PilotEdge Forums

I do the cold call if I'm unsure of the controller's priorities at a time of high saturation and want to afford him or her the opportunity to get to me in their own order of importance. Generally nothing I'm cold calling about is urgent, and if it involves a transition I have no problem holding outside the airspace until I can get a word in. Most of the time I prefer to just get the request out there for the same considerations Peter has highlighted.

Not wanting to pile on (or off) without some perspective, I dusted off my VATSIM credentials and flew some basic VFR flights on the free-as-in-beer network. My flight tonight was a V2 rating style VFR flight from John Wayne to Ontario. The controller was a C1 sitting as SoCal Approach and had 5 airplanes. The experience was so obviously different:

East ramp taxi instructions: 20R via Alpha, Lima
Departure instructions: "Fly heading 080, (winds) clear for take off" No "left or right" just up to me.
Once I checked in out of habit at "1200 for 5500 VFR" I got told to resume own nav which took me across the approach corridor for KSNA at 3500FT.

The rest was mostly basic but "lacking". If you haven't heard VATSIM audio in awhile, you'll wonder why you even ask Keith for "VHF realism". Oh gawd it's awful and hard to hear.

Why do I even mention this?

The controllers get pissed off or sound that way because of amateur behavior in a professional environment. I heard a discussion recently between a controller and a pilot. Pilot told to taxi to runway at an intersection. Pilot ignored the taxiway intersection he was given and went full length, crossing another runway. When the controller called him out (with a tone and timber similar to a real-world astounded ATC would) the pilot wanted to contend that since he was not told to hold short, he did nothing wrong.

I like that the controllers get pissed off at the pilots sometimes, but they never make it personal. I should get yelled at if I call Riverside Tower, get pattern entry instructions, then proceed to enter the pattern at CHINO and bust that charlie all because I misidentify landmarks and fly over the wrong area. Now, if the controller had name-called or worse, sure that's not cool.

As far as I'm concerned, a pissed of controller means he cares about his job, the service he/she provides and cares about me learning something. Just don't be personal about it.

stevekirks wrote:The controllers get pissed off or sound that way because of amateur behavior in a professional environment.

In my opinion it is not even this but more of an amateur attitude in a professional environment.

I have been avoiding throwing my thoughts in this thread as well but there are some points I would like to put out there....

Its a training environment with a heavy load of no to low hour pilots on ATC...mistakes happen all the time. For me its how pilots deal with their response to the correction is what sets the tone for Controller/Pilot communications. Nobody likes being called out for mistakes but there is a standard to be met which is the whole point of this network in the first place and what gives it so much value. The time to argue a point is after touchdown and on the forums, not in the air on the mic...especially during high work load periods which is typically when controllers are less than agreeable for debating their correction.

Frankly at times I am a little intimidated by controllers but its only because I really want to be in compliance with their instruction and place undue pressure on myself. It is after all supposed to be an enjoyable experience so I try to keep that in mind when I am being called out for dumb flight errors.

I, for one, really appreciate the realism. I'm a student pilot in the real world, and come on here when I can to get better at procedures and communication. I've made far more than my fair share of mistakes, and been corrected a number of times - Usually it's because I'm not as familiar with an aircraft as I thought I was. The correction is welcome, albeit sometimes gruff. I've never had a controller act unprofessionally, and it was always the result of my mistake - most are very happy to explain what the issue was and how to correct it in the future. I've improved tremendously, though I still have a very, very long way to go, and I really appreciate all of the controllers and staff on the network.

stevekirks wrote:"Fly heading 080, (winds) clear for take off" No "left or right" just up to me.

FWIW- When ATC uses the "fly heading" phraseology, it is implied that you should turn in the direction closest to the assigned heading.