G'day Bob, Richard and fellow pilots,

Happy new year to you all!

Just a curious one, I'm almost too embarrassed to ask..(I almost thought I was going mad although it is possible there

On page 3.36 of BT Air law issue 13 (march 2012) it states (under signalling equipment)

1) ....The beacons shall operate on the frequencies of 121.5 Mhz and 243 Mhz, shall meet the standards specified in CAO 103.40

I have 1) having trouble locating a copy of 103.40 in the CAO folders (I have never had this issue before) and 2) I cannot find anything in CAO 20.11 (mentioned prior on same page re survival equipment) that mentions the issue of the 121.5 and 246 Mhz frequences in regards to the no satellite network with Australian coverage listening to the 121.5 and 246 frequencies by 31 January 2009 due to Cospas-Sarsat stopping recieveing on these frequencies,

however I did find both a CASA link
casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90275 and also the information in CAR252A that it should be a 406 Mhz unit AND ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY TRANSMIT on 121.5 Mhz.

Just stating the obvious here, but should the BT courseware be updated to reflect this (is there another reason it still refers back to the older 121 / 243 Mhz units that I am missing given it was last updated in March 2012?

The CASA website states "While the 406 MHz transmission is essential for satellite monitoring, a 121.5 MHz component of the transmission is still necessary to assist with the final homing of an activated beacon"

Any advice greatfully recieved

PS: I did enjoy the distinction made in the BT material that the local CTAF does not listen on 121.5 therefore ALL maydays or pan pans should ALWAYS be directed to 121.5 FIRST if not LAST as well, as there has been considerable conjecture amongst pilots on this topic, although if time allowed it probably would not hurt just to keep the runway at the closest CTAF clear in case of a forced landing, and you would get hold of them quicker as a pilot that most federal agencies would be able to given the nature of VHF on CTAF frequencies (no repeaters on these frequencies).

Otherwise you could end up causing an incident at the inbound emergency CTAF if you didnt broadcast a Mayday or Pan Pan on that frequency as well as some local pilot might be doing his run ups on th active RWY or landing / departing the CTAF you are heading Direct to for your emergency landing.

Apologies its taken so long to get through air law, first it was my daughter in hospital (badly damaging her liver) after a severe accident at school (my first time in an ambulance!) and then my wife really nearly died after an overdose of anaesthetic during a routine operation where she ended up paralysed in ICU. (To high a dose of NMBD drugs) But I'm back on track now (and both my daugher and wife are recovering nicely!) What a year - you have to balance your flying with your family, they are both great privileges and responsibility. Not to mention the emotional knock on effect - just keep this in mind with your studies if anything like this or a close death in the family occurs.

Tis the season to stay out of hospital la la la la ROCK ON 2013!!

PPS: If my AIP gets any fatter I'm going to need a second volume and will have to be careful it doesn't put the ACFT over MTOW. Would be great if ASL provided Kindles (non networked) loaded with AIP, CAO, CAR and CASR's. Tags would be a thing of the past....

Gidday Brook

Thanks for the feed-back. The reference to ELT frequencies does indeed need amendment. I'll attend to that right away. It's good to have you back on line mate. Sounds like you've had an eventful year! Great to hear that all is well now. Have a great 2013.....

Bob

Thanks Bob,

Appreciate that. Yes its nice to not be spending time inside a hospital

Hope to sit the exam in the next few weeks.

Brook

Hi Brook,

Welcome back to the forums mate. Very sorry to hear about the problems of the last year but I'm also very glad to hear that your wife and daughter are recovering nicely. It can be a bit of a balancing act between family and flying sometimes but that was not one of the times for balance. You did the right thing there - family first.

All the best with the study a fast and full recovery for your wife and daughter.

Cheers,

Rich

Thanks Richard,

Really appreciate your kind words. It was an interesting time and certainly tests your mettle but I think it highlights the need to never take anyones life for granted or routine, and even though I don't take this position, it leaves you ask yourself, is there anything I would do differently or that I regret. Its always the regrets that would eat most people I believe, so best not to leave to many real regrets, of which I was fortunate too.

Then there is the feeling of helplessness and hope, and standing back a little emotionally as you let the body's innate capacity for healing itself under the right conditions take place... (really like a few weeks on the rollercoaster at a theme park

There were a few lessons I took away from Aviation such as when life's turbulence is too great, slow down to turbulence penetration speed whilst continuing...

Nearly finished the my notes for airlaw so I'll start revision this weekend

Appreciate all your support over the time I've been doing this!

Brook