Short Final

Remind me, again. What did I just say?(Heard at KRFD the other day as we turned to final in a King Air.) Cessna123: Cessna123 ready to go Runway 19. Tower: Hold short for traffic on final.

Heard over Miami Center last week: Lady ATC Controller (in a somewhat monotone and hard-to-hear voice): Airliner 123, proceed direct FATHR. Airliner 123: Say again for 123. ATC: 123, proceed direct FATHR. Airliner: Couldn’t quite understand you. center. Say again. ATC (now in a slow, deliberate but still monotone voice): Airliner 123, proceed direct FATHR, […]

Thanks for the support… I made a pretty nice landing in my Husky at San Antonio International last week with 20 knots across the runway. On rollout, the controller and I had the following conversation: Controller: That was a pretty stiff crosswind. Me: Yeah, I was looking for “10” cards up in the tower cab […]

Proper radio technique — think, click, speak… Flying in the practice area northwest of Daytona Beach an aircraft was giving an advisory call that went like this: Lake Disston traffic, Cessna 12345 is northeast … uh, west. No, east. [pause] Where the hell are we?

I was in the pattern at KSRQ shooting a bunch of touch and goes in a Piper Cherokee. The tower called with my next landing clearance. The conversation went something like this… Tower: Warrior 12345, cleared touch and go, runway 22. Me: Cherokee 12345, cleared touch and go, runway 22. Tower: Cessna 12345, roger. Winds […]

“I was sitting on the ramp just about to fly out of Lubbock, TX, yesterday when hopping along came the biggest jackrabbit I ever saw. I thought I would advise ground control about it so they could spare some aircraft from making contact with it on the runway…” Me: Lubbock ground, um, there’s a big […]

Flying in Essex county in England, one day: Southend ATC (having radio trouble): G-ABCD, Southend, radio check. Southend ATC: G-EFGH, Southend, radio check. Southend ATC: G-IJKL, Southend, radio check G-IJKL: Roger Southend, your readability, 4. Southend ATC: Well… One outta three ain’t bad.

Slow day at ABQ… DEP: … Airliner123 cleared to FL33, as filed to Atlanta. 123: (after readback) Wish you worked Atlanta, we always get a stairstep out of there. DEP: That’s why they call us “controllers.” 123: I already have a wife.

AirVenture, some pilots just don’t get it. On the return home Saturday I heard the following exchange as I headed southbound passing Madison, WI. Warrior 98765 was heading north and already receiving a Flight Following Service from Madison Approach. Warrior 123: Madison, Warrior 123. Can you tell me if there is a NOTAM or anything […]

The following was an exchange between a friend and a pre-flight briefer last weekend. The briefer got to the NOTAMS and there was one for a rocketry club near Schaumburg, IL… Briefer : … and Schaumburg has a warning that they’ll be firing rockets. My Friend: Man! First it’s North Korea, now Schaumburg! It took […]