"VFR on top" clearance. . .

[Catbert]

During my flight training, we would often ask for a "local ifr" clearance to get on top. From my already dimming memory, the procedure seemed pretty much the same. Anybody know if we were just calling the same thing by a different name?

 

[mar]

Clearance limit

During my flight training, we would often ask for a "local ifr" clearance to get on top. From my already dimming memory, the procedure seemed pretty much the same. Anybody know if we were just calling the same thing by a different name?

This sounds like you were filed to some fix (the limit of your clearance) where you expected to be "on top" and intended to cancel.

That's totally different than receiving an explicit "maintain VFR-on-top" clearance.

Just like the clearance to enter Class B airspace: You're aircraft must be explicitly cleared for the operation.

I got nothing left for our 141/C5 stud. VFR operations seem to be quaint little diversions for the weekend warriors and don't warrant the attention of more professional pilots.

 

[mar]

Late reply

This is the part where I really am not clear on. Basically you just ring up center and say you want to go back to IFR and you can re-enter IMC conditions?

Sorry about the late reply.

Yeah. You depart an IFR airport, go do your visual maneuvers on top and then go back and shoot the approach.

You don't want to cancel because then you gotta start from scratch. It's just more efficient.

Clear as mud, right?

 

[SSDD]

It would be interesting to see what some of these guys think of a cruise, or a through clearance...

 

[81Horse]

Now, now, SS -- don't mess with their heads. They probably couldn't find a controller working today who would know what one of those is, either.

Except Hold West.

 

[Hold West]

Now, now, SS -- don't mess with their heads. They probably couldn't find a controller working today who would know what one of those is, either.

Except Hold West.

I haven't done a through cleance in a long, long time - used to do them a lot on the midshift up in the wilds of Wisconsin and Michigan.

Cruise cleances we do fairly often - Aloha 737 freight runs on the mid request cruise cleances into Hilo a lot.

Now if I could just get contact approaches into vogue...

 

[81Horse]

I'll see your contact approaches, and raise you timed approaches.

 

[A Squared]

Now if I could just get contact approaches into vogue...

I can only imagine what our 1800 hr C-5 wunderkid has to say about contact approaches.

 

[Hold West]

I'll see your contact approaches, and raise you timed approaches.

Aaaaaahhh! Noooooo! Flashback! Alpena, Michigan.... A-7s..... F-4s.... timed approaches... NNNNOOOOooooooo!!!....

 

[81Horse]

Heh heh heh.

Radar is for sissies.

 

[Tinstaafl]

Don't know if the US ever had them, but I'll see your timed approache with a DME Homing & Descent from Oz. Or is foreign currency against table rules in this game?

 

[Tinstaafl]

Speaking of all but defunct approaches, did the US ever have DME Homing & Descents, as we once had in Oz?

 

[A Squared]

Speaking of all but defunct approaches, did the US ever have DME Homing & Descents, as we once had in Oz?

I haven't ever heard of them, and I'm pobably more interested in obsolete trivia than the average pilot (I fly a DC-6, for example) How did were those approaches done?

 

[paulsalem]

4. So, what it boils down to is little bug smashers getting impatient getting the VFR on top and screwing up the airspace up more for the bigger jets. Reminds me of the idiots on the road in the left lane and going 5mph below the speed limit and you can't get by.

Well most jets are flying in the flight levels where VFR ON-TOP is prohibited.

So my question is, are you flying a C-5 below FL180? IF so

STOP WASTING MY TAX MONEY!

 

[Hold West]

Speaking of all but defunct approaches, did the US ever have DME Homing & Descents, as we once had in Oz?

Not that I know of - I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it doesn't sound familiar. I'm pretty interested in all that stuff, too - Wish I could go for a ride in A Squared's DC-6!