Following its unsuccessful bid for continuation funding from the FAS Investment Board in November 2017, the Future Airspace Strategy VFR Implementation Group (FASVIG) has now received a reprieve after its funding bid for 21 month’s work was submitted and accepted. The FASVIG team presented the outline plan for this new programme of work to stakeholders on 21 March.
In addition to increased GA communications and engagement, the FASVIG work strands to 31 December 2019 are to:
• Improve electronic conspicuity of aircraft operating VFR;
• Develop and deploy a Flexible Use of Airspace Policy for lower airspace;
• Collaborate on future ATM concepts and airspace policy and design to enable VFR efficiency;
• Improve safety and predictability of all aircraft around and within regulated airspace; and
• Regularise and simplify access to controlled and regulated airspace.
Each of these work strands will cover supporting work elements, some of which have already been identified while others are still being developed.
Meantime, FASVIG has produced a pilot’s guide to infringement avoidance and easier navigation. FASVIG say that GPS and new equipment running sophisticated software has given pilots the ability to navigate accurately without having to learn a wide range of skills.
In many areas of the UK, airspace has become too complex for traditional VFR navigation techniques, leading to many people now using GPS as their sole method of navigation.
However, according to FASVIG, many pilots aren’t aware that neither GPS nor digital devices are 100% reliable, so the gradual erosion of traditional navigational skills could place the unwary in jeopardy.
With this in mind FASVIG has developed a simple guide to integrating GPS into traditional navigation.
The guide is available as a webpage and also as a downloadable PDF, and the webpage also contains links to a downloadable Quick Reference Card.
The guide can be accessed free of charge at: http://fasvig.org/nav
