ATC Day

If you didn't know already, I had a run at being an air traffic controller about a year ago, that ultimately ended in the FAA not looking at my application after I told them where I'd like to work.  Apparently a perfect score on their AT-SAT (a controller's version of the SAT) doesn't mean much.  If you really want to hear that saga, just ask and I'll give you the run down.  The reason I mention that, however, is to explain how I can get into facilities so easily: connections made in that journey.

After getting the AT-SAT test results back in 2009, I excitedly called Potomac TRACON (PCT) to see if I could visit.  The central hub of coordinating life at the TRACON, Tomeeka, helped set me up with a visit, where I met Roscoe, who is a contractor working to help train and maintain the currency of the controllers.  He, being a people person, is the go-to guy for the TRACON when it comes to conducting tours.  The first time around, I met all kinds of people, but only spent a few minutes on the control floor.  Since I'm on vacation this week, I figured I'd see if I could spend some time getting my name known again (in case another public hiring wave comes around, or if I decide to go to controller school) and sit with a few controllers on the floor.  After talking to Tomeeka again, and coordinating with Roscoe, I headed up to the TRACON this morning once again.

When I worked with Air Wisconsin as a Supervisor at Dulles, one of my co-workers knew of another co-worker who had gone to Embry Riddle for CTI (insert Spaceballs reference here), and is now at Washington Center (ZDC).  Ali introduced me to Fartun when we all met up for brunch a month or so ago, so I tried to work that connection to get into the Center, as well.  Once we coordinated that scheduling, I had managed to set myself up for an ATC-filled day.

I apologize in advance for not remembering most of the controllers' names in the following narrative:

After arriving at Potomac, I first sat with ASPER, which is a departure sector in the Shenandoah Area (controls Dulles Airport).  It wasn't as busy as normal, because Linden (LDN), J149 (a jet route), SWANN and PALEO (fixes) were all "shut off," meaning flights with those fixes or routes were unable to depart (Hurricane Irene's effects were just coming up the coast).  It was interesting for the first few minutes, as a whole bunch of Colgan aircraft were apparently lined up at Runway 30 for departure.  The successive departures kept the controller busy until Washington Center and New York Center shut off the rest of the northern departure fixes, with the exception of Martinsburg (MRB).  Since that toned down, I left the control room with Roscoe to talk to the ATM about some strategies for getting hired, and then came back to sit down with a controller in the Mount Vernon Area (Washington National).  He was controlling OJAAY and DCAFR, which are sectors for approach and final approach, respectively.  That kept him busy simply because of the workload of the two sectors, in addition to vectoring the traffic around the weather.  Someone had mentioned to me that he's been here for a while, and it showed, as in the middle of all of the calls to the aircraft and other controllers, he was striking up conversation with me about why I was visiting, and so on.  If you've never seen the airspace for that area, you may not fully appreciate it, as it seems relatively simple and open.  In reality, the controller is cornered by Dulles to the west, and BWI airspace to the north and east.  There's very little room for error, so it takes a good bit of skill to bring several aircraft into that little amount of space.  With weather, there's even less space to move around.  After a while of sitting there, Roscoe came back to have me meet another one of the managers, before I left to run up to Washington Center.  Before I left, though, we made sure to track down one of the controllers from my flight on Tuesday to say thanks for helping us out.

I drove from Vint Hill up to Leesburg in the pouring rain, but it actually stopped raining for my walk in, which was nice.  Fartun lead me in and had me sit with one of the more veteran controllers, who was sitting at a position controlling airspace down by Raleigh, NC (Tar River Sector - TYI).  He wasn't much for words, but asked a few questions in between fielding turbulence reports about why I was there and offered his own opinions of ZDC.  The next guy who came to replace him was a little more conversational and had a personality similar to mine (the answer to every request by another controller was: "Unable!  What did you need again?").  I listened in and even provided a little more detailed info that wasn't covered in the position relief briefing about the turbulence reports (yes, I feel special).  Fartun came back later and brought me over to introduce me to one of her friends and fellow controllers, Julie, who was handling the Linden Sector (LDN), which sequences arrivals and departures to the west of Dulles.  She had a similar personality, was about my age, and had been told I knew a little about ATC, so sitting with her was probably the most fun of the day.  That is to say, she didn't need to explain the basics of ATC, and didn't give an introductory lesson on what exactly the words, shapes and lines on the screen actually meant.  I can't fault the other controllers, though, as most people they meet probably don't even know about anything other than "the control tower tells planes what to do."  In any case, she was just about at the end of her shift, so when she left, I sat on one other position, which I believe was either Sea Isle (SIE) or Coyle (CYN).  The first controller on the position had a cool voice, and laughed a good bit at the controller in the TRACON below his airspace, who was acting very spastic.  The second controller seemed gruff at first, but in the end, I think it was more that he just wasn't overly social.  He outlined the airspace on the scope for me and asked a few questions, but otherwise kept conversation to a minimum.  A few minutes after the controller switch, Fartun took a break to escort me back out to the guard shack, and that was that.

