Barry
Meek's Letters
August 2006
Flight in
Controlled Air Space: Bear's Air
When Transport
Canada saw fit to turn me loose with a
commercial fixed wing pilot's license,
most of my flying was done in the area
covered by the Vancouver VTA. The flights
were with instructors too, so the
airspace itself was never really
intimidating. Procedures were very
carefully explained as the months of
training went on. Nothing was shoved at
me with the "sink or swim"
explanation such as would be experienced
by a pilot flying west of Chilliwack for
the first time.
So it is that the
ATIS, clearance delivery, ground control,
inner and outer tower, terminal and
center frequencies, transponder codes
etc. are pretty much a matter of course
for any flight. Here is an example of how
busy it can be in that zone for even a
private pilot. On the short flight from
Victoria to Boundary Bay, which takes
about 20 minutes in a 172, there are a
total of 11 radio frequencies involved,
not counting the transponder code
selection. If you want the fuel truck
after landing, that's another frequency.
At the COPA
"rust remover" seminar held at
Vernon in April, pilots attending were
fortunate to have two controllers from
the Kelowna tower give a talk about their
airspace and procedures. Those
responsible for establishing the routes
and altitudes in that area, have done a
fine job, considering the terrain
problems unique to YLW. Although it is
nowhere close to requiring it's own VTA,
Kelowna has the largest control area in
Canada. The Flight Supplement is a good
source for information that's not on the
VNC.
Pilots have no
reason to be intimidated by controlled
airspace. Like everything else on the
road to obtaining our pilots license,
flying in controlled areas can be
learned, and with practice, become quite
routine. Controlled space is necessary
but certainly not a "necessary
evil". Controllers can be your best
friends, offering flight following,
terminal area information, traffic
advisories and separation. Sometimes,
they're just a friendly voice, which we
need at times for one reason or another.
Something really
important to remember is that they are
not there to hinder or harass us. They're
available and seemingly always willing to
help. For someone who's never flown into
Kelowna or the Vancouver area, LET THE
CONTROLLER KNOW it's your first time.
Even if you've flown there before but are
still a little unsure, let them know.
Simply state you are unfamiliar with the
airport, or the checkpoints or whatever
it is you are confronted with. From
experience, I can tell you they pay extra
attention to us in that situation. If I
get a bad time from a controller, and it
has happened, it's only because I've not
followed a procedure correctly or busted
a clearance.
For pilots who were
unable to attend that seminar in Vernon,
I'll take this opportunity to pass on a
couple of things from Don Edwards and
Charly Stratton of the YLW ATC tower.
First, and this surprised many of the
fellows, Don pointed out that the
telephone number for the tower listed in
the Flight Supplement as EMERGENCY only,
is available for any reason. Suggestion .
prior to your initial flight into
Kelowna, call for clarification re:
transponder use and procedures listed in
the Flight Supplement if you're not sure
of them. Don says they would be happy to
accommodate. You might be surprised at
all the misinformation there is out
there.
Second, be careful
of the control area extension near
Vernon. If you arrive there from Merritt,
there's a good chance you'll fly right
through that space, and would be in
violation with no encoding transponder or
prior permission. It's all pictured in
the flight supplement.
They have an ATIS at
YLW. It's a great tool, which takes some
of the workload off the tower, if it is
used by pilots. Listen in on 127.5 before
takeoff from and prior to entering
Kelowna airspace. Then advise that you
have "information Alpha, Bravo, or
whatever". That way, the tower knows
if you have the most current info.
Charly Stratton
offered some of the "dos" and
"don'ts" that controllers would
like us to observe. A big one to her is
"Ask for clarification if you don't
understand a clearance". After
getting it again, and you still don't
understand, "Ask again, and again .
as many times as required until you do
get it". Better to understand than
be intercepted by an inbound Jazz Dash 8
flying right through your fuselage.
Please close flight
plans with ground control. Don't ask the
tower where to park, where to eat, or
where the bathrooms are. Ground control
is good for that. And one other thing
Charly pointed out was that there are
more than just two magic words in the
English language. Of course "thank
you" is
always important, but to a controller,
the real magic words are "traffic in
sight". They stop worrying about you
at that point.
Many times we've
been entertained by controllers yelling
at students, ourselves included if you
are honest about it, but in reality,
without these people, we simply couldn't
run an air traffic system. I for one,
feel much better when there's someone
watching me on a radar screen and
directing things around me to keep us all
safe.
Charly Stratton strattc@navcanada.ca
Don Edwards edwadon@navcanada.ca
Barry Meek
at bcflyer@hotmail.com
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