Amateur/Home Built/Experimental
Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 5; Flight Crew Total 2300; Flight Crew Type 800
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Other / Unknown
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors; Procedure
Another light plane took off ahead of me on runway 17R. I was holding short of the runway. The tower controller then asked me what direction I wished to depart. I answered that I wanted to depart to the west. The controller then told me; 'cleared for takeoff; right turn approved.' I repeated his instruction verbatim. I entered the runway and took off. After I gained 400 feet of altitude; I made a right turn to the west. Several seconds later; the controller said 'traffic on downwind.' At that time I saw another aircraft to my left; about one-eighth of a mile away; about 50 feet above me; and on a collision course with me. The other pilot had already begun to take evasive action; so I did not need to take evasive action. The controller became irate at me and said that I should have known that the other aircraft was on right closed traffic and that I should have known to avoid him. I responded calmly that I thought the controller had given me a right turnout.The aircraft with which I had the near miss was the aircraft that took off just before I did. The controller did not inform me that this aircraft was on right closed traffic until after the near miss had occurred.I believe that the controller should have told me to extend my upwind leg and not to turn to the west until I received further instruction or had the other aircraft in sight; or he could have simply said 'Cleared for takeoff; I'll call your turn.'
Experimental aircraft pilot reported being cleared for takeoff and right turn approved behind another departing aircraft. A right turn is initiated at 400 feet AGL and resulted in a conflict with the previous departure which had remained in the pattern.