handoff to approach

[MeneMene 1]

Is there any way to get handed off to approach earlier? I'm tired of sitting at 11000 feet for several minutes ruining my descent profile because I can't get cleared any lower.thanks

[jd 57]

Is there any way to get handed off to approach earlier? I'm tired of sitting at 11000 feet for several minutes ruining my descent profile because I can't get cleared any lower.thanks

no, sorry. approach airspace begins 40 miles around the airport. if you want a better descent profile, there are several posts here about setting temporary waypoints 40 miles from the airport, so you can plan to be at 11000 when you are 40 miles out.i'm going by what real life controllers tell me, from around the world. as one of them reminded me about a change i made, that i had turned radar contact into a game. it's not. it's atc.jd

[MeneMene 1]

thanks for the explanation. So if an aircraft's FMC has built a descent profile that calls for lower than 11000 before 40 nm out, ATC in real life will not clear that plane lower until they are handed off to approach?

[jd 57]

thanks for the explanation. So if an aircraft's FMC has built a descent profile that calls for lower than 11000 before 40 nm out, ATC in real life will not clear that plane lower until they are handed off to approach?

i'm often reminded by the controllers on the beta team, about how concerned they are about your FMC.atc cares about getting you from a to b, safely. they do this by making sure everybody is where they are supposed, when they are supposed to be. if you have planes arriving at all different altitudes, from all different directions, it would be a nightmare. controllers would become game console operators, and the best ones survive.but if aircraft are always at 11,000 at an intersection that is NE of the airport, and 11,000 at an intersection SE of the airport, and 12,000 at an intersection NW of the airport, and 12,000 at this intersection SW of the airport - then it becomes manageable. i feel better if the controllers are bored when i arrive as opposed to pulling their hair out.search the forum, i think ray has posted several times on how to insert a waypoint, 40 miles out, 11,000 and then the FMC is happy, and the controllers are happy.jd