How to fly into a control towered airport

[1600vw]

Good subject.
When replacing the spark plug wires on my VW powered experimental I had to go see a local man whom makes wires for the racing community. I told him I needed these wires for my airplane. He spoke right up and said he went out and purchased a nice low wing 4 seat airplane and started taking flight training and did indeed get his PPL.

He then said you want too buy a nice low wing on the cheap. He said he is done with ATC and flying. I told him to move his airplane to a non towered airport and train train train then move on to a towered airport. He said nope he was done.

I could tell you what happened to him twice, but lets just say him and the tower or ATC are not friends. This is a man with real deep pockets and he walked away from aviation without a second thought. This all happened within the last couple years.

Tony

[Bill Greenwood]

New pilots should not make such a mountain out of just a hill when flying into a control zone or tower. It's not that big a deal. First, 25 miles away, tune in an listen to the ATIS. Get the name, ie Bravo, set the barometer into your altimeter, and get the winds and visualize them in relation to runways. Then tune in tower and Listen before you talk, so as to get an idea of what route most people are given. These radio frequencies are right there on your sectional, both next to the airport name and in the index. You do have a sectional, don't you, or if not you are likely and ipad genius and don't need any advice anyway. So get down to pattern alt and reasonable speed and call tower either about 15 miles out or over a known approach point, so know where you are.
If it is class B( TCA) airspace, there may be an approach control frequency to call before tower,and they may give you a transponder code.
So, " Metro tower, Bonanza 3100 Fox 15 west with Bravo." They will come back with something like "3100 Fox report Sloans Lake" or "report a 2 mile left base for rwy 29." Say "3100 Fox" and fly as told, then they will clear you to land usually. No big deal. MAKE A NORMAL LANDING WITH GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED. And when leaving the runway call ground which is usually 121.9. 121,8, or 121.7.

One small point re the video at the start of this topic, the CFI must fly jets a lot because he keeps talking about "tail numbers". I am sure he means N numbers as most U S light piston airplanes don't have the N number on the tail, they have it on the side. I never heard the phrase Tail number until a few years ago.

Tower controllers are like dogs, there are some Golden Retrievers and there are a few that are like a Chiwawas and barking at everyone near them.
When you were a teenager, you might meet a girl's Parents who were friendly and you might meet some who regarded you like an opponent. Either way , you didn't give up on girls, did you?

[1600vw]

Bill this has to do with COMMUNICATION or lack of between this man and ATC. This is his home field he is having problems with. I am sure by now the plane is sold and he is gone. He was moving out of state to AZ I believe. But flying was over for him.

Here is what he told me.

The Tower at our field is a training tower. I have had enough dealing with students whom tell you one thing then mean another. I have only solo'ed my airplane 3 times and each time I have been called to the tower for landing on the wrong runway. I write down what ATC tells me then read it back, then after I land I get called into the tower, I am done.

I told him to move his airplane to a small county airfield close by outside class C airspace and get some practice in. Its a non towered field and he could work on his radio skills and communication outside the class C airspace.

He said the plane is for sale he was done flying for ever. I got my wires and left.

Tony

[wacoc8]

One small point re the video at the start of this topic, the CFI must fly jets a lot because he keeps talking about "tail numbers". I am sure he means N numbers as most light piston airplanes don't have a number on the tail, they have an N number on the side. I never heard the phrase Tail number until a few years ago.

Must fly jets????? Well, he may fly jets but the inference to "tail numbers" comes from the fact that ALL registration numbers from the 1920's until the early 1950's were located on the rudder and sometimes on the wings of all civilian airplanes. Must be an old guy thing.......at least it is for me.

[Bill Greenwood]

First of all, it is hard to believe that anyone who really cares about flying would quit flying and sell their plane just because of some nasty dispute with the controllers. I think something else was at work here, likely he ran short of money since many people don't fly for that reason or maybe he didn't have confidence in his flying or his plane, especially if it was something he built. Hard to believe he may have landed on the wrong runway more than once, unless he has a language or hearing problem. What airport is that?

