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Radar Contact — Aviation
Radar Contact

How to communicate effectively and confidently with air traffic control. For pilots of all experiences levels, flying VFR or IFR.

Copyright: © Jeff Kanarish, Personal Media Works LLC 2016

Latest Episodes:

Using ATC to Check the Status of a MOA Jan 04, 2017
Is it safe to fly through a Military Operations Area (MOA)? It depends.

A pilot named Drew recently asked me if I had any advice about how to contact ATC to check the status of a MOA. Here’s what I told him.

Show Resources

Yankee 1 and 2 are controlled by Boston Center.

Aeronautical Information Manual

3−4−5. Military Operations Areas

c. Pilots operating under VFR should exercise extreme caution while flying within a MOA when military activity is being conducted. The activity status (active/inactive) of MOAs may change frequently. . . Prior to entering an active MOA, pilots should contact the controlling agency for traffic advisories.

d. MOAs are depicted on sectional, VFR Terminal Area, and Enroute Low Altitude charts.

Update. 11 January 2017

An Example Supporting the FAA’s Guidelines on Use of Call Sign

via email set on 5 Jan.:

“Hi Jeff,

I wanted to weigh in on the debate about whether or not to include your make and model in an abbreviated callsign. Just the other day, I was inbound to Palo Alto tower, and there was another aircraft in the pattern with a very similar sounding callsign. The only thing that saved us from getting confused was that he was in a Skyhawk and I was in a Cherokee. It’s a good thing, since at one point I was #2 for landing and he was #1. Including the model in my callsign may very well have saved me from making a bad mistake.

So my vote would be to keep the make and/or model.

Thanks, Ian”

Your Question of the Week

When flying VFR, and using ATC’s radar advisory service, otherwise known as flight following, you are free to change altitudes at will. A controller will remind you altitude changes are at your discretion as long as you advise the controller before changing altitudes. Here’s your question. Under what circumstances can a controller restrict your altitude even though you are flying VFR? When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find the answer to this question along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

mketaxi — Taxi Clearance Anxiety Sep 30, 2016
If you have ever felt butterflies in your stomach when faced with contacting Ground Control for taxi clearance, you have experienced something I call Taxi Clearance Anxiety. It’s a made-up term but the phenomenon has real consequences.

Some pilots go out of their way to avoid controlled airports with complicated taxiway layouts. Even high-time pro pilots feel Taxi Clearance Anxiety prior to calling for taxi instructions at the nation’s biggest baddest airports. I’m talking about places such as Chicago’s O’Hare or New York’s JFK.

If you fly long enough, sooner or later you are going to be faced with the choice of landing at or overflying a complex airport. It would be a shame to let Taxi Clearance Anxiety trip you up or prevent you from using an airport that is convenient for your route of flight.

In today’s show, I have tips and techniques to help you overcome your anxiety about contacting Ground Control for a taxi clearance.

What Happened to Expedite?

Have you heard ATC use the term “expedite” lately? I sure haven’t. There’s a good reason why most controllers don’t use the term very often, if at all. We’ll talk about what expedite really means and what you might hear instead on the radio.

All that, plus your Question of the week, which this time is a brain-crushing exercise. Fun for masochists and eager pilots alike! Onward.

Show Notes:

Taxi Clearance Anxiety

1. Before calling for taxi clearance, study the airport diagram but try to focus on that portion of the airport that lies between your parking position and the runway in use.
2. Listen to the ground frequency for a minute or 2 to get a feel for how Ground Control is handling other aircraft.
3. Get a pen or pencil and paper in hand before contacting Ground Control.
4. Write your taxi clearance using whatever shorthand notes work for you. For “hold short”, I use a “/”. I represent taxiways as uppercase letters. For example, Taxiway Lima would be written “L”. I write turn directions as lower case letters, i.e. “r” = turn right and “l” = turn left. So rR would read as “right on Taxiway Romeo”.
5. Once taxiing is underway, refer often to your notes, the airport diagram, and compare these to the taxiway signs ahead to make sure you keep on track.
6. If something doesn’t look right, ask Ground for clarification.
7. If you get lost, stop and ask ATC for help.
8. If all else fails, ask Ground for a “progressive taxi”. Don’t do this as a matter of habit when you can navigate around the airport without help.
9. I have extensive guidance and plenty of exercises for copying taxi clearances in my books Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots and in the Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots Workbook. Both are available right now at Amazon.com.*

Expedite

1. ATC rarely uses the term “expedite” anymore.
2. The move away from the term probably stems from a misinterpretation. Some incorrectly think it means “go fast”.
3. Expedite means, do something without delay.
4. These days, controllers are more likely to say “Without delay” instead of “Expedite”.

Your Question of the Week

This week’s question is more of an exercise. I’m going to give you a complicated taxi clearance and I want you to write it on paper using your own version of shorthand.

For this exercise, we are going to use the airport diagram at General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I’ve included the diagram in the show notes for this show. The ATIS sounds like this:

“Milwaukee Airport Information Zulu, 17:54 Zulu weather. Sky clear, visibility 7 miles, wind 080 at 10, altimeter 29.98. ILS or Visual Approach, Runway 7R in use. Landing and departing 7L and 7R. Bird activity in the vicinity of the airport. All departing aircraft contact Milwaukee Clearance Delivery on 120.8 prior to taxi. Advise on initial contact you have received Information Zulu.”

You are currently sitting on the airport’s South Ramp near Taxiway R3 with your engine running. You have contacted Clearance Delivery and stated you received Information Zulu. Clearance assigned a transponder code for departure and told you to contact Milwaukee Control on 121.8 for taxi clearance. You’ve switched to 121.8 and listened for a minute to get a feel for how other aircraft are being routed for taxi. Unfortunately, the only aircraft that have talked on the frequency are airliners taxiing from the airline terminal. You are in a Cessna 172 on the South Ramp, so no help there.

If you have pen and paper ready, I’m about to play that clearance. If you aren’t ready to write, pause this show and get what you need. When you are ready to copy, hit play.

When you think you have the clearance copied correctly on paper, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you find a complete example of the correctly copied clearance along with a full explanation of how that copy was derived.

*Disclosure: I receive a small commission when you use links at ATCcommunication.com to make a purchase at Amazon.com.

salinaFSS — Contacting Flight Service; Searching for IFR Traffic in an Uncontrolled Pattern Aug 30, 2016
If you can get all the aviation weather data you need online, do you really need to know how to contact Flight Service on the radio? It depends on who you ask. I say yes.

A Flight Service agent can save time and point you in the right direction. An agent can quickly sift through weather data and give you exactly what you need. You won’t need to sort the wheat from the chaff.

In this show, we’ll walk through the steps from leaving your current ATC frequency, contacting Flight Service, to returning to ATC’s frequency.

As a pilot flying VFR, you don’t really need to know IFR procedures. Or do you?

If you’ve ever mixed it up with IFR traffic at an uncontrolled airport, you might have felt frustrated by not knowing where the IFR guys are going to pop up and how they’ll fit into your traffic pattern. Not to worry. I have just what you need to know to spot those mystery airplanes before they jump into your airspace.

Show Notes:

Contacting Flight Service

Before leaving your current ATC frequency to communicate with Flight Service on another frequency, ask the controller for “off frequency”.

“Skyhawk 9130 Delta requests off frequency for 5 minutes.”

Give ATC your expected time away so the controller can look ahead in time and see what might affect your flight.

Traffic ahead in the next 5 minutes? Will you be in the next controller’s sector 5 minutes from now? A time interval gives the controller a frame of reference.

As a technique, I like to have 5 minutes for most Flight Service transactions. You can ask for more time if you think you need it.

Find the nearest Flight Service radio antenna by looking on a chart for the navaid identifier box nearest your present position.

Flight Service frequencies are in bold blue above the naviad identifier box.

The relevant Flight Service Station name is in brackets below the navaid identifier box.

When contacting Flight Service: Flight Service name and “Radio” + your full call sign + the frequency used to contact Flight Service.

“Oakland Radio, Skyhawk 9130 Delta, on 122.6.”

After Flight Service answers: Full call sign + present position + altitude + your request.

“Skyhawk 9130 Delta is a Cessna 172, three zero miles southeast of the Salinas Vortac at 6,500, request current and forecast weather for the Sonoma County Airport.”

To conclude the conversation, politely tell the agent that’s is all you need. He may ask you for a pilot report on current inflight conditions.

To return to ATC’s frequency, simply say, “Oakland Center, Skyhawk 9130 Delta, back on your frequency.”

For greater detail on communicating with Flight Service, check out my book
Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots* at Amazon.com.

Mixing it Up with IFR Traffic in an Uncontrolled Airport Pattern

The Instrument Landing System (ILS) precision approach to Runway 2 at Dekalb Taylor Muni, Illinois. Note the final approach course of 022 degrees aligns precisely with Runway 2.

The glideslope for the ILS Runway 2 is 3 degrees, which produces a standard 3 to 1 glidepath ratio, or 300 feet of descent for every mile traveled.

The VOR-A approach to the Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview Florida. This non-precision approach leads the pilot to the downwind leg or base leg for either runway.

Note this VOR-A approach begins at the Crestview VORTAC. The pilot maneuvers to final approach by following a racetrack holding pattern shown in the procedure.

Note the pilot must be at or above 2,200 feet MSL prior to passing the Crestview VORTAC when inbound on the final approach. The Crestview VORTAC is also the final approach fix (FAF) which is always denoted on a chart by an “x”.

When you hear a pilot report, “Crestview inbound on the VOR Alpha”, you’ll know that airplane is 8.3 miles west of the airport at 2,200. Expect the plane to enter the downwind for Runway 35 (note the alignment) in 2 to 3 minutes. If Runway 17 is the active, expect the IFR flight to enter base leg (again, note the alignment).

Questions? Comments? Write to me using the comment section below these notes, or tweet me at ATC_jeff@twitter.com, or write to me at jeff@ATCcommunication.com.

*Disclosure: I receive a small commission from Amazon.com when you use this link to make a purchase.

Contacting Flight Service; Searching for IFR Traffic in an Uncontrolled Pattern Aug 30, 2016
If you can get all the aviation weather data you need online, do you really need to know how to contact Flight Service on the radio? It depends on who you ask. I say yes.

A Flight Service agent can save time and point you in the right direction. An agent can quickly sift through weather data and give you exactly what you need. You won’t need to sort the wheat from the chaff.

In this show, we’ll walk through the steps from leaving your current ATC frequency, contacting Flight Service, to returning to ATC’s frequency.

As a pilot flying VFR, you don’t really need to know IFR procedures. Or do you?

If you’ve ever mixed it up with IFR traffic at an uncontrolled airport, you might have felt frustrated by not knowing where the IFR guys are going to pop up and how they’ll fit into your traffic pattern. Not to worry. I have just what you need to know to spot those mystery airplanes before they jump into your airspace.

Show Notes:

Contacting Flight Service

Before leaving your current ATC frequency to communicate with Flight Service on another frequency, ask the controller for “off frequency”.

“Skyhawk 9130 Delta requests off frequency for 5 minutes.”

Give ATC your expected time away so the controller can look ahead in time and see what might affect your flight.

Traffic ahead in the next 5 minutes? Will you be in the next controller’s sector 5 minutes from now? A time interval gives the controller a frame of reference.

As a technique, I like to have 5 minutes for most Flight Service transactions. You can ask for more time if you think you need it.

Find the nearest Flight Service radio antenna by looking on a chart for the navaid identifier box nearest your present position.

Flight Service frequencies are in bold blue above the naviad identifier box.

The relevant Flight Service Station name is in brackets below the navaid identifier box.

When contacting Flight Service: Flight Service name and “Radio” + your full call sign + the frequency used to contact Flight Service.

“Oakland Radio, Skyhawk 9130 Delta, on 122.6.”

After Flight Service answers: Full call sign + present position + altitude + your request.

“Skyhawk 9130 Delta is a Cessna 172, three zero miles southeast of the Salinas Vortac at 6,500, request current and forecast weather for the Sonoma County Airport.”

To conclude the conversation, politely tell the agent that’s is all you need. He may ask you for a pilot report on current inflight conditions.

To return to ATC’s frequency, simply say, “Oakland Center, Skyhawk 9130 Delta, back on your frequency.”

For greater detail on communicating with Flight Service, check out my book
Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots* at Amazon.com.

Mixing it Up with IFR Traffic in an Uncontrolled Airport Pattern

The Instrument Landing System (ILS) precision approach to Runway 2 at Dekalb Taylor Muni, Illinois. Note the final approach course of 022 degrees aligns precisely with Runway 2.

The glideslope for the ILS Runway 2 is 3 degrees, which produces a standard 3 to 1 glidepath ratio, or 300 feet of descent for every mile traveled.

The VOR-A approach to the Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview Florida. This non-precision approach leads the pilot to the downwind leg or base leg for either runway.

Note this VOR-A approach begins at the Crestview VORTAC. The pilot maneuvers to final approach by following a racetrack holding pattern shown in the procedure.

Note the pilot must be at or above 2,200 feet MSL prior to passing the Crestview VORTAC when inbound on the final approach. The Crestview VORTAC is also the final approach fix (FAF) which is always denoted on a chart by an “x”.

When you hear a pilot report, “Crestview inbound on the VOR Alpha”, you’ll know that airplane is 8.3 miles west of the airport at 2,200. Expect the plane to enter the downwind for Runway 35 (note the alignment) in 2 to 3 minutes. If Runway 17 is the active, expect the IFR flight to enter base leg (again, note the alignment).

Questions? Comments? Write to me using the comment section below these notes, or tweet me at ATC_jeff@twitter.com, or write to me at jeff@ATCcommunication.com.

*Disclosure: I receive a small commission from Amazon.com when you use this link to make a purchase.

wasteBasket — Making Mistakes on the Aircraft Radio Jun 21, 2016
In this episode, we’ll talk about why you make mistakes on the radio and what it says about your performance as a pilot. I think my analysis will surprise you (in a good way).

Also, some pilots have asked interesting questions about the details of reporting your position in an uncontrolled airport pattern. Just when I think we’ve covered it all, someone brings up a question we haven’t covered before.

Show Notes:

Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) A text-message based system for communicating with enroute air traffic controller centers. During ocean crossings, CPDLC messages are handled by specialized communication agencies. These agencies coordinate communication between pilots and ATC.

High-Frequency Radio (HF) A long-range radio, generally used for communication during ocean crossings.

Selective Calling (SELCAL) A system that allows a ground-based operator to remotely ring a chime in a cockpit. The chime signals the operator’s need to communicate via radio with the pilot. The process is similar to dialing a phone number, causing the phone to ring. Each SELCAL unit has a unique four-letter code that the operator dials to ring that aircraft’s chime.

Standard Position Report Format (when out of radar contact):

1. Current reporting point. (Expressed as a named navaid, intersection, GPS waypoint, or latitude/longitude, as applicable.)

2. Time over reporting point.

3. Altitude over reporting point.

4. Next mandatory reporting point and ETA at that point.

5. Succeeding reporting point.

6. Remarks. These generally include current fuel state, outside air temperature, wind direction and speed, turbulence and/or icing, as applicable.

AIM 4−2−4. Aircraft Call Signs
a. Precautions in the Use of Call Signs.

1. Improper use of call signs can result in pilots executing a clearance intended for another aircraft. Call signs should never be abbreviated on an initial contact or at any time when other aircraft call signs have similar numbers/sounds or identical letters/ number; e.g., Cessna 6132F, Cessna 1622F, Baron 123F, Cherokee 7732F, etc.

Your Question of the Week:

You are receiving VFR traffic advisories from Oakland Center. You are proceeding towards your destination of Stockton Metro Airport in California’s Central Valley. Stockton Metro is a tower-controlled airport inside Class D airspace. Here’s your first question: When would you expect your controller in Oakland Center to direct you to contact Stockton Tower? Here’s your second question. What should you do if you are nearing the boundary of Class D, the controller hasn’t switched you to Stockton Tower, and a continuous stream of radio traffic prevents you from querying the controller?

When you think you know the answers to those questions, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you’ll find complete answers along with full explanations of how those answers were derived.

Note: Mahalo for your patience during the long break between Radar Contact Shows. I was in the middle of a move to the Big Island of Hawaii. I’m settled in now. That means I can resume bringing you a new show about once per month. Aloha, Jeff

redAndWhiteCallsign — Aircraft Color in Place of Call Sign is a Bad Idea Apr 24, 2016
“Town and Country Traffic, red and white Skyhawk, 4-mile final, Runway One Seven, Town and Country.”

“Town and Country Traffic, blue and white Warrior, turning base, Runway One Seven, Town and Country.”

“Town and Country Traffic, red and white Skyhawk, final, Runway One Seven, Town and Country.”

Do you think saying your aircraft’s color scheme in place of your aircraft’s registration when making position reports is a great idea? The truth is, this tactic has the potential to get you into deep serious trouble. I’ll explain why in this week’s show.

