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Good place to listen in on IFR clearances?

Awkward Bird

Awkward Bird

Long-Distance Cross Country
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Messages
1,053
Location
San Jose, CA
Hi All...

Question for you. LiveATC has some clearance delivery frequencies available. Are there any you would suggest as good places to listen in on initial IFR clearances? Seems like the Class Bravo airports have most of the clearance delivery handled electronically instead of over the comm. If not on LiveATC some other source that has some archived maybe?

I'd like to practice listening to and copying clearances using some real life examples.

Thanks!
 
Don Tedrow" said:
Beyond listening to Clearance Delivery at San Jose, I'm not sure what I could recommend as a source. I assume you have access to a portable air band radio?
Click to expand...


I do have a handheld radio... but I don't know of a good spot to hang out and listen to clearance delivery at SJC... I assume security would be a little perturbed to spot a person with a radio furiously copying flight information sitting in the terminal or parked on the side of the road
11 and RHV doesn't have much IFR traffic with the exception of bad weather days. I will ask around though, you never know. Thanks!
 
Sorry AB- I live very close to the approach path for SJC but standing in my backyard, I couldn't hear Approach. I did pick up RHV and its ATIS though, much to my surprise (it's farther away, I thought).

You are welcome to stand in my backyard and try it yourself, especially if your handheld has more "oomph" than my little ICOM one.
 
I have *no* idea about how SJC is set up, and it may well be completely different, but at AUS, our Tower frequency antennas were on top of the tower itself, so we could reach the far corners behind hangars and such. But the Approach/Departure control antennas were located on the ground elsewhere, since airborne aircraft were not blocked. In any case, it's worth a try.

Imagine, two ladys on the rear balcony, a receiver, a bottle of wine, and a stack of SWA napkins to write the clearances on, just like a real airline pilot.....

>
 
It's all about the antennae! The little rubber ducky antennas are just not that good. Something like this might help if you want to listen while sitting in the car (and it's a temporary magnetic mount, just stick to your roof when listening and remove when done).

http://www.scannermaster.com/WSM_225_Airband_Magnetic_Whip_Mobile_Antenna_p/28-541170.htm

But first, you can just try some of the business around SJC, such as off Coleman (I think there's a Starbucks at Coleman/Brokaw)... worth a try.

Susie, were you trying approach, or the Clearance Delivery freq 118.0? Can you get either SJC ground or ATIS from your place or nada?
 
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I was trying them all... Clearance delivery, the tower, ground, approach, you name it. I could faintly get approach (or was it tower, I forget). It surprised me that I could get KRHV, 4 miles away, both tower and ATIS (didn't try ground). I could hear the planes more often than ATC, often hearing half the conversation.

I could be like some of my antenna-loving neighbors and mount something on my roof, but I think it's easier to just drive to the airport
>
 
When in flt school USAF I had a friend who generated a formatted sheet to help him. I think the USAF controllers practiced how fast they could go to make the students work harder.

The form had something like.

ATC clears..............TO............ Flt Pln route............ Squawk............ contact dept control............... climb maintain...............

This form was big enough so any deviations could be penciled in the margin. Also note not haveing to write ATC clears... To etc speeds up the writing so you can focus on listening to the key points.

I already know how the clearance will read so I annotate

Cl 2 KASD FPR Sq Dept freq. (up arrow for climb) Up arrow with bar across top is climb to altitude expect higher.

These things will help you speed up your clearance.

What slows me down is dropping my pen / or flying IMC no auto pilot in a climbing turn and having to get a new not planned route from ATC.

Yesterday I drilled a small chamfered hole in my knee board for a string, that now attaches to my pen and is superglued to prevent the know from comming apart. This way if I drop my pen I can retrieve it without doing head whip shakes IMC.
 
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There's the old CRAFT acronym:

Cleared to
Route
Altitude
Frequency/Departure Control
Transponder Code

I made myself a cheat-sheet for flying IFR in my local area, including the initial call to each facility (Clearance Delivery, Ground Control, Tower, Departure Control and then Approach Control, Tower and Ground Control. I can fold it so that it fits on a knee board. I also included the frequencies that were relevant to the various airports near me. I don't really need them now that I have WingX Pro, but I still have the room on each sheet.

The file is in MS Word format but I could turn it into a pdf. I'd post it, but I don't know how to attach a file. PM me if you're interested. I found it very useful during my IFR learning experience.
 
Thanks for the excellent suggestions and examples all!

CF, let me know if you ever do get SJC's clearance delivery from your back yard.. I'll bring the bottle of wine!
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One little check that I have employed is after I have filed and my flight plan has been accepted I will go check what the route is on flightaware. I have noticed that sometimes your route may be changed upon acceptance. It's handy to copy this amended route down so you have it for reference. Obviously it is NOT what you should fly if you are cleared 'As Filed' but there is a good chance it is what clearance delivery/flight service is going to give you initially.

It's also a good double check that you plan is really in the system.
 
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