Traffic you cannot see at Pitt Meadows (CYPK)
Practises answering a traffic advisory honestly: saying LOOKING FOR TRAFFIC when you cannot see the aircraft ATC has pointed out, and TRAFFIC IN SIGHT only once you genuinely have it, which the NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology guide (Traffic, p. 34) is explicit about.
The situation
You are the pilot of C-GABC, a Cessna 172 downwind at Pitt Meadows (CYPK), one of the busiest training circuits in the country. It is a hazy afternoon and visibility into the sun is poor. Report downwind.
Practise this call →Sources
- NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology guide (v3, April 2022), 'Traffic' (p. 34): ATC '(aircraft call sign) TRAFFIC (position based on 12hr clock, direction, aircraft type, altitude)'; pilot 'LOOKING FOR TRAFFIC/TRAFFIC IN SIGHT (aircraft call sign)'. The guide states: 'Use the phrase LOOKING FOR TRAFFIC if you do not see the traffic. Use the phrase TRAFFIC IN SIGHT only if you see the traffic. If you lose sight of traffic, inform ATS.' It also states that the phrase 'with the traffic' 'has been identified as contributing to communication errors and should not be used or accepted by either pilots or ATS'
- NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology guide, 'Traffic' (p. 34): 'While flying VFR you are responsible for looking for traffic around you. In controlled airspace, if workload permits, ATC may advise you of traffic and provide separation; however, this does not relieve you of the responsibility to look for traffic as well.'
- NAV CANADA VFR Phraseology guide, 'Basic Circuit Pattern' (pp. 29-30): DOWNWIND (runway) and FINAL reports, and ATC sequencing 'number two, traffic ..., report final'
- TC AIM RAC 4.5.2 (circuit procedures at controlled aerodromes)
- Canada Flight Supplement: LEFT-hand circuits rwy 36, runway 36
Related practice
Out to the practice area from Abbotsford (CYXX)
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