Busy controller, still a hero. Me learning lessons.

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tasev1
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2020 7:23 pm

Busy controller, still a hero. Me learning lessons.

Post by tasev1 »

The controller who was working 4/29/2020 at 1500PST LA Center/Approach....guy was busy as hell, but he still took the time to give me constructive guidance (Skyhawk N733EJ). Sadly I had a sim issue and disconnected before I could thank him upon landing.

So if you're reading this, keep up the amazing work! You need more controllers! If it wasn't busy, I would have commented but I don't need to add to the traffic. Here's my little blurb for learning's sake and where my mind was at on this route (basically, I was defaulting to following Canadian Airspace procedures which differ slightly. Good to know that I won't fall victim to the wrong Country's policies when I'm flying for real! LOL).

Before you say it, YES, I did read the pre-flight briefings and I know exactly why the controller said what he said on the radio. And YES, I was nervous! (Pilot Edge is much harder and more nerve-wracking than flying in the Toronto airspace!!)

For the CAT-7 I failed, but didn't necessarily do anything bad based on my training at home....I never heard that I was radar identified after my transponder code ident, so I remained North of the Ontario class C instead of asking for clarification (in Canada, Class C requires a clearance to enter and is akin to the American Class B. Since the radio was busy, and I was never identified / cleared I simply elected to remain clear of the airspace and let the controller do his thing regardless of the rating). When I was ready to pass over to El Monte tower, I told instead of requested it as the controller expected me to (true, since I was under his guidance and correct under either Country's rules - but since I never entered the Class C, I thought at the time it would be ok as I was gaining on El Monte pretty quick. That is one mistake for sure!). This seems to be one of the minor differences between D and C airspace in the US (as an example, clearing class D I might not necessarily get a handoff if I'm not on flight following and can switch to enroute once clear (this is the case in the Class D I was regularly flying out of in Canada - we could just switch to our area frequency without tower saying anything once out of their airspace) - squawking by default meant flight following in the C! Also, when swapping frequencies - I waited and didn't hear anybody on the radio, but it was true that I didn't wait long enough before starting communication (it was far less than 10 seconds of listening). I must have been in a rush due to my proximity to the airport. Real mistake #2! That being said, the frequency was so busy had I waited I might have overflown!

Again, thanks to all of you great controllers for guidance. One of my goals is to practice and learn, but I really do need to be constantly aware of the rules differences between Canada and the USA. If I have to default, I have to default to Canadian rules when compared to flying a simulator. (Obviously in real life, things would be different, but I'm not trying to compare at that level of detail). I'm going to try again tomorrow morning when it's less busy I hope.

I recently renewed my PPL after more than 7 years away from aviation - and I am using PE to help re-train and bring myself back up to standards as I try to pursue more advanced education.
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