Christopher Nadel

With the filing of official complaints to the FAA, AOPA rolled out the next phase of its ongoing effort to tackle egregious fees charged by certain fixed-base operations around the country. The move comes after months of effort identifying the worst offenders and attempting to work with local airport sponsors receptive to ensuring their communities offer pilots reasonable access to their airfields, often described as the local on and off ramps to the National Airspace System. Read more here.

Have you experienced any egregious FBO pricing practices? 

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With the filing of official complaints to the FAA, AOPA rolled out the next phase of its  ongoing effort to tackle egregious fees  charged by certain fixed-base operations around the country. The move comes after months of effort identifying the worst offenders and attempting to  work with local airport sponsors  receptive to ensuring their communities offer pilots reasonable access to their airfields, often described as the local on and off ramps to the National ... more

I am a relatively new pilot with just over 80 hours flying. My comfort level is very conservative,meaning that I have set very high comfort levels for my flying, like wind speed, cross winds, airspace, etc.  

With regards to air space, I currently am not fully comfortable planning flights through an MOA and Class B, so I avoid them. Yes it causes my flights to sometimes be a little longer than if I went directly through them...but my comfort level is just not there yet. 

On on a recent cross country from Brackett (KPOC) to Montegomery Field (KMYF) I requested VFR flight following. The route I planned to fly took me outside the large Class B that is San Diego (KSAN), which includes Miramar NAS. 

Other than the ceiling being a bit lower than I had planned to fly, the flight went well. As I was approaching the first shelf of Class B, I began to navigate around it. 

Shortly after I began to head away, SOCAL Approach called me and advised that I was cleared direct to my destination.  And followed up with, unless you are flying around Class B. I advised that I was flying around. She advised that I can continue to fly my own navigation. 

This also happened on my return out of Montegomery Field, but in that communication SOCAL Approach said I could proceed direct and was cleared through the Bravo. I still requested to go around and was told to follow my own navigation. 

My my question is, when the first controller told me I was cleared direct to my destination through the Class B, is that the same as being cleared into Class B?  I didn’t hear the “magic words”. 

Its this splitting of hairs in communications that still makes me uncomfortable with entering Class B. Last thing I want to do is bust airspace. Yes, I know I can ask to confirm, but since I did not plan to fly into the Class B, I just told her, I’d go around and stay on the flight plan I had originally set up for this flight. 

Does the term “cleared direct” allow for flight through different airspaces that require communications?  

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I am a relatively new pilot with just over 80 hours flying. My comfort level is very conservative,meaning that I have set very high comfort levels for my flying, like wind speed, cross winds, airspace, etc.  

With regards to air space, I currently am not fully comfortable planning flights through an MOA and Class B, so I avoid them. Yes it causes my flights to sometimes be a little longer than if I went directly through them...but my comfort level is just not there yet. 

On on a ... more