I was taking my brother for his first flight in a GA airplane. He was somewhat nervous and a little overwhelmed by what we go through to launch a flight. I picked up the local ATIS on my handheld before engine start and, after we got in the plane and were ready to call for taxi clearance, I briefed him on the kind of radio transmissions he would hear as we taxied out and took off. That education behind us, I called for taxi clearance:
Me: Skylane 12345, West hangers, with MIKE, taxi.
Before I could get a word in edge-wise, my brother, Mike, (with awe in his voice…) said, You have to even tell them who is with you?
It took several minutes for me to regain composure and get on with the flight.
Short Final…
Key Takeaways:
- A pilot introducing his brother, Mike, to his first general aviation flight experienced a humorous misunderstanding.
- When requesting taxi clearance, the pilot stated "with MIKE," referring to the ATIS identifier.
- Mike comically misinterpreted this as the pilot informing air traffic control of his (Mike's) presence, leading to a moment of amusement for the pilot.
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