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  #171  
Old 11-23-2010, 11:01 PM
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az_gila az_gila is offline
 
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Post Airnav

A check on Airnav.com and a read of the comments is usually worthwhile before going to any airport.

In the case of Santa Barbara, a lot of the comments mention price...

http://www.airnav.com/airport/sba


Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisj13 View Post
That's so ridiculous...I found the same thing in Santa Barbara. Is there somewhere I can find out this info before leaving on a cross country? Or is it a matter of just calling each fbo and seeing what they say? I was so disgusted with the attitude at SBA FBO (I forget the name but it wasn't atlantic) I turned around and left. This was after the counter lady "did me such a huge favor" by waiving the $30 or so fee. Give me a break. I couldn't believe there wasn't ANYWHERE on the field where I could stop and file a new flight plan.
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  #172  
Old 11-23-2010, 11:52 PM
Bavafa Bavafa is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisj13 View Post
Bavafa: I'm flying to monterey on Thursday for the first time...any pointers? should be an easy flight from Davis (EDU...notice I left off the K!! haha ) going over SFO then south, victor airways the entire way. should be a great flight.
Chris,
As mentioned the few times that I have flown to Monterey, I never got cleared as filed but it is not major different either. I am in Placerville and usually get routed to an intersection near Manteca or to SAC and then Manteca or a way point near there and then V111 to SNS VOR.
If I was going to fly to Monterey, I would not go over SFO and then south as you will be hitting the busy SFO airspace, rather I would be going SAC, V585, Patty, V111, SNS, MRY

As the landing fee, try Monterey Bay Aviation which is on the North side of the airport. There is no landing fee and if you stay a full day, the ramp charge is only $10 and if you buy gas they wave the ramp fee. They are very friendly and helpful and car rental is only $25 but there center is not as glamorous as Monterey Jet center.

We maybe flying on there on Thursday as well.

Either way, have a fun and safe flight
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Last edited by Bavafa : 11-23-2010 at 11:55 PM.
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  #173  
Old 12-04-2010, 11:44 AM
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C'mon guys....I'm bored, ask a question.
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  #174  
Old 12-04-2010, 12:34 PM
chrisj13 chrisj13 is offline
 
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TK: I'm full of questions, but don't want to make a nusiance of myself. I've mentioned before that I just got my IR...been about 3 months now and have flown "in the system" about 4 times. All I can say is that I love it! Granted, they've all be CAVU days here in NORCAL, but it's probably better that way while I "get my feet wet" so to speak as SPIFR.
I've always filed and flown victor airways, even though I have a Garmin 430W on board and could go direct. My question is this: If I am on a direct flight plan to a busy airport/area, how the heck does the controller figure separation? Radar only? I was told by my CFII that when I'm on a victor airway on my assigned route, that I "own" that stretch of road and nobody else can be on it (at same altitude.) It just blows my mind that all these different flights going "direct" don't meet somewhere in the middle.
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  #175  
Old 12-04-2010, 12:56 PM
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Default rite or left??

Tony:

I was approaching KGYR from the SW. GYR was using RWY 21. I reported 10 miles south. TWR told me to fly rite pattern to 21.

I replied, "TWR, rite pattern means I have to cross mid field or cross departing aircraft. Pls confirm, request left pattern 21".

To which he replied: "OK, I thought you were coming from a different direction".

How else could I tactfully disagreed with his instruction?

Subsequent to that trip, I now report "10 miles SW over town xyz", request left pattern 21" so there is never a misunderstanding.

Thanks for answering these questions.
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Last edited by MrNomad : 12-04-2010 at 01:09 PM.
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  #176  
Old 12-04-2010, 01:37 PM
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Garage Guy Garage Guy is offline
 
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OK, here's one about clearance limits.

Suppose you issue me "Cleared direct FIX", where FIX is not part of my original clearance, and with no further instructions.

My understanding is that now FIX is my clearance limit. And the question is, what are you expecting me to do at FIX, absent further communication with ATC? Hold, or try to rejoin my previous clearance in some reasonable way?

This came up years ago when I was flying a Mooney into LAX. LAX was landing to the east, and I was coming from the south, so expecting ILS 7R. About 20 miles out, approach says "LAX is turning the boat around", going to be landing to the west now. OK, I get out the ILS 25L plate as I'm getting vectored out over the ocean while they sort things out. A few minutes later I hear "Mooney 201NV, cleared direct Seal Beach", the SLI vortac, about 15 miles southeast of LAX.

Great! Except now as I'm approaching SLI, I'm realizing: SLI was not part of my original clearance, which was given based on when LAX was landing the other way. So, technically, SLI is now my clearance limit. Am I really supposed to hold there, waiting further clearance? If I proceed past SLI, am I busting my clearance? Asking approach for clarification would be good, but he's dealing with a sky full of other airplanes that are also getting their clearances changed and there's no way to get a word in.

