A Few Q's on Burbank Class C.

dpgtime

Well-Known Member
I fly out of Van Nuys as a student pilot and it is a Class D underlying a Class C...easy enough...however I get conflicting answers on who to contact for transition through the Class C. Some say "oohhhhjust contact Socal and some say Burbank..... The Federal Aviation Regulation Part 91 Section 130c states something to the effect that i must contact the ATC facility that has jurisdiction over the class C........well Burbank has the jurisdiction but doesn't Socal App. have it too....I mean if i depart to the west of Van Nuys the VNY tower tells me to contact Socal not Burbank...The other problem is i have yet to enter Burbank's Class C to the East...I assume thats when i contact Burbank because it is East of VNY...One more Q I have is if I already have Flight Following before entering into the Class C do i get handed off or am I already cleared to enter Class C since i have established 2 way Comms with Socal...I think what i have done is just confusing the hell out of myself for no good reason. blahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I fly out of Van Nuys as a student pilot and it is a Class D underlying a Class C...easy enough...however I get conflicting answers on who to contact for transition through the Class C. Some say "oohhhhjust contact Socal and some say Burbank..... The Federal Aviation Regulation Part 91 Section 130c states something to the effect that i must contact the ATC facility that has jurisdiction over the class C........well Burbank has the jurisdiction but doesn't Socal App. have it too....I mean if i depart to the west of Van Nuys the VNY tower tells me to contact Socal not Burbank...The other problem is i have yet to enter Burbank's Class C to the East...I assume thats when i contact Burbank because it is East of VNY...One more Q I have is if I already have Flight Following before entering into the Class C do i get handed off or am I already cleared to enter Class C since i have established 2 way Comms with Socal...I think what i have done is just confusing the hell out of myself for no good reason. blahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

What area are you transitioning? There might be something set up between the tower and tracon as to who owns what parts of the airspace and most likely the tower doesn't own anything outside of the surface area ring there. Probably don't own much in terms of altitude either. Without knowing their LOA's and all that...which you aren't expected to know, I'd just call approach.
 
Call the frequency printed on the sectional chart most appropriate to your arrival (134.2 from the West for example). If you are on flight following then you are cleared through the airspace, unless they tell you to "remain clear" of the Charlie or tell you "unable to hand off to xxx approach squak VFR" before you enter their airspace.
 
Generally, approach control owns the outer shelf of the Class C, with the tower owning the surface area.

Anywhere in Southern California, however, it's best just to give SoCal a holler; if they want you somewhere else, they'll switch you.
 
I own a class D and in my experience, so far: If you're handed off from flight following, or are terminated PRIOR to entering the class D, ensure you have re-coordinated (established 2-way comm) with the controlling agency of the new airspace you are about to enter (the class D tower).

If you have already entered the class D while ON flight following and are subsequently handed off to the tower, most likely, you have already been coordinated via the approach controller into that airspace.

Remember to advise the tower controller that you have the landing airport's ATIS. Approach control does not inform the tower that you have the landing ATIS unless you are on a published approach etc. which in that case the approach control facility ensures you have the ATIS prior to handoff to the tower.

If i'm not totally politically correct don't hesitate to correct me. We all learn from each other!

JC
 
If you want to make a left turn out of Van Nuys, ask tower for a frequency change and contact SoCal on 124.6

Don't turn to less than 110° or so at the flood basin; otherwise you'll be in the way of the Burbank runway 8 localizer.
 
OOOO snap! you mentioned the flood basin...now you are talking my language! ahaha. I think the best thing to do is call Socal and let my intentions be heard after departure...The Van Nuys tower will advise me who to call or what vectors to fly.
 
If Van Nuys tower tells you to call Socal, then call Socal. Don't try to be a hero and out think the controllers there, they know what they're doing.

Burbank might be a class C airport, but they don't have their own approach control facility. Socal handles a lot of stuff in that area, and by calling Burbank tower after you were instructed to contact Socal by Van Nuys tower you're just going to end up confusing people.

I used to be based out of Burbank and have flown in the area a decent amount, and I've been handed off to Van Nuys, Burbank or Socal by any number of different controllers. Go where they tell you, they know what's up.
 
Yes! I'll just do as they say. As you said, the guys in Van Nuys / Burbank know whats up!

Thanks!
 
You could also contact Van Nuys clearance delivery and request flight following to your destination and that you want to transition through Burbanks class c.
 
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