Monarch flight intercepted by Rafale

[Rocket2]

I wonder if it was the same one that flew at great speed underneath the 757 that I was in somewhere near Paris at about that time, if so great to see you guys, oh sorry that won't make the papers, so there I was thinking I was going to die & will be suing you for £lots

[chevvron]

Originally Posted by BEagle

More to the point is how and why did the Monarch crew lose comms with French ATC for long enough to warrant interception?

If it was an 8.33khz frequency (which the French use a lot), it's easily done! On some radios, you might dial up the correct frequency, but unless you switch the radio to 8.33 (not all radios have this 'murphy') you ain't gonna get nothing.

[wiggy]

If it was an 8.33khz frequency (which the French use a lot), it's easily done! On some radios, you might dial up the correct frequency, but unless you switch the radio to 8.33 (not all radios have this 'murphy') you ain't gonna get nothing.

Must admit I've never seen a modern tuning panel with that switch...learn something every day...

[Chris Scott]

Don't we all, wiggy?

Just realised chevvron is referring to 8.33kHz channel-spacing on the congested VHF AM air-band frequencies. It's been 25kHz since the 1990s (was 100kHz when I was a rookie, then 50kHz...), so 8.33kHz should triple the number of channels available:

8.33 kHz channel spacing below FL 195

(The above info is for lower airspace, but see paragraph 1.2)

[beardy]

I think Wiggy was referring to the presence of a selection switch. I too have never seen such a switch, so I too have learned something new.

[BEagle]

Certainly the Rockwell-Collins RTU-4200 series used in some aircraft has a 25 / 8.33 selection option for VHF Comm. Not a 'switch' as such, it's in one of the sub-menus accessed by the relevant Line Select Key.