Short Final

One time on Halloween night I heard a pilot make a common mistake but have a little fun with it. Ramona Airport Tower: “Cirrus 12345, contact SoCal on 124.35.” N12345: “Cirrus 12345 going to So‑Cal 124.35.” N12345 (still transmitting on tower frequency): “SoCal, Cirrus N12345, 3400 climbing 4000.” Tower: “Cirrus, 12345 you are still on […]

The long list of passenger guidelines in GA from the May OTA brought two things to mind: 1. Never let your passengers eat Cheetos. If they get sick, you cannot get the stain out. I have personal experience with this when my kids were younger! 2. Even in a private aircraft, you can lose luggage. […]

Returning home to Peachtree DeKalb airport in metro Atlanta, I heard the following: Atlanta Approach: “Citation 1234, expect the visual to Runway 21L at Peachtree. Let me know when you have the weather.” Citation 1234: “Approach, Citation 1234, we have the weather for Peachtree. And, we have the airport in sight, if that’s important.” Approach: […]

We were on a training flight to Ramona Airport. The ceiling was 3000 broken on a gorgeous winter day in San Diego. We heard the tower talking to an aircraft departing the pattern: Tower: “Caution. Birds, westbound 700 feet.” A few minutes later we heard: Tower: “Those birds are geese flocking up.” This was followed […]

While holding short of 11L at Tucson International Airport recently I heard the following: Tower: “American 1234 cleared to land 11L.” American 1234: “Cleared to land 11L. By the way we passed some balloons out here at 3400. American 1234.” Tower: “What color and what direction of movement?” American 1234: “Red and white. Headed west.” […]

Just off the shore of northwest Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, is HEVVN, an oft‑used fix for pilots crossing the Gulf from the southern U.S. over to Florida. I was recently in Alabama and heard this exchange with Atlanta Center: Center: “Citation 456, Atlanta. To what fix are you navigating?” Citation 456: “Uh, well, […]

One Sunday morning my home airport was forecast to have low clouds and drizzle until around 10 a.m., when the rain would stop. I got an early start to the airport to do some approaches before the clouds lifted. I check in with my sister on Sunday mornings, so this day I called her on […]

A while ago, I was flying into Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, as a student pilot when I was cleared to land. Bishop Tower: “Cessna 1234, cleared to land 18.” Me: “Cessna 1234, cleared to land 18.” Bishop Tower: “Cessna 1234, contact ground 121.9.” Me: “Cessna 1234, contact ground 121.9.” Me: “Ground, Cessna 1234.” […]

While it’s common for airports to list “birds in the vicinity,” this alert for Situk Airport in Alaska warns of especially distracted type engaged in perpetuating our national symbol: Additional Remarks • RY SAFETY AREA 75 FT WIDE FULL LENGTH WITH GROUND RISING AND FALLING OVER 12 INCHES. MAINTAIN CNTRLN CONTROL. • TREES BTN 50 […]

Battling 25‑knot headwinds, northbound into Atlanta’s DeKalb‑Peachtree, ATC gave clearance to both my Mooney Ovation and a nearby Bonanza: “Direct WRGNZ, WRGNZ ONE arrival.” ATC kept me at 6000 feet and descended the Bonanza to 4000 for spacing. I could see the Bonanza’s groundspeed on ADS‑B, and even with his descent I was gaining on […]