Non Standard ATC Phraseology

"Cub Driver" wrote in message
news

Okay, that brings up a question that bugs me. KPSM says: "Report left
base." Now, I could go onto that left base five miles out, and it
would take me five minutes to reach the extended centerline.


Prescott (KPRC) did this to me last week. I was easily five miles out when
the tower told me to enter left base for RWY 21L but they didn't say how far
out to call it. They gave me a traffic advisory and when I said I had the
traffic in sight, they just told me to follow that traffic to the runway.


Where does KPSM want me to report? He knows that I will be at 1,000
AGL, but that's all. My own feeling is that I should report at a
45-degree angle, or one mile from the extended centerline if I am
flying a one-mile pattern, two miles if a two-mile pattern. Is that
about right?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Would they just want you to report at the same location as if you had turned
downwind to base?

This strikes me as being very close in for a base entry!!

Dunno about John Galiban, but I can't remember Chandler ever giving me a
base entry without requesting that I report at "X miles." They have,
however, given me a clearance to land before I've reached the point where
they wanted me to report (eg, I'm cleared to land at 3.5 miles out when they
wanted me to call a 2 mile base...)

Jay Beckman
Chandler, AZ
PP-ASEL

"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
news:aTAod.76522$SW3.14174@fed1read01...
"Cub Driver" wrote in message
news

Okay, that brings up a question that bugs me. KPSM says: "Report left
base." Now, I could go onto that left base five miles out, and it
would take me five minutes to reach the extended centerline.


Prescott (KPRC) did this to me last week. I was easily five miles out
when
the tower told me to enter left base for RWY 21L but they didn't say how
far
out to call it. They gave me a traffic advisory and when I said I had the
traffic in sight, they just told me to follow that traffic to the runway.


Where does KPSM want me to report? He knows that I will be at 1,000
AGL, but that's all. My own feeling is that I should report at a
45-degree angle, or one mile from the extended centerline if I am
flying a one-mile pattern, two miles if a two-mile pattern. Is that
about right?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Would they just want you to report at the same location as if you had
turned
downwind to base?

This strikes me as being very close in for a base entry!!

Dunno about John Galiban, but I can't remember Chandler ever giving me a
base entry without requesting that I report at "X miles." They have,
however, given me a clearance to land before I've reached the point where
they wanted me to report (eg, I'm cleared to land at 3.5 miles out when
they
wanted me to call a 2 mile base...)

Jay Beckman
Chandler, AZ
PP-ASEL



Same as Falcon, usually request a 2 mile report but cleared to land long
before reaching that reporting point

Rob AZ

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 23:36:07 -0700, "Jay Beckman"
wrote:

Dunno about John Galiban, but I can't remember Chandler ever giving me a
base entry without requesting that I report at "X miles."

Funnily enough, Chandler is the only towered field I've ever flown
from. (I have a recreational certificate and until September had to be
endorsed for each ATC field individually.) It drove me crazy because I
regularly had to deal with three frequencies, and the plane of course
had but two radios.

I'd be taking off and instructed to make a turn at 400 feet, much too
low by my way of thinking, and simultaneously to change freqs. I'd
scramble and scramble and finally breathlessly say: Six Two Echo is
with you! and behold! the same voice would come back. Why was I
changing freqs if I wasn't changing controllers? I found the radio
work more exhausting than the aerobatics!


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

My understanding is that while the basic model is for each "service"
(arrival, tower, departure, etc.) to have an individual controller and an
individual frequency for each, but that during low-traffic periods a single
controller may handle more than one service. However, he will continue to
use the frequency assigned to each service as that is the frequency listed
on charts, etc.





"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 23:36:07 -0700, "Jay Beckman"
wrote:

Dunno about John Galiban, but I can't remember Chandler ever giving me a
base entry without requesting that I report at "X miles."

Funnily enough, Chandler is the only towered field I've ever flown
from. (I have a recreational certificate and until September had to be
endorsed for each ATC field individually.) It drove me crazy because I
regularly had to deal with three frequencies, and the plane of course
had but two radios.

I'd be taking off and instructed to make a turn at 400 feet, much too
low by my way of thinking, and simultaneously to change freqs. I'd
scramble and scramble and finally breathlessly say: Six Two Echo is
with you! and behold! the same voice would come back. Why was I
changing freqs if I wasn't changing controllers? I found the radio
work more exhausting than the aerobatics!


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
the blog www.danford.net

Cub Driver wrote in message . ..

I'd be taking off and instructed to make a turn at 400 feet, much too
low by my way of thinking, and simultaneously to change freqs. I'd
scramble and scramble and finally breathlessly say: Six Two Echo is
with you! and behold! the same voice would come back. Why was I
changing freqs if I wasn't changing controllers? I found the radio
work more exhausting than the aerobatics!


First, make your turn when you're comfortable. I generally make my
1st turn at 600 ft. When the tower asks for an earlier turn, it's
almost always prefaced with "when able...". Unless they're requesting
an immediate manuver, you can take your time (just don't wait an
inordinately long time).

The reason you were changing frequencies is that there are separate
freqs. for the north and south runways. Although they may be run by
the same person when traffic is light, they are split when traffic
spikes up. This is not uncommon at airports that have a high level of
training activity. One minute slow, then next minute there can be a
dozen planes in the pattern. If you're already on the correct
frequency, you won't even know that the tower was split unless you get
the new controller. Otherwise, the controllers would have to figure
out who is on what freq. and get pilots to the right one before
splitting the tower.

Note : This is only done for traffic remaining in the pattern. If I'm
departing the north runway southbound, I'll keep the original north
runway frequency all the way out.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)