Hold "as published"?

"Steven P. McNicoll" writes:

Second, what bizarre failure causes me to lose both of my completely
independent transceivers, and my transponder,

.... and your cell phone (and all your passengers'), and your handheld,
....

but leaves me fully confident of the continued flawless operation of
my other avionics?

I agree with Steve. I didn't say anything indiscreet on my actual IFR
oral flight test, but on the practice test, when my instructor (a
2000-hour+ ATP) asked me about lost comms, I told him both what I was
supposed to say (the whole stupid holding thing) and what I would
actually do (fly to my destination and land ASAP to avoid screwing up
the airspace more than needed). Off the record, he agreed with me.

The problem is that once I'm squawking 7600, the controllers don't
really know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'm going to leave the hold
early. Maybe I'm using a new ETA, recalculated when ATC gave me a
clearance not as filed. Maybe I'm just not all that bright. Maybe,
as Steve mentioned, there are other problems as well. If I were a
controller, I'd be treating a 7600 in a hold the same as a loose
cannon on deck, and keeping everyone well clear. I've seen a few
discussions online on this point before, and I have yet to see a
posting from a single controller who *wants* you to hold at your
destination until your ETA.

I acknowledge that the situation would be different in a non-radar
environment like the Canadian far north -- in that case, you're flying
uncontrolled IFR at the lower altitudes anyway, and there's a good
chance nobody will see your 7600. ATS will notice that you're missing
your radio calls at the reporting points, but they won't know anything
else -- in that case, I would try to land as close to my ETA as
possible (probably by slowing down rather than holding at the IAF) in
the hopes that no one else would have release when I was scheduled to
arrive.


All the best,


David