Cat Rating - Best Times?

[gscottfuller]

I recently joined PE and did the Cat 2 today. Tower was swamped at SBP so very tough to get through and to get responses. It potentially creates situations where you might have to circle outside Class D or do a go-around because you can't get a call back. Not complaining but does it make sense to do Cat rating flights at less busy times and if so what are those times?

Love PE -- First class service that really ramps up sim enjoyment and education.

[Kevin_atc]

The weekday mornings (0800-1200 PDT) tend to be quieter on the network. Other than that, it can vary quite a bit. Feel free to check out the homepage at any given time to see how many pilots are online. 0-10 is slow, 10-20 is moderate, 20-30 will be busy, 30+ is rocking!

However, those number scales I listed above aren’t going to always be 100% accurate as commercial customers who might be operating in areas other than the public coverage area can skew that data at times. Additionally, if there are a lot of pilots logged in flying the CAT-1 rating, or another flight not involving ATC, they obviously won’t be using the radio and causing frequency congestion.

[gscottfuller]

Many thanks for detailed reply. Now working on CAT 6 and have decided I had it all wrong. The best times to do CATs are when it is busy because you have to react to unanticipated situations when you can’t get through to ATC. Had to circumnavigate the Bakersfield airspace today before finally connecting with tower. That caused a totally unexepected runway and approach pattern. Good learning experience !!

[Kevin_atc]

Way to challenge yourself- That's great!