SkyHog
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 18,431
- Location
- Castle Rock, CO
- Display Name
Display name:
Everything Offends Me
LOL - not really, but today seemed to be the day that ATC was trying to yank my ticket!
Here's the story.
I'm flying to Deer Valley, outside Phoenix today. A weather briefing shows a TFR over Luke AFB, which was pretty much in the way of my direct flight. I had planned to avoid the TFR by a huge margin, just to make sure I didn't do something stupid.
Albuquerque Center tells me, without a request, that the TFR was no longer valid, and if I'd like, I could fly direct to Deer Valley.
"Great!! That'll save me about 15 or 20 minutes!"
So Albuquerque Center hands me off to Luke Approach, the controlling agency over the airspace that involves the TFR. Luke approach acknowledges my call up by saying "You are 2 miles from an active TFR, I strongly suggesting turning 360!" I think he said something about checking NOTAMs before I leave or something too.
Ugh, I turn and avoid the TFR by a wide berth, and Luke Approach hands me off to Deer Valley Tower.
I call up Deer Valley Tower and tell them I am 15 to the west. I am west, exactly west, confirmed by the GPS, a VOR and my compass. Deer Valley Tower tells me "Enter straight in, runway 7R, stay south of the centerline." I can't see Deer Valley from here yet, but I figure if I cheat south a bit until I can see it, I'll be fine.
About 5 minutes later, Deer Valley tower comes back and says "Listen, if you're coming from the north, you call North Tower. That's why its called North Tower, continue southbound until crossing the centerline for 7R."
Oops. So I do that, and at that point I also see the airport. I land without issues, and taxi and shutdown.
So what's the deal, it appears ABQ Center wanted to get me with the TFR, Luke wanted to get me by handing me off to the wrong tower freq, and Tower knew my position by my callout and said nothing other than "stay south of centerline" and then yelled at me.
It was a great flight, btw, but man, I feel like I beat a big conspiracy
Here's the story.
I'm flying to Deer Valley, outside Phoenix today. A weather briefing shows a TFR over Luke AFB, which was pretty much in the way of my direct flight. I had planned to avoid the TFR by a huge margin, just to make sure I didn't do something stupid.
Albuquerque Center tells me, without a request, that the TFR was no longer valid, and if I'd like, I could fly direct to Deer Valley.
"Great!! That'll save me about 15 or 20 minutes!"
So Albuquerque Center hands me off to Luke Approach, the controlling agency over the airspace that involves the TFR. Luke approach acknowledges my call up by saying "You are 2 miles from an active TFR, I strongly suggesting turning 360!" I think he said something about checking NOTAMs before I leave or something too.
Ugh, I turn and avoid the TFR by a wide berth, and Luke Approach hands me off to Deer Valley Tower.
I call up Deer Valley Tower and tell them I am 15 to the west. I am west, exactly west, confirmed by the GPS, a VOR and my compass. Deer Valley Tower tells me "Enter straight in, runway 7R, stay south of the centerline." I can't see Deer Valley from here yet, but I figure if I cheat south a bit until I can see it, I'll be fine.
About 5 minutes later, Deer Valley tower comes back and says "Listen, if you're coming from the north, you call North Tower. That's why its called North Tower, continue southbound until crossing the centerline for 7R."
Oops. So I do that, and at that point I also see the airport. I land without issues, and taxi and shutdown.
So what's the deal, it appears ABQ Center wanted to get me with the TFR, Luke wanted to get me by handing me off to the wrong tower freq, and Tower knew my position by my callout and said nothing other than "stay south of centerline" and then yelled at me.
It was a great flight, btw, but man, I feel like I beat a big conspiracy
and wait until you calm down to make the call. Nothing good comes of something like this when either party is "livid."
I've come in from the north wanting 7R and swung way out to the southwest and made sure that I was well south of the centerline and at least nine miles out before my initial call up, and I've gotten the same response. I think they watch me coming and just say to each other "there's 99A coming from the north and wanting the south runway" then they flip a coin or something. Heads she gets it, tails she calls the north tower." 
