Sky Painter
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Just an observation—most pilots I know have committed the SafetyCom frequency to memory.
Mike _________________________________________ Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 – Android 11.0 & SD 4.0.1.0 Huawei P30 – Android 11.0 & SD 4.0.1.0 PC – Windows 10 (Home Ed) Version 22H2, Build 19045.5198, SD 4.0.1.0
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Tony N
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+1 from me as well. I hadn't noticed that the SD's Pilot Log (on smartphone whilst flying, and printed from SD Plan) didn't have the destination frequency listed IF it was the SafetyCom frequency. Tony
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BobD
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+1 for having safety.com frequency on the plog for airfields without an assigned frequency.
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thornend
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Just bumping this, following a flight yesterday. PLEASE could we have the destination frequency listed on the Skydemon PLOG for all UK airfields? For UK airfields without an assigned frequency that is 135.480 (Safetycom). Surely it is possible to list this against the airfield entry? Pooleys and AFE both seem to manage.
The background in this case is that I made a last minute decision to fly to Salcombe Bold Head (WX). The frequency for Bolt Head is 135.480, and calling up on arrival and departure is a mandatory condition of use. Alas, I forgot to look up the frequency and write it on my Skydemon PLOG before departure. Luckily I was able to find it in the PPR confirmation e-mail on my phone, and of course I could have called up London Information to ask for the frequency. Neither are ideal for obvious reasons. I should really have checked for missing frequencies on the Skydemon PLOG before departure, but I have grown used to having all the necessary frequencies for the flight listed on the PLOG (particularly the destination), with the single exception of this blind spot.
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thornend
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Incidentally, Pooleys have Safetycom listed in the frequencies section for all airfields that do not have an assigned frequency, rather than just leaving a blank. I imagine those that operate from a farm strip would have the Safetycom frequency etched in their memory in the same way that most people would know their home base frequency without having to look it up. The issue is with people who visit uncontrolled airfields relatively infrequently (including myself!). It is mostly simply a matter of convenience having the destination frequency printed on the PLOG, but there is a flight safety element too, in encouraging people not to approach and land in radio-silence. The post-it note idea is amusing. Why stop with just the destination frequency? You could have post-it notes for all en-route frequencies lined up along the dashboard, and dispense with having any frequencies listed on the PLOG
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Tim Dawson
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I am curious why balloonists, hang-glider pilots and glider pilots will all know what to use, but Safetycom requires an entry in SkyDemon.
I stand corrected about the multiple frequency thing, I must have been thinking of a different country.
Obviously it's a legitimate request, but one that we don't hear all that often. We will put some thought into how it might work. It's the sort of thing you might want shown for a UK (only) airfield but only if it has no other frequencies dedicated, presumably.
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grahamb
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A Post-it note on the panel would work just as well!
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thornend
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+xThe reason we don't currently list SafetyCom in SkyDemon is that there's more than one in regular use (even in the UK), and it isn't clear which one should be selected for which area. The new LL frequency only adds to this confusion at the moment. We'll discuss it amongst the team next week. There is certainly only one frequency called "Safetycom" in the UK (135.480), which is intended for use by arriving and departing traffic at airfields that do not have an assigned frequency. See: For sure, there are frequencies for balloonists, hang-gliders, and numerous frequencies for gliders, but that is not quite the same. They will all know what to use. Moreover, none of those frequencies are called "Safetycom" so there is no risk of confusion. The introduction of the LL frequency has caused a little confusion in some quarters, though it is clear that this is intended as an en-route frequency for flights in Class G below 2000'. In contrast Safetycom is exclusively for arriving and departing traffic for airfields. Hopefully the distinction will become clear. At present I have to write the Safetycom frequency on a printed Skydemon PLOG whenever flying to an airfield without an assigned frequency. I don't do that often enough to trust myself to remember it, and I am sure I am not alone in that. That does require printing out the PLOG, and is slightly inconvenient.
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Tim Dawson
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The reason we don't currently list SafetyCom in SkyDemon is that there's more than one in regular use (even in the UK), and it isn't clear which one should be selected for which area. The new LL frequency only adds to this confusion at the moment. We'll discuss it amongst the team next week.
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thornend
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For flights taking off or landing at UK airfields with no assigned frequency, it would be useful if the Safetycom frequency 135.480 could be listed on the PLOG. It might encourage people to use it! It would be useful if the new LL-Common Frequency 130.490 MHz could be included in the enroute frequency listing, for similar reasons.
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