Birmingham Airspace Infringement - Key Advice | PA28 - Leicester To Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green

Airspace Infringements continue to be a major issue for aviation here in the UK.

Birmingham International Airport regularly experience infringements into their Controlled Airspace. This can cause all kinds of disruption to their otherwise orderly flow of Commercial Air Traffic. In severe cases Airspace Infringements can lead to the complete suspension of an airport's departures and sanctions being placed on the offending pilot!

In this flight from Leicester Airport to Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green I have to be extra vigilant and careful that I do not infringe Controlled Airspace. My initial plan is to depart Leicester to the West and request a VFR Transit of the Birmingham CTA routing Tamworth VRP, direct to Halfpenny Green.

However, Birmingham is famous for being incredibly busy, so I ensure I have an alternate route planned that avoids Controlled Airspace altogether, routing around to the North of Birmingham via Sittles Farm, and instead obtaining a Lower Airspace Radar Service (LARS) from East Midlands Radar.

Upon arrival at Halfpenny Green I perform a Standard Overhead Join for Runway 34.

It is my hope that this video demonstrates the importance of a thorough pre-flight plan, including a Plan B as part of Threat and Error Management (TEM). Also the importance of using a Moving Map, "Take 2" (setting a minimum buffer between ourselves and the boundaries of Controlled Airspace), making use of an Air Traffic Service, and also using a Frequency Monitoring Code (FMC).

If my efforts here help to prevent even a small number of infringements then I will consider that a job well done!

This flight is the second of three flights from that day, designed to regain some lost confidence and restore self-belief in my own flying ability.

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Filmed with:

2 x GoPro Hero 5 Session
1 x GoPro Hero 7
1 x GoPro Hero 9