Busiest Non-towered

A80TRACON said:
Strange how they're ever busy as they only allow us one in, one out. The WORST, and most dense, controllers I've ever had to deal with. Compound that with Iraqi Air pilots who will fight and argue on the frequency with controllers (even had one threaten one of my trainees on frequency that, "if he wasn't allowed to be number one in sequence (he was 60km behind the actual number one) he knew what tribe the controller belonged to and would have him taken care of".

Not uncommon to have 5 holding over GAWAN waiting for the landing call that will undoubtedly never come.
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Yeah during the battle of Mosul between State Dept, Iraqi Police Air, civil traffic, the Canadian Huey’s, our operations of Old Cargo and Attack ramp, the Ospreys, and a crap load of “unmarked civilian aircraft”.... F that place.

Add to the the fact that the 1 tower frequency also handled ground, clearance delivery, and approach.... probably the most useless tower I’ve ever seen.

That was one of the reasons we would just make the call, get stupid low, and try not to run into that idiot in the gyrocopter.
 
tcco94 said:
KCGZ and the TFD VOR (Stanfield VOR)

The stack has good procedures but a lot of weekend warriors come blazing in not knowing those procedures or airport activity at all. Albuquerque Center doesn't even want to deal with the traffic over that VOR, they practically refuse. On an IFR flight plan they let you go at 7,000 feet over the FAF which is like 3,500 feet high (if I remember correctly) and just hope you know the stack procedures.

I mean, it's legal VFR out there so....

I'd say about half my instructing hours were spent in the stack at CGZ. Wasn't uncommon for about 4-5 of my buddies to be in the stack working at 2am. Mesquite call signs ;)
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The best is hearing the various transpac planes at 2am griping to one another about company politics and where they are trying to move onto. Sometimes can't get a word in edgewise, but that's ok, we'll eventually see one another :). Occasionally an Oxford or other GA bird will show up, and every now and again there's been a stack conflict that ends up in a frequency argument. :)
 
MikeD said:
The best is hearing the various transpac planes at 2am griping to one another about company politics and where they are trying to move onto. Sometimes can't get a word in edgewise, but that's ok, we'll eventually see one another :).
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I literally lol'd! I've been guilty of that plenty of times during the midnight hours. :oops:
 
tcco94 said:
I literally lol'd! I've been guilty of that plenty of times during the midnight hours. :oops:
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It's usually something about schedule or pay or inept management haha. I get all the good gouge from my helo on what's going on there lol!

Unless I'm shooting an approach or holding, I'm generally out of the way anyway, normally doing opposite-side (south) low patterns to the taxiway or the pad. Having time to kill on patrol when there's no calls, have to find something to do.

One night nearly a year ago or so, just as we were showing up inbound from the southwest from the Table Top mountain area, we pop up on CTAF to hear that someone on the ground near the approach end of RW 5 is lasing airplanes with a green laser. We recommended the planes depart the area and contacted our ground units with the location. We came in over TFD as if we were shooting an approach, and nearing that vehicle it began to lase. We dropped down low and lit them up with the night sun, blinding them as they tried to leave the area, just as ground units showed up and took them into custody.
 
MikeD said:
It's usually something about schedule or pay or inept management haha. I get all the good gouge from my helo on what's going on there lol!

Unless I'm shooting an approach or holding, I'm generally out of the way anyway, normally doing opposite-side (south) low patterns to the taxiway or the pad. Having time to kill on patrol when there's no calls, have to find something to do.

One night nearly a year ago or so, just as we were showing up inbound from the southwest from the Table Top mountain area, we pop up on CTAF to hear that someone on the ground near the approach end of RW 5 is lasing airplanes with a green laser. We recommended the planes depart the area and contacted our ground units with the location. We came in over TFD as if we were shooting an approach, and nearing that vehicle it began to lase. We dropped down low and lit them up with the night sun, blinding them as they tried to leave the area, just as ground units showed up and took them into custody.
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Not all heroes wear capes.
 
A80TRACON said:
Compound that with Iraqi Air pilots who will fight and argue on the frequency with controllers (even had one threaten one of my trainees on frequency that, "if he wasn't allowed to be number one in sequence (he was 60km behind the actual number one) he knew what tribe the controller belonged to and would have him taken care of".
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Wait, we can do that? Demand to be number 1?
 
Cptnchia said:
A80TRACON said:
Compound that with Iraqi Air pilots who will fight and argue on the frequency with controllers (even had one threaten one of my trainees on frequency that, "if he wasn't allowed to be number one in sequence (he was 60km behind the actual number one) he knew what tribe the controller belonged to and would have him taken care of".
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Wait, we can do that? Demand to be number 1?
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You can demand whatever you want, whether it happens or not...
 
I'd like to have a not so pleasant conversation with whoever came up with the LOA that routes all IFR traffic from Tucson to Phoenix over TFD. I fly VFR to the Phoenix area to avoid taking my life into my hands going through the stack in the TTx. At least I'm over it in the M2 but my reward is arriving to the IWA pattern. The CGZ practice approach traffic needs to be talking to Center for the sake of anyone unfortunate enough to have to regularly fly between Tucson and Phoenix. Or, maybe ATC could put an airway between TUS and PHX. Oh wait, it's called V16 and they won't use it. /rant
 
Meh, 5+ years flying in the Valley and TFD really isn’t the death trap people make it out to be. Though admittedly it runs a lot smoother when students are kept off the radio. Never had any issues crossing it IFR at/above 8000ft as the stack rarerly goes over 6500’. I’d be more worried about traffic below the bravo between Sackaton and the green fields, seems that’s where most of my mid-airs try to happen. Usually traffic transiting to/from CGZ and the stack not-so-oddly enough.

As for V16, go speak with the guys at Eloy as I would bet that they have something to do with the reason V16 is so rarely used during VMC weather.
 
skatergeek said:
In the 2004-2010 time frame CGZ. One of the only airports in the valley with an ILS and about 7-8 big flight schools. Not uncommon to be in the stack at TFD at 8000 lol
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"Stanfield traffic, Cessna 12345, 10 to the north, request top of stack!"

yep, those were some hot holds, highest I ever got stuck was 9,000.then you go down 500 hundred feet at a time.
 
n156499000 said:
Meh, 5+ years flying in the Valley and TFD really isn’t the death trap people make it out to be. Though admittedly it runs a lot smoother when students are kept off the radio. Never had any issues crossing it IFR at/above 8000ft as the stack rarerly goes over 6500’. I’d be more worried about traffic below the bravo between Sackaton and the green fields, seems that’s where most of my mid-airs try to happen. Usually traffic transiting to/from CGZ and the stack not-so-oddly enough.

As for V16, go speak with the guys at Eloy as I would bet that they have something to do with the reason V16 is so rarely used during VMC weather.
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I’m sure it has gotten better, but before the economic collapse and flight training was insane at iwa, the stack would routinely be at 9-9500. No joke. Then you got people doing power off 180s in the pattern as well. Then just to the east you had the SE practice area which was on a different freq. Crazy times. Sure kept it interesting out there.
 
LNA can be busy, but it's pretty quiet when Trumps in town.

F45 is the only uncontrolled field in the region with an ILS, so it gets pretty sporty out there as well.
 
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