Say flight conditions

FORANE

FORANE

En-Route
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
4,457
Location
TN
Display Name
FORANE
Home Airfield
0a9
When ATC asks, how do you typically respond? What information do you typically include?
Just VMC/IMC?
Precip - how do you describe intensity?
Ride - how do you describe ride?
Cloud layers - Do you include bases / tops?
Anything else?
 
Light/med/heavy precip, approx visibility, approx cloud base, smooth ride or a lil bumpy. That's what I typically say. Add whatever else you think might be helpful, like 'rain cell at my 3 o'clock, approx 5 miles' or whatevs.
 
FORANE said:
When ATC asks, how do you typically respond? What information do you typically include?
Just VMC/IMC?
Precip - how do you describe intensity?
Ride - how do you describe ride?
Cloud layers - Do you include bases / tops?
Anything else?
Click to expand...
Just VMC/IMC? That's a good start.
Precip - Light, moderate, heavy and extreme
Ride - smooth, light chop, light/moderate/severe turb
Cloud layers - bases/tops. Yes
Anything else? Icicng: trace, light, moderate, severe included with type and temp/when it started and ended. Visibility. Winds. As eman said, pretty much anything helpful. Controllers relay the pertinent info on. (i.e. knowing the cloud layers can allow me to help a vfr pilot that ended up IMC, help get troubled aircraft out of icing, etc).
 
Last edited:
FORANE said:
When ATC asks, how do you typically respond? What information do you typically include?
Just VMC/IMC?
Precip - how do you describe intensity?
Ride - how do you describe ride?
Cloud layers - Do you include bases / tops?
Anything else?
Click to expand...
"Say Flight Conditions" is ATC's way of saying "give me some PIREPS." AIM 7-1-19 a. tells you what conditions require them to ask it. How you do it continues on for about the next 30 pages. What's said above is a pretty good real world description of all that
 
My response would be whatever I thought was most significant under the circumstances.

Examples:

"Good VFR."

"Between layers."

"Thunder and lightning with violent updrafts and downdrafts." :eek:
 
I had Oklahoma City Approach ask an airliner to say flight conditions before he'd give me a VFR Class B transition once...:rolleyes:
 
In the flight levels I'll usually just give a ride report and maybe winds aloft.
 
I'm usually the one asking but for terminal we're normally looking for cloud bases, wind shear, and visibility. I've only been asked once as a pilot when Tucson approach had a false precipitation image on radar and I was in it. They wanted to know if I was flying in a rain shower.
 
One time when I asked for a lower altitude, the controller wanted to know if I was in icing conditions. I told him that I was between layers but wanted to get rid of some of the headwind.
 
If IFR in our 172, I kinda assume they're curious if I'm in actual IMC - some controllers seem "pro-active" about offering altitude changes - maybe thinking about the work-load or airplane capabilities, or a lowly PP SEL dealing with IMC. If I come back with vis, temp, and any precip, or turbulence, that seems to fill the bill.

But once or twice, when I've told 'em I was in the clag (after they've asked), they've offered higher or lower; fine with me, and I appreciated the thought.
 
Most of the time I've heard/gotten this it was for an arrival/departure. I try to give them bases/tops and vis.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top