Short Final

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot on CTAF repeatedly used the non-standard phrase "turning left, final, runway 20" in California's Central Valley.
  • Another pilot corrected this, stating there is no "left final" or "right final," only "final," as it represents a straight line.
  • This anecdote highlights issues with irritating and non-standard communication techniques on CTAF.
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Overheard in IFR Magazine's 'On the Air' Section
Overheard in IFR Magazine‘s “On the Air”

CTAF offers a smorgasbord of irritating communications techniques. Somewhere in California’s Central Valley, I heard a pilot repeatedly report, “Turning left, final, runway 20.”

After what must have been the tenth “left final,” a pilot who’d obviously had it replied:

“There is no left final; there is no right final – just final. It’s a straight line!”

Ralph Lund
Malpaso, California

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