Now, if one does have a problem with the tower, here is what I would do. First of all, I would sit down after the flight and analyze truthfully what went wrong. If the problem is with you as a pilot, then change what you do/say next time, and if you are not sure, ask a local instructor or experienced pilot for advice. If the problem is with the controller there are really two approaches. Next, if you trust the tower controller is trying to do the right thing, then when you have some time and the tower is not too busy, you could phone the them, not on the radio, and to discuss what happened and come to an understanding as to how to resolve it for next time. One caution, the tower is going to be covering their butts, first and foremost. One thing you will virtually never hear the tower controller especially the supervisor say is that they were wrong and made a mistake. They have an O J complex and it is always going to be portrayed as the pilots fault. However, if you word it very carefully, maybe you can approach it on the basis of how can the communication be more clear for next time? ,and less about who was at fault this time. Do know that both the radio transmissions and your phone call are recorded and can be used against you. Now if you are pretty sure that you are in the right and the tower used the wrong call sign or gave you the wrong runway or some such, you can ask to have a copy of these recordings. They are required to give them to you, and if they are in the right, they won't object. You can tell pretty redily if they are in the wrong as they will not be eager to give you the recording and may suggest instead just talking to you. DON'T LET THEM DESTROY THE TAPE IF IT IS A MAJOR OFFENSE, AND MIGHT BECOME A LEGAL MATTER.
Years ago I took off in my T-34 and found that a wing tank fuel cap was leaking. No big deal, not a fire or even a fire hazzard so I told the tower I was returning for landing. The controller got very excited,and asked if I had an emergency. I very clearly said no, not emergency, just returning to land. The controller can and did declare an emergency anyway and I landed to find fire truck, etc. coming out. In discussion the tower seemed to hold a grudge that I had not gone along with their call of an emergency and there were some implied threats until I asked for the tower tapes. They were not happy, but gave me the tapes and then backed off. They did code the tapes in such a way so that they would not play on a regular cassete, but I did have them for my lawyer if it got to that point. I have had a sometimes adversarial dealing with our tower every since as they do seem to hold a grudge and definitely don't like anyone who sees something other than their view.

[Sam Buchanan]

You do have a sectional, don't you, or if not you are likely and ipad genius and don't need any advice anyway.

Bill, good advice overall but the above statement tagged you as being a crusty ol' pilot out of touch with present reality.

It is very common nowadays to have a full set of sectionals, IFR charts, terminal area charts, facility directory, and a full set of approach plates on a single iPad. Just because a pilot decides to equip himself with every available chart instead of a single piece of paper doesn't mean they are a "ipad genius and don't need any advice anyway". Or maybe you meant that as a compliment!

The important point is to know how to use a sectional regardless of whether it is made of trees or pixels.

[1600vw]

Bill I agree with every word you wrote. I even tried to explain a little of what you said in my own words but failed. This man purchased a real nice low wing GA airplane. He told me what it was I just kinda blew it off and forgot. I believe he spent close to 65K on it and was selling it for 41K. He said he was tired of paying hangar rent.
This man has DEEP pockets. Money was not an issue. He sells Boss Hog 502 Motorcycles and owns a few of them him self. He also owns this Spark plug wire company. You go into any hotrod shop around these parts and his wires are on the shelf. I just can not remember his name.
He did not have his PP yet, now that I remember this, he solo'ed and was signed off to solo his airplane. Every time he flew or these three times he was called from the tower about landing on the wrong runway, and he did say it happened 3 times. The last three times he flew.
I just wanted to mention this if anyone else is going through anything like this get some help. This man was done, he had not even went out to see his airplane in months when I saw him. He said he would never go back but to sell it to someone else.
I kept telling him, move your airplane outside class c and do your training, then after you are comfortable flying move into class c. It was just to late, he walked. He told me he was going to AZ. That bummed me for I have never seen spark plug wires anything like he makes and in any color and up to a huge, I mean huge size.

Tony

P.S. Its hard to find solid core wires.

[1600vw]

I can not be the only one he told this story to. He knows a lot of people so just maybe someone else on this forum or on this board has heard this. We have a few members here from the Central IL. area.

I met the Head controller, sorry if this is not his title, at a safety seminar, and he seemed to me very open and welcoming. I believe if I had a problem like this I would go to him for help but not to bitch. But I have never delt with ATC. But I would have looked for help not gave up. but then again I have never been called into a tower or by the tower.

Tony

[Bill Greenwood]

Sam, believe it or not there are some of us old guys who don't own an I pad and can make it through a whole day without massaging my ear with a cell phone.
And if I had an I pad, the only thing likely to be on it would be dust since I don't know how to operate one. In my defense, I have never had the batteries run down in my sectional or wac chart and I have flown all over the U S, and parts of Canada, Bahamas with real paper maps over 34 years and about dozen airplanes.

Now, I know you are the tech guy and if there wasn't some new tech you might not have a job. But I am a bit old fashioned for some good reasons. Who ever made a better wing than R J Mitchell back in 1936, who ever made a better engine than Mr. Rolls and Mr.Royce? Whoever made a better movie star the Grace Kelley or Liz Taylor? A lot of new stuff is big on hat size and low on cattle as they say in Texas.

Maybe this year at Oshkosh you can teach me how to use an I pad, just before they come out with something to make them obsolete.

[1600vw]

Bill I am like you. I do not own an Ipad. I have given more then a few of them away as gifts as I have the smart phones but I do not own either. I did see a video of a man using a smart phone as a gps and other things or just like a mini i-pad. I thought that was kinda cool for my cockpit is to small for an I-pad or tablet. I told the wife, maybe its time for me to get a smart phone. I doubt I do though, if I do it will be used as a tablet in my airplane and not as a phone.
I just do not like talking on the phone..and no I do not text, or what ever they call it.

Tony