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Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 9:59 pm
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.

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2016 9:00 am
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.

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:41 am
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 DalĂ­ print
Good learning experience

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:45 am
by Keith Smith
Once you leave the Delta, you can change frequencies on your own.

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 10:59 am
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

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 5:43 am
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.

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 6:14 am
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.

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 1:11 pm
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.

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 2:35 pm
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 :-)

Re: Never again on PE - share your mistakes

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 3:33 pm
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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