Aircraft Controllers

That pilot went on to fly in the Air Force.

 
I heard a guy in DSM the other day that was just as lost as this guy. At one point after he landed, the controller just told him to stop while he figured out what to do with him. Finally the ground crew caught up with him and made him follow them to the ramp. Never heard the "Please call this number.." but it had to be close. That took some real self control by the controller.
 
I was listening to RIC approach one day and I heard the controller tell a guy who was screwing up big time "Do you know how close you came to hitting another aircraft?"
 
Was flying into an airport on Long Island NY ,when a student pilot made several wrong approaches to the airport,after which the controller had finally had enough,and told the student to leave his airspace ,and not to return,without an instructor.
 
I could understand some initial confusion if he had always entered on the downwind during his training and the controller's instruction to enter on a left base was the first time he had heard of doing that. But after a couple of iterations of the instruction, he should have been able to get with the program.
 
I heard about this from an instructor from the area who said the instructor and student did a good amount of practice at uncontrolled fields and the student was told to always do a 45 degree entry into the downwind. It just so happen to be they had always done downwind entries at this towered field.

Having never done a "non-standard" pattern entry (enter on a left base), the student might have mis-interpreted "enter on a left base" to mean "make left traffic". After all, a left downwind entry also gets you to a left base eventually.

I think instructors over-emphasize the "left 45 entry"! I know people on here are going to disagree with me and tell me how i'm un-safe for saying this, but there are times when a field is so quiet and nothing is going on that a left 45 entry is inconvenient and un-necessary unless there's some noise abatement procedure in effect. There I said it.

It's good to learn that you should do the "left 45 degree", but you also have to teach your students the "non-standard" pattern entries in case they hear it for the first time during a solo flight without the CFI there to help. Almost every towered field I fly into is straight in or a base entry. Important to teach that as well.
 
Blessings to that excellent controller; he was clear and concise and corrected (numerous) read-back errors. He was doing an excellent job maintaining control of his airspace and delivering his product: separation. His admonishments should instill a good lesson.
 
The pilot was fortunate the airspace wasn't busy, or he might have been waived off.

I flew into Renton, WA (KRNT) for the first time earlier this week. Picture perfect Pacific NW evening. Gorgeous spot at the south end of Lake Washington. But it's a tight little airport in a very busy airspace, including a ton of seaplane traffic. I filed VFR so I could stay down low and do a bit of Puget Sound sightseeing. Whidbey Approach, Seattle and Renton couldn't have been more helpful or accommodating.
 
GRG55 said:
The pilot was fortunate the airspace wasn't busy, or he might have been waived off.

I flew into Renton, WA (KRNT) for the first time earlier this week. Picture perfect Pacific NW evening. Gorgeous spot at the south end of Lake Washington. But it's a tight little airport in a very busy airspace, including a ton of seaplane traffic. I filed VFR so I could stay down low and do a bit of Puget Sound sightseeing. Whidbey Approach, Seattle and Renton couldn't have been more helpful or accommodating.
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Love it up there this time of year!!
 
lancie00 said:
Never heard the "Please call this number.." but it had to be close.
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jordane93 said:
Instructor had no business signing off that student.
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The controller sure had a lot of patience but hey, they singed up to deal with us, whether we behave professionally or like a total clueless dumbtwit retard like this kid.
I too am surprised that there was no phone number exchanged but maybe the controller called the school directly and had a chat with the chief instructor. I know I would! :)

Or this would sound good on frequency: "Are you ready to copy a number for me? I want your CFI to call the tower". :)
 
JC150 said:
It's good to learn that you should do the "left 45 degree", but you also have to teach your students the "non-standard" pattern entries in case they hear it for the first time during a solo flight without the CFI there to help. Almost every towered field I fly into is straight in or a base entry. Important to teach that as well.
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My first solo (in the pattern at a Class C), I got an instruction to make a right 360 on downwind for spacing. Never did that before, but coped with it.
 
I feel like this is definitely on the instructor. Before my first solo I did a couple flights with my instructor where he just sat there and didn't say anything.. and thank goodness he did, my teenager self thought I was more than ready to go solo and on one of these first fake solos it was definitely a good thing he was there as I got totally overwhelmed
 
Tantalum said:
I feel like this is definitely on the instructor. Before my first solo I did a couple flights with my instructor where he just sat there and didn't say anything.. and thank goodness he did, my teenager self thought I was more than ready to go solo and on one of these first fake solos it was definitely a good thing he was there as I got totally overwhelmed
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That's what I do with my students. A few lessons leading up to solo I'll kind of be in "examiner" mode. I'll only say, "show me slow flight, show me turns around a point, etc." no help with radios, taxi instructions, etc. They always look over at me when they miss something and I just stare out the window and shrug my shoulders. It really helps you get into the solo mindset. Solo means solo. Your instructor isn't going to be there to catch your missed radio call or missed taxi instruction.
 
jordane93 said:
They always look over at me when they miss something and I just stare out the window and shrug my shoulders
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Yup. That's what did it for me and subsequently made me much better at handling that "you are by yourself" mindset
 
paflyer said:
My first solo (in the pattern at a Class C), I got an instruction to make a right 360 on downwind for spacing. Never did that before, but coped with it.
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That request from the tower really stands out! Prior to solo, just as we turned left base to final we got a "Skylane xyz Tower Right 360 King Air On Base"...the big guy was obviously faster and landing on a perpendicular runway and we might have met down on the ground. I started turning right away but was low and slow and the instructor jumped in to get us back up higher and a bit faster. He said that was pretty rare at our airport but when he was a ATC he used to give them once in a while. I know there are pros/cons to training at a controlled airport. Hearing all these less common instructions now, while still training is okay by me.
 
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