FLYER Club Member (reader)
Mon Mar 17, 2014 6:31 pm
#1263030
I was going to post this anonymously, but then your mates start asking "Was that you posting?" so decided to fess up and go public.
I won't name the place in this post though but those that know me on FB will have a good idea where it was.
So, I set off to an A/G airfield having phoned for PPR and taken a look at the Pooleys plate. When I called I was told it was Runway XX R/H by a chap (who said he wasn't the FISO but manning the office at the time). So I wrote that on my kneepad and from then on I had it in my head that the circuit was r/h on the runway in question and thought the approach through with that in mind (see later for why I made my mistake).
So on initial call up I was told the QFE and "runway in use XX" - I am convinced he never said the circuit direction then or at any other time to the other a/c in the circuit when I listened in extra carefully afterwards. So I joined on what I thought was the downwind leg and listening to the traffic couldn't work out why I couldn't see the guy who was in the circuit too. OK it's a/g, see and avoid, keep a good look out, etc and don't expect to get the full ATC service. He called Final as I joined base and at that point I saw him and did a dog leg to let him land. Told everyone I was extending then landed behind him. At the time I put it down to just one of those things at a radio only field. We hadn't come anywhere near an airprox. When I got back in the aircraft after that and got my airfield information again I was told "Runway in use XX" and I said "That's right hand?" and was then told "No, left hand."
The penny dropped. The circuit in use for helicopters only is right hand and all other traffic left hand. As the helicopter bit comes first in Pooleys I had skimmed through the rest of it and was seeing what I had expected to see from the guy who originally answered the phone.
But as I said I listened a lot to the FISO afterwards and I am convinced he never said the circuit direction to others, perhaps because he assumed we all knew?
Feel free to flame me (but not too much) as I think I still flew responsibly after the error and no puppies were harmed. However I will make sure to read the airfield info more thoroughly from now on and share this as an example where one could get caught out.
I won't name the place in this post though but those that know me on FB will have a good idea where it was.
So, I set off to an A/G airfield having phoned for PPR and taken a look at the Pooleys plate. When I called I was told it was Runway XX R/H by a chap (who said he wasn't the FISO but manning the office at the time). So I wrote that on my kneepad and from then on I had it in my head that the circuit was r/h on the runway in question and thought the approach through with that in mind (see later for why I made my mistake).
So on initial call up I was told the QFE and "runway in use XX" - I am convinced he never said the circuit direction then or at any other time to the other a/c in the circuit when I listened in extra carefully afterwards. So I joined on what I thought was the downwind leg and listening to the traffic couldn't work out why I couldn't see the guy who was in the circuit too. OK it's a/g, see and avoid, keep a good look out, etc and don't expect to get the full ATC service. He called Final as I joined base and at that point I saw him and did a dog leg to let him land. Told everyone I was extending then landed behind him. At the time I put it down to just one of those things at a radio only field. We hadn't come anywhere near an airprox. When I got back in the aircraft after that and got my airfield information again I was told "Runway in use XX" and I said "That's right hand?" and was then told "No, left hand."
The penny dropped. The circuit in use for helicopters only is right hand and all other traffic left hand. As the helicopter bit comes first in Pooleys I had skimmed through the rest of it and was seeing what I had expected to see from the guy who originally answered the phone.
But as I said I listened a lot to the FISO afterwards and I am convinced he never said the circuit direction to others, perhaps because he assumed we all knew?
Feel free to flame me (but not too much) as I think I still flew responsibly after the error and no puppies were harmed. However I will make sure to read the airfield info more thoroughly from now on and share this as an example where one could get caught out.
). I think this section of the forum is good for that.