Even if you're not interested in air traffic control, as a pilot it really helps you to understand why things work the way they do when you're "in the system" (participating with ATC), and how to work better with them.  I'd definitely suggest a visit if you're a pilot.  Even if you aren't, there are opportunities for those who aren't pilots to experience what it all looks like behind the scenes.  Without ever visiting the TRACON, or the Center, you can always drop by on the weekend to visit Roscoe up in the tower at the Udvar Hazy museum, where they have a mockup of a scope from New York TRACON (N90), in the area of Newark's airspace.

Ocean City - For a Few Hours

N329ME - C172S - 3.1 hours

Even before I had my private pilot's license, I've always wanted to fly to a vacation destination.  I don't know if it's been some repressed elitist thought in my mind, or not.  I imagine the following scenario in the case that it is:

Random person on beach: "It took us 5 hours to get here from Northern Virginia!  The Bay Bridge traffic was terrible!!!"
Me:  "Yeah, it did look pretty bad when I flew over it.  I managed to make it in one and a half."
*brushes imaginary sand off burned shoulders*

Potential elitist thoughts aside, I've always wanted to fly to Ocean City instead of drive.  My friend and Potomac TRACON/Smithsonian contact, Roscoe, also wanted to head out on a flight somewhere, so I started researching how to get to Ocean City.  Unfortunately, if you only look at the Washington Sectional, you'll see one of two very inefficient scenarios from Leesburg:

1 - Fly north of the Washington Class B airspace, to the border of Pennsylvania, up by the DuPont VOR (DQO) and follow the Delaware coast on down.
2 - Fly south of the Washington Class B airspace, to Fredericksburg, and then somehow work through, around or under Patuxent's airspace.

What you won't see is the efficient option three, unless you own a Washington Terminal Area Chart (TAC):

3 - Fly through the VFR corridor, under a BWI airspace shelf, between the BWI surface airspace and the DC Area Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ - pronounced 'freeze')

So, when I mentioned in the previous post that I wanted to "test an aircraft out before I took it through a potentially dangerous corridor of airspace," this is what I was talking about.  Flying into airspace you aren't cleared into ("busting the airspace" as pilots will say), gets you unwanted attention from the FAA, among others, depending on the airspace.  Flying into BWI's airspace is going to tick off some controllers, and the FAA.  Flying into the FRZ is going to tick off the DHS, the FAA because the DHS is riding them, and potentially the guy in an F-16 or Blackhawk sent to track you down (if it gets to that).  At its narrowest, that corridor is 2.6nm (just shy of 3 miles), so I tested the previous aircraft (N5294W) out to make sure I was familiar with it before putting my license on the line.  Luckily, N5294W has a moving map GPS that shows the airspace on it, so I could be sure to avoid it.

Well.
Life isn't that simple, is it?

I managed to wait too long before reserving the plane, so N5294W wasn't available.  The only other aircraft available had types of GPS that I wasn't completely familiar with.  Luckily, they're all reasonably similar, so adapting in my case would only take a few minutes.  Beyond that, I flew the flight in Flight Simulator to get an idea of what the terrain and cities would look like, in general, supplemented by going on Google Maps and drawing in extra landmarks on the chart.  While a familiar GPS would have added a good bit of situational awareness, I still felt equipped to make the flight without it.

In order to get through the corridor correctly, I departed Leesburg, headed direct to Gaithersburg (GAI), then direct to a VFR GPS reference point called VPONX, then direct another VFR GPS point called VPOOP (yes, VPOOP - in reality, it's "VFR Point" OOP), then direct Easton (ESN), and finally direct to Ocean City (OXB).

