Civilian Airfield Operations

JOINT ADVANCED MULTI-ENGINE T-44A

H. Civilian Airfield Operations.

The same preflight planning must be accomplished at civilian fields as at military fields. Most FBOs will

have a pilot lounge or flight planning room with limited resources; you will have to plan ahead and ensure

you already have all the required pubs, etc. Most of the time you will receive your weather and NOTAMs,

and file your flight plan, with one phone call to flight service at 1-800-WX-BRIEF. Ask about local noise

abatement procedures. Be sure the linemen are familiar with T-44 servicing procedures (fill the nacelle

tanks before the wing tanks and ensure the rudder lock is removed if the aircraft needs to be towed). Keep

in mind the re-fueling procedure for the TC-12 (outer wing tanks are filled prior to the inboard aux tanks) is

the reverse of ours. A lineman may not be available at civil fields for engine start. If no lineman is posted,

call "clear right/left" loudly out the applicable window prior to starting each engine.

NOTE: Enroute, most pilots find it useful to use VHF frequencies. The majority of traffic utilizes VHF and fewer

"blocked" transmissions will result since you will hear other aircraft calls. When operating at a civilian field, it is

preferable to transmit on VHF so other civilian traffic will hear your transmissions. At military fields, it is

preferable to transmit on UHF so military aircraft without VHF capability will hear your transmissions. Monitor

UHF Guard at all times.

Departure Message.

Military aircraft have two distinct methods of flight following on IFR flights not directly related to each

other. Flight following is primarily provided by ATC as you will be in continuous radio contact. Flight

following is also provided by the military destination Base Operations dispatcher, who will initiate a search

if pre-announced aircraft do not arrive.

How it works. Per GP, flight plans (DD175) filed with a military Base Operations are passed to Federal

Aviation Administration Flight Service (FSS) immediately after departure from tower-controlled military

fields. Flight service then notifies the destination base of each aircraft's ETA. The base, if necessary, can

take action to divert aircraft to an alternate, or initiate advisory action on NOTAMs, weather, or other

hazards. If your destination is a military base, this message goes to Base Operations at your destination

airfield thus pre-announcing your arrival and providing for flight following by the destination dispatcher.

If your destination is a civilian field, the message goes to that airfield's servicing FSS and remains with

them.

"How does this affect me?" When departing civilian fields, per GP, chapter 5, the pilot must ensure the

actual departure time is passed to the FSS serving that departure field. Utilize the second radio to

accomplish this when cockpit duties allow. After initial contact is established, a typical call might be

"Albuquerque Radio, Navy 1G411, IFR off Santa Fe Muni at 2215 Zulu, enroute Hill AFB, request

departure message be sent." This ensures a departure message is sent and you will not arrive unannounced

at your next destination. This is especially important when arriving at military fields (even when returning

to home station e.g. returning to Navy Corpus after an out/in or cross-country flight). Because our

mission in the training command allows more common use of civilian fields, we must pay special attention

to this requirement. It is Base Ops job to monitor and track the arrival of incoming aircraft and to provide

flight following; because of disregard to this rule in the past, many aircraft have arrived each week

"unannounced".

Student Tendencies.

Not including the alternate destination on the DD175-1 weather brief

Not bringing the DD175-1 weather to the flight brief

Not checking the valid times on the weather brief

Not checking local NOTAMS for civilian destinations

Not ensuring that the flight plan is closed out (when applicable)

4-12

RADIO INSTRUMENTS STAGE