PEaware & Class C instructions

[Joris]

Did a VFR flight from F70 to KSNA yesterday and it was logged in PEaware, however the status remained 'enroute' even though i had landed, taxied to the ramp, shutdown engines and logged off. This morning i noticed the entry disappeared. What is the proper procedure for logging off? Do we have to close our flight plans before logging of? Another strange thing happened in PEaware, all of a sudden there is a flight in my stats from VHHH (Hong Kong) to KSNA, completed in 4 minutes. I would love to see planes flying that fast

My second question is related to entering class C for landing.It was my first flight into Charlie and did not really know what to expect even though i prepared as much i i could. One surprise came when Approach instructed me direct El toro while i was east of Santiago peak.These mountains go up to 5700 feet so i was puzzled, should i stick to my vfr altitude of 4500 - I've filed a VFR plan via the plugin cruise 4500 feet- and go around the peek, which was my initial plan, or should i follow instructions and climb to say 6500 feet, and go over the mountains direct to the el torro VOR, which would also result in a very steep decent to the airport. I ended up doing a combination of the two, went through a canyon close to v283.

Enjoying PE very much and looking forward to keep on learning and pass some ratings

[Keith Smith]

I can only answer the first part right now as I'm in a rush....we are going to be fixing this shortly so that controllers won't trample over people's flight plans accidentally. We're going to do this by allowing them to see what people have filed when it's a VFR flight plan.

[Vincent Meier]

Joris,

I am no expert, but here are a few things to consider.
When you file VFR - ATC does not see this. This is just for PE aware to be able to log your flight.
I think you did the right thing by following ATC instruction and going direct to El Toro, since you are VFR you did not have to descend that quickly. You could have headed out some where beyond the destination airport and bled off some altitude to where you were comfortable to land at reasonable speeds. Just tell Tower or Approach,whoever you are talking to at the time, your intentions. This would have been much better than dive bombing the airport just trying to get the wheels on the ground.
You are the pilot in command - do things safe and take your time. You cannot be in a hurry when flying. That is when bad things happen

[Joris]

Keith and Vincent,
Thanks for your replies and advise. Did the same flight today and avoided the mountains by arriving from the South East. Was smooth and great fun
Cheers!