Lower Airspace Radar Service (LARS) Review.

[John Brady]

LARS is an important facility that helps to reduce collision risk and keeps us out of trouble generally. Usually it does what it says on the tin but sometimes and in some places it falls short. For example in my area there are 2 units which seem to be having a competition as to who can hand off the most aircraft to the other. Some units sound as if they really want to help but others are not always so helpful. Sometimes it is difficult to get the service when it is really needed.

The Director Airspace Policy (who came to fly with the LAA this year) will be conducting a review of LARS early next year. He has asked for our view of the present system and offers the following starter list - you will have additional ideas so please let us know by posting on this forum topic:

Is there enough geographical coverage?
Are the hours of coverage sufficient?
Are you receiving an appropriate level of ATS from participating units?
Is there enough education/information on the various levels of service and the responsibilities that fall on controller/pilot?

John Brady - your LAA representative on the National Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee.

[Steve Brown]

To be frank I gain very little from LARS because all they offer is a BASIC service as whenever I have asked for more I am told that controller workload precludes this.
If they offered some traffic advice or deconfliction more often it would be worth keeping in contact. Also seamless transfer beween units inc keeping txpr code would help too instead of having to cold call & start over. The service in Holland & Germany for instance is like IFR - wrt seamless transfer between units etc.

Even so, I probably wouldnt ask for a deconfliction service anyway because I can't get the words out while also trying to pronounce hectopascals instead of millibars !!!! - whoever thought of that terminology wheeze!

Others may have a different perspective ofcourse

Thanks for asking John and for all your effort you make in this area on our behalf.

[Nigel Hitchman]

I very rarely use LARS, except if Im going to cross the controlled airspace that they also cover. In general Id say I find little use, occasionally they might warn me of conflicting traffic, but most of the time dont and I only ask for Basic service, for which they dont have to, but really basic service gives you very little.
Much of the time, on nice weekends at least, the frequencies are congested, mostly with people calling up because they seem to think they need to, but actually get little benefit from the controller.
The problem this frequency congestion causes is frequently being told to standby, or not able to get a word in, then when I finally do I get given a transponder code, told to remain clear of controlled airspace and despite having tried to call well in advance, I end up having to hold at the edge of controlled airspace, or go underneath, while waiting for clearance to enter. If the controller wasnt talking to someone miles away, nowhere near their airspace, just to tell them basic service blah blah, they would have more time to give me clearance thru the zone.
This was particularly annoying the other week coming back from Breighton, calling Doncaster as soon as I was airborne, but still having to make two orbits at the edge of their aispace to enter the zone, while they were talking to other people, miles away, or inbound to Netherthorpe, but having to talk to them because their large zone is so close to Netherthorpe. Doncaster are usually helpful, but its always busy with people who wouldnt even need to talk to them if they didnt have such a big zone and Ive never seen an airliner going in or out, saying that Ive probably only crossed the zone 10 time this year.

I would also ask why ATC are so insistant to know what "service" you require when only really basic service is available and what you really want is zone transit and dont care what service it is as long as they give you clearance to enter their controlled airspace. I always state my request to transit their controlled airspace in my first contact, so their priority should be to give me clearance to cross, or tell me I cant, not to ask which service I want.

I dont care what names they call things, but if its Flight Information Service in Europe, then it should be the same in the UK, must confuse the foreigners a lot! Or it should be Basic service over there too.

[James Chan]

I'd like to see a more joined-up LARS service.

What I've observed while flying abroad is that the name or concept "LARS" doesn't exist. Instead the use of radar-equipped approach and en-route units provide FIS to aircraft in Class G/E airspace. The controllers hand you over seamlessly from one unit to the next where they can, and I often keep the same squawk code over a much larger area. There is no confusion about who to talk to and when (i.e. no overlapping ATS units that sometimes don't talk to each other). This in turn also seems to help reduce the number of airspace infringements.

Also there is no notion of the different levels of FIS as we have here in the UK (Basic/Traffic/Deconfliction/Procedural). They just give the best service they can, and once outside controlled airspace, it seems commonly accepted that traffic information/advisories can only be given on an as-far-as-practical basis.

[gasax]

I'm very much in James c's camp.

Long before this Basic (and nearly completely useless)service the LARS did a good job. you would frequently get passed nearly seamlessly from one provider to another as you trudged up or down the country.

If you do this in France the same thing happens - often even retaining the squawk. LARS is presently of very little benefit as a Basic serives is effectively no service at all and if you want anyhting more unless there is no one else flying you will be told controller workload precludes a service upgrade...

[Rob Swain]

Most of my experience of LARS is from the Military units at Brize, Shawbury and Valley.

Lets face it - these exist for the benefit of the RAF (and USAF) rather than for our benefit - allowing them to keep their trainees and transports out of our way, and to a lesser extent vice verca.

I have always found Shawbury (my local one - Sleap is in the Shawbury MATZ) and Brize very helpful and fairly useful.

Valley is, near as damn it, useless in my experience as if you are anywhere in the south and east of the Valley AIAA and below 5000 or 6000 feet they can't hear you, and you can't hear them because Snowdon is in the way. This is precisely the most dangerous area of operations in the AIAA - low level and in the hills and mountains is where the fast jets and rescue helicopters do a lot of their training.
By the time you get to a point you can talk to Valley it's time to be talking to Caernarfon anyway - that being one of the most common reasons for flying into that area.

So can we have a more suitable transmitter location for Valley Radar, please?

[r_w_walker]

I always contact Linton and request a basic service whilst flying in the Vale of York. Even though basic service requested they frequently pass useful information on other traffic. They always allocate a transponder code and seem to keep their traffic clear of me.

Unfortunately not always available but provide excellent service when they are.

I like the sound of the continental system but not ventured that far yet.