VFR, practice, unless you ask for vectors or are told,
"vectors to ..." then you navigate.

Suggest you file a NASA report to cover your butt, [two-one
for each pilot].
http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/forms_nf.htm



"Lurker" wrote in message
...
| Flyers,
|
| I just want some of your thoughts on this. My plane
partner and I went out
| last night to do some practice instrument approaches. He
wore the hood and
| I was the right-seat safety pilot.
|
| ATC was not too busy and it was a nice VFR night. First,
after we asked for
| a practice ILS 24 into KPNE they acknowledged our request
and then forgot
| about us and had us continue flying away from the field
for sometime. This
| continued until I finally asked if they were going to
vector us.
|
| "Oh...no...I just figured you'd turn toward Yardley."
|
| Hmmm...ok we turn toward Yardley. He then had us climb to
3000. He
| vectored us onto the approach within 1/8 mile of the final
approach fix, had
| us maintain 3000 (FAF alt on chart is 2000) and cleared us
for the approach.
| My partner was struggling to get the plane down and I'm
looking out for
| planes, our attitude, the glide slope, his
airspeed,...IOW...everything.
|
| I suddenly realize that we are on a 1/2 mile final (way
above the glide
| slope) and we were never handed off to the tower. I push
the flip-flop
| button and contact the tower and ask if we missed a
handoff.
|
| The tower responds, "I've been waiting for you to contact
us"
|
| "I'm sorry. Did approach hand us off?"
|
| "No...but that doesn't matter...it's your responsibility.
You need to
| realize that there is a problem before you're on a 1/2
mile final."
|
| To make a long story short...we were given back to
approach and did the
| approach into our field (VOR-A). We were handed off to
another approach
| controller. We asked for a practice VOR-A into N14 with
vectors. This
| controller never vectored us and merrily watched us (or
didn't watch us) fly
| right through the approach course, never vectoring us,
never assigning an
| altitude and never clearing us for the approach.
|
| I get on the radio and asked if he wanted us to fly
through the approach
| course.
|
| "Ahhh...no...just intercept the approach course and
maintain 2100 until
| PONDE (the FAF)..." he then cleared us for the approach.
|
| What was this? A bad night for controllers? Were we
second class citizens?
| And why did I get bawled out for the approach controllers
forgetful
| hand-off?
|
| Kobra
|
|