Denied entry into class Delta
- Thread starter BigBadLou
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Ari
Bismarck has Army National Guard, Blackhawks and I think one other helicopter type.
Clarksburg has some National Guard, airlift of some sort.
Maybe it is mostly a matter of military or other special operations on the field, not busy enough to justify Class C designation and no vestigial charted TRSA but busy enough to keep IFR traffic off of Center, that determines if a Class D airport will have an uncharted radar approach?
I've been denied entry into class Delta a few times. However, I seem to remember always being told "blah blah remain outside blah blah" and not "blah blah remain clear blah blah". I'm guessing they don't want "clear" misunderstood as "cleared" or "clearance".
NoHeat
Final Approach
I can suggest a counterexample to that theory.
Waterloo Iowa KALO is a class D airport with a radar approach control. It has no military or other special operations that I know of. Airlines have only a few departures each day, by regional jet.
Despite having radar approach, KALO just barely has a tower. It was among those scheduled for closure in 2013 due to the fed govt sequestration (the closings were later canceled).
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Ari
I know never to argue with someone who rides a black R1100RS. Now we're down to "someone ordered too many radar units and didn't want to admit it" as a working theory for the proliferation of Class D uncharted TRACONs.
Mistake Not...
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Mistake Not...
I'm not arguing with how you handled it, but I have questions...
Aren't controllers required to given reasons for vectors? And if not, can pilots ask? Because I'm pretty sure "PMS" isn't a valid reason. And if she lies on tape, and then later says "neener neener, it was a punishment", that's a problem for her, right? And you're outside her airspace... can she even give you a vector?
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Ari
I can't find anything in the Chart Supplement that specifies the service volume of these radar approach facilities. Is there a section I am forgetting to check? Incidentally, while looking for it, I did find an acronym defined in each Chart Supplement: ARSA ... Airport Radar Service Area. Of course, there is no further information given on the topic and I could not find one use of this acronym in any of the Chart Supplements.
dmspilot
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You aren't missing anything as far as I know. I just wanted to point out that their existence is published.
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I was on flight following, so yes, I believe I had to follow her vector, unless I wanted to cancel. But of course with the club plane based at the Charlie, so sooner or later I would have had to come back. Oh well. It was an interesting experience.
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Velocity173
I think those saying "uncharted" meaning not on a sectional. Yes, class D TRACONs are listed in the former AFD or current Chart Supplement and always have been.
They provide the same IFR services as other TRACONs. The services for VFR are basic radar services or what used to be called Stage II services. At a minimum, that includes safety alerts, traffic advisories, limited radar vectoring on pilot request and sequencing where authorized.
The service volume isn't important anymore than it would be for a B or C. Generally, you're looking at a max ASR range of 60 miles but most likely their airspace doesn't go that far anyway. The AIM recommends calling 25 miles out but the 20 mile recommendation that Cs use, will work also. Just far enough to give them time to sequence and coordinate with tower.
Volume of traffic is one of the reasons keeping them from upgrading to a C but PAX enplanments also. A fighter base could be quite busy but not have a high Instrument count and they sure don't have many PAX getting on off there. Hence they stay a D with a TRACON. Or specifically in the case of AF, a RAPCON or Army, an ARAC. Navy / Marines use TRACON.
They provide the same IFR services as other TRACONs. The services for VFR are basic radar services or what used to be called Stage II services. At a minimum, that includes safety alerts, traffic advisories, limited radar vectoring on pilot request and sequencing where authorized.
The service volume isn't important anymore than it would be for a B or C. Generally, you're looking at a max ASR range of 60 miles but most likely their airspace doesn't go that far anyway. The AIM recommends calling 25 miles out but the 20 mile recommendation that Cs use, will work also. Just far enough to give them time to sequence and coordinate with tower.