How to Get in Touch with ATC for VFR Flight Following

I’ve covered this topic before, but several pilots have asked me about it in the last month. A refresher, with all the radio work, coming right up.

A Good Read for IFR Pilots

My friend and highly experienced pilot, Sarah Fritts of ThinkAviation.net just published a Kindle book called The Instrument Pilot’s Survival Guide.*

This guide will help you alleviate your stress by teaching you the general flow of an instrument flight.

Mastering the rhythm of an instrument flight is the key to a worry-free experience.

This survival guide will walk you through an instrument flight from beginning to end. Each step along the way, this book will teach you what you should do every time. Sarah Fritts

More details about the book coming up at my other website, IFRflightRadio.com.
*The fine print: If you make a purchase at Amazon.com using this link, I receive a small commission.

Aircraft Color in Place of Call Sign is a Bad Idea Apr 24, 2016
“Town and Country Traffic, red and white Skyhawk, 4-mile final, Runway One Seven, Town and Country.”

“Town and Country Traffic, blue and white Warrior, turning base, Runway One Seven, Town and Country.”

“Town and Country Traffic, red and white Skyhawk, final, Runway One Seven, Town and Country.”

Do you think saying your aircraft’s color scheme in place of your aircraft’s registration when making position reports is a great idea? The truth is, this tactic has the potential to get you into deep serious trouble. I’ll explain why in this week’s show.

How to Get in Touch with ATC for VFR Flight Following

I’ve covered this topic before, but several pilots have asked me about it in the last month. A refresher, with all the radio work, coming right up.

A Good Read for IFR Pilots

My friend and highly experienced pilot, Sarah Fritts of ThinkAviation.net just published a Kindle book called The Instrument Pilot’s Survival Guide.*

This guide will help you alleviate your stress by teaching you the general flow of an instrument flight.

Mastering the rhythm of an instrument flight is the key to a worry-free experience.

This survival guide will walk you through an instrument flight from beginning to end. Each step along the way, this book will teach you what you should do every time. Sarah Fritts

More details about the book coming up at my other website, IFRflightRadio.com.
*The fine print: If you make a purchase at Amazon.com using this link, I receive a small commission.

marthasClose — Common Traffic Advisory Frequencies and ATC as Customer Service Apr 10, 2016
This edition of the Radar Contact Show consolidates the previous 3 articles about using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) and about ATC as customer service organization. If you would rather read about CTAF, you can find the full articles using these links.

How to Select and Use the Correct Common Traffic Advisory Frequency

It’s What You Don’t Hear on the Radio that Can Get You

ATC is a Customer Service Organization

Your Question of the Week

You are preparing to depart VFR from Martha’s Vineyard Airport. It’s November 2 and the current local time is 05:30. Using the Airport Facility Directory listing of communications for Martha’s Vineyard Airport (below) describe the radio drill you would use to depart from Martha’s Vineyard, beginning from your parking position on the ramp through your departure from the traffic pattern heading northwest.

When you think you have the entire radio drill figured out, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete solution for this situation, along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

brisbaneTower — What ATC’s ‘Make Closed Traffic’ Clearance Means Feb 28, 2016

“Cessna 9130 Delta, Pensasoda Tower, make right closed traffic. Runway 11, cleared for takeoff.”

What has ATC just authorized you to do? More importantly, what has ATC not authorized you to do? The answers are not as straight-forward as you would think.

You have declared an emergency with ATC. Then, it occurs to you. You might not have a situation that requires emergency status.

If your emergency turns out to be a false alarm, or if you resolve the emergency before landing, are you permitted to cancel your emergency with ATC? We’ll nail down the answer to that question in this week’s show.

Cinch your seatbelt a little tighter because we are about to takeoff. The forecast for this show is a rough ride in moderate turbulence. Ready? Let’s go!

Show Notes:

Closed Traffic

AIM Pilot/Controller Glossary

CLOSED TRAFFIC− Successive operations involving takeoffs and landings or low approaches where the aircraft does not exit the traffic pattern.

CFR 91.129 Operations in Class D airspace.

(i) Takeoff, landing, taxi clearance. No person may, at any airport with an operating control tower, operate an aircraft on a runway or taxiway, or take off or land an aircraft, unless an appropriate clearance is received from ATC.

Canceling an Emergency

Note how there is nothing in CFR Part 91.3 (below) that requires you to declare an emergency; or prohibits you from canceling an emergency. All the reg says is, you are the final authority as to the operation of that aircraft.

Note how the FAA may need a written report from you only if you deviate from Part 91 due to an emergency.

14 CFR 91.3

a. The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.

b. In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.

c. Each pilot in command who deviates from a rule under paragraph (b) of this section shall, upon the request of the Administrator, send a written report of that deviation to the Administrator.

A previous show that talks about the lack of consequences for declaring an emergency can be found at this link.

Your Question of the Week:

You are taxiing out to the runway for a practice session of touch-and-goes and low approaches. When you called for taxi, you said, “Rapscallian Ground, Piper 405 Echo Lima, ready to taxi from the North Ramp and we’ll remain in the pattern.” The ground controller acknowledges this and gives you taxi instructions.

Next, the tower controller says, “Piper 405 Echo Lima, Rapscallian Tower, make left traffic, Runway 7, cleared for takeoff.”

We know from our earlier discussion that you will require a separate clearance from Tower prior to each touch and go or low approach. Here’s your question. Given your initial clearance from Tower, after your first touch and go, will you need clearance from Tower to fly another circuit around the pattern?

When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you’ll find a complete answer along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

grassStripLanding — We’d Be Thrilled If You Simply Used Your Call Sign! Jan 18, 2016
I’ve spent a lot of time at this website talking to you about how to format your call sign when transmitting on the radio. While focusing on tiny details, I failed to recognize the bigger problem. Many pilots do not even use their call sign when talking to ATC. Time to slay that dragon.

There you are, whizzing around an uncontrolled airport pattern, surrounded by who-knows-what in other aircraft. If it’s your unlucky day, someone is going to try and swap paint with you on the downwind leg. What do you do and what do you say on the common traffic advisory frequency to unravel a developing furball? I mean besides, “Oh ____, this is gonna hurt!” I have the answer in this week’s show.

All that, plus Your Question of the Week.

Show Notes:

Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) 4−2−1. General

b. The single, most important thought in pilot- controller communications is understanding. It is essential, therefore, that pilots acknowledge each radio communication with ATC by using the appropriate aircraft call sign.

CFR § 91.123 Compliance with ATC clearances and instructions.
(a) When an ATC clearance has been obtained, no pilot in command may deviate from that clearance unless an amended clearance is obtained, an emergency exists, or the deviation is in response to a traffic alert and collision avoidance system resolution advisory. However, except in Class A airspace, a pilot may cancel an IFR flight plan if the operation is being conducted in VFR weather conditions. When a pilot is uncertain of an ATC clearance, that pilot shall immediately request clarification from ATC.

(b) Except in an emergency, no person may operate an aircraft contrary to an ATC instruction in an area in which air traffic control is exercised.

(c) Each pilot in command who, in an emergency, or in response to a traffic alert and collision avoidance system resolution advisory, deviates from an ATC clearance or instruction shall notify ATC of that deviation as soon as possible.

(d) Each pilot in command who (though not deviating from a rule of this subpart) is given priority by ATC in an emergency, shall submit a detailed report of that emergency within 48 hours to the manager of that ATC facility, if requested by ATC.

(e) Unless otherwise authorized by ATC, no person operating an aircraft may operate that aircraft according to any clearance or instruction that has been issued to the pilot of another aircraft for radar air traffic control purposes.

AIM 4−1−9. Traffic Advisory Practices at Airports Without Operating Control Towers

g. Self-Announce Position and/or Intentions

1. General. Self-announce is a procedure whereby pilots broadcast their position or intended flight activity or ground operation on the designated CTAF.

h. UNICOM Communications Procedures

(d) Report approximately 10 miles from the airport, reporting altitude, and state your aircraft type, aircraft identification, location relative to the airport, state whether landing or overflight, and request wind information and runway in use.

(e) Report on downwind, base, and final approach.

(f) Report leaving the runway.

Your Question of the Week

You are 20 miles from an uncontrolled airport, inbound for landing. You dial up the ASOS frequency for the airport and learn the surface winds are 340 at 10 knots. The airport has 1 north-south runway with a left-hand traffic pattern, so you are obviously going to land on Runway 35.

Next, you tune the airport’s Unicom frequency and request an airport advisory. There is no answer. You report your position at 10 miles from the airport, “Town and Country Traffic, Cessna 9130 Delta, 10 miles southwest, inbound for landing.” There’s no response to this. The radio is completely silent and you are certain you have the correct frequency tuned.

Given this situation, what do you do next? When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers.

Special Type 12 Xmas de-icing fluid — Air Traffic Control Tips, Goodies, and Presents Dec 23, 2015
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, or if you prefer, Seasonally Adjusted Greetings. I come bearing gifts of good cheer, ATC tips, techniques, and other goodies.

Special Type 12X-mas de-icing fluid. 12-day holdover time before reapplication required.

Normally, I’d tell you what’s in store for this edition of Radar Contact. Instead, slip off the ribbon, tear away the wrapping paper and look inside.

Show Notes:

Rudolf is fully equipped and rated for IFR. Donner and Blitzen are still working on their instrument ticket. All the other reindeer are VFR-only.

Santa has logged over 55,000,000,000 flight hours, but he’s only typed in one aircraft model.

The runway next to the workshop at the North Pole has a Microwave Landing System that no one knows how to use.

North Pole Airport Tower was on Congress’ original sequestration list a couple of years ago. Then the D.O.T. informed them the airport was not located in the U.S. Several Congressmen insisted it was in their district.

As far as anyone knows, Santa has never flunked a checkride.

Rumors are, the max gross weight of Santa’s sleigh is somewhere around 4-million metric tons. We do know the sleigh’s publish VNE is Mach 11.

Another rumor: Regarding flight currency, Santa said to his reindeer, “Fly what you want. Log what you need.”

A link to the Headset Buyer’s Guide. Leave your own present in the form of a headset review at the Guide. Santa will mark that as a good deed on his list.

Oh yeah, this show contains some good-to-know information about ATC too.

AIM 4−3−2. Airports with an Operating Control Tower
a. When operating at an airport where traffic control is being exercised by a control tower, pilots are required to maintain two−way radio contact with the tower while operating within the Class B, Class C, and Class D surface area unless the tower authorizes otherwise. Initial callup should be made about 15 miles from the airport. . . In the interest of reducing tower frequency congestion, pilots are reminded that it is not necessary to request permission to leave the tower frequency once outside of Class B, Class C, and Class D surface areas.

We shall speak again in the new year. Until then, have a safe and pleasant holiday. Your friend, Jeff

Screen Shot 2015-11-24 at 2.34.32 PM — Aviation Headsets < $400: What We Know So Far Nov 25, 2015
The results of the survey about aviation headsets costing less than $400 are in. The survey asked, is there an economical headset that feels good on the head, provides good audio quality, and holds up over time? The answer in this week’s show.

Questions asked in reader and listener email

“Tiring of hearing “tally ho” and “no joy” on ATC [frequencies], my wife and I are on a quest to find the real word on this slang. I love that you always reference the docs –the AIM, the FARs, maybe a chart — and say when your opinion is just your opinion, and I hope that you can help us!” David T-G

“I’ve noticed in the radio simulator, the books, and podcasts you say numeral 9 as the word “nine” instead of “niner”. Is there a reason for this? While I’ve not yet heard controllers refer to numeral 3 as “tree” and 5 as “fife”, it’s been common practice for years to say the 9 as “niner” as in “Cessna seven niner quebec, Hanscom tower, cleared for takeoff runway two niner”. I’m just curious in your experience the “niner” thing is overkill for private pilots.” Andrew W.

These questions answered, plus one question I’ll ask you: Your Question of the Week.

T-minus fife, four, tree, two, one, zero. Launch Radar Contact!

Show Notes:

Survey Responses (By Headset Model)

ASA HS-1 (Approx. $113)

Number of Responders: 4

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 1; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 1
Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “I bought this headset for the backseat of my Warrior. With the mic plugged in it adds a lot of extra static noise no matter who is talking.”

Gulf Coast Avionics ANR (Approx. $249)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 0; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 1; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “Pretty comfortable for awhile but once I’m over 2 hours it starts to get heavy and uncomfortable.” “This is my first headset which has been great for the money so it was excellent entry level set.”

Faro G2 Passive (Approx. $170)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 1; Just okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 1; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 0; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “This was the headset I used during training. It is a excellent value, and performed well. ” “These are probably the most comfortable passive, wired headsets you can get. The thick gel cushion makes all the difference. The gel flows around sunglasses temple pieces and never really feel like they are ‘clamping’.” “Very clear. You have dual volume control so you can turn the volume on the radio up and turn your own headset down in case your copilot has a different impedance on his set.” “The construction is solid and the mic boom feels like it’s going to last a long time even when you fiddle with it a lot. Faro offers an excellent warranty so you really don’t have to worry about it if something does break.”

Faro G2 ANR (Approx. $349)

Number of Responders: 4

Comfort: Great! 3; Just okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 3; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 3; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “Mine has the gel ear cups and is very comfortable, even with my glasses on. When I first got the headset, I had to slightly bend the headband to relieve the clamping pressure on mine, but not my wife’s (guess I have a big head). It has been perfect ever since. I use this headset from below zero to 100+ temps and no problem with comfort, even on 5-6 hr flights.” “I have poor hearing and hearing loss. this headset has been a big step up from the DC h10 that I used before. The ANR is very effective and does not distort the audio at all. Everyone says that the transmit audio is perfect, with no background noise. Love the aux audio input that I plug my tablet into for audible alerts.” “I’ve had these for about 2 years and 150 hours. No sign of a problem.”

Flightcom Classic ANR (Approx. $345)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 0; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 0; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: None

David Clark H10-30 (Approx. $280)

Number of Responders: 8

Comfort: Great! 2; Just okay: 6; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 2; Just Okay: 6; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 7; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “This headset felt a little heavy at first, but that abated. The comfort problem I had related to my sunglasses. Specifically, the side arms and temple piece that curves around my ears did not fit well under the ear seals.”

David Clark H10-13.4 or H10-13S (Approx. $320)

Number of Responders: 9

Comfort: Great! 5; Just okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 5; Just Okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 7; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments:”They start feeling heavy and uncomfortable after about 1.5-2 hours and progressively get more uncomfortable to a point where it’s time to take them off. (Ear/side pressure and top pad).” “The fit feels secure without being tight or clamping. The ear seals (gel ) are very comfortable and seal well. The head pad is also fine I wear them for a maximum of 2 to 3 hours at a time.” “Clarity is functionally good ,they are just not as sweet as the ANR Zulus.” [The Lightspeed Zulu.2 headset costs $800.] “My David Clark 13.4s are about 20 to 25 years old and still look like they are brand new, they still have the original ear seals and head pad.”

David Clark H10-60 (Approx. $360)

Number of Responders: 7

Comfort: Great! 2; Just okay: 5; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 3; Just Okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 6; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “I have been using this headset for a very long time. Comfort is excellent, sound too if you consider that this headset don’t have any ANR system.” “I’ve heard David Clark headsets called ‘David Clamps’ in regards to how they feel on your head after a while. As a sport pilot, my flights aren’t terribly long, and the H10-60 only got uncomfortable around the 1.5-2.0 hour mark. Until that point, though, they’re perfectly comfy.” “Just as clear as any other set I’ve used. One of my flight instructors noticed my set and remarked that while excellent on their own, I should visit the Headsets Inc. booth at Oshkosh and get their ANR conversion for them. Quite honestly, I haven’t felt the need!” “I bought those headset 11 years ago. My total time is about 5,000 hours only helicopter. Sent to DC for a repair only once and the customer service was just amazing. Great company DC indeed.” “I could use these things as wheel chocks or gust locks and they’d still work great! While DC has a reputation for being somewhat heavy/bulky/clunky, I regard that as a positive.”

No Response

I received no response in the survey to the following headset models.

Rugged Air RA-454 (Approx. $179)
Rugged Air RA-900 (Approx. $169)
SkyLite SL-900 (Approx. $170)
Sigtronics S-20 (Approx. $144)

If you would like me to include data about a sub-$400 headset model you’ve tried, but did not appear in the survey, please write to me at Jeff@ATCcommunication.com.

I was going to add Sennheiser headsets to this survey, but this announcement recently showed up at Sennheiser’s website: “Audio specialist Sennheiser is to withdraw from the pilots’ headset business from March 2016. The company will fulfill all its obligations for servicing and spare parts throughout the full guarantee period for its headsets.”

Additionally, I did not include headsets with zero or little sound reduction capability, such as the Telex Airman 750, because they are not suitable for noisy cockpits.

