Mxsmanic wrote:

Maxwell writes:


Why would a pilot care?


When reporting position, or when following instructions to "cross XYZ at
6000," or whatever. Or when giving the location of a family in distress next
to their SUV below.


Reporting position is all about just letting people know what direction
to look for you. I'm not IFR, but I've never heard anyone get a request
to cross a particular point, I have heard them tell pilots to turn
left/right to a particular heading.

If I tell an airport that I'm 6 miles east inbound and will enter a 45
for downwind, they know what direction to look, they generally know the
area and what approach I'm going to use to enter the pattern. I never
say my altitude unless I'm crossing over an airport or in a situration
where there's a high likelyhood of having company close by. Coming into
a pattern, your altitude changes a lot. Do not be one of these people
that call every damn thing you do.

I don't care if you were at 3000 and are going to 2000. If you call
that you're entering the pattern, I care where you are and how you're
entering. I already know your altitude (should be) is at TPA by the
time you get there. If you call that you're leaving the pattern, I
don't care where you're going. You can say that you're departing to the
north or whatever, but there's plenty of people out there that make
completely useless calls. I'm departing to the north. Now I'm heading
north at 2500. Now I'm 5 miles north of the airport. Now I'm at 3000.
I DON'T CARE GO AWAY.

If you were directly overhead of an SUV and a family, you wouldn't see
them. You'd really make a turn around a point and look for landmarks
around them.