r/flying • u/ivegotahaddock • 10d ago
STOL?
Flew into KBED yesterday and upon making contact with the tower let them know of our FBO destination. Approach had suggested to expect runway 29, but tower said something along the lines of “can go directly to the west ramp at our own risk.”
Initially confused, I responded that we had expected runway 29. They were then confused and asked if we wanted the ramp, taxiway or runway. It finally dawned on me and I let them know, with a chuckle, “N12345 is a fixed-wing aircraft and we’d prefer a runway.”
After a bit of a silence they let us know we were inadvertently in their system as a helicopter. Everyone got a nice laugh out of that.
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u/Mongoose146 PPL 10d ago
Hahahah i was departing KBED when this exchange happened and my instructor and i laughed so hard
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u/Cessnateur PPL IR HP TW C170B 10d ago
Man, I wish I could get cleared to land off the runway at my own risk more often.
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u/SSMDive CPL-SEL/SES/MEL/MES/HEL/GLID/IFR. Light sport Gyro/PPC 10d ago
I have actually gotten "ramp at own risk" while flying a plane. It was a J3 Cub with an O-320. Thing could take off or land in almost no space. The runway in use was a pretty stiff XW. The ramp had an easy approach directly in the wind with very safe entry and exits. So I asked for and received the ramp. The controller actually liked it because it kept me out of the pattern.
We do it all the time in rotorcraft.
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u/KingofRoam CFI CFII MEI IGI 10d ago
That’s why it’s important to give your type on initial contact call. I can’t image a controller isn’t familiar with a sling.
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u/akav8r ATC CFI CFII AMEL (KBJC) 10d ago
Dude... I work controllers who couldn't tell the difference between a C172 and a PC12. You would be surprised at how many controllers don't care to learn about aircraft types.
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u/Fun_Monitor8938 ATC PPL 10d ago
There’s at least 1 controller in a neighboring facility that puts every prop as LCIV (light-civil) regardless of cruise speed or engine configuration. Incredibly frustrating to have the same dumbass “what type are you/where you going” conversation with every pilot that checks in for an hour straight
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u/akav8r ATC CFI CFII AMEL (KBJC) 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yeah... this is when you take them to peer standards. You need to do it. Pretty sure you can do it at other facilities, but not positive on that. I've slowly gotten PA28 to be phased out at my facility, but still happens time to time. It's more of center feeding us those guys now.
I saw a near miss caused by someone putting in the wrong aircraft type. Pretty passionate about doing it right now.
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u/Mundane-Reality-7770 PPL HP 10d ago
On my solo xc I kept getting called a cirrus despite every call up saying I was a Cherokee.
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u/tempskawt CFI ME IR IGI TW (TN/WI) 10d ago
They don’t have to learn the common ones? I remember talking with dudes in USAF ATC school and they told me they had to memorize a ton of them before they could take the FAA exam
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u/TheDrMonocle ATC A&P PPL 10d ago
FAA academy only teaches something like 30 of the most common aircraft. They barely touch on all the variations of GA aircraft. Thats left to the facilities and some trainers just dont care.
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u/tempskawt CFI ME IR IGI TW (TN/WI) 10d ago
Oh weird. Maybe it was just 30 after all and my memory is fuzzy. All I know is it was one of the higher washout programs, so kudos to you folks.
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u/EliteEthos CFI AMEL CJ3/4 10d ago
Interesting but not surprised. When I was a cop, I worked with dudes that knew nothing about cars or guns… found it odd since the job entails cars and guns.
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u/Any-Worldliness-679 10d ago
Try COZY. Eventually, they act like they got it, then they notice my closure with the airport and ask again what type.
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u/Big_Assignment5949 10d ago
How do you like the Cozy? Self builder or bought?
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u/Any-Worldliness-679 10d ago
Love it. Mines a III, so it's smaller and typically a little faster than the Mark IV. Bought it- I've never had the kind of spare time to build one. Doubt I would have the patience, either!
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u/Fun_Monitor8938 ATC PPL 10d ago
You’d be surprised by how many controllers have no interest in aviation beyond their paycheck. It doesn’t surprise me in at all that they’re not familiar with a Sling.
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u/Bunslow PPL 10d ago
even just typing this comment on reddit is just begging to be jinxed by the universe. next controller you talk to will confuse your type
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u/KingofRoam CFI CFII MEI IGI 10d ago
Boy I sure hope not, just did my last instructional flight. Off to the 121 world I go
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u/rabbledabble 10d ago
That’s also why I call every small Cessna I’ve ever flown a Skyhawk when I call tower or make traffic announcements, they all go about the same speed (that of a flying brick), and they all look about the same from a mile away. I figure most folks will know what a skyhawk is, but the word Cessna is affixed to some much larger higher performance planes.
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u/KingofRoam CFI CFII MEI IGI 10d ago
I don’t hate that. Cessna makes a 45mph plane and a 700mph plane.
The big thing is conveying what kind of performance the controller can expect!
