PilotEdge Forums

Hi all. New to PE, but loving every second of it. Just about 10 hrs in a C152 around 15 yrs ago, and been using MSFS since early 90's ("moderate" sim level I'd say, although learning fast here on PE!).

So I was wondering how PE feels about VFR Flight Following? I'm thinking figure it will help me get used to using the radio a bit more and help me transition faster from VFR to IFR.... I was truly awful last night (if anyone cares to listen and have a good laugh, I was Baron BE N258E; KSAN to KAVX, then KAVX to KOXR; last two hours of the service - all feedback welcome).

Also, any good online learning resources on how to navigate through and into Class Charlie airspace (...VFR vs. IFR vs. Flight Following)?

BTW, I searched for the "flight following" before posting, but the forum told me both words are excluded because they are too frequently used!

See you all on again tonight!

Thanks in advance,
Cyrus

I get flight following all the time. All you have to do is ask. I usually request with ground when preparing to depart.

Have fun!

Cyrus,

Remember the Pilot Training program I emailed you about after your first flight? The V1 rating is 3 laps of the pattern. Care to guess what the very next flight after that is (the V2)?

Flight following through the Charlie!

I just did some Charlie work last week from KPOC, around the Burbank Class C, and back to KPOC. Not a lot of people flying around, but still very enjoyable. Here is my flight:
http://peaware.pilotedge.net/flight.cfm?id=24005

It basically consisted of departure off KPOC, class D transition with KEMT, then climbing 360 to establish comms with SOCAL and pick up advisories around the Charlie. Great sightseeing flight of the Hollywood Hills, San Fernando Valley, Van Nuys, Burbank, and up to Santa Clarita, then exit the Charlie to the east, terminate advisories, skirt the edge of the KEMT Delta, and back with KPOC tower. I also learned that in MegasceneryX SOCAL that the four stacks are not moddled, dangit. Have to find them and put them back in there somehow. Anyway, here is the audio from my departure, Delta transition, and Charlie call. N259DL starts at 2:54
http://www.pilotedge.net/recordings/hou ... _17510.mp3

Check out the ratings program as I know they invest in a lot of time and work into making that program sucessful and a valuable education tool. Also I think they made available the webinar (lack of a better term) from the last discussion which pertained specifically to VFR options. There was a lot of good information that came out of that too.

Most of all, have fun!
Nick

@Nick, thanks. Yeah, that was definitely definitely a VFR flight judging from the PEAWARE map I'll bet you had a lovely view of the Hollywood sign. And lucky you were high enough not to nick the top of the Griffith Observatory -lol. I'll put listening to your call (and following it along the route map) on my to do list - cheers.


@Keith, I'm on it. I've been like a sponge the last few days. Trying to pace myself though. I really only have about an hour or two in the evenings once the kids are in bed before I start nodding off in front of my PC. The PE service holiday tonight and tomorrow will probably be a good thing for my health! (and well deserved for you guys). In the meantime, I've got another couple of hours of your 3hr VFR workshop to watch (loving it!), some training to do/study, and "Say Again, Please" to read… if it arrives today (please, UPS!). One thing that I'm looking forward to is learning and practicing the written ATC shorthand, and I see from the Amazon book preview the book has this covered. By the end of a session, I've got a desk full of post it note scribbles and I'm not consistent in how I copy down instructions/info. I think this is a top priority for me, since most of my mistakes in this, my first week, have been due to not being able to understand what I wrote down. A classic example was my IFR ride from KSMO to KONT last night (my first IFR plan!): You gave me instructions to depart SMO rwy 31, turn R once I cross the LA 315R (yes, not “intercept” – doh!), and then ???? So I "filled in the blank" by thinking you said turn back to the SMO VOR... but obviously you were indicating that I should expect to be vectored back to the SMO VOR at some point; but [now I realize] that this is obviously not something that can be planned in advance due to the complex and dynamic neighboring class B airspace. So when I turned right too early (i.e. before being told to) your other controller (sorry, don't know his name - probably as it should be ) gave me some much needed and appreciated tough love. I also love that he said pretty much the same you said in the VFR workshop; that you basically do ONLY what ATC tells you (with regards to heading and altitude, at least) when flying IFR. With hindsight, it all makes perfect sense... I just had to make the connection first. But was very happy to be corrected – don’t get me wrong. The advantage of PE is that you can make a mistake like this without taking any real risks (other than embarrassment and the self-disappointment – which, believe me, is lesson enough!). Obviously, it’s not a mistake one would want to learn in the real world on the edge of a class bravo.
Incidentally, I've always found that this "immersion" approach is the best way to learn. All-theory/book learning kinda sucks; I can't relate until I can put my hands on something. On the other hand, just "getting out there and doing it" is not very efficient either. So having PE as a realistic sandbox *AND* being able to learn and review (PEAWARE, the audio recordings, books, YouTube videos, Workshops, etc.) is a perfect combination - and it's why I'll hopefully stick with this... because the learning curve is much more reasonable/realistic *and* yields sweeter fruit.
What I'm really trying to say is that I'll be on the training circuit soon.... once I get my *bearings* straight and make it through the next few days.

Must. Have. Sleep.

Hey there. Great post! You definitely have the right idea...flying online is a great supplement to any other forms of study. I did a ton of self-study with Rod Machado's instrument survival guide and some of the FAA literature (mostly Machado, though), and then practiced online. When I went to start my r/w training, it was all pretty simple.

Regarding clearance shorthand, I did study a few suggested guides but didn't like any of them. I ultimately came up with my own on the fly (except for the CRAFT part, which is pretty standard)

Here's a video showing that format in use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCp1xx3lAXE