IFR Slot Reservations

AdamZ

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Adam Zucker
I hope to fly to Provincetown Mass. KPVC on Cape Cod this memorial day weekend from Wings KLOM. I will file IFR. I recall when I first got my ticket a few years ago, AOPA posted something on its web site regarding needing an IFR slot reservation to fly IFR to the cape and Islands in the summer due to the high volume of traffic. I have heard of them elsewhere. You need them to fly into University Park KUNV on a Penn State Football weekend. But I really don't know how they work. I don't want to load up the family and find I can't get a clearance.

1) How do I find out if I need a slot reservation?

2) How do reservations work?

3) If I need one to fly to Cape Cod will I also need a reservation to get a clearance home?

Thanks everyone.
 
The only time I remember having to have a slot reservation was one year when I flew IFR into Appleton Wisconsin during Oshkosh. Appleton is close enough to Oshkosh that a reservation is required. As I recall I filed for the reservation over the internet following the instructions in the Oshkosh NOTAM.

I'm not at all familiar with the cape but I would start with a call to flight service and ask a briefer.
 
AdamZ said:
I hope to fly to Provincetown Mass. KPVC on Cape Cod this memorial day weekend from Wings KLOM. I will file IFR. 1) How do I find out if I need a slot reservation?
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Go here: http://www.fly.faa.gov/estmp/ If you need one it will be there.

2) How do reservations work?
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You get a slot #, put it in your flight plan remarks, the approach controller asks you for your number. Yo have to arrive withinh 10 minute s+/- of the reservation time.

3) If I need one to fly to Cape Cod will I also need a reservation to get a clearance home?
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No, it's only for arrivals. Don't worry, for those situation where you need one, you can't get one. There's an army of secretaries at the fractional companies sitting around for the 72 hr deadline, booking every slot with every tail number the fleet owns. Then when they know who's actually going, the delete/add almost at the same moment. You can never get a reservation. Just another way the big fish displace us little users. Sigh.
 
How about not filing IFR? Untowered field right?
 
Thanks for the link Bruce. Are all the required destinations that need slot reservations listed on the first page or do you have to register and get into the site? Also 10 min +/- can be brutal. What happens when ATC sends you From Philly to Boston via Fresno or if you get a wicked tail or head wind.

Ed yes KPVC is untowered but as a lowtime IFR pilot I want to get into the system as much as possible to increase competency. In addition the airspace in the north east can be pretty congested at times and the NY Bravo is between me and my destination. As ATC says it can be a target rich environment. Besides I actually think flying the system is kind of fun.
 
You could file IFR to a different destination (one beyond the Bravo) that doesn't have a slot reservations. Cancel in the air, and continue on your own. IFR is good for a lot of things, but sometimes it's a bit restrictive, and you have to work the system so you can get to where you are going. Get in the pattern and work yourself in. That way you can get some work in the system, and get to where you need to go.
 
AdamZ said:
Also 10 min +/- can be brutal. What happens when ATC sends you From Philly to Boston via Fresno or if you get a wicked tail or head wind.
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Getting a reservation can sometimes be hard, but once you have one, they aren't so fussy about the times. At least this has been my experience with the Colorado ski area airports, can't say about other places. I've sometimes been asked if I have a reservation, but I've never been asked for the number. I file the number in the remarks section of the flight plan, though... as long as I don't forget.
 
I've never had much problem getting a slot reservation for the big airports that use them all the time. Obviously, events like the Super Bowl and probably the bigger NASCAR races (like the Daytona 500) do get booked solid very fast, so reserve early if you can. As for the 10-minute rule, I've never heard of anyone turned back if they have the reservation but are either early or late beyond that 10-minute window as long as they called for their original clearance on time -- they don't punish people for delays beyond their control.
 
N2212R said:
You could file IFR to a different destination (one beyond the Bravo) that doesn't have a slot reservations. Cancel in the air, and continue on your own. IFR is good for a lot of things, but sometimes it's a bit restrictive, and you have to work the system so you can get to where you are going. Get in the pattern and work yourself in. That way you can get some work in the system, and get to where you need to go.
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I guess your right. filing to a nearby field and then canceling IFR and flying VFR to the intended destination ( Assuming VFR conditions) could be manipulating the system to your advantage. You would just have to make sure the intended destination is outside of a Bravo or ADIZ or they don't gotta let you in.
 
