Radio 'altercation' with ATC

Actually this thread reminds me of a some what funny incident that happened
to me once at Merrill field in Anchorage.

Merrill has a published pattern (which is some what tight in comparison to
most other airports) because of all the other aircraft activity in such
close proximity. Merrill is also a very busy airport. It used to be rated
the busiest general aviation airport in the US, but I have no idea if it
still holds that honor.

Anyway, a regular pain to pilots who know and follow the published pattern,
are pilots who fly huge, 747 patterns which ultimately mess up the timing of
everyone else attempting to fly the published pattern. Amazingly there are
two flight schools on the field who are notorious for teaching their
students this '747' pattern.

One day I was giving tailwheel instruction to a student and following behind
one of the other schools planes, which also had a student and instructor on
board. I was in a slow plane, a super cub, but because I was flying the
published pattern and much closer in that the 747 student in his C152, I was
gaining on him on each lap.

Finally about the 4th time around the controller asked me if I saw the other
traffic in the pattern ahead of me. (He was technically ahead of me, but
about a mile to my right - about 2 o'clock)

I replied that I had him insight to which the controller became rather
snotty and made a point to make sure that I knew that I was supposed to be
FOLLOWING that aircraft. I made no verbal response, but looked behind to my
right and then made a hard right turn, 90 degrees from my downwind heading
and started flying south.

After flying almost 1 mile the controller again called me and very upset
said "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

I calmly responded "Following the other aircraft in the pattern"

The next words out of the controllers mouth was "other aircraft, bring all
your downwind legs in about a mile, your to far out".

I continued flying with my student for about another half hour or so and
when we landed the controller asked me to call the tower. I called him up
and he apologized.

No harm, no foul. We're all human, we all make mistakes, we should help
each other out and learn from them.

PJ

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Here's to the duck who swam a lake and never lost a feather,
May sometime another year, we all be back together.
JJW
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