Random questions.

RTH and I were watching TV last night. Actually RTH was watching TV, I was half watching the TV but was paying more attention to 2 Cessnas in the circuit doing touch and goes.

They first got my attention because I spotted one on short final with another one behind, also on final. “Ooh that’s not going to work,” I commented out loud. RTH briefly glanced over my way, realised where my attention was and promptly ignored me.

I watched as indeed the plane behind was made to overshoot, the old "overshoot and make a right turn" manoeuvre that I’m all too familiar with. Usually this happens because the Cessna in front is a 150/152 and the one behind is a 172. The faster plane inevitably catches up with the slower. ATC then get you to overshoot and turn in front of the slower plane to resequence you.  This situation is inevitably complicated by the commercial traffic they try and slot in.

I watched the planes in the circuit for a while, either they got bored with playing catch up or the winds shifted but one of them ended up doing circuits on 06.  This got me thinking; I’ve landed on 06 before but never done circuits on it.

“What taxi instructions would I get for doing circuits on 06?” I asked. RTH now looked mildly irritated at this point; I forget that he hasn’t been watching the same thing I have! As far as he’s concerned we’ve both been watching the same program for an hour or so. He forgets how easily I get distracted by shiny things!

Turns out he’s never done circuits on 06 either, so didn’t have much in the way of useful advice. Of course this is now bugging me. My track record of navigating the taxiways is not exactly 100% and it’s be just my luck to get some obscure clearance when I’m soloing and its kind of embarrassing to have to ask for progressive taxi instructions at your home airport!

Never fear, Google to the rescue, I pulled up the Google maps image for CYTZ and took a look at the airport layout*

I reckon in the unlikely event of doing circuits on 06 I could expect the following instructions

·         Taxi via Bravo

·         Enter runway 15 (I may have to hold short at this point)

·         Cross runway 08 (again may have to hold short)

·         Line up 06

At least now I’m reassured that I won’t get lost on my way to 06! That’ll do me until the next random question flits into my head.

 

* I know I could use the airport diagrams in the CFS but for some reason I need to see a picture rather than a schematic, my mind struggles to match the diagram with the actual visual. It is one of the reasons I’m so bad at map reading.