Are expressions of gratitude gratuitous?
I have a tendency to thank ATC often. I know it's not proper to include "thank you" in your calls to controllers. Even though it's only two syllables, it still ties up the air for a second longer. No one else says thank you--and it's just not standard. But I feel so grateful for the jobs they do. It's amazing that we have these people helping us fly and it's amazing that they can do these intense jobs. If I had the money I'd send them flowers and chocolates. I really appreciate them, especially when they are in good moods and say nice things over the radio. It feels like flying is a team sport and they are such an important part of the team.
I'm afraid I'm just going to annoy everyone, and not sound professional. I've got to break the habit if I'm going for a career in flying. I'm trying to limit myself to one thank you at the end of our interaction or change that to "good day," which I hear much more often.
Maybe when the thrill of flying has worn off a bit I'll calm down with my thank yous, but in the meantime, is there a National ATC Appreciation Day, newsletter, or some way I can express my gratitude? Maybe that will help me break the habit. Any other suggestions?
Many thanks,
The Thank You Girl
Greetings Thank You Girl:
I know that the phrase thank you isn't part of the official pilot-controller lexicon, but neither is sir, ma'am, good day, and a host of other pleasantries regularly aired over comm frequencies every day by general aviation and airline pilots. Believe it or not, there are those who feel we'd be better off without these linguistic prefixes and suffixes as a matter of aviation safety. To my knowledge, no one has yet provided any logical or factual support for the claim that a courteous response has or will lead to an accident or incident. Will a pilot ever mistake a controller's "Good day" for "You're going the wrong way"? I doubt it.
I hope we're never officially restricted from saying these words, because there are so many occasions where air traffic controllers deserve those thank yous. These linguistic pleasantries remind pilots that courtesy is an important part of flying safety. I hope you never stop saying thank you when and where it's appropriate. Of course, please be reasonable, too. If your thank yous are taking up too much air time on a busy frequency, then it might be best to send a card (or flowers and chocolates) instead.
Just use a little common sense here. But be sure to thank the controller whenever it is appropriate. Believe me when I say that controllers like it when pilots show appreciation--so show it.
Vectors to safety
Dear Rod:
I am about halfway through my instrument training and have a question. I know this may be a little off the wall, but let's say that as an instrument-rated pilot I'm cruising on top of a solid layer of instrument meteorological conditions and lose the engine in my 172. Is there vectoring that ATC can offer that moves you toward a patch of safety? The thought of that occurred to me and it sounds rather intimidating to descend through a layer with the power out and not know what's below. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
No Name Submitted
Greetings Safetypatch Man:
Yes, in many cases ATC can provide vectors if you have had an engine failure in or above IMC. ATC can turn you toward an airport or away from known high terrain and obstructions.
Of course, the assumption here is that radar is available. If, as a bonus, an airport is also available, ATC will typically vector an engine-out airplane to the extended runway centerline. That's reasonable when the visibility is extremely low. It offers you a good chance of finding the runway and landing on it.
On the other hand, when the ceilings are 500 feet or higher and/or the visibility is a mile or more, it might be best to have ATC vector you to the center of the airport. Under these conditions, you're usually better off heading directly toward the airport, then making a circling descent through the cloud layer for landing. It's relatively easy to land somewhere on the airport from 500 feet overhead. And your landing spot doesn't have to be the runway, either. It can be on a taxiway, the grass between the solid surfaces, or a field.
The reason I suggest this strategy is that there are a few recorded instances where a pilot with an engine failure in IMC was high enough to glide to the runway, but took a vector to final instead. Bad turn of events. The dogleg vectoring to final was just enough to cause the pilot to land short of the airport.
If you have a GPS (portable or panel mount) with a moving map and a high screen refresh rate, then you have your own air traffic controller in a box (sort of). On flight reviews, with the pilot wearing a view limiting device, I'll head him toward the vicinity of an airport at 3,000 feet above ground level, then pull the power and have the lucky aviator locate, then glide toward, the nearest airport for a circling descent to landing. The best way to do this is to head directly to the center of the airport and circle down at the best glide speed, while using 20 to 30 degrees of bank. This keeps the airplane reasonably close to the airport. They can even change the map's scale during the descent to better define the runway complex.
At 500 feet agl I'll have them remove their view-limiting device and land the airplane. Most pilots have no problem at all doing this. It's an excellent safety skill to have and something that can be performed without the help of a controller. It's also a skill that all instrument pilots should practice. It's one of the wonderful benefits of having a moving map display.
You can practice this with your flight instructor at a nontowered field or tower-controlled airport, as long as the traffic permits. Yes, I did say tower-controlled fields, too. In fact, as long as traffic permits, this is the best place to practice this maneuver, since you're less likely to be surprised by unknown traffic in Class D airspace. Most controllers will gladly accommodate your request to descend from overhead to landing as long as airport traffic conditions aren't too overwhelming.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1973, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and is part owner of a Cessna P210. Visit his Web site.
