Just before St Patrick's day, a large number of racing fans normally head to Cheltenham for the annual festival of jump racing, culminating with the Gold Cup race on Friday afternoon. The famous racecourse is just north of Cheltenham town nestling under the Cotswolds escarpment. Jockeys, stable staff, and the richer punters will require air transport. Many will travel by private jet from Ireland arriving at Gloucestershire airport for onward transfer. Those from further afield will land at EGBB Birmingham.

Helicopters
The racecourse has a heliport alongside, which is licensed for the duration of the festival with full ATC provided by the licensee (callsign, Cheltenham Tower). Some helicopters will be engaged in ferrying race goers to/from Gloucester [EGBJ] from/to Cheltenham [EGBC], others could be ferrying racegoers from elsewhere. MAXIMUM offload/pickup time at the heliport is 5 minutes. After disembarking passengers, parking is available at the field if required as shown in the data sheets. We can simulate both inbound or outbound racegoers at EGBC.

Fixed wing
If you cannot fly a helicopter, you can ferry passengers to/from EGBB Birmingham to EGBJ Gloucester to be transferred to EGBC by Helicopter.

March 15th 2024 19:00

Use Plan-G or LittleNavMap as usual to plan a flight from your chosen origin to EGBC or EGBJ and estimate the flight time so that you can arrange to arrive within the event times.

This is a popular and busy event so please make sure you read the data sheets and plan your route and interactions with air traffic carefully

You may use any aircraft (including helicopters) classified as GA (within the EASA "light" category), see club rules for details. Only light helicopters can fly into EGBC - in real life Squirrels, Eurocopters and Jetrangers are common.

Before starting, check the weather. In accordance with VATSIM rules the wind direction should be the same as real-world. This event is strictly VFR, so all other aspects of the weather should be adjusted to avoid the disappointment of being rained or fogged in.

Remember to ANC (Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.) This event should be fun for all, both pilots and controllers. Bear in mind that other (non CIX VFR CLUB) traffic may also use the same airspace/airfields but everyone has equal priority (VFR).

Should your enjoyment become impaired due to "unsportsmanlike" ATC, let someone know so that senior club members can pass on your concerns.

Similarly, If you get something wrong, such as entering controlled airspace without authority, learn from the experience and follow instructions - even if requested to 'Disconnect'.

However, if you have a problem, ask ATC for help, a lot easier than flying on regardless causing confusion and mayhem! And don't forget your first call for help is other club members, that is how we all learnt to do it.

Air Traffic Control
Gloucestershire Approach will be online on VATSIM. When arriving in the area (whether to EGBJ or EGBC), contact EGBJ_APP in the first instance. A Basic Service can be provided outside controlled airspace within a radius of 30 nm from EGBJ. Tower will be available both at EGBC and EGBJ; They should be contacted for departure.

Helicopter and Aviation Services Ltd
Helicopter pilots can either fly a private contract using their normal call-sign or simulate operating for Helicopter and Aviation Services Ltd. RW they provide the transport service in conjunction with the Jockey Club. The ICAO code for the operator is JKY and radio call sign "jockey". Connect to VATSIM with the call sign JKYnn where nn is any two-digit number that no one else is using. (e.g. JKY23 is callsign "Jockey23").

NOTAM: If possible, JOCKEY aircraft will depart on heading 270 to intercept EGBJ inbound lane, avoiding all villages and farms.

Take care not to let our TeamSpeak Chat cut across ATC. Stop any conversation immediately the R/T comes alive, and then continue if "he wasn't talking to us". This is difficult because when talking on TeamSpeak you cannot hear the R/T. So be aware that ATC might be trying to contact a member. If anyone hears R/T which appears to be ignored and it is a club member being called, on TS, say "ATC is calling XXXX/one of us". Then everyone stop talking until ATC calls again and makes contact. Remember that if ATC tells you "stand bye" It means "Wait, don't call me, I will come back to you as soon as I can."

File a PIREP for the event day as usual. To get your Star ALL FLIGHTS MUST TERMINATE AT EGBJ. Remember, delivering/collecting passengers at EGBC is done ENGINES RUNNING and is thus NOT a destination.

CIX VFR Data Sheets: Race course | Gloucestershire Airport

Race-course scenery is available: FSX | Microsoft Flight Simulator | X-Plane 10 | X-Plane 11/12

Event Idea: Mike Pike | Event Planning: Mike Pike | Event Briefing: Mike Pike, Neville Munro, Colin Parker