On the way out, we talked to the Potomac Approach position assigned to watching the SFRA, along with two other controllers when closer to BWI.  Once we were clear of the Class B airspace, I asked for flight following (ATC keeps an eye on you and issues traffic advisories as they can).  The last Potomac controller I talked to set me up with the service, and then passed me on to Patuxent Approach, which helped me make sure I wasn't in conflict with anything going on at the Naval Air Station (fast moving jets plus slow moving Cessna could cause problems).  Closer in to Ocean City, the controller dropped me to the local airport frequency so I could coordinate landing with anyone else in the area.

After landing, we grabbed a rental car that we coordinated prior to departure.  The guy who rented it to us just said "leave $20 under the driver's mat - the keys are in it."  That's one of the big differences between Northern Virginia and Eastern Shore Maryland, I guess.  In Northern Virginia, it's a credit card for insurance, a lockbox for a key, a contact number, your SSN, and a signed contract.  In any case, the car got us to the boardwalk for a quick run up to Malibu's (a local surf shop), and a small dinner, before running back to the airport.  If the Fractured Prune right by the airport had been open, I definitely would've stopped there, too.

I'd intended on departing with some daylight left, because the thought of flying the corridor at night made me uneasy (a lot of my references were on the ground and likely unlit), but the walk on the boardwalk and dinner took a little longer than expected.  Since it was definitely night before we even departed, I took advantage of the situation and took a lap around the pattern for night currency, and then headed west, talking to Patuxent to get flight following again, which is where things got interesting, in a good way.

While on Patuxent's frequency, I got to listen in on the controller setting a flight up for a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) approach, along with a pilot getting denied several times over because he was being demanding and impatient (wanted direct to the field, wanted to land opposite traffic flow, and so on). When I was switched to GRACO (a Potomac TRACON Sector for BWI), I opened my SFRA flight plan back to Leesburg, but I also requested clearance into the Bravo to avoid the FRZ as much as possible.  The controller had me climb up to 6500', and once at 6500', direct to the Baltimore VOR (BAL - a navigation radio beacon at BWI), and a heading of 290 (WNW) after BAL.  Getting closer in, two aircraft departed BWI.  Departure (the controller I was talking to) kept him at 5000', then direct PALEO (a navigation fix) to stay clear of me.  That aircraft passed a few miles in front of me.  The second aircraft was on a heading of 155 and was kept low as well, until he was clear of me.  He passed about 1500' below and nearly right under me.  To be honest, that was pretty cool.  Just before passing BWI, I was switched to WOOLY (another Potomac sector for BWI) and on again to MULRR (a Potomac sector for IAD). That controller called out traffic on my right side, and then got snippy on an interaction where he was trying to figure out what I was doing.  Apparently, nobody clued him in on the fact that I was assigned a heading of 290, so he asked.  Static in the transaction made it sound like he said "turn from your assigned heading direct Leesburg," but after hearing my readback, he came back with "no, I was asking if you were on an assigned heading, or direct JYO."  Oh well.  From there, I went over to IADFE (final approach controller for IAD), and the controller there kept me above the arrivals into Dulles.  Soon after checking in, I was sent direct to Leesburg.  Once clear of the finals for Dulles, I was given a descent and a switch to the airport frequency in order to land.

Overall, a good flight. I got 3.1 hours of PIC cross country time, with 1.7 of that at night.  Potomac saved me a lot of hassle and went a good bit out of their way to make sure I was set up tonight.  I'm headed out to the TRACON on Thursday, so hopefully I'll be able to pass a thanks along for the hookups.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.1 - 28.4 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 3.6 (of 40)

Back to Luray

N5294W - C172R - 1.7 hours

Note for other pilots:
The airport identifier for Luray is now LUA. Of course, everything hasn't transitioned to LUA, so W45 may still be needed in some cases. Flight Service mentioned it in the brief before the flight.

This flight came somewhat out of a random connection made at work, thanks to another one of the instructors (of the co-worker, non-CFI variety), and a need to test an aircraft out before I took it through a potentially dangerous corridor of airspace (more on this in a later post). Long story short, I met another pilot at work - Ashley - and we decided to take a flight so that I could test this plane, and she could get a feel for the local airspace as she's new to the area.

