Short Final: Final Frontier

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A flight instructor, after a long and repetitive day of student flights, humorously responded to ATC's casual "Same as last time?" query.
  • He used a Star Trek-themed monologue to describe his flight's "mission" to the local practice area.
  • Air Traffic Control played along, granting clearance and concluding with a playful "may the Force be with you."
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During one very long day when I was a full time instructor, I ended up with five students in a row all early in the PPL syllabus so I did all the radio calls at our busy, towered airport. On flight five, I called clearance with my call sign and got a casual “Same as last time, Dave?” reply.

“Absolutely not,” I said and continued with: “Flight training, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Cessna 152 GABC on its one-hour mission to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before: local practice area West!”

The solemn reply, “Cessna GABC squawk 1234. Fly the XXX departure. Contact ground on 121.9 and may the Force be with you.”

David Gagliardi

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