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I am a low time private pilot planning a trip from Leesburg florida (klee) to Sarasota-Bradenton (ksrq). I am planning to pick up flight following after departing leesburg and flying through Tampa's class b airspace enroute to Sarasota-Bradenton's class c airspace. A portion of Sarasota Bradenton's class c airspace lies within the mode c ring of Tampa's class b airspace. Is sarasota bradenton considered a satellite airport of Tampa even though the entirety of its airspace is not contained within the mode c ring of Tampa's class b airspace and how will that affect the handoff between tampa and sarasota-bradenton? And how will the handoff occurr between vfr flight following/class b airspace. I'm assuming they will discontinue flight following and then advise I contact tampa approach for clearance into class bravo? Thankyou |
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The mode C veil does not constitute an airport's airspace; only class B, C, or D airspace boundaries do that. (I guess you could include surface class E here but that has no communication requirements.) You do not need to talk to ATC prior to entering the mode C veil, you merely need to have the right equipment and have it turned on. An airport is a satellite of another only if it lies within that airport's SURFACE class B, C, or D. If your destination has its own class C, then it is certainly not a satellite airport. ATC will coordinate your transition through the class B if you are on flight following, but you should review the VFR transition routes on the terminal chart before you go and plan accordingly. ATC will ask you what route you want to take through the class B, and you should be ready with the answer. You should also be anticipating their responses. Make sure you wait for that magic phrase before entering the class B: "cleared for class bravo". You may have to do a few handoffs, but I doubt they will discontinue flight following unless you plan to go through a special flight rules area. (I don't know if Tampa even has one of those.) |
