"Requesting lower"

Danny Deger writes:

You fly sims, you don't know what you are talking about.

You're half right.

Why don't you listen to people that fly real airplanes for a change?

I do, once I have reason to believe that they know what they are
talking about. Unfortunately, that cannot be taken for granted.

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Mxsmanic wrote:
Robert M. Gary writes:

So what' s the point of filing IFR if you're going to cancel an hour
outside your destination just because you want lower?

Because you had to fly through IMC to get that far, and you want to
fly VFR once the weather permits?

But that's not what the poster said. The poster was asking about
decending.

-Robert

BDS wrote:
Tony writes:

One human factor that's been overlooked -- on late night flights, it is
often very very quiet aloft. I like the sound of a human voice from
time to time, it's reassuring to know the coms are working. Listening
in on aircraft to aircraft frequencies, and chatting as well, is I
think a safety factor. Pilots who make long cross country flights will
understand the reality of my point , others may appreciate at least the
theory.

I think the ATC guys get just as lonely - I think I've had them start up the
conversations late at night more often than the other way around.

I was flying back from Mexico several months ago and had just cleared
through San Diego. When I got handed off to Lemoore approach at about
20:30 it was pretty slow. I was in and out of IMC but wx was clearing.
So I asked them if they knew when Harris Ranch restuarant closed. The
controller came back about 5 minutes later, said he had checked with
the menu in the break room, confirmed they were open until 22:00 and
wanted to know if I would like to divert and if he could phone in a
reservation for a table for us!!!! My wife was 1/2 awake and the kids
were asleep in the back but eventually all agreed that steaks after a
week of Mexican food sounded good. He even prefiled an IFR for the rest
of our trip after dinner!!!

-robert, CFII

Mxsmanic wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder writes:

Let's say you are approaching a uncontrolled airport with overcast at 1500
ft AGL and there are VFR pilots in the pattern. Do you think that just maybe
this is why there are more than one radio in most aircraft and in virtually
all aircraft that fly IFR regularly?

I don't know the original purpose for two radios, but it cannot be
that, because there will be no VFR pilots (legally) in the pattern
with an overcast at 1500 feet.

While 1 radio is legal ( as is no radio) its not very uncommon. When
approaching an uncontrolled field IFR any reasonable pilot will have
CTAF dialed in #2 and listening long before ATC releases him, so he
understands what is going on in the pattern.

-robert, CFII

Mxsmanic wrote:
Gig 601XL Builder writes:

Let's say you are approaching a uncontrolled airport with overcast at 1500
ft AGL and there are VFR pilots in the pattern. Do you think that just maybe
this is why there are more than one radio in most aircraft and in virtually
all aircraft that fly IFR regularly?

I don't know the original purpose for two radios, but it cannot be
that, because there will be no VFR pilots (legally) in the pattern
with an overcast at 1500 feet.

In the U.S. they'll be there and legal. At a pattern altitude less
than 1200', you're legal during the day if you stay clear of clouds.

Kev

"Robert M. Gary" wrote

I was flying back from Mexico several months ago and had just cleared
through San Diego. When I got handed off to Lemoore approach at about
20:30 it was pretty slow. I was in and out of IMC but wx was clearing.
So I asked them if they knew when Harris Ranch restuarant closed. The
controller came back about 5 minutes later, said he had checked with
the menu in the break room, confirmed they were open until 22:00 and
wanted to know if I would like to divert and if he could phone in a
reservation for a table for us!!!! My wife was 1/2 awake and the kids
were asleep in the back but eventually all agreed that steaks after a
week of Mexican food sounded good. He even prefiled an IFR for the rest
of our trip after dinner!!!

The other pilot here at work was flying in the Chicago area a couple years
ago. He was late and a little harried and was on the center frequency when
he asked if someone would mind calling his appointment to let them know he
was going to be late. The controller (who my friend thought was the unicom
operator) said something like "Er, ah, OK", took the info and made the call.
It was shortly afterwards that my friend realized who he made the request
with.

It was a busy time of day and so it was pretty neat that they accommodated
him - maybe the controller was just in shock that someone would request that
center do something like that!

BDS

Kev writes:

In the U.S. they'll be there and legal. At a pattern altitude less
than 1200', you're legal during the day if you stay clear of clouds.

Only in Class G, and at a vast number of untowered airports 1000' AGL
is still in Class E (700' floor).

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On 2007-01-19, Mxsmanic wrote:
Only in Class G, and at a vast number of untowered airports 1000' AGL
is still in Class E (700' floor).

And what is the required cloud clearance in class E?

Mxsmanic wrote:
Kev writes:

In the U.S. they'll be there and legal. At a pattern altitude less
than 1200', you're legal during the day if you stay clear of clouds.

Only in Class G, and at a vast number of untowered airports 1000' AGL
is still in Class E (700' floor).

In Class E, with a typical 800'-1000' pattern, they'd still be 500'
below the aforementioned 1500' clouds, and therefore legal.

I soloed under those conditions. Thereafter I was known as "MVFR Kev"
:-)

Milen Lazarov writes:

And what is the required cloud clearance in class E?

1000 above, 500 below when flying below 10000 MSL, and 1000 in both
directions when flying at or above 10000 MSL. So you cannot fly a
pattern at 1000 AGL in Class E if you have a ceiling of 1500.

This applies to the United States (FAR 91.155); I don't know about
other countries.

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