Features

The dangers of the double negative… ATC: Did you get your numbers? Airline: [Somewhat garbled] Negative. ATC: Was it “Negative?” Airline: [Again, rather garbled} Affirmative. ATC: So … “negative,” or “affirmative?” Airline: “Affirmative” for “negative…” [The other guy in the cockpit can be heard chuckling in the background.]

Airliner one twenty three, cleared to SHINE, hold northwest, as published, expect further clearance one five three zero.”Holding might not be ordinary to you, but in Atlanta Center (ZTL) it’s as ordinary as pine trees in Georgia. During normal business hours, somebody — somewhere — always seems to be holding in ZTL airspace. I think […]

MIV AFSS Offline On Sep. 2, there was a fatal crash near Teterboro, N.J. (NewsWire, Sep. 8). As of the Sep. 3, the FAA still has no plans on getting Millville, N.J., Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) up and running. They seem to be ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away when Lockheed […]

As I mentioned in my last column, the best way to really learn your craft in aviation, the best way to become a better pilot — while not having to make the same mistakes others have already made — is to find a mentor. OK, that sounds easy enough — find a gray-hair and listen. […]

Falling on deaf ears… Airline: New York Center, Bizmumble 123, inbound from across the pond. How are you today? Center: Well … I’m working on a holiday. Airline (indignantly): You’re barkin’ up the wrong tree, buddy.

The Right to Flight I heartily applaud your editorial, “The Right to Flight” (ATIS, Aug. 24). Under Bush, the administration has gone way too far. They are using 9/11 as an excuse to curtail (and possibly eliminate) the freedoms of the average American. Spreading out from the U.S., a sludge-like ripple effect of limitations to […]

I was in one of the big, tattered recliners in the Pilot’s Lounge at the virtual airport, checking e-mail. It’s the way many of the regulars at the Lounge keep in touch. I enjoy the give and take of our exchanges, and from time to time I get comments or questions that raise issues many […]

All in a day’s work… I was working at LAN FSS prompting a new student through the flight plan form. When we got to the bottom fo the form I asked the student, “Number on board and color.” Student: One white male.