2 November 2015
Cash from the European Union may be available to help aircraft owners pay for new radios that can transmit and receive on both 8.33kHz and 25kHz. It’s one of a number of initiatives the UK CAA is working on to ease the transition to the new frequencies coming in on 1 January 2018.
A shortage of aviation radio frequencies across Europe means that most existing frequencies are being split to reduce the gap between them, allowing the introduction of more frequencies, said the CAA.
The CAA’s initiatives:
* Allow UK registered balloons and gliders to use certain handheld 8.33 kHz transceivers.
* Apply for European Union funding to assist with the cost of radio equipage.
* Apply for an exemption from the European Commission to retain a small number of dedicated 25 kHz frequencies for a limited period of time after the conversion deadline of 31 December 2017.
* Removing the need for aircraft owners to pay a regulatory fee to change a panel mounted radio by seeking to have radio manufacturers arrange a minor modification approval.
As each of these initiatives progresses, information will be available online (links below).
[Photo: Trig TY92 8.300/25 kHz radio]
