Hello all, new to the site.
As a current tower controller (and a pilot), allow me to shed some light from the other side of the radio, or at least put myself in the controller's shoes and explain what he may have been trying to communicate.
I work at a tower where we have multiple flight schools, lots of GA aircraft (both the weekend warriors and the regulars), and a lot of biz jets. We don't have any commercial traffic, but we do have on-demand charters.
What many pilots don't understand is how different ground and tower are, or rather how separated they are. Yes, we may be standing 20 feet away from each other, but we work very independently of one another. Did you know hat every time you are talking to ground and want to cross an active runway, as a ground controller I have to call the tower guy on a recorded inter phone and request permission to cross you across his runway, and after you've crossed I have to call him back again to tell him you're clear?
Ground and tower work together, but independently. A tower controller works much like a chess player, thinking and planning several steps ahead. It's what we're trained to do from day 1. If we didn't, we'd collapse and everything would go to pot.
We get Cessnas ready as biz jets pull up to go all the time. Controllers work on several principles, two of which are:
- First Come, First Served
- Operational Efficiency
Speaking for myself, if a Cessna 172 calls up ready to go and a Citation is 100 yards behind him, I'll tell the Cessna to hold and inform him he'll be #2, even if the Citation hasn't called me yet.
What happened to First Come, First Served?
Operational efficiency trumped. I won't go into details but there are rules (which are technically laws found in FAA Order J7110.65) which dictate when I can launch one aircraft behind another, depending on type and classification. If I launch the Cessna first, the Citation holds while the 172 rolls, lifts, flies, and turns. Approximately 2 minutes. Two minutes doesn't seem like a lot, but in our world it's an eternity. If I launch Citation first, Cessna holds 30 seconds, and as soon as the Citation hits it, I can launch the 172 behind. Much more efficient.
Now, why would ground reply like he did? Well, I can't excuse nor explain his tone (maybe he was having a bad day?). But I can possibly explain his reasoning. He is unable to answer your question. He doesn't know what tower--the chess player--is planning in his head. Tower knows he has a Citation coming, he also sees a 172 there. Chances are he's already planned for it. Ground doesn't know what tower wants to do based on the rest of what Tower has going on. From Ground's perspective, once you're in the run-up, I don't need to talk to you again, you can call tower directly (other airports may have different methods).
Now for the cynics. As a controller, if a Cessna cuts off my Citation and I need to launch that Citation, I'll move you. I'll have you do a 180, I'll have you pull off to the run-up, I'll even have you cross to the other side of the runway. Playing devil's advocate, if you were a pilot who pulled into a taxiway and for some reason something happened, you have had a pilot deviation. Ground has given you an instruction to a runway. If you opt for a run-up before departure, moving from that run-up requires a clearance to do so. The run-up is considered a movement area, controlled by ATC. To leave the run-up and block the entrance to a runway without clearance is a deviation. I have seen this first hand and seen how FSDO responds.
Will it ever come to that? No. That's all an extreme. Was the controller being an a-hole? Yes. Could/should he have responded better? Absolutely. I'm just trying to give you insight from the other side of things.
Hope that helps a little.
TL;DR: Ground couldn't answer your question but was having a bad day. Blocking a runway out of spite is a bad idea. Always better to call tower and call ready first before moving.
. I agree
. The only time ground wants us to call them back is if they are backed up in the run up area. A few weeks ago, the airport was super busy and there was a huge line holding short of one of the runways and no room in the run up area. I was cleared to another run up area and was told to advise when finished with the run up and ready to taxi to the runway.