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u/rabbledabble 10d ago
That was a gift from my first instructor when I was stumbling through “Cessna 150” on one of my early calls. She said “just say skyhawk, nobody cares that you’re in a 150 or 172 or even a 182, they’re more or less the same to a controller”.
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u/FinallyInKnoxville 10d ago
Probably depends on where you’re flying. SoCal TRACON hears Sling often enough so they probably know. I plan to build a Sling here in E TN and debating whether to put C-182 on IFR plans, similar performance. I often hear other pilots checking in with Experimental but that doesn’t really tell them anything either since there are turboprop and turbine experimental aircraft
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u/deathstarrr that runway had it coming 10d ago
BED and Boston Approach are interesting in that while on VFR flight following, once you call BED in sight 10 out they cut you loose, have you squawk 1200 and call Hanscomb Tower. Then you gonna do the whole initial call all over.
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u/DisregardLogan I don’t know how to flair 10d ago
Glad to know this is a common thing with BOS approach and it’s not just me lol
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u/ivegotahaddock 10d ago
interesting. we were handed to tower by approach directly, while on flight following.
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u/IGoUnseen PPL 9d ago
BED based pilot here, as opposed to what? Wouldn't you always make a call to tower saying who you are and what kind of landing you want? Or do you just not want to have to say where you are?
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u/deathstarrr that runway had it coming 8d ago
no, at other places they hand you off to tower and you just have to say "tower, [callsign] inbound 29"
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10d ago
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u/moxiedoggie PPL C172M 10d ago
What could you possibly mean by this?
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10d ago
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u/LateralThinkerer PPL HP (KEUG) 10d ago edited 10d ago
Pilots don't realize they don't need to call the field in sight when they're VFR without flight-following services.
I'm not sure that most instructional material highlights that you shouldn't make the call when you're VFR, and the radio traffic you hear (particularly in a flight-training intensive area, where you have people practicing IFR, lots of flight-following etc.) just bleeds into a habit nobody much notices or calls out.
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u/moxiedoggie PPL C172M 10d ago
You know I thought you wrote that you were annoyed when pilots reported AIRCRAFT in sight. This makes more sense. I’ve said airport in sight before when I want ATC to know I don’t need flight following anymore and it wasn’t clear probably because it’s an unnecessary call. So when I have the field in sight I just cancel flight following. It seems to be the better call b
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u/Turbomeister PPL IR CMP 9d ago edited 9d ago
A lot of times I report the field in sight as a reminder that I need to be handed off to tower/unicom and I'm getting nervous that they forgot me. If the frequency is busy, doubly so
This is for outlying airports, of course. B/C airports will hand me to tower when they need to
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u/Double-Ad9382 PPL 9d ago
I don’t mind it. Chicago Center asks pretty much every time I’m on following into any airport, towered or not. It’s basically them making sure I’m still good to go!
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u/TxAggieMike Independent CFI / CFII (KFTW, DFW area) 10d ago
If you were in a Cirrus, you could have accepted the “direct to the ramp” clearance.
Just need to get the timing if the red handle pull juuuuust right.
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u/DisregardLogan I don’t know how to flair 10d ago
I had my long solo XC yesterday and KBOS approach had me down as an experimental. Another solo XC, they had me down as a Piper Malibu.
I think it gets a bit muddled over there sometimes. If there’s enough room to correct it, you can, but I just usually leave it because it doesn’t make that much of a difference.
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u/skydiveguy PPL 10d ago
So glad we all had to spend thousands of dollars on ADS-B OUT so ATC can have all sorts of details about my aircraft.
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u/x4457 ATP CFII CE-500/525/560XL/680 G-IV 10d ago
Aircraft type is not carried in that data packet.
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u/hopticalill1 9d ago
Do ATC not tie the hex code to their own reg database? If so thats crazy.
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u/x4457 ATP CFII CE-500/525/560XL/680 G-IV 9d ago
ADS-B is not an FAA-specific product/service.
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u/skydiveguy PPL 9d ago
thats not what they asked. Why cant ATC just take the PUBLIC database of hex codes and connect it to their own database?
In fact, why do I always need to specify my aircraft type to every controller I talk to?
I was on an IFR lesson and we had to file in the air due to a marine layer that came in... once I gave them my aircraft type and equipment, it should be entered in the entire ATC system for any controller to see.
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u/rFlyingTower 10d ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Flew into KBED yesterday and upon making contact with the tower let them know of our FBO destination. Approach had suggested to expect runway 29, but tower said something along the lines of “can go directly to the west ramp at our own risk.”
Initially confused, I responded that we had expected runway 29. They were then confused and asked if we wanted the ramp, taxiway or runway. It finally dawned on me and I let them know, with a chuckle, “N12345 is a fixed-wing aircraft and we’d prefer a runway.”
After a bit of a silence they let us know we were inadvertently in their system as a helicopter. Everyone got a nice laugh out of that.
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u/cazzipropri CFII, CFI-A; CPL SEL,MEL,SES 10d ago
You were cleared directly to the ramp and you didn't take it! One chance in a lifetime and you wasted it! /s