Page 26 - March22T

And this one from ATC: Taxi to Runway 19 via Bravo, hold short of Delta-eight, plan to follow Southwest. Holding short, we waited. Finally, Southwest moved from out of the way of Delta-eight, but the controller hadn’t said follow Southwest or continue – they had only said plan to follow. I was on the landline; who else called? Did someone try to check-in? Although, you dare not miss a radio call from ATC. I once heard a controller say, “Pay attention up there; I’m busy down here!” Granted, the pandemic has affected all aspects of our society by causing employee shortages, but I think maybe he just didn’t get his extra hashbrown.
the VOR. Nowadays, the assumption is that if you filed with RNAV/GPS capability, you may navigate to any of the three Albuquerque fixes as long as you and ATC agree which one. Just remember the adage about what assumptions make out of you and me.
Pine Tar and Spit Balls
Since we are intelligent enough to learn and speak piloteze, surely, we have the linguistic legerdemain while out of the cockpit to understand the language of neighbors, friends, spouses and those delivering hashbrowns even if they use AiiCD (not really copyrighted, by the way). And if they return the conversation ball out of bounds, off the table or with a double vision, diptych-like spin, it’s best we get clarification lest we wander from our prescribed clearance, swing at a bad pitch or end up with marshmallows in our coffee. Happy Saint Patty’s Day, my friends.
Scheduling note: Don’t forget the Sun n Fun Aerospace Expo is next month April 5-10 in Lakeland, Florida.
Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.
– Sigmund Freud
Does cleared to Albuquerque mean the VOR, the airport or the fix? You don’t know unless you query ATC. Navigationally speaking, Albuquerque is three places: the airport itself entered into the GPS as KABQ. The second is the ABQ VOR, a physical station transmitting a radio signal – it’s on the ground but not on the airport. You need a VOR signal and a receiver to navigate to the VOR. The third is ABQ, the virtual fix, entered into the GPS as ABQ, also not on the field, but not on the ground either – it’s a phantom. When directly over a VOR at 60,000 feet, the DME reads 10 nm when we arrive at a GPS fix at any altitude the distance reads zero. If the VOR is the clearance fix, you need a radio signal and a receiver. If you are out of range, you cannot navigate to
Kevin Dingman has been flying for more than 40 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737, DC9 and CE-650 with 25,000 hours in his logbook. A retired Air Force major, he flew the F-16 and later performed as an USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian organization Wings of Mercy, is retired from a major airline, flies the Cessna Citation for RAI Jets, and owns and operates a Beechcraft Duke.Contact Kevin at dinger10d@gmail.com.
Turbines
24 • TWIN & TURBINE / March 2022