Headsets Costing More Than $400: What Pilots Use

Our focus in this survey was headsets costing less than $400. In a future show, we’ll look at headsets in the $400 and above range. I asked pilots to tell me which $400+ headset model they use. Here is the breakdown from 53 responses.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying a VFR cross-country using ATC’s radar service for flight following. Your call sign is Skyhawk 9130 Delta. Your current altitude is 4,500. The air traffic controller says, “Piper 571 Romeo Charlie and Skyhawk 9130 Delta, mutual traffic, twelve o’clock and one zero miles, opposite direction, a Cessna 172 at 4,500 and a PA-28 at 5,500.” You do not see the PA-28. Here are your questions.

Question 1: Should you respond as soon as the controller finishes his transmission?

Question 2: When you do respond, what would you say on the radio?

Question 3: What does the controller mean by “opposite direction”?

Question 4: If, after reporting you do not see the traffic, are you required to advise ATC if you see the PA-28 before it passes your position.

When you think you know the answers to those questions, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you’ll find complete answers along with a full explanation of how those answers were derived.

asaHS1A — Aviation Headsets < $400: What We Know So Far Nov 25, 2015
The results of the survey about aviation headsets costing less than $400 are in. The survey asked, is there an economical headset that feels good on the head, provides good audio quality, and holds up over time? The answer in this week’s show.

Questions asked in reader and listener email

“Tiring of hearing “tally ho” and “no joy” on ATC [frequencies], my wife and I are on a quest to find the real word on this slang. I love that you always reference the docs –the AIM, the FARs, maybe a chart — and say when your opinion is just your opinion, and I hope that you can help us!” David T-G

“I’ve noticed in the radio simulator, the books, and podcasts you say numeral 9 as the word “nine” instead of “niner”. Is there a reason for this? While I’ve not yet heard controllers refer to numeral 3 as “tree” and 5 as “fife”, it’s been common practice for years to say the 9 as “niner” as in “Cessna seven niner quebec, Hanscom tower, cleared for takeoff runway two niner”. I’m just curious in your experience the “niner” thing is overkill for private pilots.” Andrew W.

These questions answered, plus one question I’ll ask you: Your Question of the Week.

T-minus fife, four, tree, two, one, zero. Launch Radar Contact!

Show Notes:

Survey Responses (By Headset Model)

ASA HS-1 (Approx. $113)

Number of Responders: 4

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 1; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 1
Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “I bought this headset for the backseat of my Warrior. With the mic plugged in it adds a lot of extra static noise no matter who is talking.”

Gulf Coast Avionics ANR (Approx. $249)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 0; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 1; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “Pretty comfortable for awhile but once I’m over 2 hours it starts to get heavy and uncomfortable.” “This is my first headset which has been great for the money so it was excellent entry level set.”

Faro G2 Passive (Approx. $170)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 1; Just okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 1; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 0; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “This was the headset I used during training. It is a excellent value, and performed well. ” “These are probably the most comfortable passive, wired headsets you can get. The thick gel cushion makes all the difference. The gel flows around sunglasses temple pieces and never really feel like they are ‘clamping’.” “Very clear. You have dual volume control so you can turn the volume on the radio up and turn your own headset down in case your copilot has a different impedance on his set.” “The construction is solid and the mic boom feels like it’s going to last a long time even when you fiddle with it a lot. Faro offers an excellent warranty so you really don’t have to worry about it if something does break.”

Faro G2 ANR (Approx. $349)

Number of Responders: 4

Comfort: Great! 3; Just okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 3; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 3; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “Mine has the gel ear cups and is very comfortable, even with my glasses on. When I first got the headset, I had to slightly bend the headband to relieve the clamping pressure on mine, but not my wife’s (guess I have a big head). It has been perfect ever since. I use this headset from below zero to 100+ temps and no problem with comfort, even on 5-6 hr flights.” “I have poor hearing and hearing loss. this headset has been a big step up from the DC h10 that I used before. The ANR is very effective and does not distort the audio at all. Everyone says that the transmit audio is perfect, with no background noise. Love the aux audio input that I plug my tablet into for audible alerts.” “I’ve had these for about 2 years and 150 hours. No sign of a problem.”

Flightcom Classic ANR (Approx. $345)

Number of Responders: 2

Comfort: Great! 0; Just okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 0; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 2; Just Okay: 0; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: None

David Clark H10-30 (Approx. $280)

Number of Responders: 8

Comfort: Great! 2; Just okay: 6; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 2; Just Okay: 6; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 7; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “This headset felt a little heavy at first, but that abated. The comfort problem I had related to my sunglasses. Specifically, the side arms and temple piece that curves around my ears did not fit well under the ear seals.”

David Clark H10-13.4 or H10-13S (Approx. $320)

Number of Responders: 9

Comfort: Great! 5; Just okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 5; Just Okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 7; Just Okay: 2; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments:”They start feeling heavy and uncomfortable after about 1.5-2 hours and progressively get more uncomfortable to a point where it’s time to take them off. (Ear/side pressure and top pad).” “The fit feels secure without being tight or clamping. The ear seals (gel ) are very comfortable and seal well. The head pad is also fine I wear them for a maximum of 2 to 3 hours at a time.” “Clarity is functionally good ,they are just not as sweet as the ANR Zulus.” [The Lightspeed Zulu.2 headset costs $800.] “My David Clark 13.4s are about 20 to 25 years old and still look like they are brand new, they still have the original ear seals and head pad.”

David Clark H10-60 (Approx. $360)

Number of Responders: 7

Comfort: Great! 2; Just okay: 5; Unacceptable: 0
Clarity: Great! 3; Just Okay: 4; Unacceptable: 0
Durability: Great! 6; Just Okay: 1; Unacceptable: 0

Notable Comments: “I have been using this headset for a very long time. Comfort is excellent, sound too if you consider that this headset don’t have any ANR system.” “I’ve heard David Clark headsets called ‘David Clamps’ in regards to how they feel on your head after a while. As a sport pilot, my flights aren’t terribly long, and the H10-60 only got uncomfortable around the 1.5-2.0 hour mark. Until that point, though, they’re perfectly comfy.” “Just as clear as any other set I’ve used. One of my flight instructors noticed my set and remarked that while excellent on their own, I should visit the Headsets Inc. booth at Oshkosh and get their ANR conversion for them. Quite honestly, I haven’t felt the need!” “I bought those headset 11 years ago. My total time is about 5,000 hours only helicopter. Sent to DC for a repair only once and the customer service was just amazing. Great company DC indeed.” “I could use these things as wheel chocks or gust locks and they’d still work great! While DC has a reputation for being somewhat heavy/bulky/clunky, I regard that as a positive.”

No Response

I received no response in the survey to the following headset models.

Rugged Air RA-454 (Approx. $179)
Rugged Air RA-900 (Approx. $169)
SkyLite SL-900 (Approx. $170)
Sigtronics S-20 (Approx. $144)

If you would like me to include data about a sub-$400 headset model you’ve tried, but did not appear in the survey, please write to me at Jeff@ATCcommunication.com.

I was going to add Sennheiser headsets to this survey, but this announcement recently showed up at Sennheiser’s website: “Audio specialist Sennheiser is to withdraw from the pilots’ headset business from March 2016. The company will fulfill all its obligations for servicing and spare parts throughout the full guarantee period for its headsets.”

Additionally, I did not include headsets with zero or little sound reduction capability, such as the Telex Airman 750, because they are not suitable for noisy cockpits.

Headsets Costing More Than $400: What Pilots Use

Our focus in this survey was headsets costing less than $400. In a future show, we’ll look at headsets in the $400 and above range. I asked pilots to tell me which $400+ headset model they use. Here is the breakdown from 53 responses.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying a VFR cross-country using ATC’s radar service for flight following. Your call sign is Skyhawk 9130 Delta. Your current altitude is 4,500. The air traffic controller says, “Piper 571 Romeo Charlie and Skyhawk 9130 Delta, mutual traffic, twelve o’clock and one zero miles, opposite direction, a Cessna 172 at 4,500 and a PA-28 at 5,500.” You do not see the PA-28. Here are your questions.

Question 1: Should you respond as soon as the controller finishes his transmission?

Question 2: When you do respond, what would you say on the radio?

Question 3: What does the controller mean by “opposite direction”?

Question 4: If, after reporting you do not see the traffic, are you required to advise ATC if you see the PA-28 before it passes your position.

When you think you know the answers to those questions, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you’ll find complete answers along with a full explanation of how those answers were derived.

Now that's a wing flash. — When to Make Position Reports in an Uncontrolled Airport Traffic Pattern Nov 10, 2015
Radar Contact is back! In the first show after a months-long break, we’ll talk about when to make position reports in an uncontrolled pattern. You may think you already know the answer, but if you look at the confusing mess in the Aeronautical Information Manual, your confidence may be shaken. No matter. I’ll give you the definitive when, how, and why of position reports.
Now that’s a wing flash.

Are you in the market for an aviation headset? Do you have a headset you love, or one you hate with a passion? In this show, we are going to talk about headsets, and specifically headsets that cost less than $300. Is it possible to find a quality headset at this price? We’ll find out.

My latest book, Radio Mastery for IFR Pilots is now available at Amazon.com. I’ll tell you what you can expect to find in the book and help you decide if it’s right for you.

All this plus your Question of the Week.

As Bluto said in ‘Animal House’, “Hey! What’s all this laying around stuff?” It’s time for a brand new edition of Radar Contact! “Let’s do it!”

Show Notes:

If you look in Table 4-1-1 of the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) it says to “report entering downwind, base, and final approach” in an uncontrolled airport traffic pattern.

The text in AIM 4-1-9 h. Traffic Advisory Practices at Airports Without Operating Control Towers says “Report on downwind, base, and final approach.”

Even though the table says to “report entering” and the text says to report “on”, I strongly recommend following the guidance in the table, not the text.

When you roll into a turn as you enter a leg of the traffic pattern to the next leg, the roll into a bank creates “wing flash”.

Wing flash happens when the tops of your wings reflect sunlight towards an observer. Wing flash draws attention to your aircraft.

By transmitting your position report as you flash your wings in a turn, you give other pilots in the traffic pattern the best chance of spotting your aircraft and identifying your position.

Example position reports:
“Frederick Traffic, Cessna 801TF, entering downwind for Runway One Niner, touch-and-go, Frederick.”

“Frederick Traffic, Cessna 801TF, entering base for Runway One Niner, touch-and-go, Frederick.”

“Frederick Traffic, Cessna 801TF, entering final for Runway One Niner, touch-and-go, Frederick.”

If you are entering the traffic pattern at the midfield downwind entry point I recommend, as a technique, saying,
“Frederick Traffic, Cessna 801TF, entering a midfield downwind for Runway One Niner, touch-and-go, Frederick.”

What You’re Missing with an ADS-B In-Only Display

If you are using ADS-B In but do not have ADS-B Out installed in your aircraft, you are not getting the full display of all traffic in your area.

ADS-B Out transmits a separate data package that grants access to traffic data rebroadcast by ground-based ADS-B relay stations. Systems lacking ADS-B Out will not have access to traffic relayed from these stations.

An ADS-B In-only unit is limited to displaying traffic flying within 15 nautical miles and plus or minus 3,500 vertical feet of your aircraft. This envelope of range is called the “puck”.

You may be able to “borrow” traffic information from another aircraft flying within your puck if that aircraft has the full ADS-B In and Out suite.

Of course, your ADS-B unit will not display traffic that is not equipped with ADS-B Out.

All this means you cannot rely on your ADS-B In-only unit to display all of the traffic in your area. Keep your eyes outside and clear for traffic.

All About Aviation Headsets

Is it possible to find a quality headset for less than $300 that provides comfort, good audio quality, and durability? I’ll need your help to answer that question.

If you use a headset that cost you less than $300, please tell me about it.

Use the list of questions below to guide you as you tell me about your headset. Use the comment section below these show notes to respond.

Get My Latest Book

My latest book, Radio Mastery for IFR Pilots is now available at Amazon.com. *

The book’s content was vetted by pilots, certified flight instructors, and air traffic controllers.

To make it compelling and easy to understand, the content is presented in real-world scenarios. It’s a you-are-there approach to learning.

* I receive a small commission when you use this link to order from Amazon.com.

Your Question of the Week:

You are number 1, holding short of Runway 6, the active runway, at Petersburg Airport. Petersburg is an uncontrolled airport. You plan to depart VFR and your initial heading will be approximately 330 degrees. Here is your question: What would your next self-announce radio transmission be on UNICOM? Note: I’m looking for the specific words you would say, and when would you make that transmission.

When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication/answers. There you will find a complete answer as well as a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

Tell Me About Your Less-Than-$300 Headset

Use the comment section below to answer these questions. (Click the title of this article–top of page–to reveal the comment section.):

–What is the brand and model of your headset?

–What did your headset cost you?

–Is your headset comfortable?
(If your headset is not comfortable, where does it hurt and how long after you put it on does it start hurting?)

–Rate the audio quality of your headset?

–Has your headset held up well, or did it seem to deteriorate/break sooner than you expected?

–Does your headset have any special features–music hookup, separate audio control, etc.–that you like?

Thank you for answering these questions in the comment section below. If I get enough data from this survey, I’ll make it a permanent feature of the website.

nextGen — NextGen Air Traffic Control and You Jun 24, 2015

In this month’s edition of the Radar Contact Show we are going to look at how the FAA’s NextGen version of air traffic control will affect you.

We’ll also look at what it means to be off your assigned altitude and what to do if ATC calls you out for being off altitude.

I’ll tell you the real life story of how two airliners departing from Midway Airport would have collided had ATC not intervened. The cause was not that unusual. In fact, you may be vulnerable to it the next time you fly.

Advise when ready for departure by clicking the play button below.

Show Notes:

Question. ATC tells you to maintain 3,000 but you let your altitude drift upward. At what reading on your altimeter would ATC question you for being off your assigned altitude?

Your altitude is reported to ATC by the Mode C feature of your transponder.

Mode C reporting is calibrated to 29.92 regardless of what you have dialed into your altimeter. ATC adjusts your Mode C information to the barometric setting for the area in which you are flying.

ATC’s radar system rounds the altitude displayed for your flight to the nearest 100-foot increment.

A controller will consider you off altitude when the altitude displayed on his screen is plus or minus 300 feet off your assigned altitude. This occurs when your Mode C reports 250 feet, or greater, above or below your assigned altitude.

Initially, ATC will give you the benefit of the doubt if an off-altitude alert occurs. Your controller will remind you of your assigned altitude, the current altimeter setting, and the altitude he sees on his radar display for your flight.

There should be no consequences for being off an assigned altitude if the error causes no traffic conflict.

As a CYA maneuver, I strongly recommend filing a report with NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) if ATC announced you were off your assigned altitude. The link to the ASRS is http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/.

File your ASRS report within 10 days of the incident to receive immunity from civil penalties by the FAA. There are specific conditions that must be met to receive immunity. The ASRS website has the details on the FAA’s immunity policy.

The FAA’s NextGen version of air traffic control is in development. You will begin to see the effect on your flying in less than 5 years.

Right now, it looks like the greatest impact to general aviation will be ATC’s transition to aircraft tracking via ADS-B.

ADS-B will not only allow ATC to track your aircraft, using ADS-B will also allow you to track aircraft flying nearby.

With a full complement of ADS-B Out and ADS-B In on board, you will be able to detect aircraft in your area that may not be in sight.

By Jan 1, 2020, all general aviation aircraft that participate in air traffic control will need to have at least ADS-B Out installed.

Even if you are not in contact with ATC, you will still need to have ADS-B installed by 2020 if you fly in or near the following airspace:

Class A and B. (Positive control is required when operating inside these airspace classes.)

Class C.

Class E airspace areas at or above 10,000 ft MSL over the 48 states and District of Columbia, excluding airspace at and below 2,500 ft AGL.

Airspace within 30 nautical miles (nm) at certain busy airports from the surface up to 10,000 feet MSL; airports listed in appendix D to part 91.

Above the ceiling and within the lateral boundaries of a Class B or Class C airspace area up to 10,000 feet MSL.

Class E airspace over the Gulf of Mexico at and above 3,000 feet MSL within 12 nm of the coastline of the United States.

The full details of what is coming under the FAA’s NextGen program are available at www.faa.gov/nextgen. (By the way, the FAA owns one of the few websites where you still need to add www. to the address! It figures.)

A few days before the airing of this show, two airliners began takeoff rolls on intersecting runways at Chicago’s Midway Airport. One of the two airliners was not actually cleared for takeoff.

ATC intervened to prevent the airliners from colliding at the intersection.

The two airliners were using similar sounding call signs. It’s unclear at this point if ATC took any steps to alert the flight crews of both aircraft that they had similar sounding call signs.

