Never again on PE - share your mistakes

rtataryn
Posts: 344
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:19 pm
Location: Spokane, WA

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by rtataryn »

IFR flight from KWHP to KHHR. Cleared as filed for the BURN1 TEC Route: V186 ADAMM V394 HHR RY25 LOC. I assumed (should have queried) that the HHR RWY 25 LOC Approach was in the clearance. i.e.: that I was able to descend on the approach as published with the original clearance. Chase graciously set me straight. The TEC route clearance is not a clearance for the approach, only to JOIN the localizer. You're never cleared for an approach until you are told "Cleared for the approach". Always learning here.
Rod
PPL, Instrument, ASEL, ASES
2013 Cirrus SR22T N877MS
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stevekirks
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Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by stevekirks »

Yeah, this one got me too. I had a flight into Hawthorne on the network and called for clearance and just wasn't really sure what it meant. Thank goodness for the PE learning environment; they read it and explained it when I called back. Looking at the chart, I guess it's more obvious, but it's one of things like the VFR Bravo routes: once you do it, it makes sense.
Steve Kirks (sKirks on Twitch)
KSGF--I-10 rated
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jiva602
Posts: 137
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:34 am
Location: NC, USA

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by jiva602 »

"Failed" my first attempt at CAT 10 (first leg), don't know my airspace and made the mistake of analyzing the rating brief too much - convinced myself I needed to hear freq change from TOA tower before being able to contact HHR tower - circled like 5 times lmao before asking TOA tower if I really did need to get let loose, he said nope - FSX flight analysis looks like a Dalí print
Good learning experience
Cessna Skylane N108ES
Socata TBM 850 N852XM
CAT 11
Keith Smith
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Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by Keith Smith »

Once you leave the Delta, you can change frequencies on your own.
jiva602
Posts: 137
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:34 am
Location: NC, USA

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by jiva602 »

I misread the advice on the info page for the rating. For some reason I fixated on what I thought was a suggestion to "ask the tower for a quick frequency change". Hopefully my post will help others to avoid the same misconception.
Thank you
Cessna Skylane N108ES
Socata TBM 850 N852XM
CAT 11
zerofay32
Posts: 131
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:34 am
Location: Grove City, Ohio

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by zerofay32 »

The quick frequency change is just another tool on the pilot bag.

I use it all the time RW as the two airports I regularly fly out of (KOSU and KTZR, both Deltas) are under/very close to a Class C, see attached image. If contacting approach isn't time sensitive, if I was flying to the west for example, then I don't need to bother the tower and just switch after leaving the Delta (not that its a bother especially of the airport is relatively quiet).

But if I'm headed to the east, I need to get over to approach to get through the Charlie without a large detour. As soon as I'm leaving the pattern, I ask for a frequency change and have approach in the #2 radio ready to go.

To further help/complicate matters, OSU has radar in the tower and TZR doesn't. So when I'm flying out of OSU I can get a code and FF from the ground and not have to worry about the switch at all (sort of ;) ). At TZR, you can get FF if you ask but the controller has to call approach on the landline to get the strip started so its workload dependent.

It's always a good idea to learn how to do something multiple ways, because you never know what way will work best until you try.
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Andrew Fay
PilotEdge V-3; CAT-11; I-11; Skyhigh 10
Commercial Pilot/Instrument ASEL/AMEL- KOSU / Commercial sUAS
sidfadc
Posts: 74
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:38 am

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by sidfadc »

oh boy where do I start, only signed up to PE last week. Been simming two 2 and half years but only recently started using Vatsim as well so speaking to ATC, following instructions etc has been a huge learning curve. I'm from Europe so flying on Vatsim and then jumping across the pond has been a bit of an eye opener. I'm from the UK and some of the USA controllers talk pretty quick with an accent so I have to listen REAL carefully.

I've flown 4 flights so far 3 VFR and 1 IFR, relatively short in distance and completed CAT 1 and CAT 2 so I think I'm doing pretty good. I'm working through the pilot edge training resources, last you tube video I watch from Keith on ATC comms was super useful. Still wrapping my head around airspace under VFR and what I can do/can't do/should say and when, I'm loving soaking up all the information.

Anyway in my 4 short flights I have had a few issues. It seems I have had more controller/sim type issues than ever only when flying on Pilot Edge, not sure if this is a coincidence. My first attempt at the CAT 2 I assign INSERT for PTT (this was before I discovered how to assign to my joystick through FSUIPC). Anyway the issue was INSERT was assigned to "something else" so every time I pressed PTT my Cessna did some weird turn which completely threw me.

I have attempted the CAT 3 THREE TIMES. First attempt I was asked to entered left downwind but entering right. Controller queried this and at that moment I realised my mistake. My inexperience didn't know how to deal with this so I disconnected. On my second attempt I completely forgot tot ell the controller it was for CAT 2 but completed the flights successfully. Last night I tried again.....12 miles north of KSMX my Saitek yoke decided to disconnect itself. This has happened in the past and I need to reinsert the USB again to get it going but it's happened a lot more frequently since I connected to PE, coincidence?? Anyhow I simply orbited my position whilst I sorted out my yoke before calling tower. Tower said entered "right downwind report midfield RW30". Great this time I entered the pattern correctly, turned on final with a mighty 16kt crosswind in my skylane and I kid you not, 10 feet from the runway my yoke disconnected!!! I plunged onto the runway and slid off. Instead of disconnected I called the tower to tell them what happened and said I would need to disconnect and try again.

One other flight into Oxnard I had some weird automated frequency change on my GTN 750 as I landed and inadvertently called Socal Approach. When I vacated the runway and called Oxnard tower he was pretty peeved because he had tried to call me "at least 6 times". Oops.

On the one IFR flight from Laughlin to Grand Canyon tower the controller completely obliterated my filed flight plan and read back to me the mother of all clearances! I had to ask her to say it again which she did very slowly (thank you) which I got correct second time around. Phew! I managed to complete the flight successfully though without my yoke disconnecting.

So if any controller is reading this I would like to apologise. I am learning all the time but it appears my hardware as been making a fool out of me which obviously no one else can see. Loving the network though, can't wait for it to expand.
spenconk
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2016 11:43 pm

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by spenconk »

Struggling with the CAT 10 a bit. Learning TONS at the expense of ATC though. Sorry folks.
For added clarity,"Once you leave the Delta, you can change frequencies on your own." Just when do I know I have left the airspace. It says online:
Class G -0 miles
Class E - 0 miles
Class D - 4 miles
Class C - 10 miles
Class B - 30 miles

It would be great to know the rules about when you are released from original ATC contact for each one.
Anders S
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2016 11:29 am
Location: Norway, Alesund, ENAL

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by Anders S »

I just was almost finished with the cat 10.
All went perfect then on landing I did fly left downwind instead of right downwind. Which comes to fail. I'll never do that again for sure :-)
jiva602
Posts: 137
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 6:34 am
Location: NC, USA

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Post by jiva602 »

Anders S wrote:I just was almost finished with the cat 10.
All went perfect then on landing I did fly left downwind instead of right downwind. Which comes to fail. I'll never do that again for sure :-)
Perhaps you can come and join our group closed traffic practice!?! We need more pilots in the pattern :)

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Cessna Skylane N108ES
Socata TBM 850 N852XM
CAT 11
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