"Guy Elden Jr." wrote in message


And I highly doubt I would've
been able to handle the situation on my own... the instructions we
got coming in were confusing, and confusion is something you do _not_
want to have when you've got a whole line of big iron ready to run
over your tiny little spam can on that nice 10,000 foot long, 150
foot wide runway.

This confusion is a real issue. IAD has a couple of "pushes" a day where it
really is not a good idea to be in a little plane there unless you have a
bit of experience at this kind of field. The controllers are issuing
rapid-fire instructions and frequency time can be at a severe premium at
those times. Having a pilot in the area that is not familiar with
operations at a large Class B field only adds to everybody's frustrations.

I'm not at all suggesting that pilots stay away. All I'm saying is that
your first couple of trips to a busy Class B airport should be with another
experienced pilot flying with you or at off-peak times.

For anybody interested, a DC-area email list has a couple of controllers on
it that have published the better times for us "small guys" to pay a visit.
http://archives.his.com/dcpilots-l

FWIW, I've had very few problems with IAD/PCT controllers.

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
_______________