Shawn
En-Route
So I got to do the SoCal TRACON tour today and though I would share my take aways.
This was a great structured presentation then a tour of both the actual control room floor and time in the simulator training floor. They had 25 spots for the tour and 100 requests so they adding more tours and trying to make it a regular outreach program for GA pilots.
First and foremost, regardless of what you are doing they WANT you on Flight Following. Unless they are managing an emergency, from their perspective they would rather be talking to you even if it is just maneuvers next to your uncontrolled field in a practice area or a short hop. Even though I am always on FF, it was apparent even from other pilots in the room that they though FF was only for long XC trips. Not at all true. They are trying to combat flight schools and CFI’s that are actively teaching otherwise.
Even if you are not IFR, learn the approach corridors to the airports in your area. Many of their conflicts come from VFR traffic blindly blowing across an approach path not talking to anyone.
For FF request…”So Cal…Cessna 12345, VFR request”…and THAT IS IT. Wait for their response before rambling off the rest. This is counter to my take which is closer to the AIM recommendation but after seeing how they work…just a simple “VFR Request” makes total sense.
VFR…they don’t care what your equipment suffix is. It does not show up in their data blocks and they assume everyone these days is /G. If you can not navigate an instruction, just let them know but they could generally care less what VFR traffic is. They will request it if needed.
If you are skirting airspace thinking you are safer, leave yourself AT LEAST 500’ if not 1000’ buffer over or under B, C and D rings for a better chance of not bending metal. They move IFR traffic a lot right AT those airspace altitudes,
IFR…you loose com, squawk 7600…arrive at your destination early….what are we taught to do?...hold till ETA. Guess what, they don’t know nor care what your ETA is without some digging. As soon as you punch in 7500, 7600, 7700 the WHOLE building knows and they are clearing he airspace for you to land. Long story short…shoot the approach and get on the ground as soon as you can as they are clearing the airspace for you
Altimeter read backs…they do not really care either way if you read back the numbers, but they at least need to hear your tail number as an acknowledgement.
“Roger, 12345” is a perfectly acceptable response to an altimeter call out.
ADS-B….as the presenter said…”We don’t know what it is, why it is, or how they are gonna use it.”. They have gone to what is called “Fused Radar” which unlike traditional radar updates with a 6-7 second sweep. The new system takes info from at least three radar sources and gives them a more accurate 1 second refresh. They just last week UNPLUGGED they ADS-B input from the system due to the unreliability. We all just shook our heads as he shrugged his shoulders.
If you fly in So Cal…expect MAJOR changes in the airspace, flyways, approach, and departure procedures over the next 18 months. If you fare assigned a SID, know it and fly it accurately especially in SoCal. Slight deviations can create a loss of separation real quick and is a common problem.
This was a GREAT experience on how SoCal handles their airspace and what they want and expect. This was an official presentation with upper level people in the room, not just one controller’s preferences. Everything they stressed was from the perspective of safety and getting all parties on the ground alive and not a control issue where they want to tell you what to do for their convenience. Many of these issue have been debated here on POA to nauseam so it was nice to hear the persecutive from those at the other end of the mic.
If anyone has the opportunity to attend on of these in the future, HIGHLY recommend it. It is well worth the trip even if you are not in the immediate area.
This was a great structured presentation then a tour of both the actual control room floor and time in the simulator training floor. They had 25 spots for the tour and 100 requests so they adding more tours and trying to make it a regular outreach program for GA pilots.
First and foremost, regardless of what you are doing they WANT you on Flight Following. Unless they are managing an emergency, from their perspective they would rather be talking to you even if it is just maneuvers next to your uncontrolled field in a practice area or a short hop. Even though I am always on FF, it was apparent even from other pilots in the room that they though FF was only for long XC trips. Not at all true. They are trying to combat flight schools and CFI’s that are actively teaching otherwise.
Even if you are not IFR, learn the approach corridors to the airports in your area. Many of their conflicts come from VFR traffic blindly blowing across an approach path not talking to anyone.
For FF request…”So Cal…Cessna 12345, VFR request”…and THAT IS IT. Wait for their response before rambling off the rest. This is counter to my take which is closer to the AIM recommendation but after seeing how they work…just a simple “VFR Request” makes total sense.
VFR…they don’t care what your equipment suffix is. It does not show up in their data blocks and they assume everyone these days is /G. If you can not navigate an instruction, just let them know but they could generally care less what VFR traffic is. They will request it if needed.
If you are skirting airspace thinking you are safer, leave yourself AT LEAST 500’ if not 1000’ buffer over or under B, C and D rings for a better chance of not bending metal. They move IFR traffic a lot right AT those airspace altitudes,
IFR…you loose com, squawk 7600…arrive at your destination early….what are we taught to do?...hold till ETA. Guess what, they don’t know nor care what your ETA is without some digging. As soon as you punch in 7500, 7600, 7700 the WHOLE building knows and they are clearing he airspace for you to land. Long story short…shoot the approach and get on the ground as soon as you can as they are clearing the airspace for you
Altimeter read backs…they do not really care either way if you read back the numbers, but they at least need to hear your tail number as an acknowledgement.
“Roger, 12345” is a perfectly acceptable response to an altimeter call out.
ADS-B….as the presenter said…”We don’t know what it is, why it is, or how they are gonna use it.”. They have gone to what is called “Fused Radar” which unlike traditional radar updates with a 6-7 second sweep. The new system takes info from at least three radar sources and gives them a more accurate 1 second refresh. They just last week UNPLUGGED they ADS-B input from the system due to the unreliability. We all just shook our heads as he shrugged his shoulders.
If you fly in So Cal…expect MAJOR changes in the airspace, flyways, approach, and departure procedures over the next 18 months. If you fare assigned a SID, know it and fly it accurately especially in SoCal. Slight deviations can create a loss of separation real quick and is a common problem.
This was a GREAT experience on how SoCal handles their airspace and what they want and expect. This was an official presentation with upper level people in the room, not just one controller’s preferences. Everything they stressed was from the perspective of safety and getting all parties on the ground alive and not a control issue where they want to tell you what to do for their convenience. Many of these issue have been debated here on POA to nauseam so it was nice to hear the persecutive from those at the other end of the mic.
If anyone has the opportunity to attend on of these in the future, HIGHLY recommend it. It is well worth the trip even if you are not in the immediate area.
