Great video of Seattle Final Approach

Don Desfosse · « **on:** January 10, 2015, 11:57:06 AM »

TRACON students could watch this and learn a lot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zvlzwMtjdQ

Bradley Grafelman · « **Reply #1 on:** January 10, 2015, 12:16:08 PM »

For example, they might learn that short, concise readbacks; prompt compliance with all instructions; and the absence of the calamity that is text-only pilots are things you'll have to join the FAA to experience.

Davor Kusec · « **Reply #2 on:** January 11, 2015, 09:07:35 PM »

An hour long? Can someone sum it up?

William Lewis · « **Reply #3 on:** January 12, 2015, 03:40:18 AM »

Quote from: Davor Kusec

An hour long? Can someone sum it up?

A controller separates traffic.

Justin Shannon · « **Reply #4 on:** January 12, 2015, 01:37:52 PM »

Quote from: Davor Kusec

An hour long? Can someone sum it up?

"4 miles from MAGNUM, cross MAGNUM 4,000 or above, cleared ILS 16C approach, 170kts to SODOE"

Bradley Grafelman · « **Reply #5 on:** January 12, 2015, 02:44:52 PM »

One fun snippet occurs between 35:41 - 35:50. In that span of a mere 9 seconds, the controller manages to spew forth the following without passing out:

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE [/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]Alaska 467 turn right heading 080; maintain visual separation from the heavy MD10 - he's for the left runway - caution wake turbulence; join the final at 3,200 or above; cleared visual approach runway 16C.[/quote]

EDIT: And of course there's this exchange at 58:04:

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE [/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]ASA543: Finally saw the 7-3 going to the left runway.
SEA_F_APP: ASA543, roger, maintain visual separation from that aircraft - he's for the left runway; cleared visual approach 16C.
ASA543: Cleared for the visual 16C, don't hit the other 7-3, ASA543.[/quote]

Don Desfosse · « **Reply #6 on:** January 12, 2015, 03:48:29 PM »

Quote from: Brad Grafelman

One fun snippet occurs between 35:41 - 35:50. In that span of a mere 9 seconds, the controller manages to spew forth the following without passing out:
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE [/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]Alaska 467 turn right heading 080; maintain visual separation from the heavy MD10 - he's for the left runway - caution wake turbulence; join the final at 3,200 or above; cleared visual approach runway 16C.

[/quote]
Reminds me of my old TRACON days....

"American 123 Heavy, Boston Approach, good evening, depart Providence heading 050, join the Runway 4R localizer, report established, after Providence descend and maintain 6,000, reaching 6,000 reduce speed to 210 knots or less, confirm you have Whiskey...."

(just kidding, I didn't throw the speed restriction in there)

Davor Kusec · « **Reply #7 on:** January 12, 2015, 07:24:53 PM »

We have Whiskey...... and also ATIS information Alpha on board.

Mike Willey · « **Reply #8 on:** January 13, 2015, 04:59:38 PM »

Excellent....

Camden Bruno · « **Reply #9 on:** January 13, 2015, 07:14:01 PM »

Awesome! Thank you for sharing, DO.

Dhruv Kalra · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2015, 02:10:46 PM »

Ah yes an oldie but a goodie. I circulated this around a few facilities' forums almost 4 years ago when I first discovered it. Here are my notes if anyone cares to take away anything specific:

Position Relief Briefing: Presumably, the TRACON has some sort of Transfer of Position Responsibility Checklist they run down, but even with that, note how concise the briefing is. The departing controller covers quickly the overall picture, noting that visual approaches aren't working very well. "170's losing about a mile" refers to the fact that he's assigning 170 knots to the FAF, and once aircraft are inside of it the final is compressing by about a mile per aircraft. He then quickly runs down the traffic, starting with the ones closest to the airport (the strips are presumably arranged in this logical order as well). Note that throughout all this, he's still issuing control instructions. After the briefing's complete, the relieving controller just starts firing away on frequency. No "all aircraft stand by, shift change in progress" or anything. Just a new voice.
Approach Clearances: many approach controllers on the network feel like they have to lock themselves into always issuing a full PTAC and always having to reference the final approach fix on the approach. In reality, at a busy major airport where 15-20 mile finals are the norm, you'll often find that step-down fixes on the applicable approaches are referenced far more than the FAF. Also, take note of the fact that the controller turns guys onto the localizer and then clears for the ILS in a separate transmission (e.g. "QXE9, turn left heading 190, join the 16C localizer" followed two or three transmissions later by "QXE9, 4 miles from MGNUM, cross MGNUM at 4,000 or above, cleared ILS rwy 16C approach, 170 knots till SODOE"). This is a fantastic technique when applied to the network for a number of reasons. It gives you time to ensure that aircraft actually intercept the localizer prior to clearing them for the approach, allows you to fire off a couple other critical instructions in the mean time, and then come back to give an abbreviated approach clearance that is often much easier for your average VATSIM IFR pilot to understand anyway. Also, by aiming aircraft for step-down fixes, you can ensure altitude separation between subsequent arrivals; just one more saving grace in case you lose lateral separation at any point!
Timing the Turn to Base: If you notice, the base turn for most aircraft in this sequence, taking speed differences between jets/props into account, is consistently timed so that the aircraft turning from downwind to base is effectively pointed directly at the traffic to follow. The controller is accounting for the fact that speed reduction on base coupled with the movement of the plane ahead on final will give him the required spacing he needs. Also note the early wake turbulence advisories given when aircraft will be following a heavy/B757 on final. It's not just a good idea, it's technically required by the .65, so something to get into the habit of providing. By and large, this technique translates to the network well, with the caveat that you can probably allow a 2-3 second lead time for network latency and pilot reaction time.
"Bailout" Tools: Watch this for long enough (and there's plenty to watch), you start to really appreciate some of the aces in the hole that can mean the difference between effective traffic flow and disaster on final. For example, a quick vector across the localizer for spacing is often a far more welcome alternative than a breakout for sequencing if you miss spacing right off the bat. Furthermore, never be afraid to solicit visual separation - notice that the controller in the video is calling traffic whenever possible to aircraft. A visual approach effectively negates all separation rules and can really come in handy when you need to run planes tight together. Just make sure legal separation exists before you call traffic and establish visual sep!