Taxi in Position and Hold?

SteveC said:
There was a charity event going on at our field for Wings of Mercy. One of our aircraft owners donated time on their jet, so we were giving short rides in the jet for people that donated money to Wings. There were also numerous single engine prop planes, as well as some acrobatic aircraft giving flights at the same time. There were other aircraft flying in for the pancake breakfast, as well as other odds and ends coming in for static displays. Very busy day.

Before everything began one of the tower controllers came down and held a briefing for all the pilots that were going to be participating. We reviewed special procedures, routes, and other details. After the briefing I chatted with the controller for a bit, and he mentioned (as he had done in the briefing) that the controllers on duty that day had all worked this event in the past and they had all juggled there schedule specifically to be there. They enjoyed the additional traffic, appreciated the charity, and had a good relationship with the pilots. Kind of like the guys that volunteer for Oshkosh every year, just a much smaller scale. He also mentioned that they had a new supervisor, and that this person wasn't yet up to speed on some of these kind of events, and was a little bit of a "nervous nellie" about the amount of traffic and the unusual flight patterns that were being handled.

Needless to say, while half of me was P.O.'ed as all get-out about being put into that position, the other half of me felt really bad for a controller that had just screwed up big time, with (I am sure) a nervous supervisor looking over his shoulder, and was going out of his way to help with a worthwhile cause. I know, without asking, that he is paying the price for his mistake. He doesn't need, nor deserve, to have me pile on by reporting the incident. I know, just from his tone of voice in his transmissions, that he was kicking himself harder than I could.

No, I didn't report the incident. Because of the circumstances I saw no need to do so.

I still feel 50% angry and 50% sad. Somebody that was trying to do something good screwed up. By the grace of God nobody was hurt, but I could see the potential for the repercussions to hurt this event in the future, depending on how the supervisor handles the situation. Sucks all the way around.
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I understand it's somewhat of a unique situation so your discretion was definitely warranted. Showing the guy some grace is totally cool and we could all practice this more often. Part of me says that if YOU had made the mistake, in any other situation, you most certainly would've been violated, but who's to say we should always act with the same "letter of the law" mentality that most ATC facilities exercise. Discretion is a great and necessary ability and it seems by your overall description of the scenario, it was used graciously and effectively. But DANG! What a crumby situation huh Steve?:)
 
I always liked TIPAH and was sad they got rid of it. However, now that it's been gone for a while I see that even a busy GA airport like PDK in atlanta can operate without it. And is safer no doubt as well.

It still is needed at some very busy airports, but the irony is that those are the places where an incursion would more likely occur in the first place.
 
jackal278 said:
I always liked TIPAH and was sad they got rid of it. However, now that it's been gone for a while I see that even a busy GA airport like PDK in atlanta can operate without it. And is safer no doubt as well.

It still is needed at some very busy airports, but the irony is that those are the places where an incursion would more likely occur in the first place.
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i got TIPAH today :D
 
Hmm...interesting...they still use it frequently at the Grand Forks (GFK) airport. I wonder if they have some waiver of some sort....??
 
I fly out of a really busy airport with just a single runway. When TIPH went away sometime last year, I tried to go flying on a beautiful Saturday afternoon on a day when the EAA Young Eagle's program was going on. I sat number two in line for takeoff for about 10 minutes, then another 5-10 minutes number one for takeoff. The pattern was too full and the controllers didn't extend downwinds because they would have to do it for the next 20-30 aircraft.

Without TIPH, I sat for close to 20 minutes waiting to takeoff. Now that TIPH is back, I get it quite often and I am so glad it is back. I don't think I have ever had more than a one minute wait (except when I am IFR)!

If you do not like TIPH, deny the clearence. Personally, I will take it everytime. I think any busy airport with a lack of runways needs TIPH. Or we can just add to the already congested and delay prone skies.
 
H46Bubba said:
Here at CVG they only do TIPAH on RWY 27 because there's no landing traffic till 2200, when that becomes the main rwy due to noise abaitment.
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Bubba, I've been flying for this airline for about a year now and always wondered why no one ever lands on RWY 27 in CVG. I've asked numerous pilots and no one ever seemed to know. The winds sometimes are at X-wind limitations and they are landing on the 36's and 18's constantly. Thank you for clearing up one of my Hmmmmm thoughts in aviation.
 
It has always made me a bit nervous whenever TIPAH lasts more than a few seconds (up to a minute or so) unless the pattern is COMPLETELY dead. At night or in marginal weather, I'll start bugging tower pretty quick. Only reason they should do that is:

1) Airplane not yet off runway (and unless he's slower than Christmas, by the time you're on, he should be off), or
2) Awaiting release/crossing traffic (again, a matter of seconds, not minutes).
 
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