Class C transition

[Sac Arrow]

If my intention was to transit Class C, (or D, or B,) from the getgo VFR I would normally get flight following first. Usually, following a Class C or B transit, or an IFR cancellation in the air, they will ask if I want to remain flight following.

 

[Jamie Kirk]

I wouldn’t contact approach if I wanted to transition Charlie. I’d just call the tower and ask for permission to transition their airspace.

Why would you contact approach if you are not on flight following? If you are on flight following they will tell you who to contact and unless otherwise told you’re cleared to enter Charlie.

 

[dmspilot]

I wouldn’t contact approach if I wanted to transition Charlie. I’d just call the tower and ask for permission to transition their airspace.

Why would you contact approach if you are not on flight following? If you are on flight following they will tell you who to contact and unless otherwise told you’re cleared to enter Charlie.

You're joking right? The chart literally tells you contact Approach. You call the Tower and they will wonder what's wrong with you, then tell you to contact Approach.

 

[Jamie Kirk]

You're joking right? The chart literally tells you contact Approach. You call the Tower and they will wonder what's wrong with you, then tell you to contact Approach.

I don’t see a chart?

 

[apr911]

I don’t see a chart?

There's a chart in the OPs post #1 and every chart with a Charlie airport on it says to contact approach.

Chart or no chart, for Charlie airspace you should be contacting approach first not tower with the sole exception being if you take off from an airport in the Charlie surface area.

 

[midlifeflyer]

This thread is doing a great job of making something simple seem complicated.



What am I missing?

 

[midlifeflyer]

You're joking right? The chart literally tells you contact Approach. You call the Tower and they will wonder what's wrong with you, then tell you to contact Approach.

Besides, the Class C is not Tower's airspace.

 

[Velocity173]

I wouldn’t contact approach if I wanted to transition Charlie. I’d just call the tower and ask for permission to transition their airspace.

Why would you contact approach if you are not on flight following? If you are on flight following they will tell you who to contact and unless otherwise told you’re cleared to enter Charlie.

Because approach freqs are the ones listed on the sectional just like every other C. Tower CAN control the surface area of the C and while they CAN also provide FF, approach is responsible for everything outside including the outer shelf. If you contact tower 20 miles out, good chance they’ll just send you back to approach.

 

[apr911]

There's a chart in the OPs post #1 and every chart with a Charlie airport on it says to contact approach.

Chart or no chart, for Charlie airspace you should be contacting approach first not tower with the sole exception being if you take off from an airport in the Charlie surface area.

There is another exception I thought of... When Local Procedures, Preference or Custom call for it. This seems to apply more to Bravo Surface Areas controlled by the Tower than a Charlie; probably due to the amount of traffic Bravo Approach Controllers are handling as well as the different airpace entry requirements (explicit approval vs 2-way comms) but at least in San Diego, it is customary to contact San Diego/Lindbergh Tower directly, usually somewhere around Mt Soledad, for transiting the surface area from North to South along the coast. They'll usually tell you to report Crystal Pier and cleared through the Bravo at or below 500ft. They'll then hand you off to North Island.

Going the other way you'd contact North Island or Approach first and going North to South from anywhere other than along the coast at low altitude, you'd contact approach first; unless you use the VFR corridor to transit.

Again this is more of a local custom or preference which is to say that there'd be nothing wrong with contacting approach first and in most instances you'd be best advised to do that rather than calling tower in the blind but at least in San Diego's case they have established an unpublished but predictable special procedure for transiting traffic along the coast and they dont require you to contact approach first if that's all you're doing.