I'm an air traffic controller at NY TRACON assigned to the JFK sector. I've posted in the past about how our traffic at JFK has steadily increased over the past year, and we are now at a point where we are holding aircraft on day shifts (not seen in many many years as JFK was notoriuous for being dead in the morning for arrivals) and our finals are completely full for the entire night shift.
I'd like to pose a question for anyone who is either based at JFK or flies into JFK on a routine basis. Many of us in the sector use visual approaches to expedite traffic and avoid putting you all in a hold at Camrn or Lendy. When I say visual approach, I am speaking of getting you to following the proceeding traffic visually and mainting your own separation on final. For instance:
Controller: "Jetblue 171 you are following a heavy B747 at 11 oclock, 5 miles at 2000 feet"
Pilot: "In sight"
Contoller: "Jetblue 171, follow the heavy 747, caution wake turb, cleared visual approach 31R"
Using this method for working the final allows for two things, 1) expedites traffic as the pilot will most of the time follow the preceding aircraft with minimum seperation and 2) allows the controller not to have to worry about providing 3,4, or 5 miles to the runway threshold thereby allowing excessive spacing on the final the be held to a minimum. Note, the FAA has been cracking down severly on lost seperation on finals, suspending and firing controllers who have had 4.98 miles when they needed 5 miles behind a heavy. That is one reason you may find yourself 7 nm in trail of a heavy or 5 in trail of an A320 these days, all while doing 160 knots.
Let me also say that using this method keeps the base leg in much closer to the airports and allows aircraft to fly at faster speeds as the controller keeps altitutde separation in anticipation the pilot will see the proceeding aircraft. Aircraft at similar speeds can thus be aimed toward each other with 1000 feet of altitude separation and thus the flow keeps moving toward the airport instead of away from it.
Now for my question. Do you pilots mind following the proceeding aircraft on a visual approach? Does it cause you any more workload? Would you rather ATC just put everyone on an ILS and build in an extra mile or two on the finals, but in turn, cause delays, excessive vectoring over the ocean, or holding? What are some things that ATC could do differently to make this work better for you?
After reading that 25 of the 50 most delayed flights in the country started or ended at JFK, I would like to be able to put my two cents into fixing the problem. Any comments, even negative ones, would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I'd like to pose a question for anyone who is either based at JFK or flies into JFK on a routine basis. Many of us in the sector use visual approaches to expedite traffic and avoid putting you all in a hold at Camrn or Lendy. When I say visual approach, I am speaking of getting you to following the proceeding traffic visually and mainting your own separation on final. For instance:
Controller: "Jetblue 171 you are following a heavy B747 at 11 oclock, 5 miles at 2000 feet"
Pilot: "In sight"
Contoller: "Jetblue 171, follow the heavy 747, caution wake turb, cleared visual approach 31R"
Using this method for working the final allows for two things, 1) expedites traffic as the pilot will most of the time follow the preceding aircraft with minimum seperation and 2) allows the controller not to have to worry about providing 3,4, or 5 miles to the runway threshold thereby allowing excessive spacing on the final the be held to a minimum. Note, the FAA has been cracking down severly on lost seperation on finals, suspending and firing controllers who have had 4.98 miles when they needed 5 miles behind a heavy. That is one reason you may find yourself 7 nm in trail of a heavy or 5 in trail of an A320 these days, all while doing 160 knots.
Let me also say that using this method keeps the base leg in much closer to the airports and allows aircraft to fly at faster speeds as the controller keeps altitutde separation in anticipation the pilot will see the proceeding aircraft. Aircraft at similar speeds can thus be aimed toward each other with 1000 feet of altitude separation and thus the flow keeps moving toward the airport instead of away from it.
Now for my question. Do you pilots mind following the proceeding aircraft on a visual approach? Does it cause you any more workload? Would you rather ATC just put everyone on an ILS and build in an extra mile or two on the finals, but in turn, cause delays, excessive vectoring over the ocean, or holding? What are some things that ATC could do differently to make this work better for you?
After reading that 25 of the 50 most delayed flights in the country started or ended at JFK, I would like to be able to put my two cents into fixing the problem. Any comments, even negative ones, would be appreciated.
Thanks.
imp:
