Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 03.21.06

A while back I often had the opportunity to fly new airplanes cross-town from Beech Field, on the east side of Wichita, Kansas, to Mid-Continent Airport about seven miles away on the west side. Both airports have control towers and, when the weather was IMC (instrument meteorological conditions), I often got a Tower Enroute Control clearance.

When it’s possible to complete an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight entirely within approach control airspace, you can get a Tower Enroute Control (TEC) instrument clearance. TEC, also known as “tower-to-tower,” is a shortcut to a full IFR clearance. Generally you’ll be handed form one ATC tower to another, or even a succession of towers, on these short, low-altitude hops.

In some high-density traffic areas, especially in the Northeast U.S. and the Los Angeles area, there are predefined TEC routes outlined in the Airport/Facility Directory. In these areas file an IFR flight plan specifying Tower Enroute Control in the Remarks section. Many TEC routes have identification codes that you should use in your route of flight filing.

TEC may have no defined routing or more elaborate, Standard Instrument Departure (SID)/Standard Arrival Procedures (STAR)-like charted procedures with anticipated altitudes and routes. Many times the word DIRECT appears, denoting an expectation to receive radar vectors. Published SIDs or STARs may be assigned, and there may be separate routes (and airspeed restrictions) for piston, turboprop and jet aircraft.

Aero-tip of the day: TEC provides greater flexibility both for you and for ATC, when your flight will remain in one Approach Control jurisdiction. Look for TEC routes, and file them when hopping between relatively nearby airports.

FMI: Aero-Tips