I’ve come across several occasions recently where ATC weren’t able to tell me about something I might be able to ask them to provide – I have to know to ask them first:
1) Special VFR. The home airfield is located within Class D. After departing on a local sortie, the weather deteriorated, and on return we were informed if was closed for VFR but open for IFR. When we asked for Special VFR clearance, that was granted. Subsequent discussion with ATC informed us that they can’t mention it/offer it – the pilot has to know to make a request.
2) Cancel IFR. ATC can’t instruct pilots to cancel IFR, even in glorious sunshine. They could instruct you to fly a visual approach but some airports charge for IFR arrivals so cancelling IFR when in VMC (eg below the cloud layer) can expedite matters as well as save an approach fee. En-route it can allow more flexibility to the pilot.
3) Shorter ILS approach track. I have heard that at Jersey, new rules mean that the minimum distance for intercepting a radar vectored instrument approach has increased to 2 miles before the FAF. If you ask for a shorter intercept then ATC can provide it, but they can’t proactively offer it. It’s possible this may also apply elsewhere but I don’t have any further knowledge or regulatory reference.
Are there any other instances where you have to know what to ask ATC because they can’t tell you what to say?
Special VFR : Here in France, I have called inbound to a CTR and had the reply without drama, “cleared via x,y,z Special VFR, No1 etc…” Off the top of my head in the last Year, Le Touquet… At which I replied a little quizically non-plussed with “x,y,z Special VFR ?”. Why does the UK have to make things so difficult? I actually dont know what I would have said if I had had the guy say I couldnt continue – probably have needlessly declared a fuel emergency?
Regards, SD..
Wrt Special VFR, that’s not only the UK, same in the US. You have to ask for it and also you have to be outside the airspace that’s controlled by the tower.
There’s another one in the US – the contact approach!
I have been cleared for Special VFR departure & approach in both Sweden and Denmark without having to ask for it.
Special VFR:
They technically can’t offer it but good ATC staff will reply to your request for a VFR clearance with something like “confirm you requested special VFR”
Cancelling IFR:
They can not ask you to cancel IFR but they can (and do sometimes) ask you to “state your intentions regarding cancelling IFR” (if you are on a Y-Flighplan). If you are on a IFR flight plan – why would ATC offer cancelling? They would expect you to fly your plan…
Shorter ILS approach track:
Some (GPS-)Navigators need this 2 miles to switch into approach mode for some approaches. So vectoring with this 2 mile margin is actually the safe way to do. Why should ATC offer something to the pilot that might be compromising security.
With all those “offers from ATC” one always has to keep in mind, that inexperienced, insecure or already overstretched pilots might misunderstand them as a demand to do something – and this can cause safety issues.
Malibuflyer wrote:
With all those “offers from ATC” one always has to keep in mind, that inexperienced, insecure or already overstretched pilots might misunderstand them as a demand to do something – and this can cause safety issues.
This is generally speaking true, but not in the special VFR case. A SVFR clearance does not put any extra obligations on the pilot – quite the opposite. The extra obligations are all on ATC.
Except for the fact that under Special VFR the visibility might be less than the pilot might be used to in a controlled environment.
I do remember arriving at Paris Pontoise (LFPT) for some touch and goes with an examiner for an MEP revalidation, to be told that by ATS that they were operating in Special VFR. It was my first visit to this airfield and I did struggle a bit to sort out my turning points for the circuit as haze and sun made it difficult on occasions to see the runway markings.
How “SVFR in LFPT CTR” is different from operating “SVFR” in uncontrolled airspace nearby?
I think it’s the reason why one can fly SVFR in controlled airspace, because they can fly VFR in uncontrolled airspace nearby, flying & navigation is agnostic to controlled/uncontrolled airspace boundary, both will be very challenging to the pilot, so not sure why SVFR in Delta and VFR in Golf are different? except being swamped by ATC clearances on the radio but that can happen on CAVOK days as well…
gallois wrote:
Except for the fact that under Special VFR the visibility might be less than the pilot might be used to in a controlled environment.
Yes, but no less that in the uncontrolled environment the pilot will enter when leaving the control zone or come from when entering the control zone.
With SVFR all traffic are separated by ATC so you don’t have to worry about the low visibility making it difficult to see other aircraft.
Airborne_Again wrote:
Yes, but no less that in the uncontrolled environment the pilot will enter when leaving the control zone or come from when entering the control zone.
One could have the hypothesis, that a pilot that doesn’t ask for SVFR by himself but needs to be “nudged” by ATC towards it, is not really aware that the weather is worse than VFR. And there might also be cases, where such a pilot with limited situational awareness does not immediately understand what ATC is trying to tell him when offering SVFR…