Volume of traffic is one of the reasons keeping them from upgrading to a C but PAX enplanments also. A fighter base could be quite busy but not have a high Instrument count and they sure don't have many PAX getting on off there. Hence they stay a D with a TRACON. Or specifically in the case of AF, a RAPCON or Army, an ARAC. Navy / Marines use TRACON.
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DrewG
Pre-takeoff checklist
I'd love to know what it takes for a Class D to get radar services. The one I call home is constantly busy (especially with the local university's aviation department added to the mix), just added a couple of regional airline departures/arrivals and it seems like radar capabilities would be beneficial. I know it's expensive - and I'm guessing that's the main reason they don't have radar service yet.
Ventucky Red
Pattern Altitude
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Jon
Happens more than often at KCMA... we can get real busy on the weekends....
Harold Rutila
Pre-takeoff checklist
Too much chatter. Not enough AIM reading.
It's called basic radar service, by the way.
It's called basic radar service, by the way.
WannFly
Final Approach
I know. I am based there.
WannFly
Final Approach
.Waterloo approach provides enroute radar services for the area, in addition to providing approach control services for the airport. Why they have it, yet a place like Dubuque doesn't (that has to have higher traffic count with all the training there), I don't know. There is talk of remoting the approach control to Des Moines, but I haven't heard if that is actually going to happen or not.
Waterloo does however have a national guard unit, that might be a contributing factor.
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
I agree (and said as much in my post) that if you get your tail number read and an instruction to remain clear, you should do so.
If the controller responds to a radio call with, "aircraft <call sign>, standby," radio communications have been established and the pilot can enter the Class D airspace. If workload or traffic conditions prevent immediate entry into Class D airspace, the controller will inform the the pilot to remain outside the Class D airspace until conditions permit entry.
What isn't clear, but appears to be supported is if the controller ONLY says your call-sign/tail number for example and nothing else, which is what the person I was referring to mentions. Two-way communication involves me introducing myself and you recognizing me. So, tail number after a call to tower seems to meet that burden: I've recognized you and referred to you and you have recognized and referred to me.
Seems to me, "standby" is almost a waste of speech, since it doesn't indicate to the pilot to actually remain outside the airspace or really do anything other than wait for the controller to get less busy. If you are transitioning the airspace, who cares?
BigBadLou
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Lou
Can we all just agree nicely that this was not an incorrect procedure, it was done for safety of all involved and it turned out fine?
I believe reading the FAR/AIM would help a few pilots out there. But I didn't say that. Shhh.
Sheesh, I did not mean to start a flame war on controllers. Most of them are great guys who are here to help us poor lost souls.
I believe reading the FAR/AIM would help a few pilots out there. But I didn't say that. Shhh.
Sheesh, I did not mean to start a flame war on controllers. Most of them are great guys who are here to help us poor lost souls.
BigBadLou
Final Approach
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Lou
AMEN!
I actually scheduled a meet between our local pilots and local controllers. I want to get shy pilots to realize that the voice on the other side of the frequency is another human being. I want controllers to see that us pilots really are a diverse and strange bunch but again, just humans. And I want the TRACON safety manager to show a presentation of silent VFR pilot fudge-ups that we can avoid if we all just SHARE the airspace and talk to each other.
(yes, that is my hidden agenda)Surprisingly, we already have more controllers signed up than pilots! LOL
I'll let y'all know how it goes.
Timbeck2
Final Approach
The controller.
There was PMS mentioned earlier which I have no personal experience with but I can say that every controller has their saturation point. The controller may have a sector full of airplanes with nowhere to put anyone else and some yahoo wants to "transition" the airspace. This same yahoo is only concerned with himself and his aircraft. The controller has to be concerned with all of them.
luvflyin
Touchdown! Greaser!
Maybe a stronger congressman with a proper respect for pork could get ya some radar there
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luvflyin
Touchdown! Greaser!
When did the Navy quit calling theirs RATCF.
mscard88
Touchdown! Greaser!
