Short Final: Information Yankee

Editorial Staff

Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 05:21 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

In the mid-1960s, a pilot from Massachusetts flying in Florida tuned into Orlando's brand-new ATIS reporting system.
After providing standard weather and runway information, the automated transmission unexpectedly concluded with the phrase, "excuse the expression, Yankee."
This anecdote highlights a moment of regional cultural expression observed via an emerging automated system in the American South during that era.

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I’m from Massachusetts (the North) and in the mid-1960s, flying cross‑country from Daytona Beach to an airport near Tampa Florida (the South), I passed by the Orlando airport and tuned the frequency for a brand‑new reporting system named ATIS.

I caught the recorded transmission about halfway and heard the following:

“Temperature 28. Dew point 10. Landing Runway 36. When contacting Orlando tower report you have received information, excuse the expression, Yankee.”

Marc Nathanson

Littleton, Massachusetts