No pilot deviation . . . .

A person in the Quality Assurance Department of the FAA Office of Safety determined my event on Saturday was not a pilot deviation.  Anxiety quieted!

The whole story revolves around transponder codes, busy airspace, missed communications, data tags, limited data blocks for ADS B data, and a helicopter who was flying in and around St Pete about the same time Alexandra was flying from Venice to Sarasota.  What I learned and was advised when I called to confirm and discuss the voice message shown above, make a cold call:  Tampa Approach, Cessna Skylane N65995 . . . .  This practice is opposite of what I thought controllers desired in busy airspace with cluttered airwaves.  I used to always wait for silence then go through the whole shebang:  Tampa Approach, Cessna Skylane N65995, two miles west of Venice, altitude 1 thousand 6 hundred, heading 3 6 0, VFR, full stop Sarasota.  That practice had always worked but what I now know is that controllers have to put our tail numbers in before they can do anything else.  Making the cold call allows the controller to respond quickly with, remain clear of Class C, if necessary, too.

The other thing I learned, in addition to writing down transponder codes when I get them, I will always make absolutely sure I hear:  N65995, radar contact.  I have to admit I was not always diligent looking for that language, but I have a new check box on my check list.  By the way, the deciding factor, I am sure, in the no deviation finding was the fact that Tampa approach used my tail number in a radio transmission before I entered the Class C airspace around KSRQ.

To round out the story, here is the flight of the helicopter that everyone but me thought was Alexandra:

That straight line from St Pete to just west of Venice is very suspicious.  Flightaware admits tracking data for this position-only flight is incomplete and potentially inaccurate.  But what happened to the helicopter?