When to contact tower?

T

turbojet28

Well-Known Member
Hello,

Just wondering (since I've never really had to wait in line for takeoff at a towered airport), if you are VFR and have contacted ground for taxi and they say "contact tower on 135.65 when ready to go", you do your run-up, and by that time there is a line for takeoff. First of all, is it up to the pilots to coordinate who is where in line, or will ground coordinate it, and also, since you are now ready to go, should you contact tower, or wait until you are number one in line (up at the hold short line)? (Hope that made sense /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) Thanks!
 
Just get in line behind everyone else and let tower know that you're "in sequence." No need to wait until you're #1 to go.
 
On the ground pick up your clearance through Cl. Delivery (if IFR) or call up ground on 121.??

After you do that, and you've done your run-up and are ready to go, just tell them N777A is ready for takeoff. Usually if you specify that you are ready for takeoff, they will tell you you're cleared for takeoff and contact tower on 118.??. Hope this helps, when in doubt don't be afraid to sound like you don't know what you're doing and say, "___ Ground, N777A is ready for departure, would you like me over to tower now?"
 
It amazes me when pilots feel that they need to be number one before they tell tower that they're ready. A good friend of mine was under the impression that they don't like it when you tell them you're ready if there's someone in front of you....Ummm, NO!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
You're supposed to contact tower when you're ready to depart. On departure, you do all of the frequency changes up to the runway. When landing, they'll tell you what to do.

Get your clearance, contact ground to move, contact tower to leave. Then they'll tell you to contact departure.

See AIM 4-3-14(a)

-also many controlled airports like VFR traffic to contact clearance delivery as well. Some will let you just contact ground. It all depends.
 
I think it depends on the airport you are at.

Here at DVT you don't call until you are #1 at the hold line.
 
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I think it depends on the airport you are at.

Here at DVT you don't call until you are #1 at the hold line.

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But many times, you may not in the #1 position at C-13, because the person there is dicking around, while you're ready to go. I still say call when ready.
 
Ditto, call when ready to go. Whatever you do, don't taxi up to the hold short line and dink around. If you're at the hold short line, you had better be ready to go. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
 
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I think it depends on the airport you are at.

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Yep. At ORL contact tower right after your run up, and you'll get yelled at. They want you to tell GROUND when your run up is complete, and ground will hand you over to tower. At FPR they want you to call when your #1, and I think it's like that at VRB. Most airports will just tell you what sequence you're in. Some it's pretty obvious. In Charlotte, SC I was behind a C-17 and an RJ on a straight taxiiway. It was kinda obvious I was #3. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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Yep. At ORL contact tower right after your run up, and you'll get yelled at. They want you to tell GROUND when your run up is complete, and ground will hand you over to tower.

[/ QUOTE ]I'm pretty sure that there are only two airports that use this procedure - ORL where you fly and APA where I fly. And I think that the controllers at each think they're the only ones that use it. During my ORL checkout in May, my CFI was about to make sure I didn't switch when I told him we had the same procedure.

But the point is that in both cases, the ATIS tells you that a special procedure is in effect.

Unless there is a special procedure that is mentioned in the ATIS or A/FD, SOP at most towered airports is to contact Tower when ready to go. Tower's primary job is to control who is on the runway and when, so Tower should sequence the takeoffs, not the pilots. If there are 18 airplanes in the hold short area, call anyway or you could be sitting there for a long, long, long time wondering why people who are behind you are leaving before you.
 
Alot of the larger airports we go to in the RJ the tower calls us. Thats pretty much the norm, they see us approaching, or when weve been sitting in line for a day and a half, they know we are ready.

In DFW last week the tower gave a long string of "what the sequence is"...We were next to last in that, so I asked what was the total...22. Niiice.
 
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Alot of the larger airports we go to in the RJ the tower calls us. Thats pretty much the norm, they see us approaching, or when weve been sitting in line for a day and a half, they know we are ready.

[/ QUOTE ]I've heard that when listening in on United flights and experienced it myself, even in a little Cessna, those times I've flown out of DEN. A simple "monitor Tower" from Ground while taxiing along and a wait until they call you.
 
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Alot of the larger airports we go to in the RJ the tower calls us. Thats pretty much the norm, they see us approaching, or when weve been sitting in line

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Yeah - when I was flying freight out of CVG during the DHL departure "push" we would just get in line, switch to tower and monitor it. Tower knew who was in sequence and they would call you with position/hold instructions (or whatever) when you got close to the line. But a "push" situation is the only one where I ever did that...
 
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In DFW last week the tower gave a long string of "what the sequence is"...We were next to last in that, so I asked what was the total...22. Niiice.

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And then you have places like Erie, PA where I've gotten my IFR clearance, taxi clearance, and takeoff clearance, all in one transmission from the departure controller. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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And then you have places like Erie, PA where I've gotten my IFR clearance, taxi clearance, and takeoff clearance, all in one transmission from the departure controller. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

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Or you get "cleared for the XXX approach, cleared to land, parking with me, and I have your departure clearance when ready to copy". Gotta love those late night box hauling flights.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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And then you have places like Erie, PA where I've gotten my IFR clearance, taxi clearance, and takeoff clearance, all in one transmission from the departure controller. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

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Or you get "cleared for the XXX approach, cleared to land, parking with me, and I have your departure clearance when ready to copy". Gotta love those late night box hauling flights.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Hey...you don't have to be a freight guy to hear that....half of my flying is probably between 2200 and 0400!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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Yep. At ORL contact tower right after your run up, and you'll get yelled at. They want you to tell GROUND when your run up is complete, and ground will hand you over to tower.

[/ QUOTE ]I'm pretty sure that there are only two airports that use this procedure - ORL where you fly and APA where I fly. And I think that the controllers at each think they're the only ones that use it.

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I've been to a number of towered airports where each of the common proceedures corolates with one another. Contact ground to taxi and run-up. Call run up complete. Ground hands you to tower with the phraseology, "contact tower when #1 at the line."
The other scenerio is calling ground to taxi and doing your run up during taxi & getting straight in line. I've always come across the phraseology, "monitor tower & contact when #1," for this scenerio.
 
Geez how complex can you make it???? I hope no student pilots are reading this thread.

My rule of thumb - if you are at the intersection, ready to depart and have not been handed over to tower, just go over to tower.
 
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Geez how complex can you make it???? I hope no student pilots are reading this thread.

My rule of thumb - if you are at the intersection, ready to depart and have not been handed over to tower, just go over to tower.

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If your departure ARTCC did not hand you over to Center, would you just switch frequencies without a handoff? I'd ask them if it was okay to switch frequencies. I'd use that same procedure to prevent any confusion.

It's not that complex.

-moxie
 
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