THERE WAS LTSS IN THE WHP TFC PATTERN.

Narrative

DEPARTING BURBANK ON A R DOWNWIND; I WAS ENRTE TO WHITEMAN 4 MI AWAY. BURBANK TWR WAS BUSY. I FINALLY ASKED TO BE RELEASED TO WHITEMAN; AND WAS IMMEDIATELY RELEASED AND INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT WHITEMAN TWR. ESTABLISHING CONTACT WITH WHITEMAN; I WAS GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS FOR R DOWNWIND TO RWY 12; RPT BASE. I MADE MY BASE RPT IN THE TURN AND THE CTLR TOLD ME I HAD A TA AND HAD NOT FOLLOWED HIS INSTRUCTIONS. I SAW THE OTHER ACFT APPROX 3/4 MI AWAY AND APPROX 500 FT ABOVE ME AND DSNDING (HE WAS ON A L BASE TO RWY 12). I THROTTLED UP; CLBED BACK TO PATTERN ALT; SET UP FOR A L DOWNWIND FOR RWY 12. ALL THIS HAPPENED IN APPROX 30 SECONDS. THE CTLR WAS TALKING TO THE OTHER ACFT; THEY HAD ME IN SIGHT. THE CTLR ASKED WHERE I WAS AND I RPTED L DOWNWIND FOR RWY 12 AND WOULD TURN BASE ON HIS COMMAND. HE INSTRUCTED ME TO TURN BASE AND I WAS CLRED TO LAND RWY 12. UPON LNDG; THE TWR TOLD ME HIS INSTRUCTIONS WERE TO RPT ABEAM; NOT BASE. THIS PROB AROSE AS A RESULT OF MISUNDERSTANDING IN COMS BTWN PLT AND CTLR. CTLR SAID HE ISSUED INSTRUCTIONS FOR R DOWNWIND RWY 12; RPT ABEAM; I UNDERSTOOD RPT BASE. THERE WERE 2 OTHER ACFT ACTIVE AT WHITEMAN; ONE ON A SHORT FINAL TO RWY 12 AND THE OTHER ON L DOWNWIND TO RWY 12. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: WHITEMAN'S RADIO XMISSION WAS WEAK. I HAD MY VOLUME FULL UP TO GET HIS XMISSION AND HEAR HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO OTHER ACFT. I HAD TO TURN IT DOWN WHEN THEY RESPONDED. THE PROB WAS DISCOVERED IMMEDIATELY BY CTLR UPON MY BASE RPT. I SAW AND WAS SEEN BY THE OTHER ACFT AS HE TURNED BASE; CONFIRMED BY HIS RADIO RPT. CLR COLLISION AVOIDANCE WAS IN EFFECT BY BOTH PLTS SUPPORTED BY THE CTLR. EVASIVE MEASURES WERE NOT RADICAL; I WENT TO FULL THROTTLE; CLBED STRAIGHT TO PATTERN ALT. OTHER ACFT CONTINUED HIS LNDG PATTERN. IT WAS MY PERCEPTION THAT SINCE I WAS CLOSER IN THAN THE OTHER ACFT ON DOWNWIND THE CTLR WAS BRINGING ME INTO #2 FOR LNDG. BEING RELEASED TARDILY FROM BURBANK; BY THE TIME I HAD CONTACTED WHITEMAN AND RECEIVED HIS LNDG INSTRUCTIONS; I ASSUMED HE KNEW WHERE I WAS; AND DID NOT QUESTION WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A 'BASE' RPT. IN THE FUTURE; I WILL BE MORE CAUTIOUS AND NOT ASSUME WHAT THE CTLR IS DOING OR ALLOW A WEAK XMISSION TO ALLOW ME TO PRESUME WHAT HE IS SAYING; EVEN WHEN IT IS REPETITIOUS. THE CTLR WAS VERY SOFT SPOKEN; AND AS I STAYED IN THE PATTERN FOR SEVERAL TKOFS AND LNDGS; HE OFTEN RAN HIS WORDS TOGETHER AND RELEASED THE MIKE BUTTON BEFORE HE WAS FINISHED IN XMISSIONS TO ME. I TOOK THAT AS HIS IRRITATION AT ME FOR WHAT HE BELIEVED I HAD DONE. AS I LEFT FOR THE EVENING; I APOLOGIZED FOR ANY TENSE MOMENTS CREATED EARLIER AND INDICATED IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. HIS RESPONSE WAS 'ROGER.'