"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.