Practice Approaches: Technique

When to Make Your Request 

Controllers seem divided over whether they want only your call sign and altitude on initial check-in or your full request if you already know what you want. They do agree that when you check in with the final controller, they need to know your complete plan. Ideally, provide everything in one concise transmission. 

I once heard a controller describe himself as a dentist who had to pull teeth from the general aviation community on Saturday afternoons. His example was an aircraft that checked in asking for a practice approach. The controller then had to ask whether the approach was to be a full stop. The pilot replied, “No, we’d like to fly the missed.” The controller then had to ask what the pilot wanted to do after the missed approach. You get the idea. Don’t make your controller play dentist. 

The only other surefire way to receive lengthy vectors for a practice approach—or to be put in the “penalty box”—is to miss radio calls during a high-workload period for the controller. 

When you hear a controller handling a busy frequency, anticipate that you may be the next aircraft called. If you are already expecting your call sign, you are less likely to miss the transmission. If you do miss a call, one controller described it as “stopping the train.” Controllers have a rhythm, with actions that need to occur in sequence, and a missed call delays the entire process.

Avoid making ATC pull teeth or stop the train and your practice approaches will have a better chance of fitting efficiently into sequence.