I was flying right seat, giving instruction in a Cessna 210 VFR over New York asking for advisories. The left-seat pilot owned the aircraft and was proficient. After bouncing around with several different controllers, we found one that would talk to us:
NY Approach:
“Squawk 1238.”
The left-seat pilot pushed 1-2-3 on the transponder and then stopped and looked at me.
Pilot:
“Did she say ‘1-2-3-8’?”
Me:
“Yes … .”
Pilot (to NY Control) :
“Did you say ‘1-2-3-8’?”
NY Approach:
“Yes. Squawk 1238.”
(I was laughing.)
Pilot:
“I can’t.”
NY Approach:
“You can’t squawk 1238?”
Pilot (definitively) :
“That’s right. I can’t.”
Ten long seconds went by.
NY Approach:
“Try squawking XXXX. [It was a good number this time.]“
123.8 is a common Philadelphia approach frequency that New York often hands people off to. Of course, there is no 8 on a transponder.
Michael McNamara
via e-mail
