Tracon Field Trip & A Little Humility
Today, a group of instructors and myself embarked on a tour of the Phoenix TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control). The Phoenix TRACON handles all IFR and VFR traffic within 40 nautical miles of Sky Harbor from the surface to FL 210. Basically, if you're within the 30NM mode C veil of Sky Harbor, you're either talking to, or being tracked by the Phoenix TRACON.
The current TRACON was built in the early 60's and still uses the same radar scopes. A new 350' tower and TRACON building has been constructed and was scheduled to open this Wednesday (11/1). A few minor issues have delayed opening of the new facility until January 2007. The new tower is so tall that the Sky Harbor approach minimums have been raised. Good thing there are so many VFR days in Phoenix.
The new facility will bring a lot of changes. The Phoenix Class B airspace is being re-contoured and has many GA pilots, especially glider pilots up in arms. One of the proposed changes is lowering the ceiling from 10,000' to 9,000'. Another big change is lowering the floor in the south and east (where I fly a lot) from 8,000' to 5,000'.
The new TRACON building is huge and, in the near future, will handle all traffic for Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas, kind of like SOCAL and NORCAL. Currently Phoenix TRACON only covers Sky Harbor and the airports in the mode C veil: Chandler, Deer Valley, Falcon Field, Goodyear, Scottsdale and Williams Gateway. It is one of the busiest TRACONS in the nation.
It was an interesting tour. It's always nice to put a face to a familiar voice (Hey, Beth & Woody). It was also interesting to visualize some of the reasons for long delays with IFR releases. A new radar facility under construction should alleviate much of those delays, especially when flying out of Scottsdale and Deer Valley.
The controllers were eager to split their time between the morning crush and teaching us. They are very good at dividing their attention. It definitely takes a special kind of person to be a controller. Two hours flew by and before we knew it, were on our way back to Gateway.
We've been invited back to tour the new facility and tower in January. Count me in.
---
I had to go to Wickenburg on business today. The TRACON tour ate up most of the morning so I called my friends at Angel Air looking for an aircraft. They told me that all the 172's were booked. I whined and was put on hold. They came back and said that with a little schedule manipulation, were able to fit me in.
I made my way to Angel Air, got the paperwork done and headed out to my favorite aircraft N20984. It was a beautiful day for flying. 80 degrees, calm winds, 20 miles visibility. Perfect. Since it was so nice and I wasn't sweating, an EXTRA THOROUGH pre-flight was in order. I put all of my flight bag and overnight bag in the back, and buckled in. I neatly folded my TAC chart and flight plan and wrote down all of the en-route frequencies needed for the cross country flight. The engine started easily on the first turn. Very nice.
Reaching for the radio master switch, I noticed one of the schools instructors and a student walking out on the ramp. Both paused and looked at me with puzzled looks on their faces. Hmm. Is the engine on fire? Nope. Is the plane rolling? Nope. Why are they staring at me?
The instructor comes over the the passenger side window and asks me what plane I was assigned. I said N20984. He showed me his folder, marked N20984 and I looked at my folder. It read N2464D. I had just pre-flighted and stared the wrong plane. Two more minutes and I would have been gone. What's funny is that the keys for 2464D worked in 20984. Had the keys not worked, I obviously would have figured it out a little earlier. In my defense, the guy that made the reservation on the phone did tell me 20984 and it stuck in my mind. I was going to fly 20984 come hell or high water.
What comes to mind is this sound bite from an episode of Seinfeld:
So the student is a woman working on her private license. She introduced herself and asked me if I was working on my private license. I sheepishly advised her that I was in the final phase of my commercial license and working on becoming a professional pilot. She laughed and told me that she is a flight attendant at Southwest and said that from what she's seen, could confirm that I definitely have commercial pilot DNA. At least she has that Southwest Airlines sense of humor.
I sheepishly pulled my stuff out of the 20984 and shuffled over to N2464D for another pre-flight.
SCORE
Ego: -7
Humility: 10
The current TRACON was built in the early 60's and still uses the same radar scopes. A new 350' tower and TRACON building has been constructed and was scheduled to open this Wednesday (11/1). A few minor issues have delayed opening of the new facility until January 2007. The new tower is so tall that the Sky Harbor approach minimums have been raised. Good thing there are so many VFR days in Phoenix.
The new facility will bring a lot of changes. The Phoenix Class B airspace is being re-contoured and has many GA pilots, especially glider pilots up in arms. One of the proposed changes is lowering the ceiling from 10,000' to 9,000'. Another big change is lowering the floor in the south and east (where I fly a lot) from 8,000' to 5,000'.
The new TRACON building is huge and, in the near future, will handle all traffic for Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas, kind of like SOCAL and NORCAL. Currently Phoenix TRACON only covers Sky Harbor and the airports in the mode C veil: Chandler, Deer Valley, Falcon Field, Goodyear, Scottsdale and Williams Gateway. It is one of the busiest TRACONS in the nation.
It was an interesting tour. It's always nice to put a face to a familiar voice (Hey, Beth & Woody). It was also interesting to visualize some of the reasons for long delays with IFR releases. A new radar facility under construction should alleviate much of those delays, especially when flying out of Scottsdale and Deer Valley.
The controllers were eager to split their time between the morning crush and teaching us. They are very good at dividing their attention. It definitely takes a special kind of person to be a controller. Two hours flew by and before we knew it, were on our way back to Gateway.
We've been invited back to tour the new facility and tower in January. Count me in.
---
I had to go to Wickenburg on business today. The TRACON tour ate up most of the morning so I called my friends at Angel Air looking for an aircraft. They told me that all the 172's were booked. I whined and was put on hold. They came back and said that with a little schedule manipulation, were able to fit me in.
I made my way to Angel Air, got the paperwork done and headed out to my favorite aircraft N20984. It was a beautiful day for flying. 80 degrees, calm winds, 20 miles visibility. Perfect. Since it was so nice and I wasn't sweating, an EXTRA THOROUGH pre-flight was in order. I put all of my flight bag and overnight bag in the back, and buckled in. I neatly folded my TAC chart and flight plan and wrote down all of the en-route frequencies needed for the cross country flight. The engine started easily on the first turn. Very nice.
Reaching for the radio master switch, I noticed one of the schools instructors and a student walking out on the ramp. Both paused and looked at me with puzzled looks on their faces. Hmm. Is the engine on fire? Nope. Is the plane rolling? Nope. Why are they staring at me?
The instructor comes over the the passenger side window and asks me what plane I was assigned. I said N20984. He showed me his folder, marked N20984 and I looked at my folder. It read N2464D. I had just pre-flighted and stared the wrong plane. Two more minutes and I would have been gone. What's funny is that the keys for 2464D worked in 20984. Had the keys not worked, I obviously would have figured it out a little earlier. In my defense, the guy that made the reservation on the phone did tell me 20984 and it stuck in my mind. I was going to fly 20984 come hell or high water.
What comes to mind is this sound bite from an episode of Seinfeld:
So the student is a woman working on her private license. She introduced herself and asked me if I was working on my private license. I sheepishly advised her that I was in the final phase of my commercial license and working on becoming a professional pilot. She laughed and told me that she is a flight attendant at Southwest and said that from what she's seen, could confirm that I definitely have commercial pilot DNA. At least she has that Southwest Airlines sense of humor.
I sheepishly pulled my stuff out of the 20984 and shuffled over to N2464D for another pre-flight.
SCORE
Ego: -7
Humility: 10
I recommend making an ass out of yourself once in a while. It keeps you grounded and gives other people something to laugh about. Believe me, I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment