Solo Flight Radio Fault

It happens.

On one of my solo XC flights I sat at a towered airport for 15 min trying to figure out why I could not get ahold of ground or any other frequency when trying to depart. I could hear AITS and Ground but no one was responding to any of my calls...and I had just landed a few min ago talking to Tower

...until I realized I knocked the headset jack partially out when I got out to take a leak and get a coke!

This is also why a handheld is valuable. More recently had a com panel failure on a long XC and did the whole thing on a HH departing from a Charlie airport without missing a beat.

You did everything right expect no need to remain clear of the airspace waiting for light gun signals. 7600 is essentially declaring an emergency trumping the communication requirement for authorization to enter. You only need the light gun for clearance to land.
 
Shawn said:
It happens.

On one of my solo XC flights I sat at a towered airport for 15 min trying to figure out why I could not get ahold of ground or any other frequency when trying to depart. I could hear AITS and Ground but no one was responding to any of my calls...and I had just landed a few min ago talking to Tower

...until I realized I knocked the headset jack partially out when I got out to take a leak and get a coke!

This is also why a handheld is valuable. More recently had a com panel failure on a long XC and did the whole thing on a HH departing from a Charlie airport without missing a beat.

You did everything right expect no need to remain clear of the airspace waiting for light gun signals. 7600 is essentially declaring an emergency trumping the communication requirement for authorization to enter. You only need the light gun for clearance to land.
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7700 would be declaring an emergency, 7500 if you were hijacked, 7600 is simply communication is out.
 
Shuswap BC said:
7700 would be declaring an emergency, 7500 if you were hijacked, 7600 is simply communication is out.
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Correct...but in reality when you squawk 7600 they treat you like an emergency since they do not know what else you may be dealing with in the cockpit that led to the com failure...that is first hand real world info from a Tracon Supervisor.

My point being that 7600 does not prevent you from entering Delta and the light gun is for clearance to land, not authorization to enter the airspace per the OP's concern.



FAR 91.129 (d) Communications failure. Each person who operates an aircraft in a Class D airspace area must maintain two-way radio communications with the ATC facility having jurisdiction over that area.

(1) If the aircraft radio fails in flight under IFR, the pilot must comply with §91.185 of the part.

(2) If the aircraft radio fails in flight under VFR, the pilot in command may operate that aircraft and land if—

(i) Weather conditions are at or above basic VFR weather minimums;

(ii) Visual contact with the tower is maintained; and

(iii) A clearance to land is received.

AIM 4-2-13 (3). Transmitter and receiver inoperative. Remain outside or above the Class D surface area until the direction and flow of traffic has been determined; then, join the airport traffic pattern and maintain visual contact with the tower to receive light signals. Acknowledge light signals as noted above.
 
Shawn said:
Correct...but in reality when you squawk 7600 they treat you like an emergency since they do not know what else you may be dealing with in the cockpit that led to the com failure...that is first hand real world info from a Tracon Supervisor..
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Don't see it often, but 7777 in my area has a real purpose ... that's your assigned code after being intercepted.
 
kath said:
On a very common audio panel, there is one "knob" that controls which COM you're transmitting on, and (separately) a "push-button" that controls what you listen to.

View attachment 79155

The top row of push-buttons sends audio to an overhead speaker. The bottom row sends audio into your headset. The knob on the right (12) controls where transmissions go.

Most of the time, the "COM1" button (4-bottom) is pressed in, and the knob is also set to "COM1". Audio both in and out from COM1.

So "pressing" the NAV1 button (6-bottom) just lets you additionally listen to Morse code, and has nothing to do with transmitting.
By the same token, if you "un-press" the COM1 button by accident, but don't touch the knob on the right, you'll be transmitting successfully and just not hearing anything.


Edit: fixed graphic, and button numbers
Edit2: OP, if you take a photo of your audio panel, I bet we could clear this right up!
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So.... I'm renting a plane, get in, and I see this audio panel, but with buttons seemingly randomly pushed in, knob on Com 2, etc. Its a mess. But I remember seeing this exact panel last year on this thread. Did a quick search on this forum on the phone, read this post, figured out how to re set it all, and good to go.
 
WDD said:
So.... I'm renting a plane, get in, and I see this audio panel, but with buttons seemingly randomly pushed in, knob on Com 2, etc. Its a mess. But I remember seeing this exact panel last year on this thread. Did a quick search on this forum on the phone, read this post, figured out how to re set it all, and good to go.
Click to expand...

That one is easy. Push what you want to hear, rotate the knob for where you want to talk. :)
 
flyingron said:
Remember, it's Newton, not Marconi, that makes it fly.
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FIFY.
Bernoulli really doesn't explain much of anything when it comes to lift unless you start with circulation - which gets real mathy real fast.

Back to your original program, already in progress.
 
denverpilot said:
That one is easy. Push what you want to hear, rotate the knob for where you want to talk. :)
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Not so easy when nothing is marked. I didn’t even think planes had overhead speakers still hooked up. But it was nice to be able to figure it out quick enough looking it up here.
 
WDD said:
Not so easy when nothing is marked. I didn’t even think planes had overhead speakers still hooked up. But it was nice to be able to figure it out quick enough looking it up here.
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The speaker in my Mooney still works great.
 
Salty said:
The speaker in my Mooney still works great.
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As do the speakers in both the Warrior and Sierra I fly frequently. With the Com Panel in the Warrior, top row of buttons sends to speaker, bottom row sends to headsets, knob selscts transmit funtion (Com1, Com2, and Com1/Com2 where left seat uses Com1, right seat uses Com2). The Sierra has a similar knob arrangement but only a single button for each receive function (C1, C2, D, M, A, N1, N2, & AX) which selects headset audio sources. There is an additional "S" button that sends everything selected to the speaker as well. (It is an old Apollo SL10-M)
 
WDD said:
Not so easy when nothing is marked. I didn’t even think planes had overhead speakers still hooked up. But it was nice to be able to figure it out quick enough looking it up here.
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??? The markings have worn off of yours ???

(It says Speaker and Phone right there in the stock photo you posted...?)
 
That was a stock photo from someone else’s post. Besides - my speaker is in my head set - right? like I said - don’t occur to me that a “speaker” was in the ceiling. Something they just didn’t cover in ppl training - each audio panel is manageable - but all a little different. Volume control for passenger communications are all also somewhat different.

Sometimes the simple things can trip you up.
 
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