This incident serves as a cautionary tale. You want to do everything possible to distinguish your call sign from another call sign that sounds similar to yours. Towards this goal, be sure to always include your aircraft’s make or model when stating your call sign. Never use your abbreviated call sign unless ATC uses it first.

Here’s a quote from air traffic controller Heather McNevin on the use of call signs. “Pilot tip – when talking to ATC, remember to use your callsign EVERY time. My perspective is I’m talking to 20 people at any given time.” (From her Twitter feed.)

spiral — Caution Wake Turbulence for the Departing Boeing 757 May 02, 2015

“Cessna 9130D, caution wake turbulence for the departing Boeing 757, Runway 25, cleared for takeoff.” Gulp!

Never fear, ATC is here to protect you against the hazards of wake turbulence. No kidding. ATC uses very specific rules to help you remain clear of wake turbulence. We’ll look at those rules and how to work within them in today’s show. (Notice how I never mention the Boeing 777 in today’s show. I have no idea why I left it out.)

Next, a short story about a pilot called Mr. Stupid. He had weird ideas about how to cope with slower moving aircraft in a controlled airport pattern.

How do you respond to an ATC instruction to change frequencies? The AIM has specific guidance. Let’s see if you follow that guidance when you fly.

My lastest book, Radio Mastery for IFR Pilots, is in the hands of a large editing task force comprised of pilots and air traffic controllers. I’ll tell you why in this week’s show.

All this, plus your Question of the Week.

Correction (5-4-15): I just had a tower controller point something out. There is an error in the segment on wake turbulence separation in this show. When a large aircraft takes off from an intersection ahead of a small aircraft, the small aircraft must delay 3 minutes for wake turbulence. This rule for separation only applies if the 2 aircraft are more than 500 feet apart as they sit on the runway, prior to takeoff. I said in the podcast this rule applies anytime the larger aircraft weighs more than 12,500 pounds.

Actually, the AIM defines a small aircraft, for this single rule for separation, as weighing 12,500 pounds or less. It does not follow that a large aircraft is one that weighs more than 12,500 pounds as I incorrectly said in the show. The ATC Manual, J.O. 7110.65, defines a large aircraft as one that weighs more than 41,000 pounds and a small aircraft is one that weighs 41,000 pounds or less. The inconsistency between the AIM and the ATC Manual on this matter tripped me up. I’ll correct the information in the audio show when I return from vacation. (Would you believe I’m writing this from Hawaii? Yes, rather than enjoy paradise, I’m busy sweating the details of separation for wake turbulence. I gotta chill out!)

Note: Due to time constraints at on the day Radar Contact was released, there are no show notes for this show.

Your Question of the Week:

The FAA’s NextGen program is on it’s way and it will eventually affect all pilots flying general aviation aircraft. A key feature of NextGen is the replacement of conventional air traffic control radar with equipment that monitors aircraft position, altitude and airspeed using a transmit and receive system called ADS-B. When fully implemented, almost all aircraft operating in the following airspace will be required to have ADS-B installed and operating. ADS-B Out will be required in the following airspace:

Class A, B, and C

Class E airspace areas at or above 10,000 ft MSL over the 48 states and DC, excluding airspace at and below 2,500 ft AGL

Airspace within 30 nautical miles (nm) at certain busy airports from the surface up to 10,000 feet MSL; airports listed in appendix D to part 91.

Above the ceiling and within the lateral boundaries of a Class B or Class C airspace area up to 10,000 feet MSL

Class E airspace over the Gulf of Mexico at and above 3,000 feet MSL within 12 nm of the coastline of the United States.

Here are your questions: By what date must almost all aircraft, operating in the airspace described above, have ADS-B Out installed and operational. What aircraft will be exempt from the requirement to have ADS-B Out.

When you think you know the answer to those questions, go http://ATCcommunication.com/answers for complete answers as well as a full explanation of how those answers were derived.

fog — Shaky Emergencies and Cranky Air Traffic Controllers Mar 12, 2015

Hey Air Traffic Control, I think I might have a big problem but I’m not declaring an emergency. Standby for further information. In today’s show we are going to discuss aircraft problems that fall into gray areas. We’ll discuss how to break through the fog of indecision and determine whether you need to declare an emergency.

A radar vector direct to a navigation fix, offered by ATC, is a good deal. I’ll explain why. More importantly, we’ll examine when and how to ask your controller for a vector direct.

Have you ever had an air traffic controller bark at you like an angry, um, air traffic controller? You may not be the cause of the outburst but that doesn’t make you feel any better. We’ll consider what to do when a cranky air traffic controller unloads on you.

All this, plus your Question of the Week. Crank ‘er up, Cranky.

Show Notes:

Some aircraft problems create a clear and present danger. The need to declare an emergency with ATC when your aircraft is on fire, for example, is obvious.

Some aircraft problems while not immediately life threatening, have the potential to end catastrophically.

If you catch yourself trying to rationalize your way out of declaring an emergency, that should be a big red warning flag.

Just because you are able to compensate for an aircraft problem at cruise altitude, that does not guarantee you will be able to compensate when you get near the ground for landing.

Think a problem through to it’s logical conclusion. If there is potential for events to go out of control, declare an emergency.

Even if later analysis shows you overreacted to a problem, declaring an emergency is alway justified to maintain a margin of safety.

A radar vector direct to a navigation fix is a good deal. It creates a shortcut in your route of flight, saving time and fuel.

ATC will offer a vector direct if able.

Even if ATC does not offer a vector direct, you may request one.

Example. “Washington Center, Cessna 9130D, request a vector direct Morgantown.”

Be sure to say, “Request a vector direct,” not just “Request direct.”

If you only request direct to a fix, ATC will assume you can navigate to the specified fix using your own navigation equipment.

ATC will often ask you for your current heading before assigning a heading direct to a fix. This tells ATC how much wind-correction you are using to maintain a course.

ATC will apply this wind-correction when giving you a new heading direct to the requested navigation fix.

Air traffic controllers have personal problems and quirks of personality, just like any human being.

Sometimes a controller has a bad day. The added stress may make the controller a little short-tempered.

If a controller snaps at you, relax and try to ignore his tone.

Comply with his clearance if it is safe and legal. Don’t argue with the controller simply because you didn’t like the way he said it.

If you wish to register a complaint about a controller’s behavior, contact his supervisor by phone after landing.

Maintaining your bearing on the radio is part of being a safe and competent pilot.

A shout out to all those pilots and air traffic controller’s who have helped me out at Twitter.

If you want to hear some great conversation about air traffic control and flying in general, check out my Twitter feed at Twitter.com/atc_jeff

Your Question of the Week:

Everyone knows that you are never required to file a flight plan or get in contact with ATC when flying VFR outside of controlled airspace. Actually there is an exception. Here’s your question: Name the one time you would be required to file a VFR flight plan and remain in contact with ATC, even outside of controlled airspace. When you think you know that answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you’ll find a complete answer to this week’s question, along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

Or, you could use an airplane. — Aircraft Position Reports Feb 03, 2015
Or, you could use an airplane.

Reporting your position on the radio, while in an uncontrolled airport pattern, is a little bit like playing a game of Marco Polo. Other pilots in the pattern rely on your timely and accurate reports to help maintain awareness of your position.

Miss a required report or state your position incorrectly and you’ve instantly become part of a game of blind tag. In this week’s show we’ll talk about how to recover from a missed or screwed up position report on the aircraft radio.

Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi. I just flew with a pilot who was a living example of what not to do on the radio. My head is still hurting from the experience. We’ll discuss what he did, what I did, and what it all means for you when you pick up the microphone to speak.

Bonus! I’ve thrown a quicky video into this week’s show that demystifies the problem of “To” plus “Two.” No, that isn’t a typo, and it isn’t a problem either. Watch the video to see what I mean.

As always, we’ll wrap up with your Question of the Week. Ready to play? Tag, you’re it!

Show Notes:

You may be familiar with the swimming pool game of Marco Polo. One child closes her eyes and attempts to find another kid in the pool by sound alone.

Flying in an uncontrolled airport pattern is similar to a game of Marco Polo. When other pilots give position reports on the radio it helps us get our eyes on their aircraft.

Screw up a position report and you misdirect the eyes of other pilots in the pattern.

There are solutions if you miss or misstate your position: 1. Return to the last required reporting point and make an accurate position report, or 2. Continue as planned but clear like crazy. Yield to other aircraft if necessary. Report your position accurately at the next opportunity.

For more information on position reporting and other radio procedures, check out my books, Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots, and Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots Workbook.

I recently flew with another pilot who made nearly every mistake one can make on the radio. The mechanics of his flying matched his radio work. As the radios go, so goes the flight.

ATC can usually interpret a non-standard phrase made by a pilot, but there have been instances of misunderstanding.

Check out NASA’s Aviation Safety and Reporting System at http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/. Do a text search using the term: “phraseology”. Note the more than 1000 incidents caused by non-standard phraseology used on the radio.

Some pilots are still giving me grief for adhering to the Aeronautical Information Manual’s phrasing, “Climbing to,” or, “Descending to.”

I’ve prepared a 3-minute video describing why it’s okay to say “Climbing to 2,000.”

Your Question of the Week

You are flying in an uncontrolled airport traffic pattern.

You have just turned onto the downwind leg when you hear another pilot transmit on the UNICOM frequency, “Inopportune Traffic, Phantom 396 Oscar Papa, downwind, Runway 15, Inopportune.” You scan the downwind entry area and see nothing. You make a short clearing turn to the right and check your 6 o’clock position for an aircraft directly behind you. There is nothing there either. Then you notice an airplane rolling wings level onto the base leg for Runway 15. Here’s your question.

Given your awareness of the current situation, it is safe to continue flying on the downwind leg, or, should you break out of the traffic pattern and re-enter at the downwind entry point? When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to this week’s question along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

weddingcake — How to Work with ATC Around Class B and Other Closed Airspace Dec 14, 2014
If you are a pilot who hates to work with ATC because you feel doing so would restrict your flying freedom, I’ve got surprising news for you. Working with ATC can actually lighten your load and help you enjoy your flight. This is especially true when you have to fly around Class B and other airspace closed to VFR aircraft.

In today’s show, we are going to talk about how to work with ATC in and around Class B. That’s right, you heard me correctly, I said we are going to cover flying VFR inside of Class B.

The structure of Class B resembles an upside-down wedding cake (less flowers).

While we are talking about achieving the seemingly impossible, I’m going to tell you how to use ATC to thread the needle between prohibited areas, restricted areas, MOA’s, warning areas, TFR’s, and alert areas. Think we can pull all of that off, plus your Question of the Week, in only 25 minutes? Let’s find out. Spin Engine #1 and let’s get started.

Pre-show:Your story can help other pilots. If you have ever declared an emergency, or had a situation in which you wished you had declared an emergency, I’d love to hear from you. Your experience may help save another pilot’s life. If we tell your story, I will protect your identity and hold confidential any information you would prefer to remain non-public. Write to me at Jeff@ATCcommunication.com and tell me about your emergency or the time you had an urgent condition and wished you had declared an emergency.

Show Notes:

Flying VFR is not as free as it seems when you have to navigate near Class B airspace.

Trying to fly underneath or around Class B puts you in a very compressed area with dozens of other aircraft.

ATC can help you remain clear of the Class B and clear of other aircraft as you pass by or under Class B.

When approaching Class B, your sectional chart or terminal area chart will tell you who to contact, when to contact, and the frequency to use.

Initial contact with ATC should be a brief introduction: Who you are calling; your call sign; your position; and “VFR”. Note: Although I don’t mention this in the show, you may say, “request VFR flight following” in your initial radio call. I prefer simply saying, “VFR,” but “request VFR flight following” is not excessive for initial radio contact.

Also not mentioned in the show: You may report your position by telling ATC you are over a charted landmark, if applicable. Charted landmarks are identified by a magenta flag and a label on sectional and terminal area charts.

Do not brain dump by trying to tell the controller everything you know in your first radio contact.

ATC will assign a transponder code and remind you to remain clear of the Class B airspace.

Once ATC has your aircraft in radar contact, the controller will give you the local altimeter setting. He will ask you to verify your altitude and give him your request.

After you verify your altitude and give ATC your request, ATC will remind you to remain VFR and advise the controller if you change altitude.

ATC will then help you steer clear of the boundaries of the Class B and provide traffic advisories until you reach your destination or exit his airspace.

Although ATC will help you navigate around Class B, you are ultimately responsible for remaining clear of Class B airspace.

The FAA has placed VFR Transition Routes inside of some Class B structures.

VFR Transition Routes are designed to let VFR aircraft navigate through Class B airspace without interfering with the flow of fast-moving traffic inside the Class B.

VFR Transition Routes are a great deal for you when flying VFR because they allow you to take a shortcut through Class B. This saves a lot of time and air miles that would be required to detour all the way around Class B.

I strongly recommend getting in touch with ATC for flight following anytime your route will take you near prohibited or restricted areas.

ATC can not only help you navigate around airspace closed to VFR aircraft, ATC can also let you know if a part-time restricted area, MOA, or warning area is currently inactive.

ATC is a great resource when your route of flight passes near a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR).

TFR’s are not depicted on any navigation chart. If you miss written notification of a TFR becoming active on your route of flight, ATC can give you an alert and steer you around the TFR.

Alert areas are not closed to VFR aircraft, but they present a hazard in a the form of very dense air traffic. ATC can provide timely traffic advisories and avoidance vectors when you fly inside of an alert area.

I pay close attention to the comments pilots make at my website. I also read the reviews of my books at Amazon.com. Your comments and reviews help me update and adjust the content of my books and website.
If you have questions or comments about anything you read in my books or at ATCcommunication.com, please write to me at Jeff@ATCcommunication.com. I love hearing from you.

Your Question of the Week:

You are VFR, approaching Class Bravo airspace over Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. As you approach the southern entry point of the VFR Transition Route that passes through the Class B structure, you tune in Phoenix Approach’s radio frequency. The radio frequency is very busy and you cannot find a break in the radio traffic to announce your intentions to Phoenix Approach.

Your fuel on board is getting low. You know you need to press on northbound through the VFR Transition Route to have any chance of making it to your destination north of Phoenix with a comfortable margin of fuel remaining in the tank.

Here’s your question. Since the VFR Transition Route that passes through the Phoenix Class B Airspace is reserved specifically for VFR aircraft, and the parameters for flying that corridor are published on your terminal area chart, is it permissible to enter the route immediately and then advise Phoenix Approach of your intentions after you have entered the corridor?

When you think you know that answer to that question, go to http://ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

Tampa App Box — How to Work with ATC Around Class B and Other Closed Airspace Dec 14, 2014
If you are a pilot who hates to work with ATC because you feel doing so would restrict your flying freedom, I’ve got surprising news for you. Working with ATC can actually lighten your load and help you enjoy your flight. This is especially true when you have to fly around Class B and other airspace closed to VFR aircraft.

In today’s show, we are going to talk about how to work with ATC in and around Class B. That’s right, you heard me correctly, I said we are going to cover flying VFR inside of Class B.

The structure of Class B resembles an upside-down wedding cake (less flowers).

While we are talking about achieving the seemingly impossible, I’m going to tell you how to use ATC to thread the needle between prohibited areas, restricted areas, MOA’s, warning areas, TFR’s, and alert areas. Think we can pull all of that off, plus your Question of the Week, in only 25 minutes? Let’s find out. Spin Engine #1 and let’s get started.

Pre-show:Your story can help other pilots. If you have ever declared an emergency, or had a situation in which you wished you had declared an emergency, I’d love to hear from you. Your experience may help save another pilot’s life. If we tell your story, I will protect your identity and hold confidential any information you would prefer to remain non-public. Write to me at Jeff@ATCcommunication.com and tell me about your emergency or the time you had an urgent condition and wished you had declared an emergency.

Show Notes:

Flying VFR is not as free as it seems when you have to navigate near Class B airspace.

Trying to fly underneath or around Class B puts you in a very compressed area with dozens of other aircraft.

ATC can help you remain clear of the Class B and clear of other aircraft as you pass by or under Class B.

When approaching Class B, your sectional chart or terminal area chart will tell you who to contact, when to contact, and the frequency to use.

Initial contact with ATC should be a brief introduction: Who you are calling; your call sign; your position; and “VFR”. Note: Although I don’t mention this in the show, you may say, “request VFR flight following” in your initial radio call. I prefer simply saying, “VFR,” but “request VFR flight following” is not excessive for initial radio contact.

Also not mentioned in the show: You may report your position by telling ATC you are over a charted landmark, if applicable. Charted landmarks are identified by a magenta flag and a label on sectional and terminal area charts.

Do not brain dump by trying to tell the controller everything you know in your first radio contact.

ATC will assign a transponder code and remind you to remain clear of the Class B airspace.

Once ATC has your aircraft in radar contact, the controller will give you the local altimeter setting. He will ask you to verify your altitude and give him your request.

After you verify your altitude and give ATC your request, ATC will remind you to remain VFR and advise the controller if you change altitude.

ATC will then help you steer clear of the boundaries of the Class B and provide traffic advisories until you reach your destination or exit his airspace.

Although ATC will help you navigate around Class B, you are ultimately responsible for remaining clear of Class B airspace.

The FAA has placed VFR Transition Routes inside of some Class B structures.

VFR Transition Routes are designed to let VFR aircraft navigate through Class B airspace without interfering with the flow of fast-moving traffic inside the Class B.

VFR Transition Routes are a great deal for you when flying VFR because they allow you to take a shortcut through Class B. This saves a lot of time and air miles that would be required to detour all the way around Class B.

I strongly recommend getting in touch with ATC for flight following anytime your route will take you near prohibited or restricted areas.

ATC can not only help you navigate around airspace closed to VFR aircraft, ATC can also let you know if a part-time restricted area, MOA, or warning area is currently inactive.

ATC is a great resource when your route of flight passes near a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR).

TFR’s are not depicted on any navigation chart. If you miss written notification of a TFR becoming active on your route of flight, ATC can give you an alert and steer you around the TFR.

Alert areas are not closed to VFR aircraft, but they present a hazard in a the form of very dense air traffic. ATC can provide timely traffic advisories and avoidance vectors when you fly inside of an alert area.

I pay close attention to the comments pilots make at my website. I also read the reviews of my books at Amazon.com. Your comments and reviews help me update and adjust the content of my books and website.
If you have questions or comments about anything you read in my books or at ATCcommunication.com, please write to me at Jeff@ATCcommunication.com. I love hearing from you.

Your Question of the Week:

You are VFR, approaching Class Bravo airspace over Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport. As you approach the southern entry point of the VFR Transition Route that passes through the Class B structure, you tune in Phoenix Approach’s radio frequency. The radio frequency is very busy and you cannot find a break in the radio traffic to announce your intentions to Phoenix Approach.

Your fuel on board is getting low. You know you need to press on northbound through the VFR Transition Route to have any chance of making it to your destination north of Phoenix with a comfortable margin of fuel remaining in the tank.

Here’s your question. Since the VFR Transition Route that passes through the Phoenix Class B Airspace is reserved specifically for VFR aircraft, and the parameters for flying that corridor are published on your terminal area chart, is it permissible to enter the route immediately and then advise Phoenix Approach of your intentions after you have entered the corridor?

When you think you know that answer to that question, go to http://ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

surveyGraph — Consequences of Declaring an Emergency with ATC Nov 27, 2014

My airplane has a problem. A big problem. I think I can handle it. No, I’m sure I can handle it. Maybe I can handle it. Can I handle it? I’m not sure.I had better declare an emergency with ATC and get some help.

But what if this turns out to be nothing? What if I declare an emergency and it isn’t really an emergency? What will the FAA say? I’m sure they will want to investigate and that will not turn out well. I’ll just handle this on my own and see what happens.

In today’s Radar contact show, we are going to talk about the consequences of declaring an emergency with ATC. You are going hear from the FAA’s Safety Team and from air traffic controllers on this topic. We are going to find out if declaring an emergency will put your pilot’s license in jeopardy.

Have you ever been confused by taxi instructions or forgotten your taxi instructions? I have, and so have thousands of other pilots. In this show, we’ll talk about some things you can do right now to make copying taxi instructions a whole lot easier. Ready to taxi? Let’s go!

Special Note from Me to You

If you have ever had to declare an emergency with ATC, I would love to hear from you. Or, if you have ever not declared an emergency, and wish you had, I would love to hear from you. Either way, please write to me at jeff@ATCcommunication. There may be an opportunity to teach other pilots a bit more about emergencies based on your experience. I solemnly promise I will keep any information confidential, including your identity, you tell me to keep confidential. Send me an email any time. I’m right here.

Show Notes:

In our last Radar Contact Show I asked you to take a 2-question survey about whether or not you would hesitate to declare an emergency when the situation required it.

To date 291 people have taken that survey. 21.43% of those who answered said they would hesitate to declare an emergency.

When asked why in the survey, respondents who said they would hesitate answered one of 2 ways. 1) They would hesitate to declare an emergency if they were not confident they had an actual emergency situation. 2) Fear of an FAA investigation following the emergency declaration.

I submitted the data from the survey to the head of the FAA’s Safety Team.

The response from the FAA was this: The FAA is obligated to investigate violations of the FAR’s no matter how it learns of violations. If a pilot does something intentionally criminal or intentionally violates the FAR’s, whether or not that action results in an emergency, the FAA is going to take a look at it.

However, the FAA does not investigate pilots who declare an emergency simply because an emergency was declared. The notion that you will draw unwanted focus on your flying skills or training simply because you declare an emergency is utter nonsense.

If your emergency develops into an aircraft accident in which your aircraft is damaged or destroyed or people are injured, the FAA will want to take a look at that. They are not there to hammer you. They want to examine the accident itself to see if something can be done to prevent a similar problem in the future.

The AIM Chapter 6-1-2 says most pilot have no problem declaring an emergency when the situation is obviously dangerous, as is the case for fire, aircraft damage, etc. Some pilots will hesitate to declare an emergency if the situation doesn’t seem immediately threatening.

If you are ever concerned for the safety of your flight, that is an urgent condition. The AIM says you should not hesitate to ask for help immediately.

Even if what you thought was an emergency turns out to not be an emergency, you are perfectly legal and welcome to cancel your emergency status with ATC. There is no negative consequence for canceling an emergency once the situation that prompted an emergency no longer exists.

Recall this whole discussion began with a pilot who’s airplane, I believe, lost cabin pressurization at 31,000. He did not declare an emergency but requested to descend to a lower altitude.

ATC was not able to let the aircraft to descend to as low an altitude as the pilot needed. The pilot subsequently lost consciousness, allegedly from hypoxia, and died.

It is my opinion, if the pilot had immediately declared an emergency when he first learned of his problem, ATC would have made his flight a top priority and cleared hm to descend to as low an altitude as he needed. He might have lived to fly another day.

Did you know an air traffic controller can declare an emergency for your flight, even if you don’t? It’s true. An air traffic controller can put your flight under emergency status if he feels it is necessary to give your aircraft priority handling.

Air traffic controllers are ready and willing to help you if you ever find yourself in trouble while flying.

Controllers truly value their role as lifeguards for pilots and passengers. They even give out an annual award to the air traffic controller who performs the best save of a flight in trouble.

If you are ever concerned for the safety of your flight, don’t sit there and second-guess the situation. Declare an emergency immediately and get all of the help you need to safely resolve your situation. There are no negative consequences for declaring an emergency. The FAA will not investigate simply because you declared an emergency.

If you are still worried about declaring an emergency when needed, know there are options to help defend your actions.

If you file an report detailing your actions via NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) within 10 days of the incident, the report will provide immunity against potential enforcement action by the FAA. There other conditions in the FAA’s immunity policy which you may read about at the ASRS website.

Here is a link to the ASRS website. You may find the FAA’s enforcement policy regarding ASRS reports under the menu tab “Program Information” and the menu item titled “Immunity Policy.”

Also realize, though I don’t think you will ever need one for simply declaring an emergency, there are lawyers who specialize in aviation law.

If you have ever misunderstood or failed to remember your taxi instructions, join the club of thousands of other experienced pilots who have the same problem.

If you don’t understand or didn’t fully copy your taxi instructions the first time ground control gives them to you, ask for a repeat.

Instead of trying to remember your taxi instructions, write them on paper. Only write when your aircraft is not moving. Never attempt to look down and write while you are taxiing.

Write as little as possible. Your goal is to write just enough to interpret your own notes.

Examples: Ground Control says, “Runway 33, taxi via right Alpha, then join Bravo with a left on Alpha 1 and hold short of Runway 26 on Bravo,” I would write, 33 r A -B l A1 B/26. This would read as Runway 33. Right Alpha. Join Bravo with a Left Alpha 1. Hold short of Runway 26 on Bravo. For “Runway 7, taxi via Charlie and cross Runway 19, I would write 7 C x19.

I have more examples and practice exercises for you in my workbook, Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots Workbook, available at Amazon.com.

Listen to the taxi instructions given to other pilots before you call for taxi. You will probably get similar instructions.

Get familiar with the airport’s layout by studying the taxi chart before you call for taxi. Trace the most logical route or routes from your parking position to the active runway.

Verbalize, either out loud or in your head, the steps in the route from parking to the runway as you trace the route with your finger. This exercise should mentally prep you for what the ground controller is about to say to you on the radio.

Your Question of the Week:

You are approaching the runway at Savannah, Georgia. The tower controller says to you, “Runway 10, cleared to land. Your landing will be over a raised cable on the runway, 1,476 feet from the approach end.” Here are your questions: First, why is there a raised cable positioned on the runway? Second, based on this information, where should you plan to touch down on the runway? When you think you know the answers to those questions, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers.

SOCATA_TBM_850 — Use ATC to Save Your Life Sep 22, 2014
Daher-Socata TBM-850. Source: fr.wikipedia.orgEarlier this month, a single-engine turboprop aircraft crashed into the ocean near Jamaica. Early indications are the airplane’s cabin pressurization system failed and the pilot lost consciousness due to hypoxia. The plane continued flying on autopilot until fuel ran out and the engine quit.
Could ATC have helped prevent this accident? The answer is probably, if the pilot had said one word. In this episode of Radar Contact, I’ll tell you the one word the ill-fated pilot never said.

Also in this show, you will hear the results of the Landing Clearance Quiz, posted last month at ATCcommunication.com. Some of your fellow pilots gave surprising answers. I’ll tell you what they said.

All that, plus Your Question of the Week. Let’s light the blowers and launch!

Show Notes:

On Sept 5, 2014, a TBM-900, which is a single-engine turboprop capable of flying at altitudes in the low 30-thousands, crashed into the ocean near Jamaica.

Early indications are the cabin pressurization system failed and the pilot lost consciousness due to hypoxia.

At 28,000 feet cabin pressure altitude, a pilot would have 2-3 minutes to remain effective at the controls before oxygen starvation would cause incapacitation.

The Federal Regulations say a pilot must not operate an aircraft above 14,000 feet unless the pilot is using supplemental oxygen. The TBM-900 has supplemental oxygen available for flight crew and passengers.

We don’t know if the airplane’s supplemental oxygen system was working or if the pilot used it.

The pilot requested a descent to Flight Level 180 (18,000 feet) but ATC could initially approve an descent to 25,000 due to conflicting traffic at 24,000 feet.

ATC eventually approved a descent to FL 200 (20,000 feet) but by the time this happened, it appeared the pilot had lost consciousness.

We cannot say for sure why the pilot only requested FL 180 and not 10,000 feet. What is certain, he was not able to descend immediately due to conflicting traffic.

If the pilot had said one word–“emergency”–ATC would have cleared other traffic out of his way and approved an immediate descent.

Not only did the pilot not declare an emergency, he was circumspect about his problem. Air traffic controllers understand exactly what it means to lose cabin pressurization.

The pilot said he had “An indication that was not correct in the plane.” Why not tell ATC the exact nature of the problem? We don’t know the answer to that question.

Why didn’t the pilot declare an emergency with ATC? We’ll never know. I have my opinion but I’d rather hear your opinion.

Update for 25 Nov 14 >The survey that asked pilots’ opinions about declaring an emergency is now closed. Almost 300 people voiced their opinion in the survey. I presented the statistics from this survey to the FAA for their response. You may hear what the FAA said in response to the survey’s results by listening to the Radar Contact Show #42, aired on 25 Nov 14. Here is a link to that show and the supporting article.

Results of the Tower Sequencing and Separation Quiz

(Important! If you have not taken the quiz and would like to, skip this section and try the quiz first. It is posted below in the article “Pop Quiz: All About Landing Clearance.”) :

Questions 1, 2, and 3: These all asked basically the same question: With an aircraft landing ahead of you, when may Tower give you clearance to land behind the landing traffic. 40% of pilots understood Tower may clear you to land as soon as the controller determines adequate separate will exist between you and the landing aircraft ahead by the time you cross the runway threshold. The majority incorrectly thought the aircraft landing ahead of you must land and clear the runway before Tower would clear you to land.

Question 4: 83% of pilots correctly understood a “Make closed traffic” clearance from Tower does not include clearance to land. Good job!

Question 5: Surprisingly, 47% thought they must not descend below traffic pattern altitude until Tower gives them clearance to land. The correct procedure is: Descend from traffic pattern altitude to establish a normal, safe glidepath. Complete the landing when given clearance to land. If landing clearance is not received or is denied, go around.

Questions 6, 7, and 10: Is Tower allowed to clear an aircraft to land or make a low approach when another aircraft is lined up and waiting on the runway; or, is Tower allowed to clear an aircraft to line up and wait with another aircraft cleared to land on the runway? The answer is no to both questions. About 48% gave the correct answer to both questions.

Question 8: Excellent work by 90% of quiz-takers. They understood Tower may only clear 2 aircraft to land simultaneously on intersecting runways if 1 of the 2 pilots agree to land and hold short of the runway intersection (LAHSO).

Question 9: This open-ended question was about reasons why Tower may not clear you to land at the same point in the traffic pattern where other pilots received clearance to land. It was designed to get you thinking about all of the situations and rules that restrict when Tower may give you landing clearance. Pilots gave 20 different reasons why Tower may withhold landing clearance until a later point in the traffic pattern. All of the reasons given were correct.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying VFR cross-country in uncontrolled airspace. Your current altitude is 4,500 feet. You are in contact with Salt Lake Center for flight following. The controller says to you, “Cessna 9130 Delta, traffic 12 o’clock and 8 miles, opposite direction, Mode C indicates 4,000, climbing, unverified.”

You do not see the traffic, so you report, “Cessna 9130 Delta, negative contact.” A minute later, Salt Lake Center says, “Cessna 9130 Delta, previously reported traffic now 12 o’clock and 5 miles, opposite direction, same altitude, unverified, and he appears to have leveled off.” You still don’t see the traffic.

Here’s your question, given the traffic’s current position, same but unverified altitude, and heading, what can you say to ATC now to help your situation?

When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to the question along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

threeMonkeys — When to Not Respond to ATC (Really!) Jun 01, 2014

See no ATC. Hear No ATC. Speak no ATC.
As pilots we are trained to respond to ATC each and every time ATC talks to us. Did you know there are times when you should not talk to ATC? It’s true. In this 40th edition of Radar Contact, you and I will cover those times when you had better keep your mouth shut and pretend ATC doesn’t exist.

Traffic Collision Avoidance System. Does your airplane have it? Even if you think yours doesn’t, your transponder still provides TCAS information. We’ll give TCAS it’s due and explain why it probably works better than ATC when you are seconds away from colliding with another aircraft.

As we approach the beginning of summer, why the hell would I talk about sub-zero air temperatures in this show? Maybe the spring heat has already fried my brain. Actually an airline instructor asked me how super-cold temperatures affect ATC procedures. Truth is, I didn’t know. I tapped some air traffic controllers and asked them. I’ll tell you what they told me.

The Aircraft Radio Simulator is kicking butt . . . kicking my butt now, your’s later. As work continues on the production version, the thing is taking on a life of its own. It will make you laugh, cry, and want to read the book. I’ll explain.

I’d say, let’s quit monkeying around and start the show, but that would be too obvious. If you pretend you didn’t just see or hear that, I’ll pretend I didn’t say it; but I will start the show.

Show Notes:

There are times you should pretend ATC does not exist. Fly first, navigate second, communicate last.

Radio communication with ATC is important but it is not as important as keeping your airplane within the margins of safety.

There will be times when ATC can help you fix your problem. For example, if you are flying VFR and you find the weather is closing in around you, ATC may be able to help you fly towards better weather conditions.

If a situation demands that you focus entirely on maintaining aircraft control, then forget about talking to ATC for the moment and fly the aircraft.

TCAS stands for Traffic Collision Avoidance System.

TCAS looks at the flight path and altitude of other traffic and predicts whether or not another aircraft might present a conflict with your flight path.

TCAS not only points out traffic passing near you, it also provides verbal and visual instructions to direct you away from traffic that appear to be on a collision course with your aircraft.

Even if you don’t have TCAS in your aircraft, your transponder can still cooperate with other aircraft that do have TCAS.

If you ever receive collision avoidance instructions from ATC, the AIM cautions you to respond immediately to those instructions not by responding on the radio, but by immediately following those instructions with flight control inputs.

Once you have begun your collision avoidance maneuver, acknowledge ATC instructions with your call sign and “Roger,” or “Wilco” or something similar that is very brief.

You do not have to ask permission to leave tower’s frequency when leaving the controller’s airspace. That is true whether the airport lies within Class D, Class C, or even Class B airspace.

