N941WR
Legacy Member
Back in the dark ages when I learned to fly, we were taught to give position reports for non-controlled airports which include the following:
Airport Traffic ("Trafffic," if talking to other planes or "Unicom," if talking to the people in the building.)
Aircraft type
N-number
Position / Intentions
Airport
For example, ?Sometown trafffic, Cessna 123 Alpha Bravo, 5 miles to the southeast, inbound for landing, Sometown traffic.?, ?Sometown traffic, Cessna 123 Alpha Brovo entering left downwind, Sometown traffic.?, or ?Sometown Unicom, Cessna 123 Alpha Brovo, Airport advisory please, Sometown Airport.?
This started and ended with the airport, so other traffic knew where to look for you and at which airport you were talking to so they knew if it was relevant or not. It also included the aircraft type, which to me is more important than the N-number.
The reason is simple. If I see a Cessna and a Piper in the pattern and someone calls out, ?Sometime Airport, 123 Alpha Brovo, downwind for 22, Sometown airport,? how do I know if the person making that call is one of the two airplanes I see in the pattern? Is it possible that I just cut off a third airplane that I did not see?
The other thing that has come into use lately on uncontrolled fields is position reporting on the field. i.e.: ?Cessna 123 Alpha Bravo is taxing to runway 22 for departure.? I?m not sure why this came into common use and I have heard people say it is for safety reasons.
It occurred to me recently that this is not a safe practice as the airplanes taxiing on uncontrolled fields typically can see aircraft taxing, so it is unnecessary.
The reason it is not a safe practice is that with our congested frequencies, those people who are on the ground can only hear a small fraction of the radio traffic and more often than not ?step on? other transmissions without knowing it. The added radio congestion can add to confusion, missed position reports, etc., thus reducing safety.
I haven?t even mentioned the infamous, ?Sometime traffic, Cessna 123 Alpha Brovo, please advise.? Every time hear that I want to reply, ?Their food is good, I advise you try the meatloaf.?
Thoughts, comments, etc.?
Airport Traffic ("Trafffic," if talking to other planes or "Unicom," if talking to the people in the building.)
Aircraft type
N-number
Position / Intentions
Airport
For example, ?Sometown trafffic, Cessna 123 Alpha Bravo, 5 miles to the southeast, inbound for landing, Sometown traffic.?, ?Sometown traffic, Cessna 123 Alpha Brovo entering left downwind, Sometown traffic.?, or ?Sometown Unicom, Cessna 123 Alpha Brovo, Airport advisory please, Sometown Airport.?
This started and ended with the airport, so other traffic knew where to look for you and at which airport you were talking to so they knew if it was relevant or not. It also included the aircraft type, which to me is more important than the N-number.
The reason is simple. If I see a Cessna and a Piper in the pattern and someone calls out, ?Sometime Airport, 123 Alpha Brovo, downwind for 22, Sometown airport,? how do I know if the person making that call is one of the two airplanes I see in the pattern? Is it possible that I just cut off a third airplane that I did not see?
The other thing that has come into use lately on uncontrolled fields is position reporting on the field. i.e.: ?Cessna 123 Alpha Bravo is taxing to runway 22 for departure.? I?m not sure why this came into common use and I have heard people say it is for safety reasons.
It occurred to me recently that this is not a safe practice as the airplanes taxiing on uncontrolled fields typically can see aircraft taxing, so it is unnecessary.
The reason it is not a safe practice is that with our congested frequencies, those people who are on the ground can only hear a small fraction of the radio traffic and more often than not ?step on? other transmissions without knowing it. The added radio congestion can add to confusion, missed position reports, etc., thus reducing safety.
I haven?t even mentioned the infamous, ?Sometime traffic, Cessna 123 Alpha Brovo, please advise.? Every time hear that I want to reply, ?Their food is good, I advise you try the meatloaf.?
Thoughts, comments, etc.?