punder wrote:I guess this is a good place to chime in since I am a noob too, first time on today after many months off, and only a few flights before that.
First off, sorry about my connection problems this morning. I used FSUIPC to assign PPT on, but forgot to also assign PPT off, and quickly got thrown off the network as a result (I think). My apologies.
Next, I did my first flight a few minutes ago, and have a question about takeoff clearance... if I'm talking to gnd (KSNA in this case) and it's obvious one controller is covering all freqs, and he says taxi to 19L via whatever, without saying hold short, am I cleared for takeoff once I get to 19L?
I am low-time pilot used to having to switch between gnd and twr freqs, with gnd usually saying "contact tower on xxx when ready" so it kind of threw me. Not to mention I had serious stage fright. Not to mention I havent' flown a real plane in a lonnnnng time.
And if one controller is doing everything, I can hear him but not any of the other pilots. So it's very difficult to know when to break in without hitting a transmission and pissing everybody off. How do you deal with that?
Thanks,
Patrick
Hi Patrick, and once again, welcome!
In short, unless you hear those magic words "cleared for takeoff" at a towered airport, then never assume you are able to depart. In fact, unless you are told to in some way enter the active runway (like being told to line up and wait), you should always hold short. Entering the runway is defined as crossing the hold bars. Once that happens, you have effectively taken the runway and can obstruct the airport's operations. This is also true when landing. You haven't cleared the runway until you taxi beyond the hold bars. For this reason, you must always hold short until explicitly told to do otherwise.
The transfer of frequency from ground to tower is not a procedural regularity in that it isn't a rule that must be practiced. When you get to the departure end of the runway, or some other approved intersection, simply call up tower and request permission to depart by informing them that you're ready to go. As always, be on the look out for circumstantial deviations, like if a ground controller specifically mentions to remain on their frequency, etc. Most important training concern is to listen carefully to ATC instructions and clearances.
One important reminder: you must be told to transfer frequencies upon landing. Unlike when you are flying outbound, do not automatically switch from tower to ground.
FYI, if you're ever interested in learning the shared and individual responsibilities of pilots and controllers, check this out:
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publica ... m0505.html
As far as the inheritance of frequencies, just make your call as usual. We've become pretty adept at multi tasking. In the event you suspect a read back from another pilot may be warranted, you may choose to wait a second, but it's not necessary. Worse case scenario the controller will either tell you to standby or say again.