Today I learned…

Bill Watson

Bill Watson

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MauleDriver
Or at least finally figured out why some congested airspace controllers were happily giving help getting me into a normally busy airport, for a visual approach, during a frontal passage.

I would have thought they would be putting me in a conga line for one of the ILS/RNAV approaches waiting for the front to push through. But no, I was offered every which way I could have imagined to follow along the the heels of the front and plop it on visually despite IMC conditions. I took good advantage of the situation and spotted the airport while being vectored next to it at near pattern altitude. Made a tight approach in a gusty crosswind and felt pretty good about it.

Walked rain soaked into the FBO which was filled with pilots and passengers waiting to depart. Then someone said “the airport is now open for departures” and the scramble was on.

A stack of IFR arrivals would have clogged the works all around but they effectively avoided it. It also explained why I was being vectored for a possible RNAV approach on the crosswind runway; it kept the shorter but windward runway open for a half dozen jet departures.

ATCers at busy sites know their stuff!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Bill Watson said:
Or at least finally figured out why some congested airspace controllers were happily giving help getting me into a normally busy airport, for a visual approach, during a frontal passage.

I would have thought they would be putting me in a conga line for one of the ILS/RNAV approaches waiting for the front to push through. But no, I was offered every which way I could have imagined to follow along the the heels of the front and plop it on visually despite IMC conditions. I took good advantage of the situation and spotted the airport while being vectored next to it at near pattern altitude. Made a tight approach in a gusty crosswind and felt pretty good about it.

Walked rain soaked into the FBO which was filled with pilots and passengers waiting to depart. Then someone said “the airport is now open for departures” and the scramble was on.

A stack of IFR arrivals would have clogged the works all around but they effectively avoided it. It also explained why I was being vectored for a possible RNAV approach on the crosswind runway; it kept the shorter but windward runway open for a half dozen jet departures.

ATCers at busy sites know their stuff!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
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Yes, they are usually on top of their game. On Sunday I was flying from NC to Georgetown, DE. I popped up to 11k, the undercast started around the middle of VA and went up the east coast. Those clouds were loaded with ice. About 80 miles from Georgetown the controller called me up and asked if I wanted to start down or stay up as long as possible. I told the controller I wanted to stay above the clouds as long as possible, then descend through. But that I had a passenger with sensitive ears and would like to keep the descent to 500 fpm. He told me no problem. A few minutes later he told me a bonanza had just been in those clouds and reported trace to light ice and that I could start my descent PD. I started down, turned on the TKS, got in the clouds. It was at least moderate ice through the 4 or 5 thousand feet of solid clouds. The fiki system worked great, no build up on the critical surfaces. I broke out at 4,400 feet, then saw the ice on the wing tip, there was at least 3/8 of an inch of mixed ice. Not sure what that bo guy was flying through. Was able to do a visual approach, to 19 kt G 28 about 30 degrees off the runway. It was a little bumpy, but the controllers were awesome.
 
I joke about calling them “controllers” (instead of advisors), but that doesn’t mitigate the fact they do rock.

In addition to this sort of stuff, the Navy S3 I flew had a non FAA approved INS. We couldn’t file “direct” like we wanted. They knew this, and would routinely give us a “vector direct”... And I’ll be damned if their vector wasn’t still nuts on like 1000 miles and 7 controllers later. Have no clue how they’d get it that accurate that far out, wind, the earth revolving (S3s ain’t fast...), the earth is curved, etc, EVERY time.
 
Tools said:
I joke about calling them “controllers” (instead of advisors), but that doesn’t mitigate the fact they do rock.

In addition to this sort of stuff, the Navy S3 I flew had a non FAA approved INS. We couldn’t file “direct” like we wanted. They knew this, and would routinely give us a “vector direct”... And I’ll be damned if their vector wasn’t still nuts on like 1000 miles and 7 controllers later. Have no clue how they’d get it that accurate that far out, wind, the earth revolving (S3s ain’t fast...
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Centers could just push a button and poof, the ‘course’ to the fix was right there. That would be what they gave you for the heading to fly until when able proceed direct. Which you would be able to do immediately with the equipment you had. You wouldn’t have been holding a heading. You would have been going direct. That your heading never changed for hundreds of miles is an amazing coincidence. Did you happen to have been flying generally Northerly/Southerly where the Magnetic Variation didn’t change much?
 
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Hmmm... good point. I guess it wasn’t great circle, or something... I just remember thinking that heading was all we really needed. Just amazed me.

Mostly weekend cross countries from San Diego to the middle of the US.
 
Tools said:
Hmmm... good point. I guess it wasn’t great circle, or something... I just remember thinking that heading was all we really needed. Just amazed me.

Mostly weekend cross countries from San Diego to the middle of the US.
Click to expand...
Would you get it from Departures or would it be after the handoff to Center. No thang, just curious
 
This isat least a 2nd hand story and accuracy is suspect.

An F4 pilot friend of mine told me about an Opfor training mission they did, where they approached the coast, as a simulated enemy attack, at max speed (1400mph?) and a Flight of F15's was tasked with intercepting them. At a closing speed of close to 3000mph the F15's then of course fired the simulated missiles during the head on attack and scored simulated kills. But after firing the missiles they then went into a hard turn ahead of the F4's and timed it accurately enough to come in right behind the F4's for another shot from the rear.

In the Debrief the F4 pilots asked the F15 pilots how they were able to time that turn to come in so close with a closing speed of nearly 3000mph. The F15 driver responded they had no idea, they had just been instructed by the ground controllers to make the hard turn. So they both queried the ground controllers about how they knew how to do that, they then learned the ground controllers had been practicing it for the Chase planes for the Space Shuttle.

Brian
 
It was always center, but pretty early on in the flight. Always got lots of vectors until about 50 miles inland...

Even a similar sort of thing in A4s. All we had was a TACAN. Wouldn’t be receiving a station, would complain, they’d say they’ve been getting complaints. Just fly this or that heading until basically receiving something way far down the road (A4, not really long legs, so not as impressive), and sure enough, it’d pop in right on the nose with a perfect wind corrected heading.
 
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