VFR help.

[Steven Cooper 932411]

Hi All,

I am really enjoying flying VFR after mainly flying the big birds, I have got tired of Europe airspace so intend to fly in the USA.

Now, I am VERY confused about the fact that unlike here in the UK the "standard" starts at around 6000ft....18,000 in the US so when flying VFR I am not sure on what alltitude to either plan a fight ( i understand I do not allways have to do this though) do you guys use the height above ground or sea level.. what i mean is if I wan't to fly at say 3000 ft is this height the height above actual ground or sea level??. As many airports are a good height above sea level I guess I would ADD my required/requested height to the altitude of the airport?.

 

There also seems to be a lot of confusion by controllers when "working" VFR pilots from the various threads on the forum.

Also what happens when I'm say halfway to my destination .. the altitude & pressure must change what then? do I look up the nearest airport info & reset my altitude setting to that & then climb or decend to my stated altitude??...I may not be making myself very clear here so I hope you chaps understand me.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

Steve EGCC

[Ryan Guffey 956726]

Its 18kMSL. Its whats read off your ALT.

 

Here is our US Airspace system

 

To fly in it. You need to know the requirements to fly in each one. I have to go to work, so I'll let someone else finish this

[Garry Morris 920567]

Unlike in Europe, the transition altitude (the altitude at which you set your altimeter to standard) is standardized at 18,000 feet. Since you are not allowed to ascend higher than 18,000 feet on a VFR flight plan, you can just ignore transition altitude as a VFR aircraft here (for the most part).

 

Many controllers forget to do this, but for altimeter settings you should be setting your altimeter to an airfield that is close to where you are. As you fly along, periodically check a nearby airfield to adjust your altimeter so that you are flying at a correct altitude. If you are under flight following from a controller, you can also request an altimeter setting from them if they're not too busy.

 

File your flight plan height based on altitude above mean sea level. Local elevation is irrelevant (as long as you're not trying to fly below the ground, then the elevation becomes very relevant ). Flight direction between 0 and 180 degrees is to be flown at odd altitudes (below FL410) - e.g. 3000,5000,13000, an odd number in thousands. Direction between 180-360 degrees is to be flown at even altitudes (below FL410). For VFR flight, add 500 to the altitude you would like to fly. A valid VFR direction for a westerly bound aircraft might be 6500ft.

 

As a VFR aircraft, you must contact ATC only under the following conditions:

1. You are sitting on the ground in, or are going to want to enter, Cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B, C, or D airspace. Pay close attention to cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] D airspace, as this generally surrounds any airport with an open, working control tower. You *must*, as a VFR aircraft, know where you are and be looking at a sectional to ensure you do not *bust* controlled airspace.

 

Learn to read a sectional chart - these can be found on Skyvector.com, or MyAirplane.com. These are the charts that will keep you out of trouble.

 

You like to fly big aircraft under VFR - that's great, but remember, you must stay below 18,000 feet and stay outside of controlled airspace until the proper communications/clearances applicable to that airspace have been obtained from air traffic control.

 

Best of luck. There is a great VFR how-to article at Los Angeles ARTCC's web site. There's a lot to know and understand.

Edited January 9, 2008 at 05:47 PM by Guest

[Alex Bailey 969331]

A valid VFR direction for a westerly bound aircraft might be 5500ft.

 

6500ft.

[Garry Morris 920567]

Argh, you're right. Editing it now. Got that backwards in my head.

[Ross Carlson]

Local elevation is irrelevant

 

One small thing to add ... local terrain elevation does come into play when choosing your VFR cruise altitude. For VFR at or below 3000 AGL, any altitude is valid for any direction of flight.

[Garry Morris 920567]

Thanks Ross, knew I probably missed a few details. I do recall hearing that somewhere.

[Steven Cooper 932411]

Hi Guys,

 

Just the information I required !!, thankyou all for replying to this so fast.

It may seem a very basic question to ask I know but getting this into the head can be a bit difficult when you in the 4% group of VATSIm users ( > 60 turns on the prop) !! oh I'm feeling my age at times.

Yep got the skyvector charts on the laptop when I fly..what a great service just like VATSIm for free.

