Report Base Leg

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kjsaunders

Filing Flight Plan
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Jul 9, 2014
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Dawsonville, Georgia
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Ksaunders
When Departing KPNS (Pensacola, FLA) controller tells you upon IFR departure to "Report Base". It sounds something like this -

Mooney XXX - Cleared for departure Runway XX. Fly runway heading - climb and maintain 2,000 - Report Base. (???)

While still climbing to 2,000 the tower then instructs you to contact Departure Control on XXX.XX frequency.

I contact Departure (as instructed) and they vector me to first waypoint on filed IFR flight plan - climb and maintain filed altitude, blah, blah, blah.

So I do as instructed by Departure Control and now I am a little confused by tower asking me to report base after being handed off to Departure Control.

Question - my Departure clearance vectors do turn me downwind of KPNS. Am I supposed to get permission and leave my assigned Departure frequency - go back to Tower and "Report Base" as instructed previously by the tower controller?

I have never heard another tower ask departing aircraft to "Report Base" after departure knowing the pilot would already be handed off to Departure Control. The little trip heading Northeast out of Pensacola has about 4 quick handoff's and some pretty hot active MOA's. Being off Departure Control back to tower then back to the Departure Control frequency makes me a little nervous.

An then there is more:

Also - I was cleared on an ILS final going into KPNS with a 600' ceiling and pretty darn good turbulence to make getting on the ground all the more exciting. All set up slow and on the needles - Controller mistakes me for a departing Cirrus. "Cirrus XYZ My Tail Number" - report base. I call tower quickly and tell him "Mooney - My Tail Number- has been cleared and is on short final ILS Runway whatever".

Lots of confusion in my brain. Did he just clear a Cirrus to turn base to final on top of me? Controller then corrects with the proper Cirrus tail number and barks at me to continue in on my short final. I never heard the Cirrus make a call back to the tower to "Report Base". Very confusing and concerning few moments in my life.

I want to do exactly as instructed but this one has me scratching my head. Don't know who to ask for clarification on this (or where to read about what I am being asked to do upon departure). Any experience or advice?
 
kjsaunders said:
When Departing KPNS (Pensacola, FLA) controller tells you upon IFR departure to "Report Base". It sounds something like this -

Mooney XXX - Cleared for departure Runway XX. Fly runway heading - climb and maintain 2,000 - Report Base. (???)

While still climbing to 2,000 the tower then instructs you to contact Departure Control on XXX.XX frequency.

I contact Departure (as instructed) and they vector me to first waypoint on filed IFR flight plan - climb and maintain filed altitude, blah, blah, blah.

So I do as instructed by Departure Control and now I am a little confused by tower asking me to report base after being handed off to Departure Control.

Question - my Departure clearance vectors do turn me downwind of KPNS. Am I supposed to get permission and leave my assigned Departure frequency - go back to Tower and "Report Base" as instructed previously by the tower controller?

I have never heard another tower ask departing aircraft to "Report Base" after departure knowing the pilot would already be handed off to Departure Control. The little trip heading Northeast out of Pensacola has about 4 quick handoff's and some pretty hot active MOA's. Being off Departure Control back to tower then back to the Departure Control frequency makes me a little nervous.

An then there is more:

Also - I was cleared on an ILS final going into KPNS with a 600' ceiling and pretty darn good turbulence to make getting on the ground all the more exciting. All set up slow and on the needles - Controller mistakes me for a departing Cirrus. "Cirrus XYZ My Tail Number" - report base. I call tower quickly and tell him "Mooney - My Tail Number- has been cleared and is on short final ILS Runway whatever".

Lots of confusion in my brain. Did he just clear a Cirrus to turn base to final on top of me? Controller then corrects with the proper Cirrus tail number and barks at me to continue in on my short final. I never heard the Cirrus make a call back to the tower to "Report Base". Very confusing and concerning few moments in my life.

I want to do exactly as instructed but this one has me scratching my head. Don't know who to ask for clarification on this (or where to read about what I am being asked to do upon departure). Any experience or advice?
Click to expand...

Could he have been asking you to report the altitude of the base of the clouds?
 
I haven't a clue, that would have, for sure, been a ask the tower for clarification type of question.
 
Looking for the bases of the clouds. On departure they give you a heading.
 
If that was the case "report the base(s)" or better "say cloud bases" would have been a better choice on the towers part.

I fly for a living and that would have been a "what?" for me.
 
Interesting. "Report Base(s)" can be very much so confused with "Report Turning Base". Good food for thought.
 
Witmo said:
Could he have been asking you to report the altitude of the base of the clouds?
Click to expand...

I'm sure that was the case. I've been asked to report cloud base and tops before.
 
I just read that ATC is required to solicit PIREPs when bases are below 5000'. Only slightly related.

Yeah report base can be confusing...
 
Hey tower:
allYourBase.jpg
 
kjsaunders said:
Interesting. "Report Base(s)" can be very much so confused with "Report Turning Base". Good food for thought.
Click to expand...

Sounds like what he wanted... And to your other question, yes I have done a quick flip over to tower on the #2 radio to give a base report, or I'll ask departure to pass a base report back to tower.
 
I've had tower ask me to report the cloud bases before, but they're usually not so ambiguous. I've even asked for a freq change from departure to go back and tell them because I didn't get a chance before I switched.
 
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