Landing at Class D airport inside Class C airspace
 

Hello,

I will be flying to Quonset State (KOQU), a class D airport located within Providence (KPVD), a class C airport.

I know that I am supposed to establish 2-way radio with Providence, but at what point do I switch over to Quonset? And is there a standard procedure/lingo that I should be using?

Thanks in advanced!

Not familiar with the area, but with my retired air traffic controller's hat on, I would guess Providence will instruct you to contact Quonset when you are clear of all their traffic; it would probably help to report to them when you have your destination in sight.

Quite easy, yoe enter C in the standard way, tell your wish and they will guide you - you are in controlled airspace ... BUT! do not rely on their expertise, they can also f*** up, as a friend of mine encountered couple of days ago with a tower which did not control their controlled airspace ...

The base of the Class C airspace is 1300 ft in the area of OQU, so I would fly under that and call OQU from outside the Class D.

I've never flown in the area, but checking it out on Foreflight shows the traffic pattern altitude as being 1100 ft under a 1300 ft floor Class C floor, on the edge of the Class C. Part of the Quonset State control zone extends up into the Class C, and otherwise it'll be Class D.

I imagine a lot of people do enter the area level at 1100 ft, under the Class C, and talk only to the tower. That aside, the requirements for Class C are that you be in contact with ATC and in this instance with the airport control zone extending up into the Class C area, I would assume contact with Quonset State tower would qualify as being in contact with ATC as long as you're simultaneously inside the airport control zone and the Class C.

It's a interesting question, and I'll be interested to see if anybody with local knowledge can clarify.

The sectional says: "contact Providence App within 20 nm on 123.675". That's it.

Tell them your intentions - no need to crawl around at 1100' unless you want to - especially as there are towers to the SW up to 851'. If you don't get a hand over when you want it, request "descent and change to Quonset" and you'll get it or something else. Be sure to have the Quonset Atis and say "have Atis at Quonset".

In my experience (Not of Quonset - never flown there- they wont leave you hanging the way that UK ATC does).

Thanks for the responses! Here's what ended up happening in my case.

Since I had gotten flight following, I was already in communication with PVD approach. Upon entering PVD airspace, I was vectored about PVD airport. After passing the airport, I requested a frequency change to listen to the OQU atis. At that point, PVD approach advised me to contact OQU tower.

Did you go to the museum? Assuming this is the Quonsett airfield in RI?

We stayed with the family in a hotel just outside the gate of the old Navy base there a couple of years back. The museum was great; sadly the Sea Bee museum was closed at that time of year.

Without looking at the chart to see the exact disposition of things... if you need to fly through Class C before you get to the Class D, just call them. They will hand you off to tower before you actually get to Class D.

My airport (Palo Alto) isn't quite inside the Class C for San Jose, but close, with the added complication of another Class D (Moffett) in between. It all works smoothly 99% of the time (except like the other day, when the Norcal controller couldn't contact the Moffett controller, who was probably in the bathroom or something).