What I wanted to say I didn't, instead I just said well good for you. The charter jet pilots were a PITA wanting preference most of the day while normal flight operations and school flights were going on. If those flights want preferred treatment they should have went to the towered airport in Salisbury just a few minutes west of Ocean City.
And if your clearance is not what you expected???????
What is FF? Do you mean Foreflight? Anyway, it depends. On the airport, the weather, the time of day, the Controller, what mood the Controller is in……. There is no Pat answer to this. Lots of pros and cons. There’s probably a lot of those here already. I’ll know in a second. Pushing post reply button now.
Calling in the air doesn't increase workload for controllers. If it's busy and they can't fit you in you will hear, "unable. Maintain VFR. Say intentions." IOW, the only increase in workload is to you.
It's doable but it's the same problem. It's not the reading and readback of the clearance that's the big problem. It's the "release" into the system. So you spend time on the phone on the ground. You get your clearance and instead of a void time, you tell the controller you will pick it up in the air. You really haven't gained anything and lost the ability (especially when it's busy) to know you will be fit in and when. Instead, if busy you get the same "unable."
And this one, which is part of the “stickied” ODP thread under this Cleared for the Approach forum:
Reba McEntire's band was another infamous one. Pretty much the same circumstances. Couldn't find the NTSB report, maybe someone can. Here's the LA Times story.Like Luv stated, no perfect answer. I always preferred to issue the clearance in the air when I was busy on approach but back in those days, I’d say 99% of the time is was a CAF. These days it seems like there’s a lot of last minute changes that require an FRC.
There are pros and cons to both ways but I wouldn’t worry about being a hassle to them on their end. You do what’s best for you. Generally the person reading the clearance on the ground (CD / FD) isn’t all that busy. Once given, the airport is shutdown for IFRs and the airspace is protected for the “when entering controlled airspace…” but doesn’t affect the controllers workload much. Airborne is pretty easy since the strip should already be on the board and the controller has the luxury of waiting (first come first served) til they have time. Unfortunately if it’s super busy you might penetrate another inter-facility sector and now the controller kicks the can down the road and has you call them. Or, they pick up the landline and get permission to issue the clearance.
So yeah, pros and cons to everything. I’d just make sure you at least have VFR up to the MIA in your area. If not, the controller might have issues identifying you and delaying your clearance. There’s the infamous Beechjet crash in 1991 where the pilots had problems picking up a clearance at low altitude and MVFR in the area.
Accident Beechcraft Beechjet 400A N25BR,
After a VFR takeoff, the captain contacted Atlanta Center to obtain an IFR clearance to Huntsville. Higher terrain and low ceilings caused the captain to order a right 180deg turn. 4 minu...aviation-safety.net
www.latimes.com
What's wrong with just calling the ATC number and getting your initial or full clearance from the source? If a void time is expected to be an issue you can't reliably negotiate, and conditions are RELIABLY VFR at the altitude and location required to raise ATC, air pickup is just fine. But if things are busy, you may have a bit of a wait. What you want to avoid is getting caught in MFVR conditions without a safe way of picking up your IFR clearance.
Flight Service stopped acting as a middleman for IFR clearances about 4 years ago. If you haven't lately, try the "old" National Clearance Delivery number. These days, calling from the ground, you call the number in the AFD, which basically puts you in touch with the same people as FSS would be talking to - either one of the Approach Controller or a dedicated post.
In the air? The same call up as if you did not get your clearance in advance.
You may find it is very likely that your initial clearance will be amended shortly after takeoff for more direct routing. Certainly in the northeast, you are likely to get either (1) several re-routes, or (2) direct routing at some point once away from the busiest airspace. I hardly ever bother to put in the full IFR clearance into the GPS, because it almost never survives. I usually put in the initial waypoints and the destination airport. That usually keeps things at bay for a little while, and I can add additional waypoints once at cruise when my actual routing becomes clearer.
And this one, which is part of the “stickied” ODP thread under this Cleared for the Approach forum:
CFIT Accident Beechcraft S35 Bonanza N876T,
On October 3, 2021, about 1949 eastern daylight time, a Beech S35, N876T, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Andrews, North Carolina. The private pilot and one passeng...aviation-safety.net
www.aerotime.aero
There are places where that is a published procedure. Here’s an example. You find them in Section 3 of a Chart Supplement, Special Notices.
"Very likely" is often a matter of geography and planning. I rarely receive amended clearances. Shortcuts definitely, but rarely something requiring an "advise when ready to copy."
Your experience is not the same as mine. And I am not that far from you.
This is the method I usually follow. The ATC numbers are now published, and, assuming cell service, I call for the clearance while in the plane. If there will be a signficant delay - inbound IFR usually - on a CAVU day, I will cancel the clearance issued with Center, squawk VFR - take-off - and then pick it up in the air. I will tell ATC on the phone that is my intention. If the weather is marginal VFR - take the clearance on the ground.
That accident, and another one where a plane crashed into the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, illustrate the particular danger that exists when planning a VFR departure to pick up a clearance in the air at night. One must have a bullet-proof plan for terrain and obstruction clearance in order to do it safely.Reba McEntire's band was another infamous one. Pretty much the same circumstances. Couldn't find the NTSB report, maybe someone can. Here's the LA Times story.
Pilots and FAA Faulted in Crash That Killed Singer's Band
The pilot and co-pilot--and, to a lesser extent, a Federal Aviation Administration employee who gave them instructions--were officially blamed Monday for the plane crash on Otay Mountain last year that killed eight members of country singer Reba McEntire's band.
As noted, FSS is no longer an option. Pro tip: the listed CD number isn't always correct! If you get some weird ATC facility 200 miles away that's never heard of your airport, check the listings for other airports around you. One of them is likely to be correct. Then let the FAA know they screwed up... there's an email address for that, too.
When you could call FSS and obtain an IFR clearance, the FSS specialist called ATC, obtained your clearance and relayed it to you. The new procedure cuts out the middle man.
I don’t know if I’d call it a new procedure. I was issuing clearances directly to the pilot 30 years ago. Some of it is about knowing the local knowledge though. Our facility number was on the board at the local airport (ARW). Without knowing that, a pilot would have to call Macon FSS and we’d relay to them the clearance.
Yeah, but the relatively new thing is publishing the controlling agencies phone number in the Chart Supplement. That coupled with bluetooth headsets makes getting a clearance easy without the need for local knowledge.
We did the local number on the board too. And when I went somewhere new, before terminating with approach I asked for a phone number to pick up my outbound.
The new procedure is Leidos FSS no longer relaying the clearance, not that you never could call ATC direct.
