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Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 9:48 pm
by Flocker
Had a unique experience today flying into KCSG. I flew VFR without flight following until I was 15NM out. At 15, I made the call to CSG tower. They assigned me a squawk code. This was a first. I dialed it in and we landed without issue. Just curious, why would the tower assign a discreet squawk code? I fly in and out of one of the busiest Class-D's in Georgia and have never been given a squawk code by the tower. Any idea on why they did this?

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 10:04 pm
by FlyingForFun
Delete

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 6:27 am
by Flocker
FlyingForFun wrote:When you fly into PDK, do you contact Atlanta approach first? If not, you probably should. They will give you a code and vectors then hand you off to the tower. Well, they may not necessarily give you vectors. Of course you do if you go through the class B.
Not necessarily. Either way, the only time I've been given a squawk code is from TRACON/Approach. Never from a tower.
For what it's worth, the airport wasn't busy at the time we landed.

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 6:59 am
by drseti
Not all towers have BRITE RADAR installed. those in Class C, ARSAs, or TRSAs generally do, but so might some other Class Ds. This one obviously does, so a squawk code makes sense.

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:27 am
by Flocker
drseti wrote:Not all towers have BRITE RADAR installed. those in Class C, ARSAs, or TRSAs generally do, but so might some other Class Ds. This one obviously does, so a squawk code makes sense.
After researching "Brite Radar" - it now makes sense. Thanks!

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 9:09 am
by CTLSi
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Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:17 am
by FlyingForFun
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Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:37 am
by CTLSi
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Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:32 am
by FlyingForFun
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Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 12:04 pm
by CharlieTango
FlyingForFun wrote:...His only question was why did the tower give him the squawk.
We might need to ask the controller on this one. Sometimes Van Nuys Tower will give me a code to squawk yet they apparently don't have radar.

In 2000 Jim Carey's Gulf Stream had a mid-air approaching Van Nuys and a contributing factor was the wrong code being squawked by the King Air. The report implies that its SoCal approach has the radar and advises Van Nuys tower. I guess when they give me a code they pass it along to SoCal and get help from SoCal on traffic?

The ‘Invisible’ King Air

King Air N1801B’s apparent invisibility to Van Nuys Tower resulted in no small part from its transponder being set to 0226 rather than the tower-assigned 0220. The pilot had previously mistaken “6” in the transponder display’s far-right segment for “0” when told by Los Angeles Center to switch from 4626 to 1200 and contact Van Nuys Tower.

Code 0226 was assigned to LAX Tower traffic, and “because the Beech was outside Los Angeles’ airspace, the ATC computer automation software placed the Beech’s radar target display in ‘suspend’ status,” the NTSB report explained. As a result, N1801B’s target was displayed without its altitude and aircraft identification data block, making it impossible for SoCal Approach to pass on accurate information to Van Nuys Tower.

Only when the ATC conflict alert activated 1 min 14 sec before the collision was the Beech’s mode-C altitude and aircraft data displayed. SoCal, which had no previous contact with the King Air, only then was able to identify it. By that time, both N162JC and N1801B were talking on 119.3 MHz, VNY’s Tower frequency.

The NTSB report said the King Air pilot later told an FAA inspector that the Honeywell Bendix/King KT 76 transponder “…installed in a low location and to the right of the center avionics rack…was [in] a difficult location to reach across from the pilot’s seat to set…and read the characters at the same time.”

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 2:29 pm
by Flocker
FlyingForFun wrote:His only question was why did the tower give him the squawk.
Exactly. Please substitute "dialed it in" for "accepted" in my previous post.

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:15 pm
by MrMorden
I didn't get a code, but flying into AHN over the weekend on initial call up I was asked to ident.

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:46 pm
by FastEddieB
One more thought...

...rather than speculate, it's pretty easy to come up with the phone number of any ATC facility.

Why not call them? The few times I have called with a question, I've always found them polite and forthcoming.

Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:09 pm
by CTLSi
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Re: Squawk Code Question

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 4:23 am
by drseti
<thread drift>
Years ago, I was flying a vertigo training simulator, based upon the cockpit of a USAF T-38. In the sim, the transponder was at the very bottom of the avionics stack, behind the center stick, just inches off the floor. After having me put the aircraft into a steep (3g) turn, the sim instructor (playing ATC) gave me a transponder code change: "blue eagle five, squawk 2234 and ident."

The first time I did this, the act of leaning way forward to reach the transponder put my inner ear into equilibrium limbo, and I was inverted before I knew what was happening.

The second time I flew the scenario, I was ready. When I got the transponder code change, I replied "unable." :wink:

</thread drift>