Various ATC questions

A few questions on ATC:

1. If I am told to "depart XYZ heading 150" while IFR, and the last
heading given to me by ATC does not quite take me to an intercept of
the XYZ VOR, should I turn to intercept the VOR? Should I wait for
ATC to tell me to turn directly towards the VOR? Should I turn and
apprise ATC of my turn? Or should I just intercept the 150 radial
from the VOR, and then turn to follow that? The last time this
happened, I just silently turned to intercept the VOR (I wasn't far
off, and I assumed that ATC wanted me vectored towards the VOR to
begin with, since it was in my flight plan and I had previously been
vectored in that general direction), but I don't know if this was
right.

2. If I am VFR in Class B, on a transition route, are altitude and
heading at my discretion (within the limits of the transition route)
UNLESS ATC directs me to a specific altitude and/or heading, or do I
always wait for ATC to provide exact instructions?

3. If ATC says "proceed direct to XYZ," and XYZ is a waypoint in my
IFR flight plan, do I assume that I can resume my own navigation after
reaching XYZ, or do I maintain the same course and altitude until
otherwise instructed, even after reaching XYZ?

4. If an IFR departure plate says "fly runway heading, then vectors to
fix (or) XYZ," I take that to mean that I continue on the runway
heading after take-off, until ATC tells me to turn towards some other
fix. Is this correct? If the fix is on my flight plan, do I
automatically resume my own navigation after reaching it, or do I
maintain my heading until ATC says otherwise? If the fix is on the
plate, and the plate says "then own navigation," do I resume my own
navigation after reaching the fix, or do I wait for ATC instructions?

As you can see, I'm still confused as to when I must wait for ATC
instructions to change altitude or heading, and when I'm at my
discretion to do so (either without restriction, as in VFR, or
according to my flight plan in IFR). Recently I went too far in a
Class B airspace in my sim because I had been told which runway I was
being given, but I had not been told to turn, and I thought I had to
continue in the same direction until ATC explicitly gave me a new
heading. So I'm still confused.

Cheers,

Craig

1. If I am told to "depart XYZ heading 150" while IFR, and the last
heading given to me by ATC does not quite take me to an intercept of
the XYZ VOR, should I turn to intercept the VOR?

No.

You depart on 150, contact approach when told, and then approach control
will give you further clearance. If you lose com, =then= you proceed
according to the lost com rules, which in this case would probably have
you turn to intercept the VOR (I assume the VOR is the first fix on your
clearance, and you're actually IMC).

2. If I am VFR in Class B, on a transition route, are altitude and
heading at my discretion (within the limits of the transition route)
UNLESS ATC directs me to a specific altitude and/or heading, or do I
always wait for ATC to provide exact instructions?

Once you and ATC agree on a route and altitude (or route and altitude
limits), they expect you to fly it. They provide separation from all
other aircraft, and can't do it if your altitude and heading are at your
discretion.

3. If ATC says "proceed direct to XYZ," and XYZ is a waypoint in my
IFR flight plan, do I assume that I can resume my own navigation after
reaching XYZ, or do I maintain the same course and altitude until
otherwise instructed, even after reaching XYZ?

When you pass XYZ, absent further instruction, fly to your next
waypoint. But if in doubt, call and ask. (This is always true, but is
not well simulated by the computer).

4. If an IFR departure plate says "fly runway heading, then vectors to
fix (or) XYZ," I take that to mean that I continue on the runway
heading after take-off, until ATC tells me to turn towards some other
fix. Is this correct?

Pretty much. In practice, you will be switched from the tower to
approach frequency, (or if flying from an uncontrolled airport, you will
switch from the CTAF advisory frequency to approach) after takeoff, and
then you'll call them, saying something like "New York Approach, Cessna
429 Whiskey Charlie off of Danbury, out of nine hundred for three
thousand". ATC will then give you further instructions, such as "Cessna
429 Whiskey Charlie, New York approach, radar contact, fly heading 240
vectors to Carmel, climb and maintain six thousand."

In the sim, you can only communicate when the program allows you to, and
you can only say the things the program allows you to say. In real
life, there's more going on.