Yup what Timbeck said. What are you supposed to do if told "standby"? Obviously standby but realize that Class D is 4 nm up to and including 2500' AGL. The controller owns it, and knows what traffic they have and where they're , and what they're doing. You most likely don't know what else the controller is working and where and what they're doing. If you're that impatient just bypass the Class D and remain clear. Simple as that.
luvflyin
Touchdown! Greaser!
Do you know if Dubuque is a Contract Tower? You aren't going to find Approach controls there. Chicago Center may be running Dubuque on what's called "single source" which allows them to run it as efficiently as a Terminal Radar facility. They may be thinking of going Contract at Waterloo which means they'd have get Approach control service from an FAA facility somewhere. That has happened before. They may be thinking of just combining facilities in the area to another "Super TRACON" like SOCAL approach
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Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
Well then that controller needs additional training. This ain't that hard.
The controller, just as much as the pilot, needs to make darn sure to use the right language. It's really not open to interpretation, the regs are pretty clear as it pertains to class D airspace:
<call sign standby> means, for class D airspace, that you can transition it. It does NOT mean stay clear.
<call sign, stay clear> means STAY CLEAR.
The controllers down here test me daily in regards to the class Bravo airspace by giving me vectors into it without actually saying "Cleared into the class Bravo airspace". As I said, the pilot AND the controller need to be specific and clear and realize that certain phrases or lack thereof can mean a world of difference.
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
Standby WITH your tail number is sufficient to transition the airspace. That's what you are supposed to and ALLOWED to do.
Timbeck2
Final Approach
Are you a controller? If not, then how can you judge just "how hard" it is? I'm a controller and a pilot. As a pilot, if I hear a busy controller (whether they need additional training or not) I'm not going to be hung up on semantics of whether I am or aren't approved into busy airspace and I'll avoid piling on the traffic load by entering airspace that I know a controller is >< to his airplane juggling limit. As a controller, I've been so busy that I thought I'd have a coronary if one more airplane decided to join the ones I was juggling already. It wasn't a lack of training on my part, it was simply too many airplanes in the space I had allocated. It happens. If controllers sound busy, give them a break and take a scenic lap or two outside the airspace and come back and try it again later. If they're busy and you persist on entering their airspace, then don't get all butt hurt and say that they're PMSing if they get curt with you. Controllers appreciate pilots who recognize how busy they are and will go out of their way to help them out.
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Velocity173
Well I actually thought RATCF meant all Navy/Marine radar facilities. Come to find out, they use RATCF for GCA with arrival. Once you get approach MOS (7254), they put TRACON on the back of your pink card.
Navy might do it differently but this was from a Marine MOS manual I looked up a couple years ago.
dmspilot
Final Approach
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I don't see how it's a waste.
- If the controller doesn't say anything at all then the pilot thinks the controller did not hear him/her and will keep trying.
- If the controller says the callsign by itself it's an invitation for the pilot to possibly tie up frequency with a possibly long request.
- If the controller wants the pilot to stay out of the airspace, then the controller can say "remain clear of class _".
- [No callsign] standby is basically a request for the pilot to go away and try again later.
- [Callsign] standby means the controller will give you further instructions shortly.
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
"It ain't that hard" was not in reference to a controller's job Tim. It was regarding the concept of class D entry, which I've repeated in three separate posts now.
If they are tired and/or busy then they need only say the words "stay clear", and I shall. Heck they can say "hey buddy do me a favor and stay clear because I'm busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest", fine, no problem.
I'm not a mind-reader and "busy" is a relative term. Just because I hear 10 airplanes on frequency doesn't immediately imply a controller is busy. So when I call them up and they give me a clearance (either intentionally or not) to transition, what am I supposed to do? Assume they didn't actually mean it? Call them and ask again? Tie up more time on the frequency?
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
Yeah, all good points. Standby DOES seem like a necessary term.
mscard88
Touchdown! Greaser!
