Short Final

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A student pilot on his first flight to a towered airport, operating without GPS in limited visibility, was tasked with finding a VFR reporting point.
  • Air Traffic Control (ATC) offered the student the choice between attempting to find the point independently or receiving a vector.
  • The student opted for a vector and successfully navigated to the reporting point with ATC's assistance, completing the approach smoothly.
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I am an instructor in Germany and was with a student flying to his first towered airport. The aircraft has no GPS installed and visibility was around 4-5 km in mist. We were given the entry into the control zone via VFR reporting point “November.”

Tower (in a kind, investigative voice): “D-HR you are a training flight?”

Student Pilot (a little diffident): “Ahem … yes?”

Tower: “Okay, do you want to try to find November on your own for a little while, or do you want a vector?”

My student looked at me briefly and since I did not protest he just said a heading would be very nice. He found the reporting point with a little help from ATC and the rest went like he never did anything else.


Malte Holtken

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