NYC Class B
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:56 am
Not really eye candy per se (couldn't think of where else to put it, so feel free to move this thread, Paul), but here's a shot of my VFR flight plan that I flew yesterday to attend a work meeting. (Had I gone via mass transit, it probably would have taken me 9 hours total roundtrip; had I tried to drive, likely 7 hours total roundtrip. Flying allowed me to make it in 4 1/2 hours total roundtrip -- 2.8 hours on the Hobbs -- and likely would have been less had the engine not required pre-heating on both ends, and an extended runup to get the oil temp into the green.)
I wasn't able to get any really good pictures while flying because I was too busy flying straight/level at fairly low altitudes, listening to NY Approach/Departure, and avoiding the heavies going into/out of JFK, but it was otherwise a really easy flight, and I encourage those of you with Class B endorsements to not be intimidated by NYC airspace. A few things to keep in mind:
Get your radio procedures squared away.
This is huge. If you sound like you know what you're doing, NY Approach assumes you do know what you're doing (even if you don't!) and will often clear you in.
Really practice to work the "ah's, um's, errrr's" and whatnot out of your vocabulary. Be crisp and be clear: "NY Approach, Skyhawk 682 Mike Alpha, VFR request." Once I was acknowledged, "Yessir, 682 Mike Alpha is a Cessna 172, 5 miles south of Brookhaven Airport just off the south shore at 2,500 feet, would like flight following to Trenton, that's Tango Tango November" (that was my tail number and my actual radio calls just after I took off from HWV). So far, I'm 8 for 8 in getting both flight following and clearance into the Class B.
Don't be surprised if the radio is so busy that you can't check in when handed off. On the way back, I tried to check in (twice!) after one handoff and never got an acknowledgment, so I just kept trundling along. They eventually did get to me about 5 minutes later (to tell me to stay at 4,500 to avoid the inbound Newark traffic).
Be flexible, and make that known to ATC.
On the way out, I asked for and got 3,500 feet, but told ATC I could fly low if need be. Sure enough, they asked me to descend just as I was approaching Sandy Hook, NJ to get under the Class B shelf -- got down to 1,300 feet and was only there for about 10 minutes (watched a jet cross my nose from right to left as it approached and landed into JFK) before they cleared me back into the Class B at 3,500 feet.
On the way back while flying off the south shore, I asked for and got 4,500 feet, but also told them I could deviate and descend as necessary. They wound up vectoring me back over Long Island itself, had me fly direct to the Kennedy VOR, then turn to 220 once over JFK. (It was very cool to see the heavies taking off and landing from JFK...although it was a little disconcerting to see a heavy off my right wing heading right at me at one point, and then I heard NY App clear them to descend to 4,000 feet while I was still at 4,500! )
EDIT: for you ATC buffs, the action with the course deviations starts right at the beginning -- I had just reached 4,500 -- and goes on for about 5m 30s until I get handed off:
http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kjfk/ ... -2030Z.mp3
(Yeah, I initially misunderstood the part where I was supposed to go directly to the Kennedy VOR before turning 220...thought he instructed me to turn to 220 immediately. And I did confirm with the next controller via readback, if I recall correctly.)
Have a life vest!
You can be a lot more flexible flying out over the water to give ATC more room to work with you, and still stay legal.
Hope this may help any of you with NYC Class B anxiety...feel free to ask questions, I'll answer as best I can (given that I'm still a low-time pilot...I only cracked the 70TT mark on this trip.)
I wasn't able to get any really good pictures while flying because I was too busy flying straight/level at fairly low altitudes, listening to NY Approach/Departure, and avoiding the heavies going into/out of JFK, but it was otherwise a really easy flight, and I encourage those of you with Class B endorsements to not be intimidated by NYC airspace. A few things to keep in mind:
Get your radio procedures squared away.
This is huge. If you sound like you know what you're doing, NY Approach assumes you do know what you're doing (even if you don't!) and will often clear you in.
Really practice to work the "ah's, um's, errrr's" and whatnot out of your vocabulary. Be crisp and be clear: "NY Approach, Skyhawk 682 Mike Alpha, VFR request." Once I was acknowledged, "Yessir, 682 Mike Alpha is a Cessna 172, 5 miles south of Brookhaven Airport just off the south shore at 2,500 feet, would like flight following to Trenton, that's Tango Tango November" (that was my tail number and my actual radio calls just after I took off from HWV). So far, I'm 8 for 8 in getting both flight following and clearance into the Class B.
Don't be surprised if the radio is so busy that you can't check in when handed off. On the way back, I tried to check in (twice!) after one handoff and never got an acknowledgment, so I just kept trundling along. They eventually did get to me about 5 minutes later (to tell me to stay at 4,500 to avoid the inbound Newark traffic).
Be flexible, and make that known to ATC.
On the way out, I asked for and got 3,500 feet, but told ATC I could fly low if need be. Sure enough, they asked me to descend just as I was approaching Sandy Hook, NJ to get under the Class B shelf -- got down to 1,300 feet and was only there for about 10 minutes (watched a jet cross my nose from right to left as it approached and landed into JFK) before they cleared me back into the Class B at 3,500 feet.
On the way back while flying off the south shore, I asked for and got 4,500 feet, but also told them I could deviate and descend as necessary. They wound up vectoring me back over Long Island itself, had me fly direct to the Kennedy VOR, then turn to 220 once over JFK. (It was very cool to see the heavies taking off and landing from JFK...although it was a little disconcerting to see a heavy off my right wing heading right at me at one point, and then I heard NY App clear them to descend to 4,000 feet while I was still at 4,500! )
EDIT: for you ATC buffs, the action with the course deviations starts right at the beginning -- I had just reached 4,500 -- and goes on for about 5m 30s until I get handed off:
http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kjfk/ ... -2030Z.mp3
(Yeah, I initially misunderstood the part where I was supposed to go directly to the Kennedy VOR before turning 220...thought he instructed me to turn to 220 immediately. And I did confirm with the next controller via readback, if I recall correctly.)
Have a life vest!
You can be a lot more flexible flying out over the water to give ATC more room to work with you, and still stay legal.
Hope this may help any of you with NYC Class B anxiety...feel free to ask questions, I'll answer as best I can (given that I'm still a low-time pilot...I only cracked the 70TT mark on this trip.)