MJG said:
When you call us the wrong flight number, don't get pissed just because I don't reply to your call even though I'm pretty certain it's for us. I realize that you have a ton of data blocks starring you in the face but we have to cover our butts as well. Taking someone else's call could be very bad.
Guilty as charged. Sometimes I'm looking at a scope with 20+ aircraft on it, and I'm thinking about two clearances ahead of where my mouth is. My eye is looking at Dogjet 366, but my mouth is trying to say Bluejob 498, and what comes out is a mishmash of the two, or maybe a complete transposition of the two callsigns. Thank you for being alert and catching my occasional error.
MJG said:
Here's a crossing restriction pet peave: Clearance goes something like this: Indebt 1234, pilot's descretion to maintain flight level 240, then cross 30 north of XYZ at 13000. Can't you just clear us for the one altitude restriction instead of adding a layer of complexity to the situation?? With jet fuel over $2 bucks a gallon, I'm not going to start descending to 240 or 13000 until you make me.
First, that clearance doesn't make much sense, in that an altitude crossing restriction is by definition a PD descent.
EXAMPLE-
4. "United Four Seventeen, cross Lakeview V-O-R at six thousand, maintain six thousand."
NOTE-
4. The pilot is authorized to conduct descent at pilot's discretion, however, must comply with the clearance provision to cross the Lakeview VOR at 6,000 feet.
More likely you are getting a clearance to descend through a given altitude, then a crossing restriction:
EXAMPLE-
5. "United Four Seventeen, descend now to Flight Level two seven zero, cross Lakeview V-O-R at or below one zero thousand, descend and maintain six thousand."
NOTE-
5. The pilot is expected to promptly execute and complete descent to FL 270 upon receipt of the clearance. After reaching FL 270 the pilot is authorized to descend "at pilot's discretion" until reaching Lakeview VOR. The pilot must comply with the clearance provision to cross Lakeview VOR at or below 10,000 feet. After Lakeview VOR the pilot is expected to descend at the suggested rates until reaching 6,000 feet.
I issue clearances like that all the time. I issue them all at once to:
1. save me time
2. give you the maximum freedom I can within the bounds of my separation responsibility.
I don't know where and when you want to start down, or what you have to do to meet a crossing restriction. So I issue the part I need for separation, perhaps "Descend now through FL280" and the part that gives you the freedom to descend further when and how you like: "then at pilot's discretion mantain 7,000".
Notice up topic there's one guy complaining that his aircraft doesn't climb or descend very fast; others are complaining that they have to level off at intermediate altitudes. By giving it to you all at once, and making as much as I can at pilot's discretion, I'm trying to give you as much latitude as I can.
MJG said:
When you're trying to get me to see the aircraft ahead of us on the visual approach, again don't get pissed when I can't see the little bugger. Depending on time of day, weather condtions, terrrain features, etc. 10 miles vis reported on the ATIS doesn't mean we can really see 10 miles.
Before 9/11, we had a fam program where we could jumpseat with the air carriers, and that's where a lot of us got some real world experience in what you speak of. Now we are having a new generation of controllers check out who've not had that experience, and it shows. I try to explain, and point out that, for example, United has that nice grey top, and it's going to be real hard to see from above, in the haze, from 15 miles away! There's no substitute for experience though. FAA won't put us into CASS, so I don't think we'll ever get that experience back.