If you don’t feel you can complete a safe landing, you may go-around and make a low approach without requesting permission from ATC.

If you need to go-around for safety, do not delay your go around to communicate with tower.

Cold air makes your altimeter read higher than the true altitude you are actually flying.

ATC has no specific procedure or phraseology to help you adjust your altitude to compensate for very cold air. You are expected to make adjustments on your own.

Altimeter error correction for cold air is discussed in the Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 7, section 2-3.

Aircraft Radio Simulator Update: Work is complete on the Core unit, including microphone technique, saying numbers correctly, and call sign usage. Flying and communicating at uncontrolled airports is 50% complete. Still to go: Class D, C, and B operations plus emergencies and unusual situations.

Your Question of the Week:

“You are preparing to taxi at tower-controlled airport. You have contacted Ground Control for taxi instructions. The ground controller says, “Cessna 9130 Delta, Doryphore* Ground, Runway 28. Taxi via Alpha, then right on Delta, left on Bravo, hold short of Runway 3 on Bravo 1.”

Here’s your challenge: Give me a read back of these taxi instruction that includes only the items the AIM says are required in your readback.

When you think you know the answer to that challenge, go to atccomunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

*doryphore (DOR-ee-for) — one who draws attention to the minor errors made by others, especially in a pestering manner.

stopwatch — Timing is Everything in ATC Communication Apr 08, 2014

Two people speaking to each other at the same time does not communication make. It’s true in a face-to-face encounter and it’s true when trying to communicate with ATC. When 2 pilots try to transmit at the same time, the result is just a bunch of noise on the radio. In this show, we are going to discuss techniques for getting your timing right when communicating with ATC.

The times they are a-changing. The FAA published changes to the Air Traffic Controller’s Manual on April 3. What’s in there that is relevant to you? We’ll discuss it in our show.

Mayday, versus Pan. Those codewords have been getting a lot of attention lately at ATCcommunication.com, probably due to the intense scrutiny of Malaysia Flight 370. We’ll review the use of Mayday and Pan; why those words are rarely used in U.S aviation; and what most pilots say instead.

Timing is everything, which means it’s time to talk about timing. This time, it’s 22 minutes and 3 seconds of audio enlightenment, also known as Radio Contact.

Show Notes:

Communication is an exchange of information. An exchange of verbal communication requires a talker and a listener.

Who talks and who listens depends on timing. If 2 people try to talk at the same time, a consequence of bad timing, that ain’t communication.

Aircraft radio communication is very intolerant of bad timing. When 2 pilots try to talk at the same time, their transmissions will cancel each other out.

When switching to a new radio frequency, listen for 3 seconds to make sure there is no ongoing conversation.

If the radio is silent during those first 3 seconds, you may transmit your own radio call with the reasonable expectation you will not block or interrupt another conversation.

If there is a gap between a pilot’s request and ATC’s response, some impatient pilots will transmit into the gap.

Sometimes, competition for available air time on the radio becomes so intense, several pilots trying to get in a word on the radio sounds like a food fight.

Don’t be drawn into a food fight on the radio. It is a battle no one wins. Find a way to wait for the fight to end before making your own radio call to ATC.

You are never required to read back assigned radio frequencies to ATC.

If you do read back a frequency, give ATC 2 to 3 seconds to respond before switching to the new fequency in case you misheard the assignment.

The latest version of the Air Traffic Controller’s Manual became effective on April 3, 2014. Here is a link to J.O. 7110.65V. There are no specific changes to ATC procedures in this edition that affect VFR flight.

Version 2.0 of the Aircraft Radio Simulator went online a little more than 1 week ago.

The latest version has real-time simulated air traffic control. A tower controller gives you instructions based on your current position in an airport traffic pattern.

Please send me feedback on the Aircraft Radio Simulator Ver. 2.0 by writing to me at jeff@ATCcommunication.com

Mayday and Panoth are codewords used to grab attention on the radio.

Mayday is reserved for life-threatening situations. Pan is used for urgent but non-life-threatening situations.

If you are already talking to ATC, there is no need to use Mayday or Pan. The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) says you may simply state your situation, intentions, and request for assistance.

While you are never wrong to use Mayday in a distress situation, in the U.S. most air traffic controllers and pilots use the phrase, “Declaring an emergency” to request priority handling.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying VFR cross-country while using ATC for flight following. The enroute controller says to you, “Cessna 9130 Delta, for further flight following, contact Kansas City Center on 128.75.” You read back 128.75 and pause 3 seconds before making the frequency change. The controller does not correct your read back during those 3 seconds so you feel your read back was correct. Once you have the new frequency tuned in you hear ATC talking to another pilot. So you wait.

When it seems the current conversation is over, you start to press the push-to-talk button for your microphone so you can check in with the new controller. Before you can press the button, you hear another pilot start a conversation with the controller. This pilot is asking about flight conditions ahead. The controller tells the pilot he’ll check and to stand by.

Several seconds pass in radio silence and you assume the controller is offline to get the information the pilot asked for. While you patiently honor the radio silence, another pilot checks in on the frequency. ATC answers the new pilot.

More silence. You start to press the push-to-talk switch when ATC comes back online and gives a report of flight conditions to the pilot who asked for it. As soon as ATC finishes the report, the pilot makes a request for a change of altitudes. A back and forth conversation goes on between the pilot and ATC about the altitude change. By now you figure you have probably flown at least 15 or 20 miles into the next controller’s sector.

Here’s your question, and it is multiple choice. Should you:

Press on course, hoping you will eventually get in touch with ATC; or

Should you start orbiting your present location until you can talk to ATC; or

Should you return to your last radio frequency and tell the previous controller you are unable to contact the next controller.

When you think you know the answer to this question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find the correct answer along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

football — Control Tower Options Mar 15, 2014

“Dice right, ice cream, alert, 654 Jose. . . Brown Richmond 96 double . . . hut hut!”

What?! I’ll give you a hint: Football and air traffic control. Here’s another hint: trying to understand Tower’s instructions does not have be painful if you know what is coming next. If that still doesn’t make any sense, hang in there. It will make sense when we open up ATC’s playbook and look inside.

What makes a good headset? No, really. What does make a good headset? I can’t answer that. Each pilot has a personal definition of “good headset.” We really want to hear yours–your opinion, not your headset. You’ll get a chance to transmit and receive (your opinion) in our show.

A new ATC phrase, “Climb via,” is going to go active on April 3, 2014. We’ll look at what it means for pilots who fly IFR. (If it’s past April 3 by the time you read this, you have some catching up to do.)

Let’s get caught up.

(This show and past shows are also available at iTunes. Search for the Radar Contact podcast.)

Show Notes:

Air traffic controllers use code words that describe a complex sequence of moves in very few words. Most importantly for you and I, the plays that controllers use come from a playbook.

We pilots have access to every play in a controller’s playbook.

There are no secrets in air traffic control and, knowing this, there should never be an element of surprise when we fly.

The entire playbook is called Joint Order 7110.65. Here is link to: a free copy of J.O. 7110.65U. The next edition, J.O. 7110.65V will become effective April 3, 2014.

The specific section of the playbook that affects air traffic control in an airport pattern is Chapter 3, Section 8 of Point 65, titled Spacing and Sequencing.

A little bit of time spent learning tower’s plays will save you a ton of frustration the next time you fly in an airport pattern.

An article I wrote for the March issue of Flight Training magazine, titled Walk the Talk, is now available online for free. Here is a link to the article.

Most general aviation radios do not have the high fidelity sound of the radio transmissions I use in this show.

The reason I play clear, high-fidelity radio transmissions on this show is to make learning easier. Most of the time, the point of the lesson is in the content, not the quality of the transmission.

A very good headset can filter out a lot of the audio garbage produced by lower quality radios and noisy cockpits.

If you have a headset that does a good job for you, or even one that you absolutely hate, tell us about it in the comments section below this article. You don’t have to write a novel.

In our last Radar Contact show, I put out a quiz that asked you to make some decisions as an air traffic controller. It asked how you would control traffic in specific situations at an airport.

I also received a few emails either challenging a correct answer I provided for the quiz or asking a question about tower control and I am very grateful for the feedback and discussion.

If you have been following me at Twitter, you probably read some tweets which updated progress on version 2 of the Aircraft Radio Simulator.

I expect to put a working demonstration of the simulator online in another week.

Keep an eye on at my twitter feed for announcements on the release of the demo. If you aren’t already following me at twitter, you can use the Follow icon in the right edge of any page at ATCcommunication.com. Or, you can go to my feed at twitter.com/atc_jeff and click the Follow button there.

Speaking of Twitter, here’s the most recent question posed at my Twitter feed: What is the common transmit and receive frequency used by Flight Service Stations in the U.S.? Answer: 122.2. Source: AIM Chapter 7, Section 7-1-2 Item D. “The common frequency for all FSSs is 122.2.” (I forgot to mention this in the show but there you have it.)

Effective the 3rd of April, 2014, air traffic controllers will begin using the phrase “Climb via” when issuing clearances to some pilots flying standard instrument departures. Here is a link to the announcement.

Your Question of the Week:

You are practicing takeoffs and landings at a tower-controlled airport. While on downwind, you make this radio transmission:

“Cessna 30 Delta requests the option.” The tower controller replies, “Cessna 30 Delta, unable stop-and-go. Other options are approved.”

Here’s your question: Given tower’s response, are you permitted to make a full stop landing from your next approach? When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find the correct answer along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

Flight Training Magazine — What Was That Tower Controller Thinking? Feb 20, 2014

My article, “Walk the Talk” is in the March issue of Flight Training magazine.

Pilot (calling Tower): “Cessna 9130 Delta, request left closed traffic.”

Tower: “Cessna 9130 Delta, make right closed traffic. Report a midfield right downwind.”

Pilot: “Cessna 9130 Delta, right closed traffic. We’ll report a midfield right downwind.” Then, talking to himself, “What’s wrong with a left downwind? There is no one in the traffic pattern. What was Tower thinking?”

Excellent question! Let’s answer it in today’s show. Also in this show, a new rule was just announced by the FAA that requires tower controllers to delay the takeoff of aircraft in certain situations. We’ll cover that in detail so you’ll know what’s going on if you ever face the situation when you fly.

I’ll also give you a heads up about an article I wrote for Flight Training magazine that’s all about how to practice communication with a tower controller.

After we explore the inner workings of a tower controller’s brain, we are going to dig into your neocortex with a multi-question quiz. I’ve brought my pickaxe and shovel for this dig and I’m expecting to strike gold. Have a seat. Try to relax. This won’t hurt a bit . . . he said.

Show Notes:

Sometimes, a tower controller will tell you do something that does not seem to make sense from your point of view.

Air traffic controllers have the big picture. As a pilot, you don’t always have all of the resources required to have the big picture.

You can build the best picture of what is happening in the airport traffic pattern by keeping your eyes and ears open. Even then, you cannot expect to see and hear everything that is going on around your airplane.

Try to be patient when flying in an airport pattern. Eventually, the big picture will begin to develop.

If there is ever any doubt about what the controller is trying to do with your airplane, speak up and ask the controller.

The March issue of Flight Training magazine contains an article I wrote called “Walk the Talk.” The article has a practice-at-home exercise that helps you train yourself to communicate with a tower controller as you learn to fly.

If you don’t subscribe to Flight Training magazine, you can find the same exercise in my book Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots, available at Amazon.com.

I am putting out Radar Contact shows on a sporadic schedule because the top priority is completing the Aircraft Radio Simulator.

The new Aircraft Radio Simulator will have crystal clear graphics, smooth animation, and artificial intelligence. Simulated ATC will give you instructions and monitor your flight path. If you deviate from instructions, the simulated controller will intervene.

The FAA just announced tower controllers at the country’s biggest airports will be required to delay the takeoff of aircraft under certain conditions.

If another airplane is landing on a converging runway, ATC must not clear another airplane to take off until there is no possibility of conflicting flight paths between the landing airplane and the departing airplane.

A converging runway is one that is oriented so the flight path of landing or departing airplanes crosses over another runway. See the illustration below.

Converging runways.
While the FAA’s new rule only affects the nation’s biggest airports, it may eventually affect airports you use. The FAA order says, come July, the rule will apply to “all affected airports.” You can take a look at the change yourself using this link: Non-Intersecting Converging Runways J.O. 7110.652.

Your Question of the Week (presented as a quiz this week):

The point of the following quiz is to help you think about how you fit into the big picture of air traffic flow at an airport. It is not designed to teach you to be an air traffic controller.

Refer to the airport diagram of the fictitious Town and Country Airport below. Town and Country Airport is a tower-controlled airport with 2 runways as depicted. The current weather for the airport is sky clear, visibility more than 7 miles, surface winds 270-degrees at 10 knots, altimeter 30.01. Town and Country is landing and departing Runways 26 and 29. There are no NOTAM’s for the airport.

In this quiz, you will be presented with different traffic situations that you might face as a tower controller on duty at Town and Country. Use your best judgement to keep airplanes separated.

Clicking the “Done” button at the end of the quiz sends your de-identified answers to a general data pool. I look at that de-identified data to help me determine what topics need more emphasis in future editions of Radar Contact. Clicking “Done” will not give you the correct answers to the quiz. For the correct answers, along with complete explanations, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers.

convergingRunways — What Was That Tower Controller Thinking? Feb 20, 2014

My article, “Walk the Talk” is in the March issue of Flight Training magazine.

Pilot (calling Tower): “Cessna 9130 Delta, request left closed traffic.”

Tower: “Cessna 9130 Delta, make right closed traffic. Report a midfield right downwind.”

Pilot: “Cessna 9130 Delta, right closed traffic. We’ll report a midfield right downwind.” Then, talking to himself, “What’s wrong with a left downwind? There is no one in the traffic pattern. What was Tower thinking?”

Excellent question! Let’s answer it in today’s show. Also in this show, a new rule was just announced by the FAA that requires tower controllers to delay the takeoff of aircraft in certain situations. We’ll cover that in detail so you’ll know what’s going on if you ever face the situation when you fly.

I’ll also give you a heads up about an article I wrote for Flight Training magazine that’s all about how to practice communication with a tower controller.

After we explore the inner workings of a tower controller’s brain, we are going to dig into your neocortex with a multi-question quiz. I’ve brought my pickaxe and shovel for this dig and I’m expecting to strike gold. Have a seat. Try to relax. This won’t hurt a bit . . . he said.

Show Notes:

Sometimes, a tower controller will tell you do something that does not seem to make sense from your point of view.

Air traffic controllers have the big picture. As a pilot, you don’t always have all of the resources required to have the big picture.

You can build the best picture of what is happening in the airport traffic pattern by keeping your eyes and ears open. Even then, you cannot expect to see and hear everything that is going on around your airplane.

Try to be patient when flying in an airport pattern. Eventually, the big picture will begin to develop.

If there is ever any doubt about what the controller is trying to do with your airplane, speak up and ask the controller.

The March issue of Flight Training magazine contains an article I wrote called “Walk the Talk.” The article has a practice-at-home exercise that helps you train yourself to communicate with a tower controller as you learn to fly.

If you don’t subscribe to Flight Training magazine, you can find the same exercise in my book Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots, available at Amazon.com.

I am putting out Radar Contact shows on a sporadic schedule because the top priority is completing the Aircraft Radio Simulator.

The new Aircraft Radio Simulator will have crystal clear graphics, smooth animation, and artificial intelligence. Simulated ATC will give you instructions and monitor your flight path. If you deviate from instructions, the simulated controller will intervene.

The FAA just announced tower controllers at the country’s biggest airports will be required to delay the takeoff of aircraft under certain conditions.

If another airplane is landing on a converging runway, ATC must not clear another airplane to take off until there is no possibility of conflicting flight paths between the landing airplane and the departing airplane.

A converging runway is one that is oriented so the flight path of landing or departing airplanes crosses over another runway. See the illustration below.

Converging runways.
While the FAA’s new rule only affects the nation’s biggest airports, it may eventually affect airports you use. The FAA order says, come July, the rule will apply to “all affected airports.” You can take a look at the change yourself using this link: Non-Intersecting Converging Runways J.O. 7110.652.

Your Question of the Week (presented as a quiz this week):

The point of the following quiz is to help you think about how you fit into the big picture of air traffic flow at an airport. It is not designed to teach you to be an air traffic controller.

Refer to the airport diagram of the fictitious Town and Country Airport below. Town and Country Airport is a tower-controlled airport with 2 runways as depicted. The current weather for the airport is sky clear, visibility more than 7 miles, surface winds 270-degrees at 10 knots, altimeter 30.01. Town and Country is landing and departing Runways 26 and 29. There are no NOTAM’s for the airport.

In this quiz, you will be presented with different traffic situations that you might face as a tower controller on duty at Town and Country. Use your best judgement to keep airplanes separated.

