9 February 2012
In an effort to reduce the growing number of infringements of controlled airspace around Birmingham Airport, the CAA and air traffic service provider, NATS, have agreed to amend the CAA 1:500k VFR chart depicting the area. Evidence suggests that a number of General Aviation pilots inadvertently infringed the area to the south of the airport due to a failure to identify the correct vertical limits of Birmingham CTA, the CAA-NATS initiative aims to ‘de-clutter’ the chart and remove non-essential aeronautical information.
A statement from the CAA explains, ‘These changes will appear in the next edition of the Southern England 1:500k chart, due for publication on 8 March 2012. The CAA said the changes will improve the visual presentation of the aeronautical information for a critical piece of airspace, which should help to reduce confusion amongst pilots, and thereby contribute to a reduction in infringements. The changes include the removal of the HON VOR compass rose, removal of the Coventry RWY 05 Instrument Approach Procedure cone, removal of a disused Helicopter site at Leek Wooten, and relocation and improvement to aeronautical text.’
An extract of the area concerned, taken from the next edition of the 1:500k Southern England & Wales VFR chart, is available at <a href=”http://http://tinyurl.com/7td8e23″>Click here for more</a>
