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Hangar Flying / Don't be sloppy in the pattern---and expect the unexpected
« on: May 22, 2006, 08:28:13 PM »
Good post, great advice.
I'll be flying and I'll hear people call into approach or the tower saying "Casce approach, Cessna 1234 Tango with you." For some reason, there's a bunch of people out there that have been taught that's "the thing" to say when being handed off. The inevitable response is that tower or approach tells you altimeter and has you verify altitude. If instead you said "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango at two thousand five hundred" you get it all taken care of in a single shot.
People calling into approach in general around here and in LA get into these long conversations when a little planning ahead of time would keep the frequency clear. Here's a real radio conversation I heard: "Cascade approach, request." "Aircraft calling, say request." "Cascade approach, request flight following." "Aircraft calling, say tail number." "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango." "Cessna 1234 Tango, squawk 3201 and ident." "Squawking 3201 and identing." "Radar contact, 5 miles east Eugene airport. Say destination and altitude." "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango is going to PDX." and so on.
There's no reason to say 'Request', the tower and approach guys are trained in active listening. And if they DO miss something important, they'll say something. That same radio call could be made like this: "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango, two miles north Creswell at two thousand five hundred, flight following to PDX." That'd get rid of half of the radio calls and free up the frequency twice as fast.
Anyhow, just sharing a rant. Great points about expecting the unexpected too.
I'll be flying and I'll hear people call into approach or the tower saying "Casce approach, Cessna 1234 Tango with you." For some reason, there's a bunch of people out there that have been taught that's "the thing" to say when being handed off. The inevitable response is that tower or approach tells you altimeter and has you verify altitude. If instead you said "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango at two thousand five hundred" you get it all taken care of in a single shot.
People calling into approach in general around here and in LA get into these long conversations when a little planning ahead of time would keep the frequency clear. Here's a real radio conversation I heard: "Cascade approach, request." "Aircraft calling, say request." "Cascade approach, request flight following." "Aircraft calling, say tail number." "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango." "Cessna 1234 Tango, squawk 3201 and ident." "Squawking 3201 and identing." "Radar contact, 5 miles east Eugene airport. Say destination and altitude." "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango is going to PDX." and so on.
There's no reason to say 'Request', the tower and approach guys are trained in active listening. And if they DO miss something important, they'll say something. That same radio call could be made like this: "Cascade approach, Cessna 1234 Tango, two miles north Creswell at two thousand five hundred, flight following to PDX." That'd get rid of half of the radio calls and free up the frequency twice as fast.
Anyhow, just sharing a rant. Great points about expecting the unexpected too.
