Short Final: Low Approach

I heard the following exchange on a beautiful spring day when COVID had grounded almost everyone.

Cherokee 123: “Approach, we are headed down to Okeechobee today and would like to come through the Class Bravo, and I guess we would like flight following, too ... (long pause) ... oh, and we would like to make one touch‑and‑go at Mike Charlie Oscar on the way.”

I thought to myself, “This is going to be interesting!”

Approach: “Cherokee 123... (long pause) ... did you just ask to do a touch‑and‑go at Orlando International Airport.”

Cherokee 123: (Somewhat sheepishly) “Uhhh ... yes.”

Approach: “Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhh ... uhhhhhhh ... mmmmmmm ... yeah ... so, uhhh ... that’s not going to happen.”

Cherokee 123: (More sheepishly than before) “Okay.”

Now, to give the controller credit, this exchange followed two minutes later.

Approach: “Cherokee 123, I know we couldn’t get you that touch‑and‑go at Orlando International, but I could get you vectors for a low approach over at the NASA Shuttle Landing Strip ... and that’s a pretty cool ride.”

Cherokee 123: (Now enthusiastically) “You can do that??? Yeah, let’s go!”

And ... off they went!

John E. Moore, III

Vero Beach, FL