Jason Mulder 1462328 Posted January 20, 2020 at 07:49 AM Posted January 20, 2020 at 07:49 AM Hello, Yesterday I was approaching EHAM when I got the following insturction from ATC: "KLM12Y, descend to FL070, after SUGOL to SPL, expecting vectors for ILS 06, information J" "KLM12Y, turn right heading 150" "KLM12Y, descend to 2000 ft by QNH 1044" At this point I did the turn, set my altimeter to QNH1044 and started the descend to 2000 "Right heading 150, descend 2000, QNH 1044" I replied. Just before I got that message out, I got this: "Be advised, you should have maintained FL070 sir, it appears you already set 7000 on local QNH" This confused me as I got the instruction for descending to 2000, at which point I disregarded the previous instruction to maintain 7000. Note that I was not following any STAR and was vectored by ATC. See this screenshot: (https://ibb.co/qgtgj1Q) I hope somebody can explain what I did wrong, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torben Andersen Posted January 20, 2020 at 08:04 AM Posted January 20, 2020 at 08:04 AM As I read the message "Be advised, you should have maintained FL070 sir, it appears you already set 7000 on local QNH", my guess would be that you was flying at 7000' at local pressure setting, while you should have been on FL70 (7000' with 1013hPa set). The message suggests that the controller saw your error and advised you on it. Remember that the Transition Level in The Netherlands/Europe is not FL180/18000', but way lower. You should have the TL from atc, as it varies with pressure. So the problem is not that you descended to 2000', when you were told to do so. But that is only my interpretation. Torben Andersen, VACC-SCA Controller (C1) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Mulder 1462328 Posted January 20, 2020 at 08:49 AM Author Posted January 20, 2020 at 08:49 AM Ah that clears things up, I wasn't yet aware about that. I will teach my self more about the TL now. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martijn Rammeloo Posted January 20, 2020 at 09:28 AM Posted January 20, 2020 at 09:28 AM ATC (at EHAM) will not explicitly tell you the TL. It is in the ATIS however. The rule is simple: as long as we (ATC) still use flightlevels, you should use standard pressure. Once we (ATC) start using altitudes, you should switch to local QNH. So, for example: - KLM123, REDFA1A, expect rwy 18R, descend FL070 to be level at SUGOL - KLM123, information A, vectors ILS18R, descend FL040 - KLM123, turn left heading 360, descend 3000ft, QNH1045 Only after the last call do you switch to local QNH. The same goes for departures. The transition altitude at EHAM is always 3000ft, but normally Departure will clear you immediatly to FL130. At that point, switch to standard pressure. Martijn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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