As a controller would you rather

limitlessness

limitlessness

Well-Known Member
I was at a semi-busy Class D field in the Denver area last month and as I'm decelerating through 20 knots on the landing rollout, no taxi instructions are given. So I pull off at the next taxiway for the traffic on 1 mile final. The controller gets snippy with me. I get it, she might have had a different plan for my taxi route. It was busy. She was stressed and surprises when people are stressed can be...surprising.

So, as a controller in this situation, would you rather I park it on the runway until otherwise advised or use common sense judgement and pick an exit to the runway.

Cheers,

Limit
 
Like Robert said, take the first available. Sometimes you get busy between you being on short final and taxi speed, so I'm always thankful when I look up and see a plane exiting before being told instructions if I get busy with something else. Not sure why she got an attitude, but she'd probably have more of an attitude had you just stayed on the rwy and she had to send the guy around.
 
First available taxiway is fair game unless you hear something else before you exit. If she wanted something else, she should have told you to plan another exit before you landed.
 
limitlessness said:
I was at a semi-busy Class D field in the Denver area last month and as I'm decelerating through 20 knots on the landing rollout, no taxi instructions are given. So I pull off at the next taxiway for the traffic on 1 mile final. The controller gets snippy with me. I get it, she might have had a different plan for my taxi route. It was busy. She was stressed and surprises when people are stressed can be...surprising.

So, as a controller in this situation, would you rather I park it on the runway until otherwise advised or use common sense judgement and pick an exit to the runway.

Cheers,

Limit
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One more thing to this, why is it that controls think it's OK to give me my taxi instructions when I've just touched down - or in some cases, I've even gotten my instructions while I'm still airborne? "Medevac 1234, turn left on Alpha, proceed alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, cross runway 24 stay with me to park." It's frustrating.
 
ppragman said:
One more thing to this, why is it that controls think it's OK to give me my taxi instructions when I've just touched down - or in some cases, I've even gotten my instructions while I'm still airborne? "Medevac 1234, turn left on Alpha, proceed alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, cross runway 24 stay with me to park." It's frustrating.
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Anything said to us above about 60 knots is getting no acknowledgment.

*cough* SALT LAKE *cough*

I can't speak for how they do things on that "other" airplane, but I won't be acknowledging.
 
I'd like to believe they're in training. We all sound dumb from time to time but you really say some unbelievable crap when you're in training.
 
Autothrust Blue said:
Anything said to us above about 60 knots is getting no acknowledgment.

*cough* SALT LAKE *cough*

I can't speak for how they do things on that "other" airplane, but I won't be acknowledging.
Click to expand...

My favorite was about 4 months ago, I requested and was given permission for a long landing so that I could exit close to where we unload. No big deal, standard operating procedure for us EMS types when we can get it, long taxi times are sometimes rough on patients as the AC is good, but it can't always keep up when it's 90° or more on the ramp. As I'm in the flare to make the long landing roughly 50% of the way down a 10,000' runway I get, "Medevac 1234, exit at Echo, traffic is a Such-and-such Airlines 7-something-7 bearing down on you, exit next taxiway. I'm still freaking AIRBORNE at this point and trying to grease it on so that poor person I'm carrying doesn't spaz out. So I chop the power, plant it on, and reply, "unable next taxiway, I'll be able to get the one after that." Which gives me a frustrated, "roger." Now, the airliner, in his defense, slowed up as best he could, and as I'm pulling off onto the taxiway I watch him touch down out of the side windows.

The point is, if you can't give me a long landing, don't do it, hell, I'll go to a different runway, or pull off early and taxi for an hour if I have to. If you have an airliner "bearing down" on me, send him around, or hell, if I'm still in the air, I'd rather have you send me around rather than try to have a giant hulking piece of metal and carbon fiber come up my tail from behind and eat me. Regardless, don't get mad at me when you give me a long landing and then I take a long landing, and for the LOVE of GOD, please do not give me instructions in the flare. I get the distinct impression that many controllers at particular fields do not understand what kinds of things I'm doing at that particular point in time, a lot of my attention is focused on landing the airplane and even if you give me taxi instructions I may not be able to comply with them if I'm still flying when you give them to me. At least wait until I'm on the ground, and preferably wait until my nose wheel is down too.
 
All well and good for not talking to pilots in the landing flare, but a lot of local pilots you get to know pretty well at smaller airports. They'll be initiating conversations with the controllers at any point, doesn't matter if they're just about to land or in the middle of takeoff.
 
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