tower handoff while taxiing - too soon?!?

[Guest bobluley]

i had an old version of RC years ago, just now installed v4 and flying it for a few days now. most impressive! jd has already addressed my first question, i gather v5 will provide detailed taxi instructions, for now i'm just calling up the airport diagram from my jeppesen charts and navigating on my own.but i can't find any threads on my second question: why am i being handed off from ground to tower while i still have a lot of taxiing between me and the assigned departure runway? i thought ground was supposed to hang with you until you were holding short and only then hand off to tower. can someone help me here?thanks!

[norman s 15]

i had an old version of RC years ago, just now installed v4 and flying it for a few days now. most impressive! jd has already addressed my first question, i gather v5 will provide detailed taxi instructions, for now i'm just calling up the airport diagram from my jeppesen charts and navigating on my own.but i can't find any threads on my second question: why am i being handed off from ground to tower while i still have a lot of taxiing between me and the assigned departure runway? i thought ground was supposed to hang with you until you were holding short and only then hand off to tower. can someone help me here?thanks!

Hi,I think that the hand off question depends on the individual airport and the number of manned positions available at any one time.At EGCC during quiet periods ground and tower positions can be the same controller.In using RC in Europe in the main,I get handed off to Tower at varying distances before the threshhold.At some airports with 4000ft to go and at others within a 1000ft.Other users and the real life atc operators may be able to throw some more information your way.Norman BowmanPS Please sign your posts

[Guest bobluley]

Hi,I think that the hand off question depends on the individual airport and the number of manned positions available at any one time.At EGCC during quiet periods ground and tower positions can be the same controller.In using RC in Europe in the main,I get handed off to Tower at varying distances before the threshhold.At some airports with 4000ft to go and at others within a 1000ft.Other users and the real life atc operators may be able to throw some more information your way.Norman BowmanPS Please sign your posts

well, live and learn, i talked to a retired american super 80 pilot this morning, until recently his home base was DFW, and he confirmed that radar contact is correct in handing you off to tower once you are past the point of having to potentially get new ground clearance either to hold taxiing for other crossing traffic, or to cross a runway.norman, thanks for the quick feedback, you were correct. as to your request that i sign my posts, i'm signed in using my real name, not a handle, so there's no need to be redundant, i should think!

[jd 57]

well, live and learn, i talked to a retired american super 80 pilot this morning, until recently his home base was DFW, and he confirmed that radar contact is correct in handing you off to tower once you are past the point of having to potentially get new ground clearance either to hold taxiing for other crossing traffic, or to cross a runway.norman, thanks for the quick feedback, you were correct. as to your request that i sign my posts, i'm signed in using my real name, not a handle, so there's no need to be redundant, i should think!

it seems to depend :-)i can trigger on various things (distance to threshold, number of ai in front of you, FAA jurisdiction, non-FAA, time to threshold, ground/tower controller or seperate ground and tower controllers, or no tower/ground controllers). what i can't trigger on is EGLC we do it this way, EGCC we do it this way, KDFW is this way, KBLI is this way. but there will be some changes in v5. i won't check in to tower, 2000 ft from the threshold, "ready for departure". i think you will be pleased with v5.jd