Clicking the “Done” button at the end of the quiz sends your de-identified answers to a general data pool. I look at that de-identified data to help me determine what topics need more emphasis in future editions of Radar Contact. Clicking “Done” will not give you the correct answers to the quiz. For the correct answers, along with complete explanations, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers.

Taney County Airport — How to Land at the Wrong Airport with ATC Help Jan 15, 2014
Proximity of Clark Downtown (Taney County) Airport to Branson Airport, Missouri.

Last week a listener wrote to tell me about an incident in which a general aviation aircraft landed at the wrong airport. He said this reminded him of other incidents in which airplanes ended up landing at the wrong airport. He asked me what I thought causes pilots to land at the wrong airport. I said that sounded like a question I should answer in a Radar Contact show. Wouldn’t you know it? Two days later, Southwest Airlines lands an airplane at the wrong airport.

Here is what’s coming up: An analysis of some reports from pilots who landed or attempted to land at the wrong airport while in contact with ATC. Next, my formula for how to land at the wrong airport. I have 12 easy-to-follow steps to help you get your name in the media headlines and get the wrong kind of attention from the FAA. All this plus Your Question of the Week. Let’s do it.

This show is also available at iTunes as the Radar Contact podcast.
More ATC comm tips and conversations with active air traffic controllers at twitter.com/atc_jeff.

Show Notes:

On Sunday, January 12, 2014, Southwest Airlines Flight 4013 landed at the wrong airport. This was the second of two similar incidents in less than a month.

Less than a month ago, an Atlas Air cargo jet landed at Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas instead of the intended destination–McConnell Air Force Base a few miles away.

These two incidents are among many others. In this show, I analyze 2 reports submitted to NASA’s Aviation Safety and Reporting System (ASRS) that involve pilots attempting to land at the wrong airport.

You can search for reports about pilots who landed at the wrong airport by going to this link: http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/search/database.html. Click “Start Search”. On the search page, click the link at the bottom center titled “Text contains [Words]”. Type “wrong airport” and be sure to add the quotation marks. Click the “Save” button. Click “Search.” Finally, click “Show all reports.”

The 2 main ingredients involving an incident in which a pilot lands or attempts to land at the wrong airport are: 2 airports less than 10 miles apart with closely aligned runways; and a pilot who is distracted.

Once ATC has directed you towards a runway in visual conditions, the controller will assume you can remain oriented to the airport and proceed to land under your own navigation.

As indicated in ASRS reports, ATC frequently does not catch the error if a pilot suddenly deviates from an ATC instruction and makes a bid to land at the wrong airport.

Here are my 12 tips for landing at the wrong airport:

1. By all means, pick an airport you have never flown into before. In one of the examples I read to you today, the pilot had previously landed at his intended destination, you will increase your chances of landing in the wrong place if it is your first time landing there.

2. Pick an area where two airports are separated by less than 10 miles and the runways at both airports are aligned within 20 degrees of each other.

3. Although not always possible, try to plan your arrival for a time when the sun is setting or rising, or the inflight visibility is poor.

4. Do not, I repeat, do not do any advance study of the airport layout or the orientation of one airport in relation to the other. Do not do any map study to consider where roads, buildings and other prominent landmarks sit relative to your destination airport. Do not try to visualize what the lay of the land will look like given your general direction of approach into the area. Make your entire arrival and approach to the airport is a complete surprise.

5. Similar to the fourth tip, do not think ahead. Be completely reactive to what you see through the front windscreen of your cockpit.

6. If, as you approach your destination, you feel rushed or disoriented, by all means press on. Do nothing to give yourself extra time to get caught up, such as breaking off of your arrival and circling in an area away from the flow of air traffic. The more rushed you feel, the better your chances of becoming disoriented which is key to landing at the wrong airport.

7. If there are navaids, such as VORTAC’s or NDB’s in the area, do not tune those in and use them to help you stay oriented relative to your intended destination. For example, if the correct airport sits underneath the 330-degree radial for 15 DME using a local VORTAC, do not tune that VORTAC into your navigation radio.

8. If your airplane has advanced navigation equipment on board, such as GPS, inertial reference system, or a moving map, ignore that information. If your instrument panel’s moving map display cannot be turned off, keep the display set to a scale large enough so all of the airports in the area are packed tightly together on the display, making one nearly indistinguishable from the other.

9. If the runway you intend to land on has an ILS setup, do not tune that in to help verify you have lined up with the correct runway. A centered needle on your localizer indicator provides valuable information you do not want. It really wouldn’t help much anyways if there are runways at 2 different airports exactly aligned with each other. Since 2 different runways exactly aligned with each other applies to maybe a handful of airports in the United States, simply ignore localizer information at all airports.

10. Distract yourself as much as possible during the arrival phase. Conversation with passengers about non-flight related information is a great idea.

11. If something does not feel right, by all means, ignore that feeling and press on. For example, even though ATC sets you up perfectly for an unrushed, normal final approach visually lock on to the first runway you see and go for it, even it means making a sharp turn off course or diving down to lose altitude. If the runway ahead does not match up with what you expected, for example, the orientation of the runway looks off, or the pavement is different, or the runway lighting is wrong, or the taxiway layout seems wrong, or the airport hangers and buildings are not where they are supposed to be, ignore all of that too.

12. Finally, my most important tip. If you are working with ATC during your arrival and a question comes up about which airport is the correct airport, by all means do not ask ATC for help.

If you have any questions about this formula, please write to me at jeff@ATCcommunication.

Your Question of the Week:

You have just accidentally landed at the wrong airport and the airport where you landed is a controlled airport. In a telephone conversation after the incident, the tower supervisor tells you he will be filing a report with the FAA. You decide to file your own report on the incident using NASA’s Aviation Safety and Reporting System.

Here’s your question: How may your report influence the FAA’s decision to impose a civil penalty or a suspension of your pilot license as result of this incident?

When you think you know the answer to that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to this week’s question along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

halChess — Voice Activated Flying Jan 06, 2014
Cessna 9130, move rook to King 1.
I’m afraid I can’t do that Dave.
Air traffic control is voice-activated flying. Don’t believe me? Consider this. You’re about to enter a tower-controlled airport pattern. Tower says, “Cessna 9130 Delta enter a right base, Runway 36.” In response, you fly towards the entry point for a right base leg to Runway 36. He says it. You do it. That’s voice activated flying.
Sometimes there is a disconnect between what Tower tells you to do and what you do in response. Sound familiar? It should. Every week I get email from listeners who all ask me essentially the same question: What did Tower mean when he said . . ? In today’s show, we are going to answer that question.

All that, plus an excerpt from my upcoming book, Radio Mastery for IFR Pilots; and Your Question of the Week. Here we go. Computer play audio show. Computer, play audio show! Computer? Earth to computer. The heck with it. Use your mouse and hit play.

Note: This episode of Radar Contact and all future shows will no longer be duplicated under the tab Radar Contact Show in the navigation menu for this website. To download past shows for listening offline, go to this link at iTunes or go to your podcasting app and search for the podcast Radar Contact.

Show Notes:

Instructions from an airport tower controller are equivalent to voice-activated flying.

A tower controller sometimes has to use plain language to keep aircraft separated and flowing smoothly into and out of an airport.

If you have ever not understood an instruction from Tower, you are not alone.

Pilots occasionally misunderstand Tower’s instructions about how to enter an airport traffic pattern.

Here are the various instructions for entering an airport traffic pattern:

Enter a right/left downwind for Runway 36.
Enter a right/left base for Runway 36.
Fly directly to the numbers for Runway 36.
Enter a _____-mile straight-in for Runway 36.

If you don’t understand what Tower wants you to do, ask for clarification. Asking Tower to repeat the instruction will usually not clear up a misunderstanding.

If you received an instruction from ATC that you didn’t understand, write to me at jeff@ATCcommunication.com and we’ll talk about it.

Watch for updates on the progress of my new book, Radio Mastery for IFR Pilots.

Your Question of the Week

You are approaching a tower-controlled airport. You are 10 miles south of the airport. The airport is using Runway 27 for takeoffs and landings. The tower controller tells you to make straight-in for Runway 27 and report 3 miles. Here’s your question:

Given your position 10 miles south of the airport, which of the following does the tower controller expect you to do?

A. Enter the downwind followed by a base leg that leads you to a 3-mile final approach, or,
B. Fly directly to a base leg entry so as to end up on a 3-mile final approach, or,
C. Turn to the northeast now and then maneuver to join a 3-mile final approach, or
D. Fly directly towards the threshold of Runway 27 and report 3 miles out.

When you think you know the answer to this question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find the correct answer along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

dontDistract — Sterile Cockpit Means Quiet! Nov 20, 2013
“Shhh! I’m trying to use the ~~phone~~ radio” Borrowed from “Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure.” In this week’s show, we are going to talk about something called sterile cockpit and how it helps you communicate with ATC. No, Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee, will not be making an appearance, but we can learn something from him. Never thought I’d say that in an article.

We will also have the results from your test of the Aircraft Radio Simulator’s speech recognition module.You did test the module didn’t you? I thought so.

All that, plus your Question of the Week. Coming up, right here in Radar Contact . . . unless I get distracted and forget to. . . What was I talking about?

Don’t distract me!
Show Notes:

Your brain and my brain has a built-in filter that eliminates distractions, to a point.

Despite its mental filter, your brain can be tricked into paying attention to the wrong thing at the wrong time. We call that a distraction.

Our listening behavior is most vulnerable to distractions when we rely on listening passively.

In an airplane, distractions can result in anything from a temporary annoyance, to a violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations, to an accident.

The key to avoiding distractions is to apply active listening or what I call intentional listening.

Intentional listening results from a decision to pay attention to every radio transmission whether it applies to your flight or not.

When working low to the ground or in busy airspace, make your cockpit sterile: Avoid all non-essential work in the cockpit. Eliminate all conversation that does not involve safe aircraft operation.

Sterile cockpit plus intentional listening = zero missed radio transmissions from ATC.

Last month, you tested the speech recognition module of the Aircraft Radio Simulator. The results of your test were not good enough to move forward with further development of the speech recognition feature.

I will continue to work on an Aircraft Radio Simulator that provides an immersive experience that guides you in your exploration of how to communicate with ATC.

Your Question of the Week

You are approaching your destination airport within very busy Class C airspace. Approach control is giving you radar vectors for sequencing to a straight-in final approach at your destination. You have already taken several heading changes from approach and you are still not headed directly for the airport. Suddenly, your number 2 communication radio, which is tuned to the emergency frequency 121.5 produces this transmission, “Pan, pan, pan. Any aircraft, this is Piper 927CX on Guard. I’m lost and I need assistance.” Here’s your question.

Knowing that you are in a very busy section of airspace and taking extensive vectoring from ATC, what should you do about the radio transmission on the emergency frequency? When you think you know the answer to that question, go to the link ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to the question along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

A-10 — Radar Contact: Airport Traffic Pattern Position Reports Oct 09, 2013

This photo has nothing to do with this article. A photo of an A-10 just increases the overall quality of the website.

You are approaching an uncontrolled airport traffic pattern and you need to know where other pilots are in the traffic pattern. How do you get that information? Two ways. You call on the radio for an airport traffic advisory. You also listen to the flow of position reports from other pilots established in the airport pattern. What you do not do is say, “Traffic in the area, please advise.” I’ll explain why in this week’s show.

Flight levels are those altitudes at or above 18,000 feet MSL, right? In the United States, yes. Everywhere else? Not necessarily. In this week’s show we’ll talk about flight levels because if you fly outside of the United States, you don’t have to be in a jet to reach a flight level. You may enter the flight level regime as low as 4,000 feet in some places.

Wanna be a test pilot? Here’s your chance. I’m running a test of the most important component of the Aircraft Radio Simulator today. You get to take it on a test run. I’ll explain how in this week’s show.

Show Notes:

The Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) says, “Traffic in the area, please advise” is not a recognized Self−Announce Position and/or Intention phrase and should not be used under any condition.” (Chapter 4, Paragraph g. 1.)

“Traffic in the area, please advise” is not necessary anyways. Just listen to Unicom at an uncontrolled airport and you’ll get all of the information you need from other pilots’ position reports.

If the radio is silent for a long period of time, that is a traffic advisory in itself–there’s likely no aircraft in the airport pattern.

Position reports and traffic advisories are no substitute for disciplined and continuous clearing for traffic while in an airport pattern. There may be pilots in the airport pattern operating without a radio or pilots in the pattern operating without a brain.

In the U.S. flight levels begin at 18,000 feet MSL unless the local altimeter is extremely low.

Outside of the U.S. flight levels may begin at other altitudes, depending on the country in which you are flying.

In Europe, ATC says flight levels with double zeros differently than in the U.S. U.S. ATC: “Climb and maintain flight level two zero zero.” European ATC equivalent: “Climb and maintain flight level two hundred.” (20,000 feet with the altimeter set to 29.92 inches or 1013 Hectopascals.)

I talked about all this recently at my Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/atc_jeff.

My Twitter feed is all about radio procedures, tips, and techniques with some miscellaneous info about flying. If you follow me on Twitter, I won’t waste your time with off-topic tweets.

A test of the Aircraft Radio Simulator’s speech recognition module is now online and available to try out.

Read all of the instructions at the test page before trying the test. Following the directions will produce accurate test data.

Please tell me about your results by using the 3-question survey at the end of the test. If the pop-up is suppressed by your computer’s pop-up blocker, click the link near the top of the test page to produce the survey.

Update for 27 November 2013: The reference to the speech recognition test module mentioned in this show is no longer applicable. I have taken the test module offline. If you had a chance to try the test module, thank you for your help. I’ll have more announcements about development of the Aircraft Radio Simulator in future Radar Contact Shows.

Your Question of the Week

You have just completed your engine run-up near the runway at an uncontrolled airport. You are holding short of the only runway for Hometown Airport. This airport has a published left traffic pattern for Runway Two and you are facing the left downwind as you prepare to enter the runway. Just as you are about to advance the throttle of your aircraft to take the runway you hear someone key their microphone and say on Unicom, “Hometown traffic, Aerostar 304 Uniform Mike, base leg, Runway Two, Hometown.” You scan the base leg and see nothing. You check the final approach path and see nothing. You check the downwind leg and see nothing. Here’s your question. Remembering there is only one runway at this airport, what would you do at this point?

When you think you know the answer to the question go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find the full answer along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

As always, if you have questions of your own, you may always reach me at jeff@ATCcommunication.com.

767s — Radar Contact 32: Finding Your Way to Talk to ATC Sep 13, 2013

Round dial versus glass. Boeing 767-300 (top) and Boeing 767-400 (bottom).

Learning to talk to air traffic control on the radios can be tough. Learning to talk to ATC on the radios while learning to fly a new airplane is even harder. Learning to talk to ATC, while learning to fly a new airplane, in a foreign country is possibly the most difficult of all. In this week’s Radar Contact Show, we are going to look at that most difficult situation. We will crack the code on how to talk to ATC even when learning to fly in a foreign country.

Communication with ATC by text message? It’s already here and it may be coming to your cockpit in the near future. Find out how it works and how it will affect you in this week’s show.

“November 9275 Hotel, say your aircraft type code and suffix.” Do you know how to answer that? We’ll crack the code together.

May I ask you a question? Too late. I already asked one! Though it’s a matter of opinion and certainly technique-only, I believe there is a right way and a wrong way to make a request with ATC. We will look at the difference.

I have so much of the good stuff in this week’s show it will make your head spin. That’s okay though. We’ll throw in full rudder opposite the direction of spin and set the aircraft right again. Here we go. . .

Show Notes:

Upgrading from the Boeing 767-300 to the 767-400 was not that difficult. It was simply a matter of getting used to new instrument displays in the cockpit and a few differences in systems operation.

What proved harder was learning the radio work for ocean-crossing and for flying in Europe.

Take a look at the taxi diagram for Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain.Clicking this link opens the airport diagram in a new window.

Radio work becomes easier as you practice and as you give yourself permission to make mistakes.

Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) is communication with ATC by text messaging. It is used everyday by aircraft crossing the ocean. CPDLC may have some good uses in your cockpit, especially for non-urgent communication with ATC.

Your aircraft’s type code can be found at the FAA’s website. At the index page, click on the first letter of your aircraft’s manufacturer and then find your specific aircraft model in the list on the new page.Here is the link which opens in a new page or tab.

The International Civil Aeronautical Organization (ICAO) is the originating source for aircraft type codes. Here is the link to the ICAO’s list of aircraft by manufacturer. Find your manufacturer in the list and then click on the manufacturer’s name to see the different models of aircraft and their codes. Here is the link to the ICAO listings.

Sometimes ATC will ask you for your aircraft’s suffix.

Development of the new Aircraft Radio Simulator, written in HTML5 and Javascript is coming along nicely. I will have a test module demonstrating the voice recognition capability of the sim available for you shortly.

If you need to make a simple request of ATC, just ask. You don’t need to introduce the request unless the request will be long and complicated.

