Intimidation by SLC TRACON

KM wrote:
Tim Taylor wrote:
I was just leaving Ogden Peak headed north when I heard a life flight
heli report they were going to be passing a few miles behind me. I
contacted Ogden Tower and gave them a traffic advisory of where I was
and my heading. The tower reported no conflicting traffic in my area
and thanked me for the advisory. A minute later he called me back and
said the TRACON had requested that I call them when I land. I asked if
he knew why, but all he could say was they requested I call.
Tim

Tim,
I do quite a bit of flying out of Cedar Valley and Morgan.I ussually
have very good service from Approach Control and I always call or at
least monitor when I am anywhere near an arival corridor and they are
always very helpful.I cannot comment about Tracon though.Some of what
you have experienced may be the residual effects of one of our intreped
government representitives at the local FSDO who tried to interprate
the FARs to read that we MUST have a transponder to fly over the class
B.
My guess is that you got a controller who was having a bad day.I know a
couple of the TRACON guys personally and I will ask them about this.
You did the right thing.
K Urban

Thanks, any feedback you can get would be helpful. With the ridge
system starting to work so well I would hate to have to have a hassle
every time we fly it. We can do a FAI 500K on it now and I am trying
to figure out a way to get a FAI 1000K. The maximum I am sure we can
do is 550 miles (880K). We can do an OLC 1000K now but it takes more
turnpoints than the FAI will allow. The last flight was nearly 85 mph
for the 590K, so the potential is there. A flight in the fall or
spring when it is warm enough to carry water would be real nice.

If we could work out a procedure that would keep TRACON happy when we
are in the veil (an even out from what I can tell) it would be nice. I
have been getting reports from power pilots flying VFR through SLC that
are getting hassled as well.

Tim

This is nothing new. I flew GA airplane into SLC and OGD on a weekly basis
from the mid '70 to the mid 90's and it was a problem then as well. It
helps to look at it from the other side.

The problem SLC TRACON has to deal with is that VFR aircraft can approach
their area hidden from radar by the Wasach mountains to the east of SLC.
This also means that line-of-sight VHF communications are also cut off by
those mountains.

VFR traffic just "pops up" on their screens a mile or two from SLC
International as it emerges from Immigrant Canyon. The sudden appearance of
a glider on their screens does nothing to reduce their stress level. SLC
approach is understandably sensitive about this. That sensitivity gives
their VFR "customers" the feeling that they are being intimidated.

I always tried hard to establish comunications with SLC approach as early as
possible but unless you were very high it was a problem. Arricving high in
a piston single means that you have to shock cool the engine in the letdown.
SLC obviously needed a remote communications outlet east of the mountains
and by now they may have one. Sometimes Flight Service would call SLC
approach with your ETA if you asked them to do so. The only strategy that
always worked for me was to cross the mountains westbound at Provo and
contact SLC Approach as you flew north.

SLC approach would like you to arrive on an instrument flight plan so they
know you are coming. That's difficult of low performance GA airplanes which
can't fly high enough to maintain minimum enroute IFR altitudes over the
mountains and impossible for gliders who can't keep an ETA.

So, what can you do? I'd try to contact them as early as possible perhaps
even by phone before takeoff. Try to work out an understanding tht both can
live with. SLC TRACON doesn't like surprises.

Bill Daniels


"Tim Taylor" wrote in message
ps.com...

KM wrote:
Tim Taylor wrote:
I was just leaving Ogden Peak headed north when I heard a life flight
heli report they were going to be passing a few miles behind me. I
contacted Ogden Tower and gave them a traffic advisory of where I was
and my heading. The tower reported no conflicting traffic in my area
and thanked me for the advisory. A minute later he called me back and
said the TRACON had requested that I call them when I land. I asked if
he knew why, but all he could say was they requested I call.
Tim

Tim,
I do quite a bit of flying out of Cedar Valley and Morgan.I ussually
have very good service from Approach Control and I always call or at
least monitor when I am anywhere near an arival corridor and they are
always very helpful.I cannot comment about Tracon though.Some of what
you have experienced may be the residual effects of one of our intreped
government representitives at the local FSDO who tried to interprate
the FARs to read that we MUST have a transponder to fly over the class
B.
My guess is that you got a controller who was having a bad day.I know a
couple of the TRACON guys personally and I will ask them about this.
You did the right thing.
K Urban

Thanks, any feedback you can get would be helpful. With the ridge
system starting to work so well I would hate to have to have a hassle
every time we fly it. We can do a FAI 500K on it now and I am trying
to figure out a way to get a FAI 1000K. The maximum I am sure we can
do is 550 miles (880K). We can do an OLC 1000K now but it takes more
turnpoints than the FAI will allow. The last flight was nearly 85 mph
for the 590K, so the potential is there. A flight in the fall or
spring when it is warm enough to carry water would be real nice.

If we could work out a procedure that would keep TRACON happy when we
are in the veil (an even out from what I can tell) it would be nice. I
have been getting reports from power pilots flying VFR through SLC that
are getting hassled as well.

Tim