Definee wrote in Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:28 pm:I did not know when to contact him and I did to late and had to make a fast descent. He told me I could find the boundaries on Skyvector
As I mentioned dealing with airspace boundaries is difficult at least for some airspaces in mplayer's case, partially because of the range limits and the lack of ATC client's capabilities in that regard.
Here are some things I consider reasonable rules of thumb that take into account some specifics of mplayer:
File a flight plan so that the ATC will have a clue of your intentions and can plan ahead and route you as needed ( clues such as if you are actually flying into one of "his/her" airports or if you are in transit )
If you are unable for any reason to file a flight plan, state your intentions clearely on initial contact.
If you are coming from an airspace with no ATC into an airspace with enroute control ( _CT ) and you do not know the airspace boundaries contact ATC at the latest 25nm from geographical boundaries of the country, you can check that on the tracker's maps ( geographical boundaries often correspond quite well with the airspace boundaries except for some delegated airspaces, disputed airspaces and airspace over the sea/ocean ).
If there is no enroute control and you are inbound an airport with approach control ( _AP ) contact ATC before you fly a STAR ( Standard Terminal Arrival Route) and reach T/D (Top of Descent ).
If there is no approach control and you are inbound an airport with tower control ( _TW ) IFR: contact ATC when established LOC/ILS or final VOR/NDB. VFR: contact ATC before entering control zone and state you are VFR ( 10-15nm radius is a simplification but good enough rule of thumb )