 

VFR does seem to be much more complicated than IFR at FL350 etc & FMC's !

 

Youv'e all cleared things up a lot guys.

 

Many thanks again.

 

Steve

[Wade Williams 877539]

Additionally, remember that below 10,000 feet, you're restricted to 250 kias or less.

[Steven Cooper 932411]

Hi Wade,

 

Thanks for that, I actually did not make it clear I guess that I will be flying GA aircraft from now on... getting lots of enjoyment looking at scenery from 2000+ feet rather than FL350.. can't see much scenery up there hi hi.

 

I was not aware ( I suppose I had not get that far with VFR regs) that at OR below 3000 ft I can fly at any altitude, I was aware of the N-S E-W requirements though.

 

Thanks Again

 

Steve

[Brad Oastler]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe as well that when you are making a call, at least with a US registration, you do not refer to yourself as "Mooney November such-and-such" but leave off the November, like "Mooney such-and-such."

[Owen Catherwood 903683]

Correct. Either "November two two six five tango" or "Mooney two two six five tango", but not both.

 

Also, in the US, ATC is the only one which can shorten the callsign to the last three numerals/characters of the tail number. After they do, pilots may use the same convenvion.

 

For example:

N2256T: "Seattle Approach, Mooney two two six five tango with a VFR request"

SEA_APP: "Money six five tango, Seattle Approach, go ahead"

N2256T: "Mooney six five tango request flight following"

[Brad Littlejohn]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe as well that when you are making a call, at least with a US registration, you do not refer to yourself as "Mooney November such-and-such" but leave off the November, like "Mooney such-and-such."

 

you're right here, but it also does help controllers for identification purposes. For example,

 

November three eight five bravo lima is type commander one one four slant india 5 miles east of kearney, we'd like to pick up flight following to Taos.

 

You've basically given ATC everything they need for their flight strip without having to ask you for anything else. They'll [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ign the beacon code and radar identify you, and you're set.

 

Same would apply as above, but they'd need a couple more things from you for putting the strip together.

 

BL.

[Steve Ogrodowski 876322]

Yeah, I like what Brad was just mentioning. In the U.S., you aren't required to file a VFR flight plan....and true to realism, we on VATSIM won't require it either. But, once you want to come into our control, we do require all your information so we can create a flight strip (this is also required of US ATC).

 

So, if you didn't file a flight plan and you are planning to contact ATC to get VFR Flight following or to enter a cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B or C airspace, you need to be ready to transmit your information. I think contrary to a lot of "apparent discussion," the majority of US Controllers have a good handle (at least) on how to communicate with VFR aircraft (...it's frequently portrayed that controllers are clueless with VFR; I think that's a wrong [Mod - Happy Thoughts]essment...most know what they're doing). But, it's important that the pilot knows what he needs to communicate.

 

What I like is how Brad's example was clear cut, and [Mod - Happy Thoughts]uming it was well delivered, was professional. It got the important information across so that ATC can create a flight strip immediately and insert a beacon code. What usually happens in my airspace is this:

 

"Center, november zero six one niner six bravo, requesting VFR clearance to Beaver County."

"November zero six one niner six bravo, Center, say aircraft type, equipment code, and intended cruise altitude."

"Center, november zero six one niner six bravo, uhh....we're cruising at 2500, uhh..."[sTOP]

[...]"uhhh....Citation, uh..."

 

And then I never even get an equipment type. That's one variation. Another variation includes the pilot frequently asking me to repeat my questions. I have no qualms dealing with any type of aircraft (in fact I like VFR because it's a breath of fresh air), VFR or IFR...but just like when doing IFR, you should understand what I'm going to be asking you for with VFR. That previous example done correctly:

 

"Center, november zero six one niner six bravo is at Pittsburgh, type cessna citation three five zero slant G, requesting VFR departure to Beaver County at three thousand."

 

All rolled into one nice transmission...current location, aircraft type, aircraft equipment, request, and expected/desired cruise altitude. If you file a flight plan, of course, all you need to send is your current location, altitude, and request...so there's a lesser of two evils if you don't want to talk as much.