Thinking about it for another minute, I decide that if approach wanted me to hold at SLI they would have said so, SLI is a published initial approach fix for LAX ILS 25L so that's probably the flow they are feeding me into, best thing to do is just depart SLI on the 335 radial to join the approach as charted.

And sure enough a couple minutes after SLI, approach gives me "201NV, contact tower when established on the localizer, cleared ILS 25L approach", almost as if I knew what I was doing the whole time .

Anyway, I think back on this as a situation where trying to fit into an expected flow of traffic worked out better than getting tied up in a technical interpretation of a rule. If you're really bored you could maybe comment on the scope and limts of that as a general approach to flying IFR .

--Paul
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  #177  
Old 12-04-2010, 03:28 PM
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curtis curtis is offline
 
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Default Altitude verification question

I have a new RV-6A with 60 hours on it and I am wondering the correct procedure to contact ATC only for the reason to check what my altitude is reporting? The system has been tested while setting static on the ground, but with the nature of a experimental aircraft I question if the static source once flying is correct. I was flying at the same altitude as a friend in his RV-10 today and he said that my altitude compared to his altimeter and "TCAS" was 300 ft higher than what I was showing on my altimeter.

Thanks,
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  #178  
Old 12-04-2010, 03:29 PM
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tkatc tkatc is offline
 
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Chris...if you become a nuisance I can always ignore you in typical "controller" fashion, so no worries there. I think you are going about dabbling in the IFR arena the right way...a little at a time and not biting off more than you can chew. I wish you were closer so I could bring you in and show you exactly the kind of things controllers do. It sounds like that would be VERY beneficial to you. Perhaps you could call your local approach control and request a tour.

As far as people going direct in busier areas of the country it is much more difficult but can be done on a limited basis. Think of it as driving through the city...to get from A to B you must go down main st to 13th avenue then turn left on Roosevelt, etc etc. Direct is not an option because you would be running into everything. These routes are standard and the controllers get used to the "flow" of traffic and can seperate based on that flow using RADAR. If they lose RADAR they have non-radar techniques but they are rarely used anymore because the system has a lot of redundancy built in and losing RADAR is very rare. If everybody was issued direct destination it would become much more chaotic and down right impossible in some locations.

What your CFII is referring to are non-radar rules we use in case of a radar outage. (again extremely uncommon) Without radar we cannot see you and we seperate you blindly using a map and the route you are assigned. While on your victor airway in a non-radar environment we would keep all aircraft a minimum of 4 miles away from your airway on either side. Ensuring adequate spacing even if you stray just a bit. All this would be much easier explain in person behind a radar scope so I hope you understand what i am trying to say at least vaguely.

MrNomad....I am assuming you called the tower and they did not give you a transponder code. This leads me to believe they are strictly a VFR tower without RADAR capability. Obviously without RADAR the controller misinterpretted your location and gave erroneous instructions. Good job verifying the instructions. If you ever get instructions that sound fishy, by all means verify those instructions. YOU as a pilot are part of the reason we have such a safe system. You are part of the safe redundancy built in. It sounds like you have already figured out a better way to announce your position and avoid confusion.

Garage Guy....you also sound like you got this one figured out on your own. During times when busy airports switch runways it can get pretty chaotic. The controller sent you direct SLI just to get things moving in the right direction. I would take the instruction and assume there would be further instruction before reaching SLI. I would wait til just before SLI before inquiring about further instruction if you had not recieved any before that point. Chances are good that you would be given further instructions. Think of it as if the controller gave you a vector....the vector was never part of your original clearance either, yet pilots take vectors all the time assuming there will be further instruction. If the vector becomes excessively long, of course, inquire about it. If you can't seem to raise them on the radio...you would then squawk 7600 and proceed in on the advertised approach. They will either find a way to communicate with you or move all the traffic out of your way for your approach. Make sense?
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  #179  
Old 12-04-2010, 03:35 PM
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tkatc tkatc is offline
 
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Curtis....I suggest you fly that RV up to NJ and let me personally check the transponder. I will do this free of charge but I will have to keep the airplane for a good 6-8 months. I guarantee the transponder to be perfect when you come back to pick it up!!!

Seriously though, something like "Approach, Exp123 is 10 miles north of ABC VOR, request transponder check" they will give you a code and tell you everything they see as long as they have time.
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  #180  
Old 12-04-2010, 03:41 PM
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A trip to the Northeast sounds good, however I don't think I can part with my mistress for any length of time

Thank you for your help with my question.
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