 This is for ground to ground retrieval purposes only and is shared with other air sports such as parachuting
129.980 Common Glider Field Frequency within 10NM radius and up to a height of 3000ft above certain approved airfields.
130.105 Primary Use: Situational awareness
130.130 Primary use: Situational awareness
130.405 Primary use: Competition: Secondary use: Coaching
130.535 Primary use: Cloud Flying Secondary use: Inflight Situational Awareness
The CAA has defined a radio frequency for use at aerodromes and airstrips in the UK where there is no specific VHF frequency. This frequency is 135.480 MHz and is known as ‘Safetycom’. (it was 135.475)
In the section on Mayday, note that Scottish centre has closed
NAVIGATION
The GPS signal is not completely reliable, and the equipment can fail without any noticeable warning and it is subject to errors by its operator.
In section on getting lost, Scottish Centre has closed, so call London Centre.
The sun will be lower in the sky in Scotland than in southern England
FIELD LANDINGS
Scottish wave pilots point out that a field landing on a snowy field has additional risks from hidden objects under the snow
AERODYNAMICS
The stall speed increases as the square root of the load on a glider (strictly the ratio of lift to weight). (strictly not the wing-loading in previous editions)
AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE & INTEGRITY
The pre-take-off check is now CB SIFT BEC because the order of the checks represented by the last three letters has changed. The e for eventualities is better done when you can look around better and can be more of a review to see if anything has changed or if there is something new, as well as thinking about emergencies.
INSTRUMENTATION - FLARM
Note that in strong winds, especially on ridges or in wave the bearing given by Flarm may be grossly misleading, so use the alert as a command to look out. (best to look upwind of the alerted bearing )
WEATHER
In a true inversion, the temperature will increase with height. However, a band in which the temperature does not change with height is often sufficient to stop thermals rising further, though it is not a true inversion.
Stratus – low grey clouds with a uniform base, that often produces rain. (’St’) (I previously said between 1000 feet and the ground, but it can be higher
Some of what I said about rotor in the section on wave is just plain wrong. I had repeated some popular myths. See G Dale's lecture on wave in the Links page of this web-site.
MORE TO DO
I will be going through the latest edition of the Skyways code in the near future to check on useful additions
Any glider on a beat with the hill on its left has a particular responsibility to keep a good look out, and to give way in plenty of time. Since a glider may suddenly turn away from the hill, it was once recommended that you should only overtake another glider on a hill by flying between the glider and the hill. Some hang-glider and paraglider pilots have found this alarming! The recommended practice is now “Overtake with caution, bearing in mind the other glider could suddenly change direction”
AIRSPACE
VMC minima for aircraft flying at less than 140 knots are:
- at 3000 feet altitude or below: clear of cloud and in sight of the ground and 5km of flight visibility
- above 3000 feet: 1000 feet vertically from cloud AND 1.5km horizontally away from cloud in 5km flight visibility
but note that gliders can fly in less than VMC minima outside controlled airspace
KEY OPERATIONAL REGULATIONS
EASA Part-SAO
In addition to the European laws in Part-M (maintenance & airworthiness) and Part-FCL (flight crew licensing) are other assorted requirements in Part-SAO (non-commercial operation of sailplanes). Many of the complex requirements in Part-NCO were deleted in 2019 and the rest were transferred to this special set of rules.
RADIO
The CAA no longer looks after radio licences. Application forms for aircraft and aeronautical (ground) station WT Act Licences can be found on the Ofcom website.
From 1 January 2018, all aircraft, that are equipped with radios, must be capable of an 8.33 kHz channel
spacing. Radio frequencies in the book have been changed to the new 8.33kHz channel spacing
Note the cloud flying channel has changed to 130.535MHz
118.685 Common Glider Field Frequency within 10NM radius and up to a height of 3000ft above certain approved airfields
121.5 Emergency frequency
129.890 Primary use: Competition: Secondary: Coaching
129.905 This is for ground to ground retrieval purposes only and is shared with other air sports such as parachuting
129.980 Common Glider Field Frequency within 10NM radius and up to a height of 3000ft above certain approved airfields.
130.105 Primary Use: Situational awareness
130.130 Primary use: Situational awareness
130.405 Primary use: Competition: Secondary use: Coaching
130.535 Primary use: Cloud Flying Secondary use: Inflight Situational Awareness
The CAA has defined a radio frequency for use at aerodromes and airstrips in the UK where there is no specific VHF frequency. This frequency is 135.480 MHz and is known as ‘Safetycom’. (it was 135.475)
In the section on Mayday, note that Scottish centre has closed
NAVIGATION
The GPS signal is not completely reliable, and the equipment can fail without any noticeable warning and it is subject to errors by its operator.
In section on getting lost, Scottish Centre has closed, so call London Centre.
The sun will be lower in the sky in Scotland than in southern England
FIELD LANDINGS
Scottish wave pilots point out that a field landing on a snowy field has additional risks from hidden objects under the snow
AERODYNAMICS
The stall speed increases as the square root of the load on a glider (strictly the ratio of lift to weight). (strictly not the wing-loading in previous editions)
AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE & INTEGRITY
The pre-take-off check is now CB SIFT BEC because the order of the checks represented by the last three letters has changed. The e for eventualities is better done when you can look around better and can be more of a review to see if anything has changed or if there is something new, as well as thinking about emergencies.
INSTRUMENTATION - FLARM
Note that in strong winds, especially on ridges or in wave the bearing given by Flarm may be grossly misleading, so use the alert as a command to look out. (best to look upwind of the alerted bearing )
WEATHER
In a true inversion, the temperature will increase with height. However, a band in which the temperature does not change with height is often sufficient to stop thermals rising further, though it is not a true inversion.
Stratus – low grey clouds with a uniform base, that often produces rain. (’St’) (I previously said between 1000 feet and the ground, but it can be higher
Some of what I said about rotor in the section on wave is just plain wrong. I had repeated some popular myths. See G Dale's lecture on wave in the Links page of this web-site.
MORE TO DO
I will be going through the latest edition of the Skyways code in the near future to check on useful additions
