R in a Circle (Airport Surveillance Radar) on VFR charts

"Jeff Saylor" wrote in message
...

Ok, I get that, but what makes this information useful to the pilot?


It tells the pilot where ASR is located when there is no other indicator and
how to obtain radar services.



For example, what is available to a pilot landing at Nantucket (Class
D, Cape Approach, R-in-circle) that is not available at Vineyard
Haven (Martha's Vineyard with Class D, Cape Appraoch, No
R-in-circle)? Both airports have a number of approaches,
including ILS that controllers can vector pilots to.


If you're operating IFR it's not an issue. If you're operating VFR, you
wouldn't know that radar services were available if the information was not
published somewhere. What better place to put it than the sectional, the
publication most used by VFR pilots?

Neil Gould wrote:

Hi,

PMJI...

Recently, Jeff Saylor posted:
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

The blue R in a circle symbol is used to indicate the presence of
ASR where there is no other indication. It would be superfluous at
the core airports in Class B and C airspace and TRSAs. It doesn't
matter where the approach control facility is located.

Ok, I get that, but what makes this information useful to the pilot?
For example, what is available to a pilot landing at Nantucket (Class
D, Cape Approach, R-in-circle) that is not available at Vineyard
Haven (Martha's Vineyard with Class D, Cape Appraoch, No
R-in-circle)? Both airports have a number of approaches, including
ILS that controllers can vector pilots to.

Steven gave a useful response by stating that "It doesn't matter here the
approach control facility is located."

That's true, but my question is, what maks this information useful to the
pilot? That is, how does the blue R/Circle symbol benefit the (VFR) pilot?
What is available at the airport with a blue R/Circle that is not available
at an (non TRSA or Class c&d) airport lacking the symbol?

All the pilot needs to know is who
to talk to. This information is listed in a legend on the back of the
chart. ;-)

As I mentioned earlier, that is not (necessarily) true. Take the example of
KRDG, which has the blue R/Circle symbol. Just try to find the approach
frequency for that airport anywhere on the sectional! (It isn't there, even
on the back of the chart, the side, etc..)

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote:

"Jeff Saylor" wrote in message
...

Ok, I get that, but what makes this information useful to the pilot?


It tells the pilot where ASR is located when there is no other indicator and
how to obtain radar services.


For example, what is available to a pilot landing at Nantucket (Class
D, Cape Approach, R-in-circle) that is not available at Vineyard
Haven (Martha's Vineyard with Class D, Cape Appraoch, No
R-in-circle)? Both airports have a number of approaches,
including ILS that controllers can vector pilots to.


If you're operating IFR it's not an issue. If you're operating VFR, you
wouldn't know that radar services were available if the information was not
published somewhere.

Thanks for the explanation, although I haven't found any more or less radar
services to be available at KACK (Nantucket, w/ the R symbol) than at KMVY
(Vineyard Haven) or even KPVC, which was why I am curious.


What better place to put it than the sectional, the
publication most used by VFR pilots?

Sounds good. I just wish they felt the same away about approach control
frequencies for airports such as KRDG.

"Jeff Saylor" wrote in message
...

Thanks for the explanation, although I haven't found any more or
less radar services to be available at KACK (Nantucket, w/ the
R symbol) than at KMVY (Vineyard Haven) or even KPVC,
which was why I am curious.


The symbol indicates where the ASR is located, of course radar services are
available at other airports within range. Typically 30 miles or more.



Sounds good. I just wish they felt the same away about approach
control frequencies for airports such as KRDG.


In the Airport Data block there should be an ATIS frequency or a "VFR Advsy"
frequency, (more likely ATIS). At fields with ATIS the recording should
have the frequency for traffic advisories, at fields without ATIS the VFR
Advsy frequency will be in the data block.

The symbol indicates where the ASR is located, of course radar services are
available at other airports within range. Typically 30 miles or more.


All well and good, but the pilot needs to know whether services are available
at the airport of intended landing. To scour the thirty miles of nearby
airrports for an (R) makes more work for the pilot (though less work for the
cartographer.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...

All well and good, but the pilot needs to know whether services
are available at the airport of intended landing.


Why?

All well and good, but the pilot needs to know whether services
are available at the airport of intended landing.

Why?


Because that's the airport he intends to land at.

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...

Because that's the airport he intends to land at.


He can't land if there's no radar at the airport of intended landing?

Because that's the airport he intends to land at.

He can't land if there's no radar at the airport of intended landing?


He can't get radar services if there are no radar services at the airport of
intended landing. So he needs to know if there are radar services at that
airport. He doesn't need to know if the radar providing those services is
physically located there (which is what the (R) would tell you)

Jose



--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...

He can't get radar services if there are no radar services at the
airport of intended landing. So he needs to know if there are
radar services at that airport. He doesn't need to know if the
radar providing those services is physically located there (which
is what the (R) would tell you)


So radar services are provided only to the airport with the R?