Everywhere but There

Finally, youve arrived at your destination. What a flight… As you complete your shutdown checklist, you happen to glance down at your kneeboard. Frustration wells up at what you see: your flight log.

Editorial Staff

Friday, August 01, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Air Traffic Control (ATC) vectors pilots primarily for safety reasons, including separation from other aircraft, obstacles, weather, and restricted airspace, as well as for operational efficiency like sequencing and noise abatement.
Despite causing pilot frustration and deviating from planned routes, vectoring often creates more work for controllers, who are required to state the purpose of a vector.
Vectors are a quick and essential tool for controllers to resolve potential conflicts and maintain order, and can also provide crucial assistance to pilots who are lost or experiencing instrument failure.

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Finally, you’ve arrived at your destination. What a flight… As you complete your shutdown checklist, you happen to glance down at your kneeboard. Frustration wells up at what you see: your flight log.

Your planning was perfect, a work of mathematical art. You measured your distance and course between fixes, and calculated flight time, fuel burn, ground speed, and wind correction angles. You carefully entered your route into your GPS and made ready to follow that magical magenta line.