I recently was flying the pattern on the expert server when ATC and I had a conflict in terms of position reports. When an airport is not busy and you are flying in the traffic pattern, it is HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you report your position when on downwind. Base and final calls are more of an unnecessary report, but can still be helpful in terms of situational awareness for the controller. I was told by the controller not to make these calls, as apparently having clearance to land made these calls unnecessary. I would just like to put it out there that there is nothing wrong with calling out your position, as it is only to help the pilot, and the controller. The ONLY time Iâd be able to see that making position reports would be unnecessary is if the airport is extremely busy. Just remember, position reports are not mandatory, but are helpful in allowing for separation of traffic. Never is it inappropriate to make a position report (even if cleared to land, touch and go, etc.), except if the airport is busy. I donât know, maybe Iâm wrong, but as I see it, I shouldnât risk getting a violation for doing the right thing.
I donât know about IRL, but in IF, if youâre cleared, there is no need to report your position.
Hello and welcome to the community. When doing patterns with ATC in infinite flight, you actually donât need to call our positions unless the controller may have forgotten your clearance. Another good time is when you are reporting full stop. We can see you in our radars so we know your position.
Thanks for the info, IRL itâs a good idea to at least call downwind even if youâre cleared to land, I was just a little annoyed that the controller (who had maybe one other plane inbound, so I wasnât clogging the freq.) was giving me a problem about calling my position. I guess Iâll just leave it up to the controllers to see me next time. :)
Out of curiosity. Was this today? Because had a pilot do this today.
@ThomasThePro
Yes, it was today, and yes you were the controller. No worries, now I know for next time.
If you want PM to talk about today :)
Well, welcome @Bmoney326, so, firstly a question, did you call inbound first? If so, sometimes reporting position is not the best thing and(as a IF pilot not an ATC controller) the controllers donât like them very much specially in busy frequencies. If you didnât, call inbound first, there is no reason for them to tell you that, but make sure you call inbound just after. An other factor to take into account is the own controller, in my flights, some when I report position after inbound, they just tell me Roger, and others tell me the same thing as you.
As someone mentioned before, in IF, reporting positions are mainly when you feel that the controller forgave you and you will pass the point, either to turn final or base etc⌠but still, most of the times they donât.đ
In your case of the âemptyâ airport, really reporting position mighttttt have been not EXTREMELY necessary, even though, you can always do it.
I hope this helped but any more help, just ask!
As I have been told, âThere are no stupid questions, but fools that donât ask!â ( It isnât in english so my traduction might not be the best hahaha) đ
Yes, I was in the pattern at the airport I departed from, so I was in contact the whole time. I agree, my calls werenât necessary, but since the airport wasnât busy, and I figured it wasnât a problem, I did it anyway. Thanks for the help, and that is a good quote!
Good question. I hope you got some clarity and continue having great experiences in IF and IFC.
Even in real life reports arenât necessary unless the controller asks for them as in closed traffic (US). The controller is there for separation and usually will know youâre there. Unless an extenuating circumstance exists, reporting your position just clogs up the frequency.
I guess the bottom line is that if you report your position while cleared to land youâre always going to get that message from the controller, unless itâs super busy where you might just be ignored.
Hello @Mikael_Abud, very interesting post. Reading you I will make you the next question:
Would you recommend reporting to ATC a final position on rwy XX after the clearance to land in this rwy?
Regards.
Pelayo.
If you do this on IF expert server, the controller will issue you an âalready cleared to land, avoid unnecessary reportsâ command. No need to report position after being cleared. Simple as that.
Thanks! Very appreciated your answer!
Pelayo.
Yes @PelayoVA , specially Final, it is often answered with the avoid unnecessary reports. @Chitown Thx for answering đ
Hi, as far as Iâm concerned reported position should only be done when:
- Controller may forgot about you
- You were remaining in the pattern but now want to just land. It isnât illegal to do so without reporting full stop, as âcleared for the optionâ includes full stop, but it is certainly nice to do so. Also if controller didnât already clear you for the option, you can request landing clearance or stick with this one.
Donât do that when:
- Youâre on final and youâre already cleared to land. If atc have a special command for that, you know itâs a big no-no
- Announcing each part of your journey around the downwind. We have a beautiful radar for looking after you on your adventure.
Not sure I said to atc once that Iâm on final and I was told â your already cleared to land, avoid unnecessary reportsâ but it doesnât make sense because what if the controller forgot and I said nothing yah well then itâs my fault for not saying anything!
If you werenât cleared to land, we would clear you at that point. We can see with green tags if you were cleared or not.