If you need to ask ATC a general question, first ask the controller if he or she has time for a question.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying VFR cross-country while talking to ATC for flight following. Earlier, you had filed a VFR flight plan and you listed your aircraft with a suffix of slant Alpha, meaning your aircraft has a transponder with Mode C and you also have DME in your navigation suite. About halfway to your destination, you notice the DME display on your instrument panel goes blank. You try tuning in different VORTACs in your area, and although you receive radial information off each VORTAC the DME display remains blank. You are absolutely certain your DME system has gone inoperative. Here’s your question: Given your filed flight plan and the fact that you are flying VFR, are you required to notify ATC that your DME has become inoperative?

When you think you know the answer that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to this week’s question along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

AIM Table 5-1-2 — Radar Contact 32: Finding Your Way to Talk to ATC Sep 13, 2013

Round dial versus glass. Boeing 767-300 (top) and Boeing 767-400 (bottom).

Learning to talk to air traffic control on the radios can be tough. Learning to talk to ATC on the radios while learning to fly a new airplane is even harder. Learning to talk to ATC, while learning to fly a new airplane, in a foreign country is possibly the most difficult of all. In this week’s Radar Contact Show, we are going to look at that most difficult situation. We will crack the code on how to talk to ATC even when learning to fly in a foreign country.

Communication with ATC by text message? It’s already here and it may be coming to your cockpit in the near future. Find out how it works and how it will affect you in this week’s show.

“November 9275 Hotel, say your aircraft type code and suffix.” Do you know how to answer that? We’ll crack the code together.

May I ask you a question? Too late. I already asked one! Though it’s a matter of opinion and certainly technique-only, I believe there is a right way and a wrong way to make a request with ATC. We will look at the difference.

I have so much of the good stuff in this week’s show it will make your head spin. That’s okay though. We’ll throw in full rudder opposite the direction of spin and set the aircraft right again. Here we go. . .

Show Notes:

Upgrading from the Boeing 767-300 to the 767-400 was not that difficult. It was simply a matter of getting used to new instrument displays in the cockpit and a few differences in systems operation.

What proved harder was learning the radio work for ocean-crossing and for flying in Europe.

Take a look at the taxi diagram for Barajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain.Clicking this link opens the airport diagram in a new window.

Radio work becomes easier as you practice and as you give yourself permission to make mistakes.

Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) is communication with ATC by text messaging. It is used everyday by aircraft crossing the ocean. CPDLC may have some good uses in your cockpit, especially for non-urgent communication with ATC.

Your aircraft’s type code can be found at the FAA’s website. At the index page, click on the first letter of your aircraft’s manufacturer and then find your specific aircraft model in the list on the new page.Here is the link which opens in a new page or tab.

The International Civil Aeronautical Organization (ICAO) is the originating source for aircraft type codes. Here is the link to the ICAO’s list of aircraft by manufacturer. Find your manufacturer in the list and then click on the manufacturer’s name to see the different models of aircraft and their codes. Here is the link to the ICAO listings.

Sometimes ATC will ask you for your aircraft’s suffix.

Development of the new Aircraft Radio Simulator, written in HTML5 and Javascript is coming along nicely. I will have a test module demonstrating the voice recognition capability of the sim available for you shortly.

If you need to make a simple request of ATC, just ask. You don’t need to introduce the request unless the request will be long and complicated.

If you need to ask ATC a general question, first ask the controller if he or she has time for a question.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying VFR cross-country while talking to ATC for flight following. Earlier, you had filed a VFR flight plan and you listed your aircraft with a suffix of slant Alpha, meaning your aircraft has a transponder with Mode C and you also have DME in your navigation suite. About halfway to your destination, you notice the DME display on your instrument panel goes blank. You try tuning in different VORTACs in your area, and although you receive radial information off each VORTAC the DME display remains blank. You are absolutely certain your DME system has gone inoperative. Here’s your question: Given your filed flight plan and the fact that you are flying VFR, are you required to notify ATC that your DME has become inoperative?

When you think you know the answer that question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to this week’s question along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

VHF Radio — How to Switch from Approach to Tower Control Jul 30, 2013

“Chestnut 372 Victor Charlie, you’re six miles north of the airport. Contact Propinquity Tower on 119.6.” That is how the switch from Approach Control to Tower Control should sound. Does it always happen that way? We’ll rip it apart in this week’s show and see what the pieces tell us.

Last time in our story, I asked you some important questions about how you would use the Aircraft Radio Simulator. Yeah, I’m talking about the software I’ve had in development since the Late Pleistocene Epoch. I’ve got your answers from the survey on this subject. The results are going to surprise you.

Got a good question for you about how the ILS hold short line affects pilots flying VFR. That’s right, sometimes IFR approaches affect VFR.

All that, plus listener emails and that twice-a-month brain cramp, Your Question of the Week. I’d tell you more but time is a-wasting and we’ve got a huge show to navigate. Roll the mp3 player!

Show Notes:

A listener writes: “I am 10 miles out [from the airport], usually where I am making my call to Tower to notify them that I am inbound for landing, but I am still stuck on ATC [approach control] for flight following. . . Had I not terminated Flight Following, would Longview Approach have sequenced me in, and had me contact the Tower, say 5 or so miles out?”

Approach Control or ARTCC will always switch you to tower control before you enter Tower’s airspace. This applies whether you are flying VFR or IFR.

You normally maintain your discrete transponder code when switching from Approach to Tower because most towers have their own radar display in the tower cab.

Your discrete transponder code allows the tower control to view vital information about your aircraft on the tower’s radar display.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you believe the controller has forgotten or overlooked your flight, do speak up. You and the controller are both working for a safe flight. Help each other out.

The results of a survey regarding the Aircraft Radio Simulator are in, and no, I cannot offer the final version of the simulator for free. I explain why in this segment of the show.

You only need to hold short of the ILS hold short line when tower tells you to do so. There are very specific criteria Tower uses to activate the ILS hold short line. If Tower does not tell you to hold short of it, taxi like it isn’t there.

The question about the ILS hold short line comes from my Twitter feed. You may follow me at twitter.com/jeff_atc for more tips and techniques when talking with ATC. Use the Twitter icon in the upper right corner of this website or use this link.

Do you have experience with any of the following flight schools: ATP, Aerosim, Wayman, Dean, ADF? If so, get in touch with me at jeff@atccommunication.com. There is a listener in Venezuela who is interested in attending one of these schools and he needs more information.

Your Question of the Week:

You are departing VFR from a Class Charlie airport. Before you taxied out to the active runway, the clearance delivery controller in the airport tower gave you a discrete transponder code to squawk and a frequency to contact departure control.

You have lifted off of the runway and you are climbing away from the airport. The last thing the tower controller said to you was: “Cleared for takeoff.” You are now 7 miles from the airport, well beyond the boundary of the tower’s airspace, and you have not heard anything further from the tower controller. What, if anything, should you say on the radio?

When you think you know the answer to that question, go to the link atccommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer along with a full explanation of how that answer was derived.

whiteHorse — Land and Hold Short, Kimosabi Jul 10, 2013

Hi-yo Silver!
In this week’s show we are going to saddle up with the Lone Ranger and break out a lasso, I mean, LAHSO. I know, we should quit horsing around and get down to business.

We’ve got masked heroes on horseback; we’ve got fireworks and exploding software; we’ve got your question of the week. I ask you, where else can you go for such fired-up enthusiasm over something as routine as talking on the aircraft radio. Right here, that’s where. Hi-yo Silver! Away!

Show Notes:

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for all those who were injured in the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214. It’s tragic that 2 people died in the crash and 168 people were injured. Focusing on the positive: It is impressive that the flight attendants were able to guide the evacuation of more than 300 people from the Boeing 777.

There is a complete replay of the San Francisco Tower radio communication during and after the Asiana Airlines crash. You can find a link to it at my Twitter feed. Go to Twitter.com/atc_jeff. If you have not already signed up for my Twitter feed, you can do so by clicking the Twitter icon in the upper right margin of ATCcommunication.com.

ATC’s Land and Hold Short (LAHSO) program is designed to improve traffic flow at busy tower-controlled airports. When used, it allows air traffic control to land aircraft on a runway and slow to a stop or exit the runway prior to reaching a designated intersection.

When an aircraft lands and holds short of an intersection, it allows ATC to cross other airplanes through that intersection without concern for a traffic conflict with the landing aircraft.

You do not have to accept a LAHSO clearance if you are not familiar with the LAHSO procedure or the airport layout, including any signs, runway markings, or lighting associated with the procedure.

The FAA’s Airport Facility Directory lists information on an airport’s LAHSO program, including the runway affected, the land and hold short point, and the available landing distance measured from the runway’s threshold to the hold short point.

You also do not have to accept a LAHSO clearance if either you or your aircraft is not capable of stopping prior to the intersection named in the LAHSO clearance. To make this determination, you have to know how much runway distance is available from the threshold of the runway to the intersection you are expected to hold short of.

If you are familiar with the LAHSO procedure for the runway in use, and if you and your airplane are capable of stopping prior to the named intersection, you should accept the LAHSO clearance.

Once you accept a LAHSO clearance, you are required to comply with the clearance unless you are able to get an amended clearance prior to landing.

A LAHSO clearance will include a clearance to land and the words, “Hold short of,” along with the runway, taxiway, or point you are expected to hold short of.

Compliance with a LAHSO clearance does not necessarily mean you will land and stop on the runway prior to the named intersection. It only means you will not cross through that intersection. It is perfectly acceptable, and usually expected that you will slow to a safe taxi speed and exit the runway prior to intersection named in the LAHSO clearance.

Your Question of the Week:

You are on a 7-mile final approach to Runway 22 at a tower-controlled airport. The airport’s ATIS broadcast said Land and Hold Short Operations are in effect for Runway 22. You are flying a large aircraft that requires a minimum runway length of 4,700 feet for landing. Runway 22 is longer than 4,700 feet. The tower controller says to you, “November 338 Golf Lima, Runway 22, cleared to land. Hold short of Taxiway Charlie.”

You know there was a LAHSO program published for this runway because you read about it in your preflight planning session. You also learned in your preflight study that the available landing distance on Runway 22 from the threshold to the intersection of Taxiway Charlie is 4,400 feet.

Here’s your question. What is the radio transmission you would make in reply to Tower’s clearance?

When you think you know the answer to the question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers.

lahso — Land and Hold Short, Kimosabi Jul 10, 2013

Hi-yo Silver!
In this week’s show we are going to saddle up with the Lone Ranger and break out a lasso, I mean, LAHSO. I know, we should quit horsing around and get down to business.

We’ve got masked heroes on horseback; we’ve got fireworks and exploding software; we’ve got your question of the week. I ask you, where else can you go for such fired-up enthusiasm over something as routine as talking on the aircraft radio. Right here, that’s where. Hi-yo Silver! Away!

Show Notes:

Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for all those who were injured in the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214. It’s tragic that 2 people died in the crash and 168 people were injured. Focusing on the positive: It is impressive that the flight attendants were able to guide the evacuation of more than 300 people from the Boeing 777.

There is a complete replay of the San Francisco Tower radio communication during and after the Asiana Airlines crash. You can find a link to it at my Twitter feed. Go to Twitter.com/atc_jeff. If you have not already signed up for my Twitter feed, you can do so by clicking the Twitter icon in the upper right margin of ATCcommunication.com.

ATC’s Land and Hold Short (LAHSO) program is designed to improve traffic flow at busy tower-controlled airports. When used, it allows air traffic control to land aircraft on a runway and slow to a stop or exit the runway prior to reaching a designated intersection.

When an aircraft lands and holds short of an intersection, it allows ATC to cross other airplanes through that intersection without concern for a traffic conflict with the landing aircraft.

You do not have to accept a LAHSO clearance if you are not familiar with the LAHSO procedure or the airport layout, including any signs, runway markings, or lighting associated with the procedure.

The FAA’s Airport Facility Directory lists information on an airport’s LAHSO program, including the runway affected, the land and hold short point, and the available landing distance measured from the runway’s threshold to the hold short point.

You also do not have to accept a LAHSO clearance if either you or your aircraft is not capable of stopping prior to the intersection named in the LAHSO clearance. To make this determination, you have to know how much runway distance is available from the threshold of the runway to the intersection you are expected to hold short of.

If you are familiar with the LAHSO procedure for the runway in use, and if you and your airplane are capable of stopping prior to the named intersection, you should accept the LAHSO clearance.

Once you accept a LAHSO clearance, you are required to comply with the clearance unless you are able to get an amended clearance prior to landing.

A LAHSO clearance will include a clearance to land and the words, “Hold short of,” along with the runway, taxiway, or point you are expected to hold short of.

Compliance with a LAHSO clearance does not necessarily mean you will land and stop on the runway prior to the named intersection. It only means you will not cross through that intersection. It is perfectly acceptable, and usually expected that you will slow to a safe taxi speed and exit the runway prior to intersection named in the LAHSO clearance.

Your Question of the Week:

You are on a 7-mile final approach to Runway 22 at a tower-controlled airport. The airport’s ATIS broadcast said Land and Hold Short Operations are in effect for Runway 22. You are flying a large aircraft that requires a minimum runway length of 4,700 feet for landing. Runway 22 is longer than 4,700 feet. The tower controller says to you, “November 338 Golf Lima, Runway 22, cleared to land. Hold short of Taxiway Charlie.”

You know there was a LAHSO program published for this runway because you read about it in your preflight planning session. You also learned in your preflight study that the available landing distance on Runway 22 from the threshold to the intersection of Taxiway Charlie is 4,400 feet.

Here’s your question. What is the radio transmission you would make in reply to Tower’s clearance?

When you think you know the answer to the question, go to ATCcommunication.com/answers.

At your service. — FAA to Pilots: Know the Radio Standard Phraseology Jun 23, 2013

Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming. A couple of weeks ago, the FAA published two draft proposals that will change the way you and I will train for our Private Pilot Certificate and for our Instrument Rating. If the wording in the proposals gets integrated into the regs, you will have to demonstrate to your FAA examiner that you can reliably communicate with ATC using standard radio phraseology. Is it enough to write this requirement on paper? Will pilots use standard phraseology after they pass their checkride? Find out in this week’s show.

Contrary to popular belief, there are no terse regulations relating to a Tersa. In fact, a Terminal Radar Service Area has no regulations specific to the airspace. You still have to know how to communicate with ATC when operating inside of a Tersa. I’ll show you how.

Ummm. Uhh. What will I talk about next? Umm. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh. You’ll have to tune in to uhhhhhh, find out. Run that, uhh, thingamabob that plays this podcast.

Show Notes:

Up til now, all you needed to know about radio communication in order to get your private pilot’s certificate or your instrument rating was how to squeeze the transmit key on your microphone and speak. Now, according to a new proposal put out the by FAA 2 weeks ago, you may have to demonstrate you know standard radio phraseology when communicating with ATC during your checkride.

The link to the FAA’s draft proposals for new training and certification standards, and pilot comments, is here.

Unless the FAA enforces the new standard after a pilot passes his checkride, the training and certification standards won’t change a thing. In my opinion, absent enforcement, only pilots with self-discipline will continue to use standard phraseology after the checkride is passed.

There are no specific rules governing flight inside a Terminal Radar Service Area (TRSA.) Part 91 is always in effect, but there are no airspace regs for TRSAs.

You do not even have to talk to ATC if you fly VFR inside a TRSA as long as you stay out of the Class D airspace inside the TRSA.

If you do make contact with ATC, you can say “Negative radar service” to avoid having to follow ATC instructions outside of the Class D.

If you do participate in radar service, you will get radar sequencing to the primary airport as well as separation from all other participating aircraft.

When you hear a pilot say “Uhh” on the radio, that’s a sign the pilot started transmitting before he knew what to say. It’s unprofessional and it takes up value air time on the radio.

The best way to avoid brain lock when keying the microphone transmit button is to practice your radio calls before you fly.

I have a new workbook, Radio Mastery for VFR Pilots Workbook, on sale at Amazon.com. The workbook trains your brain for VFR radio work.

Using the workbook, you’ll read a flying scenario, visualize the circumstances, write the correct radio call, and then practice saying the radio call out loud. It’s multi-modal training for your brain that ensures long-term memory of vital radio transmissions.

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying VFR in a Terminal Radar Service Area. You are inbound to the primary airport inside the TRSA and you are taking radar vectors from air traffic control. The approach controller advises you that you are seven miles in trail of another aircraft, who is also inbound to the airport. ATC calls that airplane you are following and says, “Descend and maintain 4,000.” Here’s your question: Given the radio transmission you just heard from ATC, is the airplane you are following operating VFR, operating IFR, or is it impossible to tell.

When you think you know the answer to that question, go to the link ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find a complete answer to this week’s question, along with a complete explanation of how that answer was derived.

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