True if they used your call sign. Class D if the controller didn't use your call sign and said "standby" you cannot enter the airspace as communications have not been established. I've been flying for 41+ year as CFI and airlines, and as a controller when I was in the Air Force. If I were coming up on a Class D and I called, and was told "standby" AND I could hear that the controller was very busy, I'd skirt around the airspace or just circle. Sure the I agree the controller should say "standby, remain clear of Class D", but even if they didn't I wouldn't enter.
Here's a portion of 91.129:
91.129 Operations in Class D air-
space.
(a)
General.
Unless otherwise author-
ized or required by the ATC facility
having jurisdiction over the Class D
airspace area, each person operating an
aircraft in Class D airspace must com-
ply with the applicable provisions of
this section. In addition, each person
must comply with
§§
91.126 and 91.127.
For the purpose of this section, the pri-
mary airport is the airport for which
the Class D airspace area is designated.
A satellite airport is any other airport
within the Class D airspace area.
(b)
Deviations.
An operator may devi-
ate from any provision of this section
under the provisions of an ATC author-
ization issued by the ATC facility hav-
ing jurisdiction over the airspace con-
cerned. ATC may authorize a deviation
on a continuing basis or for an indi-
vidual flight, as appropriate.
(c)
Communications.
Each person oper-
ating an aircraft in Class D airspace
must meet the following two-way radio
communications requirements:
(1)
Arrival or through flight
. Each per-
son must establish two-way radio com-
munications with the ATC facility (in-
cluding foreign ATC in the case of for-
eign airspace designated in the United
States) providing air traffic services
prior to entering that airspace and
thereafter maintain those communica-
tions while within that airspace.
luvflyin
Touchdown! Greaser!
Yeah. That's what the controllers rating says. The name of the facility is still RATCF. I always found that amusing. You get partially checked out and the call it a RATCF rating. When you get fully checked out they call it a TRACON rating. It's like they're saying the FAA is cooler than us.
MAKG1
Touchdown! Greaser!
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No. There are two regs. One says you need two way communications. The other says you must follow instructions from ATC. You only satisfied the first, and proceeding into Class D against instructions is a bust.^ This. If they acknowledge your tail number in a Delta, that's all you need for clearance. Don't even need a squawk code actually. Though I wouldn't want to push my luck if they goofed, said my tail number and said remain clear. Can't even imagine that conversation with the FAA...
I've been denied into airspace quite frequently down here in FL. Always get a "aircraft calling approach, stay clear of class charlie and bravo airspace" Or a "call me back in 15 minutes", etc...You get used to it heh.
In fact if I flight plan like I'm going to get denied into all Delta, Charlie and Bravo airspaces, that way when I get cleared I'm always pleasantly surprised
I occasionally get "remain clear" instructions for Class C.
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
denverpilot
Tied Down
Waaay back up the thread someone pointed out the need for a little extra gas on board and a plan if you're denied entry.
I've seen a Delta just deny everyone after an accident closed a runway, at least for a while. If you're showing up around that time expecting to land there and don't know your alternate landing plan today, well, better get one or circle for half an hour.
Any CFIs ever have a student who was signed off to solo but not to do XC anywhere, have an airport closed out from under them?
I've seen a Delta just deny everyone after an accident closed a runway, at least for a while. If you're showing up around that time expecting to land there and don't know your alternate landing plan today, well, better get one or circle for half an hour.
Any CFIs ever have a student who was signed off to solo but not to do XC anywhere, have an airport closed out from under them?
Which is the exact reason I give my students the takeoff and landing within 25 mile endorsement when I give them the initial solo endorsement. It's never happened to a student of mine but I like giving it to them in case it happens.
luvflyin
Touchdown! Greaser!
Nuthin like being busier than a three legged cat covering up sheet to get the old blood pumpin. The PMSing stuff got started with post #14. If it happened just like described, then that controller needs an atitude adjustment.