RAF Flights

[invergordon]

Has anyone recently monitored or heard any RAF or chartered flights operating between Ascension and Mount Pleasant (Falkland Islands)?

Copying one or more of these is now on my radio bucket list so I'd like to know what frequencies and times of the Zulu day to listen.

Thanks for any info.

Michael
New Zealand
hfaero.com

 

[majoco]

RAF Ascension is in the HF-GCS network and uses the usual frequencies. Propagation will be a problem.

Some web pages give rubbish frequencies...

Radio communication frequencies for RAF Ascension Island

A/G: 1124.7 MHz (RAF HAVENS HF)
ACC: 1795.5 MHz (ATLANTICO FIR)
RDO: 1078 MHz (ASCENSION RDO)
TWR: 126.2 MHz (WIDEAWAKE TWR)


This makes more sense...

http://mt-milcom.blogspot.co.nz/2007/08/uk-raf-flight-watchtascomm-profile.html

 

[invergordon]

Martin, I take it the HF frequencies should read:

11247kHz
17955kHz
10780kHz

Is the last one correct?

I have located the flight details for the Ascension-Mount Pleasant-Ascension and they are:

RRR2230/2 (Ascot 2230/2)
Departs Ascension Monday/Thursday 0955 local (0955UTC) Arrive MPA 1515 local (1815UTC)
Departs MPA Tuesday/Friday 1015 local (1315UTC) Arrive Ascension 2050 local (2050UTC)

These flights are operated by Air Tankers A332 civil registered aircraft G-VYGG by flown by civil pilots with civil cabin crew thus releasing the RAF to do what they do best!

I think there could be scope to monitor these flights from New Zealand on HF as they transit this route during NZ night hours. Given that these are civil flights, I assume they wouldn't use the military resources, would they? I'd just like some specific loggings if anyone has any.

I had a go last night and monitored 17955kHz and 10096kHz with no reception at all but I may have had my recorder settings set up incorrectly so I'll monitor only one frequency at a time over some period.

Cheers,
Michael
hfaero.com

 

[majoco]

The reference to Atlantico FIR is confusing - the only Atlantico I know is in Colombia! However, a Google for Atlantico FIR gives it's reference as SBAO which puts it in Brazil and so in MWARA SAT-1 which makes more sense for Ascension. 11447kHz is probably right, it agrees with the MilCom page but there is no reference to 4742 or 9031 kHz RAF frequencies. 17955kHz is a SAT-1 MWARA frequency.

I guess all you can do is listen! You could see where the grey line goes at some other time of the year and hopefully it will go up through the SAT area as it passes over us. According to DXAtlas about 1900z looks good but that just on dusk for them - which doesn't fit with their timetables.

Cheers - Martin

 

[majoco]

More info - Ascension and Falklands both use the RAF frequencies 4742 (20000 - 0800z), 9031 (0800-2000z) and 11247kHz. (SWLD - Shortwave Listeners Delight - UK DEFENCE HF COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE DHFCS) FREQUENCIES)
Ascension uses the same 17955kHz as SAT1 and Atlantico.
Surely they must have an 8MHz frequency, 17MHz is far to high although the tropical bands in daytime are pretty noisy. 8861kHz seems to be the primary for SAT-1.
Ascension has a Volmet on 5450 & 11253kHz 18 and 48 mins past the hour H24.

Cheers - Martin

 

[invergordon]

I've monitored Atlantico on 17955kHz before with flights between Brazil and Africa and they transmit from Recife. It could be the first HF call out of Ascension for these flights is to Atlantico but short of any other info it's a matter of working through the frequencies one by one over different periods of the day/night when the flights are up. Good luck to me!