Patience When Possible

Michael Oxner wrote a blog entry about some radio communications gripes and that reminded me of a conversation I heard on return trip from Edmonton back to Calgary.

Most of my trips are from CYBW to CZVL in a Piper Warrior from the Calgary Flying Club. We have friends in St. Albert and Villeneuve is a convenient (and free) airport to land at. We always take one of two routes; direct between the two airports or via Highway 2 but regardless of our route, I always request an altitude of either 8500 or 9500, depending on whether we’re coming or going, which is the highest we can fly continuously without oxygen. I prefer to fly higher for a couple of reasons; safety, economy and fun. In that order.

Safety. In aviation, at least for me, all decisions I make revolve around safety. That said, the higher I fly the more time I have to react to a situation. In an engine failure, the higher I am the further I can glide to safety. The other factor on this trip is that at that altitude, most of the trip is in controlled airspace. That means that ATC isn’t going to let anyone else run into me. Yes, I realize that ultimately I am responsible for collision avoidance, but I know that ATC isn’t going to direct any IFR traffic into me and I know that other VFR aircraft can’t enter the controlled space without talking to ATC first.

Economy. When you fly in a Warrior, where the POH says that you can 112 KTAS but in reality it’s more like 105, the winds are a huge factor. And where I’m from, the winds are usually better the higher up you go. The plane also burns far less fuel at 10,000 feet than it does at 5,000.

Fun. This is the last reason in my list, and really it more of a side benefit than a reason. To me, interaction with “the system” is fun. It’s also a lot more work but it’s still fun. Of course, the system isn’t there just for me, which is why I always add ”if it’s not too busy for you” to my request for flight following and the higher altitude.

Which leads me into what I started talking about. A little patience on both sides of the radio should be the norm (so long as safety is not jeopardized) and I think it is, but I think that typically ATC is far more patient than should be needed. When a flight following request is granted, it is usually followed by ”remain VFR at all times and advise ATC with any altitude or route changes”. To me that instruction is simple. But perhaps not to all pilots? One beautiful afternoon last summer, I heard ATC politely asking another VFR aircraft if they had ”wandered off course or we doing some sightseeing over some lake?” I don’t recall the pilot’s reply but I do remember thinking how much better that controller handled the situation than the Edmonton City Centre controller who had talked to me half an hour earlier.

I had filed a flight plan that requested a route from CZVL east to CYXD and then south following Highway 2 towards Calgary. When I called the CYXD controller once outside of the CZVL control zone, I told the controller that I was level at 4500 on a VFR flight plan to Springbank. His reply was that I was cleared en route. Being the somewhat passive pilot that I am, I said thanks and carried on at 4500 feet, figuring that either the city controller or Edmonton Centre was too busy to let me hop up to 7500 feet. Two minutes later, the controller called me and rudely lectured me that he noticed my flight plan requested a route over the city and a climb to 7500 feet and that if want something different than the controller says I should ask. It was if it was my fault that he didn’t look up my flight plan when I checked in. In any case, I thanked him for the climb and told him that I figured he was too busy.

Two controllers, two different situations, but what a difference in how it was handled.

3 comments »

1. By Aviatrix 4 days later:

   
   
   I agree with the controller that it was your responsibility to ask for what you wanted. "Passive" and "pilot" don't go together too well. "Four thousand five hundred request seven thousand five hundred direct Springbank." I never know exactly what's on my strip, or what one controller said to another as he passed along my blip, but I know what I want. And he may have just been trying to help, but letting you know that you were allowed to ask for what you wanted.

2. By David Megginson 4 days later:

   
   
   If you're flying a Warrior II with wheel fairings, you're supposed to be able to get 127 ktas, and I can confirm 125 ktas in mine. However, there are some gotchas: you have to be at about 7,000-8,000 feet density altitude (anywhere from 5,000 to 11,000 feet indicated altitude, depending on the temperature and air pressure), you have to be a couple of hundred pounds under gross weight, and you have to have the power set for 75% (which will be about 2650-2700 rpm at that density altitude). Basically, if you're seeing 112-114 kias on the ASI, you'll be getting 125+ ktas at the ideal density altitude. So, why aren't you seeing that in the Warrior you're flying? At maximum gross weight, you'll lose, maybe, 4 knots. At a higher density altitude, the engine won't be able to produce 75% power, and you'll lose speed; at a lower density altitude, the true airspeed will be lower because of the thicker air. If you take off the wheel fairings (or if it's a Warrior III, which doesn't come with fairings), you'll lose about 7 knots. If your tachometer is off by 100 rpm, you might lose 5-10 knots. Old paint, draggy antennas, flying in a slight slip, and dents in the wing can also slow you down. Again, though, if you're seeing 112-114 kias at any density altitude at 75% power straight-and-level, then the plane you're flying is capable of 125 ktas or more at the ideal density altitude.

3. By David Megginson 4 days later:

   
   
   By the way, I think the controller was clearly in the wrong in this case. You were a VFR, not an IFR, and so you had no altitude restriction at all unless the controller explicitly gave it to you. It doesn't matter what's in your VFR flight plan, because it's just for search-and-rescue purposes. Even in IFR, your flight plan altitude governs you only in a lost-comms situation.