Recently I went too far in a
Class B airspace in my sim because I had been told which runway I was
being given, but I had not been told to turn, and I thought I had to
continue in the same direction until ATC explicitly gave me a new
heading. So I'm still confused.

I don't know exactly which communications you're referring to, but in
real life, VFR, if you are landing at an airport in class B, C, or D
airspace, a landing clearance includes the clearance to maneuver
appropriately to actually land there. Landing clearanaces come from the
tower, but class B clearances come from Approach control. You would be
switched from approach to the tower and the tower would give you the
landing clearance.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose wrote:
snip

Jose

Thanks for the response Jose, much appreciated. Just one point though,
ATC in the sim is not always limited to what the 'game' can provide.
Networks such as Vatsim and IVAO provide real-time voice ATC from a real
person, many of whom are controllers real life, so such situations can
actually crop up in the sim. Just another feature to allow us poor sim
pilots to get as close as we can to your world.

ATC in the sim is not always limited to what the 'game' can provide. Networks such as Vatsim and IVAO provide real-time voice ATC from a real person, many of whom are controllers real life

Point taken. (But in that case, you could simply ask at the time.)

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose writes:

Point taken. (But in that case, you could simply ask at the time.)

Sometimes they are really busy.

--
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Jose writes:

No.

You depart on 150, contact approach when told, and then approach control
will give you further clearance.

But I'm not at XYZ. I had a heading of 250, the last heading given to
me by Center. Then I was told "depart XYZ heading 150," which I
didn't understand. I verified that this did indeed mean "turn to 150
when you reach the XYZ VOR" (as I suspected), but then I realized that
the heading I had wouldn't take me directly to the VOR, so I turned 15
degrees or so to make the VOR. At XYZ, I turned to 150. Was this
wrong?

The only other option I can see is to continue on my heading and then
turn to 150 when I reach the 150 radial from XYZ. Is that what I
should do?

Or should I explicitly call up ATC and ask them what to do?

If you lose com, =then= you proceed
according to the lost com rules, which in this case would probably have
you turn to intercept the VOR (I assume the VOR is the first fix on your
clearance, and you're actually IMC).

In this case, I was in IMC, and this was a fix about two thirds of the
way down my flight plan. I had been given the "preferred route" for
my destination, which I dutifully placed into an amended IFR flight
plan, and then I followed instructions. Had I heard "resume own
navigation," I would have immediately turned to my next filed fix, but
I had not heard that.

2. If I am VFR in Class B, on a transition route, are altitude and
heading at my discretion (within the limits of the transition route)
UNLESS ATC directs me to a specific altitude and/or heading, or do I
always wait for ATC to provide exact instructions?

Once you and ATC agree on a route and altitude (or route and altitude
limits), they expect you to fly it. They provide separation from all
other aircraft, and can't do it if your altitude and heading are at your
discretion.

OK. I once entered Class B for landing, and although I was told what
runway I'd be assigned, I was never told to actually turn towards the
runway, so I kept on going. Then ATC told me I was supposed to be
heading towards the runway.

Note that some of the controllers in the virtual world are also real
controllers, and some aren't, although the latter go through quite a
bit of training.

3. If ATC says "proceed direct to XYZ," and XYZ is a waypoint in my
IFR flight plan, do I assume that I can resume my own navigation after
reaching XYZ, or do I maintain the same course and altitude until
otherwise instructed, even after reaching XYZ?

When you pass XYZ, absent further instruction, fly to your next
waypoint. But if in doubt, call and ask. (This is always true, but is
not well simulated by the computer).

In this case, ATC is provided by people, not the computer. Anyway,
thanks.

4. If an IFR departure plate says "fly runway heading, then vectors to
fix (or) XYZ," I take that to mean that I continue on the runway
heading after take-off, until ATC tells me to turn towards some other
fix. Is this correct?

Pretty much. In practice, you will be switched from the tower to
approach frequency, (or if flying from an uncontrolled airport, you will
switch from the CTAF advisory frequency to approach) after takeoff, and
then you'll call them, saying something like "New York Approach, Cessna
429 Whiskey Charlie off of Danbury, out of nine hundred for three
thousand". ATC will then give you further instructions, such as "Cessna
429 Whiskey Charlie, New York approach, radar contact, fly heading 240
vectors to Carmel, climb and maintain six thousand."

