When it’s to avoid a “corridor” that’s entirely in class E and there isn’t a single plane actually there…yeah that’s gonna get a 1200 next time.It would not be for their convenience, it would be required. No one wants to give you vectors for fun.
When it’s to avoid a “corridor” that’s entirely in class E and there isn’t a single plane actually there…yeah that’s gonna get a 1200 next time.It would not be for their convenience, it would be required. No one wants to give you vectors for fun.
Really?No this is because the FAA has decided tracons have been doing radar identification wrong so tower doing it before switching is a (probably also wrong) work around in lieu of rolling calls
There are several ways to radar identify a target, and for departures, having the local controller coordinate with the departure controller to tell them who is next off the runway is the most efficient way to do that. At facilities that are not co-located, a blind broadcast on a shout line is the simplest way to accomplish this. At an up/down facility they use drop tubes to perform the same function. Some facilities have electronic means that take various forms. When I was at MHT there was a camera pointed at our departure strip bay and we were able to indicate who was rolling by adjusting the positioning of the strip.What is a "rolling call"?
There are several ways to radar identify a target, and for departures, having the local controller coordinate with the departure controller to tell them who is next off the runway is the most efficient way to do that. At facilities that are not co-located, a blind broadcast on a shout line is the simplest way to accomplish this. At an up/down facility they use drop tubes to perform the same function. Some facilities have electronic means that take various forms. When I was at MHT there was a camera pointed at our departure strip bay and we were able to indicate who was rolling by adjusting the positioning of the strip.
This was something that was necessary under old radar systems, but I believe since the advent of auto-acquiring radar targets it is obsolete. That is one of the FAAs many faults, the adopt new technology and implement new rules, but never remove the obsolete ones. Sometimes the rules just fall by the wayside, like the requirement to solicit PIREPS when the weather is forecast to be less than 5k and 5. In practice we only solicit pireps when our laser range finder tells us the weather is below that. Most people don't even know that the forecast language is in the book, but it definitely still is. Other times some ambitious manager or QA person realizes something that has been working fine for decades with no issue is not to the letter and crap like this happens.
That's a little more understandable, different towers have different needs. At MHT the tower owned no airspace except the traffic pattern, and approach was required to point out anyone transiting the departure corridor. Anyone leaving the pattern had to be on a code and coordinated. At the C where I learned to fly the tower owned the whole surface area up to the bottom of the outer shelf.Or how different nearby TRACONs have completely different procedures and LOAs for their same exact ops types, even things such as airspace allocation to the towers and what the towers are allowed to control airspace wise.
That's a little more understandable, different towers have different needs. At MHT the tower owned no airspace except the traffic pattern, and approach was required to point out anyone transiting the departure corridor. Anyone leaving the pattern had to be on a code and coordinated. At the C where I learned to fly the tower owned the whole surface area up to the bottom of the outer shelf.
Re: rolling call/radar identification, this is why some departure controllers ask you to ident. Identing on your own does nothing and is just an annoyance. If that procedure is used at your departing airport, the ident must be a response to the departure controller's request.