"Newps" wrote in message
...


KP wrote:

In the US virtually all airspace is some class of controlled airspace;
not just airways and terminal areas. There is some Class G (just enough
to prompt some gotcha test questions or usenet replies) but for most
discussions it's N/A.

You must be east of the Mississippi. Look west. We have a lot of
uncontrolled airspace out here.

I am west.

Everything is relative and should be taken in context.

Compared to europe, and the UK in particular, where controlled airspace
consists of airways, fairly small, congested control zones, and that's about
it, the percentage of Class G in the Western US is insignificant.
Especially when compared to the amount of traffic (IFR and VFR) each
contain.

The civil controllers over there are pretty much hog-tied by a lack of
airspace to put IFR airplanes (which must remain in controlled airspace).
When I left in '92 timed approaches from holding patterns were SOP at
Heathrow. Just about everybody's on an airway; no off-airways directs and
not much in the way of re-routes available (they're all full).

If that's your context the idea that being VFR-On-Top could have any effect
on an aircraft's routing probably wouldn't register. There's no place else
to go regardless of whether you're at a hard altitude or OTP.

Outside of controlled airspace everybody's technically uncontrolled under
see-and-avoid. Whether they're in clear-and-severe or completely Popeye.
There are various types of air traffic services available from military
radar facilities. It's pretty much a free-for-all with multiple facilities
working aircraft in the same airspace. A coordination nightmare where you
must separate aircraft on your freq by 5NM or 5000 Mode C from any
unidentified or uncoordinated radar target.

If you haven't endured it it's a real head shaker :-/