Since I just wanted to make a quick flight, I decided I'd head back to Luray. It's a short flight, but I can at least use the hours towards the cross country requirement of the instrument rating. After the preflight, a call to the FSS to file the flight plan, a second preflight by Ashley, and a few questions, we were off. The second preflight and the questions were things I fully expected, but I was also forewarned by her as it's her own safety thing. As a CFI, you experience a wide variety of students, many of whom often remind you that you need to always keep an eye on them. Since she is a CFI and hadn't flown with me before, the second preflight, and the questions were understandable.

To be honest, the questions also opened my eyes a bit to things some pilots take for granted. I began flying in this area, so terrain and airspace awareness are a huge thing to me, but I take it as it comes. To someone who began flying in flatter areas, the terrain can be unnerving. The same can be said for those whose first sectional had very little controlled airspace depicted, arriving in this area, where some of the airspace is very controlled, and even further, very prohibited. The questions about what I do to cross a mountain in the daytime versus the night were questions I hadn't consciously considered fully, much less many of the other questions. It's a good example of how to learn from someone else, really.

On the flight down, I explained some quick ground references that can help in remaining below the Dulles airspace, pointed out some prominent landmarks, and ended up getting 0.1 hours of hood time (it's not much, but every bit helps meet the 40 hour requirement). The approach to Luray was slightly off, as I turned too close to the field, so I ended up going around. After going around, we landed with a decent crosswind, taxied in, turned around and were back off. I ended up using the same cut over to New Market, up I-81 as I used before in order to buy time to talk to the FSS to refile a flight plan back in to Leesburg.

The route back brought with it some great shots of the sunset, and some familiarization with the airspace out in the Shenandoah valley. Along with it, though, came the dark of night and a slightly nervous CFI because not seeing the ground becomes an issue in the case of an emergency. As she put it, "if the engine fails, we're on a wing and a prayer." It's very true, but it's something you have to accept somewhat if you want to fly around here. This area is full of hills and trees, that are in most parts unlit. Other than not flying at night, there's not much you can do about it. Flying brings with it the risk of somehow no longer getting the option of flying. Managing that risk is still an issue, and one we'll continue to argue as long as we have wings.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.7 - 25.3 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.1 - 3.6 (of 40)

Catching "The Bug" (Again)

N172DR - C172R - 1.9 hours

My boss, Jason, is a pilot, but he hasn't flown in quite a while for various reasons. Yesterday, we were both talking, amongst other co-workers, about what I would be doing on my upcoming vacation. I had a couple ideas of what I wanted to do, but they either fell through or didn't interest me enough to pursue them. That led me to my comment "I'll probably just fly random places." Jason picked up on the comment and offered to chip in on a flight if I'd take him up. That being said, we eventually settled on Luray again, because it was short and simple.

We met up at the airport early in the morning, Jason having brought Fractured Prune donuts (the best, by the way). After wolfing down the fried rings of amazingness, I filed our flight plan, stopped to stare at a B-17 sitting on the ramp (that I'd actually serviced when I lived out in Phoenix and worked for Cutter Aviation), and walked out to preflight.

The weather for the flight, despite lower visibility, was great. The air was calm, the temperature hadn't quite come up yet, and there were few clouds in sight. There were, however, plenty of clouds that settled into the valley where Luray was located. West of that ridge, the rest of the Shenandoah Valley was completely clear. Because of that, I kept flying right past Front Royal, out to Staunton and headed down I-81 to Bridgewater (VBW). Oddly enough, Bridgewater was clear, while Shenandoah (SHD) was 200' clouds with 3/4mi visibility, and they're only 7nm apart.

Landing at Bridgewater brought us right over the college, where my brother went to school. Since he played football there, I went to the games as much as possible, but only drove past the airport a few times. I had never realized that the airport was used by a government contractor to refurbish aircraft for military duty. As I rolled out on the runway, I noticed King Airs, among other aircraft, sitting all over the airport and ramps, painted up in military colors. It really gave me the impression I was in the wrong spot, so we took a quick lap around the ramp and backtaxied to depart.

On the way back, I called the FSS to file a flight plan back in to Leesburg. When I landed, the B-17 we gawked at on the way out was just starting up for its quick run for veterans and thrill seekers. We taxied in, shut down, and went out for a quick lunch before coming back to watch the B-17 go back out one last time.

Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.9 - 23.6 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0 - 3.5 (of 40)