David Corbett wrote:
> At a meeting at the UK Civil Aviation Authority on 17 march we were told
> that carriage of ELT is mandatory for all aircraft in Netherlands airspace.
Well, actually I don't know for sure. I still own a Cessna, using it for
international flights, and the maintenance guys told me that I don't
need an ELT yet, there is still no enforcement of the rules. I believe
them, because they are usually eager to sell me stuff if something
suddenly becomes mandatory.
So, I have no ELT, and as far as I know, none of the airplanes in our
hangar do have an ELT.
I would just forget about this ELT-thing.
> And - how rigidly is the carriage of Mode S above 1800' amsl being enforced?
The truth is, there are no mode-S capable ground stations in the
Netherlands yet, as far as I know. I doubt that anyone will find out
about the lack of mode-S capability. Under the EHHA TMA (half the
country) they will ask you to switch off the transponder, because
GA-traffic overloads the ground stations. Still though, a mode-S
transponder is mandatory, in every CTR and above 1200 foot. There has
been a lot of fuss about this; even gliders are required to carry
mode-S. On the other hand, I don't know whether there is some attempted
enforcement, and what the fines eventually would be. Actually I have
never seen any official as long as I fly so I think chances are very low
that someone will bother you, especially if you avoid the larger airfields.
Personally, I think you'd better upgrade to a mode S transponder. You
can wait a little longer, but finally have to buy a mode-S anyway. The
maze is closing. Get it done now, and save yourself the ever increasing
non mode-S limitations. Just my 2 cents.
--
Frans Veldman
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