IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

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waynemcc999
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IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by waynemcc999 »


On this enjoyable, simple IFR outing Cindy and I join our friends Sheryl and Steve on another double-plane double date, this time to San Luis Obispo. Outbound, we climb and descend through the marine layer on an IFR flight plan, while on the return we depart VFR and grab a pop-up clearance back through the lingering layer into Santa Barbara. The seasonal marine layer helps a lot with maintaining IFR currency. During COVID what has been your strategy for getting in the required approaches?
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by danno2000 »

waynemcc999 wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 5:57 pm
During COVID what has been your strategy for getting in the required approaches?
I just discovered that they changed the currency rules a couple years back to allow simulator approaches in an aviation training device to count. I just went in today to get the required approaches.

I wouldn’t be entirely comfortable with that as my only method, but I fly practice approaches in VFR conditions nearly every time I fly. They never count because I’m solo but they keep me familiar with handling the plane and GPS on approaches. In summer I’ll also take advantage of morning fog layers to try to get a couple approaches in before it burns off.

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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by waynemcc999 »

danno2000 wrote: Sun Jul 19, 2020 9:12 pm
waynemcc999 wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2020 5:57 pm
During COVID what has been your strategy for getting in the required approaches?
I just discovered that they changed the currency rules a couple years back to allow simulator approaches in an aviation training device to count. I just went in today to get the required approaches.

I wouldn’t be entirely comfortable with that as my only method, but I fly practice approaches in VFR conditions nearly every time I fly. They never count because I’m solo but they keep me familiar with handling the plane and GPS on approaches. In summer I’ll also take advantage of morning fog layers to try to get a couple approaches in before it burns off.

best,
dan
Thanks, Dan, for adding to the conversation. Yes, it is nice that we can use an Approved Aviation Training Device (i.e. simulator) to log approaches/holds for currency... and as you note, now without needing to wear foggles (which was always dumb, as you can dial in low ceilings/vis) or have a CFII with you. I've also used an AATD for practicing emergencies. Not for currency, but I frequently fly my home simulator (X-Plane) connected to real-person ATC (PilotEdge.net) and find that an awesome tool to work on proficiency.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by Colin »

Because of the marine layer and my desire to fly approaches into strange airports if I am landing at night, I never lack currency for approaches. Holds, however... Has *anyone* been assigned a hold in the last decade without asking for one? I *almost* got assigned one in my first two years of IFR, up near KSBP when there was an airliner going in ahead of me and I was closing the gap too quickly (I was in a descent), but at the last moment they gave me one vector and then turned me for the approach.

Then I was assigned one over KLEB in New Hampshire, but I didn't even fly the inbound leg.

Flying one is always part of my BFR (which I do once a year), but I think mostly I have to go out and ask for them. For a while I realized I had misread the FAR and thought it was "holds OR tracking radials" and figured I was all set. Oops.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by waynemcc999 »

Colin, same here on the Holds... never had one assigned in real life... oh, except inbound on an approach into Providenciales T&C (video).

For currency I'm either doing them ad-hoc about some waypoint with a safety pilot (as in my previous video) or requesting a published missed and hold in IMC.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by Don »

Nice video Wayne. The Spirit of San Lusis is one of my favorite restaurants to visit along with the Waypoint Cafe at CMA.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by waynemcc999 »

Don wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 4:07 pm Nice video Wayne. The Spirit of San Lusis is one of my favorite restaurants to visit along with the Waypoint Cafe at CMA.
Thanks, Don. Agreed, although the Waypoint can be super busy.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by CFIDave »

Colin wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:08 pmHas *anyone* been assigned a hold in the last decade without asking for one?
Sure: for years our home airport KJYO Leesburg, VA has been an IFR "one in, one out" non-towered airport, where ATC (i.e., Potomac Approach) cannot clear you for the approach inbound if a landing aircraft ahead of you hasn't yet cancelled IFR, or if there's an IFR plane departing from the airport that hasn't yet checked in with Potomac ATC.

On a low overcast day we were given the published hold for the inbound GPS/LPV approach to Rwy 17, waiting for an aircraft ahead of us to land and cancel IFR. What was unusual is that the published hold for the approach is at 3000 feet, but we were told by Potomac to hold at 4000 feet.

After the other aircraft had landed and we were being cleared for the approach, the controller asked if we needed one more turn around the hold to descend to 3000 feet before proceeding inbound. However I declined the offer and was cleared to head inbound immediately, diving at over 1000 fpm to capture the glideslope from above, rather than intercepting it from below as I would normally do.

I felt comfortable doing this only because the plane had SVT and "highway in the sky" boxes showing in 3D exactly where the approach glide slope was located, so despite being in IMC I could "see" where I was relative to glideslope intercept and that I wasn't going to hit anything. But in retrospect, it would have been safer to have gone around the hold one more time and descended to 3000 before commencing the approach.

I'm not sure if the IFR "one in, one out" still applies to KJYO now that we have the first experimental "remote tower" (with 15 cameras) operating in the US. Despite being the 2nd busiest GA airport in VA and with more takeoffs and landings than 90% of US towered airports, the FAA has no money to build a real tower at Leesburg. We haven't yet been assigned Class D airspace, so some of the ATC rules for towered airport IFR operations may not apply to us.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by OriensFlight »

A couple of years ago, I was coming back into Petaluma (O69) on one of those eery moonlit nights where the fog started at 200’ but was only 300’ thick. I got put in a hold over San Pablo Bay because another pilot was flying an approach into nearby Gnoss (KDVO). I could see the other plane 8 miles away descending into the soup. Once he popped back up, I was released and went in. We both ended up diverting to Santa Rosa since the fog was far too low. It’s a bit disorienting to fly an approach, but only be in actual IMC for the last few hundred feet.
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Re: IFR San Luis Obispo with my Love (Full ATC)

Post by AndrewM »

I did an approach in extreme precip just a few days ago. It was RNAV 23 KLWM. One of the more difficult approaches I have done because it was just bucketing down with rain and moderate turbulence. The red on the NEXRAD on the photo was directly over the field when I landed. Luckily I had good proficiency prior to executing this approach.

The plane, however, was VERY clean when pulled into the hanger from all the rain! :)
IMG_1233 (1).jpg
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