Short Final: Final Preparations

Russ Niles

Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 01:49 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An instructor at an active flight school made humorously exaggerated radio calls, initially reporting a "45-mile final" and later a "30-mile final."
A student's surprised reaction to the "45-mile final" call highlighted the absurdity of the report.
The instructor's bored tone and subsequent clarification implied the calls were either playful or very casual reports rather than serious position updates.

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One of the joys of being based at an airport with a very active flight school (Orange County, Montgomery, New York) is the entertainment value of some of the radio transmissions. Witness:

Slightly bored instructor voice: “168 Lima Alpha, 45‐mile final Runway 22.” Overly excited voice, hence probably a student: “Did you say 45‐mile final?!”

Instructor: “Sorry, actually it’s a late call. We were lined up 20 miles ago.” Sometime later, even more bored instructor voice: “168 Lima Alpha now 30-mile final Runway 22…”

Dr. Daniel Spitzer via IFR Magazine