Never again on PE - share your mistakes

[djrisc]

Well, complete trainwreck for me tonight. Where to even begin?

1. Flew departure frequency as initial heading. (oops)
2. didnt follow V23 because I followed Foreflight like a zombie.
3. Didnt tune to the runway heading for the localizer and went wondering off who knows where.

I shouldnt fly when I get home exhausted, but if I dont I'd hardly ever fly, so, yeah...

Thanks for being patient with me Keith. (and thanks for staying open 10mins past closing to let me land.)

[djrisc]

Crashed on final to John Wayne due to super heavy gusts. I suck. lol

I swear I screw up more when Keith is controlling. Anyone else have this issue?

[Jeff N]

I swear I screw up more when Keith is controlling. Anyone else have this issue?

Hah - I thought I was the only one!

[Rey Lopez]

Crashed on final to John Wayne due to super heavy gusts. I suck. lol

I swear I screw up more when Keith is controlling. Anyone else have this issue?

Yes

[Keith Smith]

I screw up when I'm controlling all the time.

[N5344K]

Considering I had a very brief VFR flight from SBA to Camarillo last night, I made two minor mistakes and one significant mistake...

- During initial call asked for southwest departure when I meant southeast (first conversation with Keith- hi Keith!)
- Set sim transponder to ALT, but PE transponder was still in standby until I was pimped (twice) by SBA tower
- On approach to Camarillo, plowed right through the Oxnard Delta without talking to them. D'oh!

I'm becoming a PE addict. It's way cheaper than flying real airplanes, and handy in the winter when real world flying is difficult. Right now my home drome (KRNT) is MVFR, and winds this afternoon will be 60 degrees off runway heading, 30G40.

Keep up the good work guys!

[HenryR]

Well, it was only a matter of time until I could contribute to this topic... yesterday became "the time."

I was flying from KLAX to KSNA, LAXX6 departure, SLI transition, and the full ILS approach for 19R... piece of cake, eh? I was flying the Citation Mustang, and it was only my 3rd time flying it. I filed the flight plan, called CLNC and got my clearance, read it back and got "read back correct," which is somewhat of a novelty, eh Keith? The departure frequency I was assigned was 125.02, while I was expecting 125.20... but did I question it? Of course not... even though I had flown the I-05 30 minutes before, and 125.02 was Las Vegas Approach. Do you see it coming? ...wait for it! I called GRND, got taxi clearance, taxied to 25L, called the tower and took off... and that's about the last thing that went right! My apologies to the controller

Passing 1000 feet, I was watching for the needle to center for the SMO R-160 to make my outbound turn + trying to control my airspeed + moving the heading bug to make the outbound turn to 220. The TWR called and instructed me to switch to Departure, which I did. I called departure and got no response. I continued to try to get the unfamiliar airplane trimmed and climbing properly, etc., and suddenly realized that departure had not responded. By this time I was climbing through 3000. I called again, waited, got no response, checked to make sure I was transmitting on the assigned frequency, was on COM1, and that the PE radio panel showed me transmitting (there was no radio chatter at all, and we've all been disconnected, eh?). Now, I was passing 4,000, and called again... still no response, and I'm thinking even if I'm on the wrong frequency, someone will certainly call and inform me. Finally, I bypassed the obvious solution (switching back to TWR and informing them of no contact with departure-- nah, that's too easy), and the main temptation (disconnect and start all over), checked the departure plate, switched to 125.2 and called departure, now level at 5000. The controller informed me they had been waiting for me to call for 2-3 minutes, and told me I should have called the tower (DUH! ), etc... I thanked him for the correction and told him that I had been given the wrong frequency. He said, "...in that case, turn left to 100 and expect vectors to Seal Beach. Of course, by now, I was halfway to Hawaii .

The controller then had to vector me all the way around the Palos Verde Penninsula (for noise). When he next called, I thought he would be turning me towards SLI, but alas, it was to give me a speeding ticket... I was doing 230 KIAS. He told me that the speed limit below class B airspace was 200 KIAS. Well, damn! First let me say that ignorance is no excuse. Second, let me say that my real world flying ended almost 30 years ago, and a 200 KIAS speed limit was never an issue in a PA28-140. Arrrggghhh!

What else could go wrong! OMG, never, never ask that question!

Finally, I crossed over SLI, made the entry for the procedure turn, returned to SAGER--SNAKE--LEMON, got response from the GS, switched to APR mode... and the AP refused to respond... I hand flew the airplane successfully, and finally, the torture ended!

Thanks to the controller, and to Pilot Edge, for providing me with this embarrassing moment... or two... or three!

The moral of the story, or at least one of them, is to keep flying the airplane (FTFA) and don't panic... and heaven help me, that's all I did right on this flight! With one final apology to the controller, I'll sign off and give everyone time to have a good laugh.

[Keith Smith]

Henry,

If you can't establish comms on a new freq, the recommended procedure is indeed to go back to the last assigned freq, one you know to be alive and well. Using the freq on the chart was also worth a try, so that was a good effort. Hoping someone will call you while you're on the wrong freq, though, is not something I'd recommend.

If you're very lucky, you'll be tuned to the wrong freq, but one that is in range, in which case, a confused controller will ask you where you are, and either send you back to last assigned freq, or will give you the correct freq (if they're familiar with the area you're in, and they have knowledge of who you're supposed to call). Equally likely, though, is that you'll be tuned to a freq for a facility that is not in range (for example, 125.02 is a Las Vegas approach frequency), in which case, nobody will hear you (in real life or on PE). Waiting and hoping that someone will call you on that freq is not the right approach and you should take action accordingly

I'd like to hear the recording to see if the controller issued 125.02. It happens as a verbal slip from time to time since the same guys working LAX are also working LAS and we do make mistakes occasionally.

Thanks for posting, great story!

[Marcus Becker]

I listened to the recording and I unfortunately did provide the incorrect frequency. I was working on my alias file too allow me to view approach fixes at moments notice and happened to be looking at charts for LAS and the closeness of the two departure frequencies must have made me think I gave the appropriate one. I did not. For that, I apologize. I'll buy the next round.

[Keith Smith]

Marcus, I've made that mistake a couple of times, too. Obviously in real life, this would be a rarity because r/w controllers work such a limited range of positions. It's a necessary evil here, though and with those freqs being seing close, it happens. Still, good training for the pilot