Short Final: Be Right Back

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • An IFR pilot's mood rapidly shifted from disappointment to joy during a brief exchange with air traffic control.
  • The anecdote highlights the "joys and sorrows" pilots can experience in relation to routing instructions and ATC communication.
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Every IFR pilot knows the joys and sorrows of routing. Flying home from Massachusetts one afternoon, I heard the following exchange:

NY controller: “King Air XXXX, climb and … disregard.”

Pilot: “Awwww…”

NY controller: “I’ll be right back with you.”

Pilot: “Woo‑hoo!”

Ed Fischer
Philadelphia, PA

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