AdamZ said:
I guess your right. filing to a nearby field and then canceling IFR and flying VFR to the intended destination ( Assuming VFR conditions) could be manipulating the system to your advantage. You would just have to make sure the intended destination is outside of a Bravo or ADIZ or they don't gotta let you in.
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Exactly, trying to pull that going into O'Hare would not be prudent.
 
N2212R said:
You could file IFR to a different destination (one beyond the Bravo) that doesn't have a slot reservations. Cancel in the air, and continue on your own.
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That may get you close, but it may not get you in. Generally the slots are for both VFR and IFR traffic in an effort to limit the total number of aircraft to the amount of space available to park. If you show up VFR without a slot number at a towered airport with a reservation system in operation, you'll probably be denied landing clearance. If you land at a nontowered airport without a slot reservation, you are likely to be told to get back in the plane and leave -- at once (and it could get worse if the FAA is checking landing aircraft against the reservation list). Read the slot reservation information very carefully to see whether it's just to limit IFR traffic or whether it's for all traffic, i.e., to limit number of aircraft on the field, which is usually what it is at things like the Super Bowl or the Kentucky Derby.
 
bbchien said:
There's an army of secretaries at the fractional companies sitting around for the 72 hr deadline, booking every slot with every tail number the fleet owns.
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With 3,500 ft of runway, I wouldn't think P-town would have many fracs trying to get in?

Also, if you can't get into P-town, you could try Chatham, which is down near the "elbow" of the Cape (suggest a very early, confirmed car rental or a long cab ride if you need to get to P-town though).

Jeff
 
Hi Adam,

You will not need a slot reservation to fly into Provincetown. Nantucket gets busy in the summer, and they will activate their IFR slot reservation system soon. Martha's Vineyard hasn't used the reservation system. Neither do any of the Cape airports. You do not need a reservation to fly into (with a clearance of course) or around the BOS Class B airpspace. I have been cleared through the Class B just as often as I have been asked to stay clear of it. Provincetown is a great little airport, right along the seashore.

MRR
 
Thanks guys: I'm pretty familiar with the cape. My wife's family had a summer home in Truro and my brother in law still lives there. I'll either go to P-Town or Hyanis. I hear chatham either has some wicked winds or is socked in, plus the posts on airnav weren't that complementary.
 
Do a google seach for "STMP slots" and look around. You will find several companies out there that have web based programs that will let you compete against the armies of dispatchers for slots into STMP events.
Good Luck
 
The Addison Tower chief here just posted this regarding slot reservations. It's addressed to the Aspen ski season, but has a lot of info that appliies elsewhere.

Dave

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For any of those headed for Aspen or other Colorado Ski Country destinations this season, the reservation program has been revised a bit.
You still need to get a reservation as usual starting 72 hours in advance of your arrival, but now you are also required to confirm the reservation between 24 and 8 hours prior to the proposed arrival and include the confirmation number on your flight plan. I have attached the document for those of you that may need to know.
 
I had no trouble getting a slot at an outlying airport for the NCAA finals in St. Louis. The main airport filled fast, but all the other aiports while still included in the reservation system had some slots open up to the day of the first game.
 
Regarding IFR slots ...I have been trying to get slots today for a trip Monday to ski country..between rooms full of dispatchers and other companies that specialize in obtaining slots it has become a joke. Its very irritating to fly to the airport cancel land vfr and find only a handfull of planes on the ramp yet no slots available. The system is broke and needs to be fixed. My feeling is if you make a reservation and don't show up then you need to be billed for the slot. With the current system you make the reservation and then have it verified within 24 to 8 hours of arrival if not then it is canceled. That means nothing ...only that whoever is obtainig all these slots will confirm that yes supposedly a airplane will show up. If it does not then no big deal for them......yet for a small part 91 Corp operator who's owner has a house at this location can't get in if its IMC at the field ...don't even get me started on slots:mad:
 
RotaryWingBob said:
You're back! How wonderful, Bruce!
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Sorry Bob,

He's not back... Note the date of his post, May 2nd. Click on his name and you'll see that he hasn't logged in at all since October.

:(
 
Adam,

Don't drop the soap in P-Town.


:D
 
bbchien said:
You can never get a reservation. Just another way the big fish displace us little users. Sigh.
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Disillusionment ?
 
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