walkman
Well Known Member
Back in the day flying formation in AA5 series aircraft we used call signs for flights that seemed to be accepted as a matter of course by pretty much any facility that we used them with, as long as they complied with the format of [name][number]. E.g. "cobra flight" did not work on the initial call, but "cobra niner niner flight" did. This was true even on the few times we were on an IFR/IMC and worked with tower, center, whomever.
This does not appear to be the case now. I've tried a few times with local facilities and they want to use "[tail number] flight". I called the local tower (LZU) to discuss formation ops and call signs and they pretty much said they need to use an official call sign if one is assigned, to avoid potential conflicts with other flights. His example was, what happens if "cobra" is assigned to F16 scramblers out of somewhere or other.
So, two questions. First, is it the official stance of FAA that only officially assigned call signs can now be used?
Second, has anyone gone through the effort of obtaining one i.a.w. A.C. 120-26K?
This does not appear to be the case now. I've tried a few times with local facilities and they want to use "[tail number] flight". I called the local tower (LZU) to discuss formation ops and call signs and they pretty much said they need to use an official call sign if one is assigned, to avoid potential conflicts with other flights. His example was, what happens if "cobra" is assigned to F16 scramblers out of somewhere or other.
So, two questions. First, is it the official stance of FAA that only officially assigned call signs can now be used?
Second, has anyone gone through the effort of obtaining one i.a.w. A.C. 120-26K?