That's what I had hoped. I just need to know what to do if I don't
hear from ATC promptly.

In the sim, you can only communicate when the program allows you to, and
you can only say the things the program allows you to say. In real
life, there's more going on.

When you are flying in a virtual environment, the controllers are real
people, not computers.

I don't know exactly which communications you're referring to, but in
real life, VFR, if you are landing at an airport in class B, C, or D
airspace, a landing clearance includes the clearance to maneuver
appropriately to actually land there.

OK, thanks. I noticed that I was way past the runway centerline, but
I thought I had to wait until a controller actually told me to turn
towards the runway. When he finally did contact me, he sounded miffed
that I had gone too far.

If I am turning on my own in order to make my approach for landing,
should I tell ATC that I'm turning to a new heading?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

FromTheShadows,

Ok, let's give this a try. For those not following all threads: This is
a try by FromTheShadows (real names have a nice touch of honesty and
responsibility to them, BTW - if you won't stand by your words with your
name, what are they worth?) to get answers to questions he thinks are
valuable for the group despite having been originally posted by
you-know-who. His solution is to repost them under his name. For the
sake of the experiment, I will be very happy to answer any questions and
comments - except those from you-know-who.

1. If I am told to "depart XYZ heading 150" while IFR, and the last
heading given to me by ATC does not quite take me to an intercept of
the XYZ VOR, should I turn to intercept the VOR?

ATC should always give you a reason for a vector. If you don't get one,
ask. The reason might come in the form of "heading 150 to xyz VOR, then
as files" or "vector for traffic" or some such. You should always know
why you are being sent of into a certain direction. The rules in case of
a loss of comms have been quoted already elsewhere.

2. If I am VFR in Class B, on a transition route, are altitude and
heading at my discretion (within the limits of the transition route)
UNLESS ATC directs me to a specific altitude and/or heading, or do I
always wait for ATC to provide exact instructions?

Depends. There are transition routes where you don't need to contact ATC
(in L.A., for example). Otherwise, ATC will give you instruction - or
you request an altitude and heading and see if they accomodate you.

3. If ATC says "proceed direct to XYZ," and XYZ is a waypoint in my
IFR flight plan, do I assume that I can resume my own navigation after
reaching XYZ, or do I maintain the same course and altitude until
otherwise instructed, even after reaching XYZ?

Neither. ATC should always tell you what to do afterwards before
"afterwards" arrives. If they don't, you ask. If you can't get an answer
in time, at least in Europe, you hold at the fix until you get an
answer. If you find you have lost comms, you follow the procedure for
that. That procedure can be found in the FARs and/or the AIM.

4. If an IFR departure plate says "fly runway heading, then vectors to
fix (or) XYZ," I take that to mean that I continue on the runway
heading after take-off, until ATC tells me to turn towards some other
fix. Is this correct?

Show me a plate that does, and we'll discuss it.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert wrote:
FromTheShadows,

Ok, let's give this a try. For those not following all threads: This is
a try by FromTheShadows (real names have a nice touch of honesty and
responsibility to them, BTW - if you won't stand by your words with your
name, what are they worth?) to get answers to questions he thinks are
valuable for the group despite having been originally posted by
you-know-who. His solution is to repost them under his name. For the
sake of the experiment, I will be very happy to answer any questions and
comments - except those from you-know-who.


Thanks. I'm not trying to be combative here, but this seemed the only
way to get some answers to what seemed a reasonable post from our friend
Mx. BTW, I did sign the post with my real name and a valid email address
is in the header. My handle was just meant to denote my usual lurker status.

FromTheShadows,

I'm not trying to be combative here


I didn't think you were.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert writes:

Show me a plate that does, and we'll discuss it.

The LOGAN THREE IFR departure from Logan International says,
literatim, on page two:

"Climb on assigned heading, thence ... expect vectors to assigned
ROUTE/NAVAID/FIX."

--
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