{"id":4670,"date":"2017-12-29T04:03:38","date_gmt":"2017-12-29T12:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.mechadigital.net\/?p=4670"},"modified":"2021-08-26T20:37:53","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T20:37:53","slug":"195-one-rant-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/195-one-rant-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"#195 One More Rant about the Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yikes, this is about my third article on that silly device, whose importance is, frankly, over-rated!\u00a0 Gee, this is kinda weird!\u00a0 You see, I view the radio as a somewhat unimportant adjunct to aviation.\u00a0\u00a0 I guess I\u2019m one of those guys who believes that \u201cBernoulli makes airplanes fly, not Marconi\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But I have to admit that I\u2019ve changed my tune a bit a few times regarding details of its use in Brian\u2019s Flying Book.\u00a0 And now I\u2019m going to rant just a little bit about how this miracle of technology is affecting ME.\u00a0 It is about ME, isn\u2019t it?<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Jeff Taylor, today’s “photo dummy”, departs Sisters with an appropriate call to “Sisters Traffic”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m a teacher.\u00a0 I rarely fly by myself and I also spend a lot of time in patterns.\u00a0 Most of us were taught to use the radio in that pattern.\u00a0 So far, so good.\u00a0 The purpose of these transmissions \u201cin the blind\u201d is simply to let other flyers know where we are and what we plan to do, so that we won\u2019t attempt to occupy the same airspace and trade some paint.\u00a0 And if we are the only aircraft in that pattern and we have been keeping our head on a swivel, it\u2019s really not necessary to call EVERY leg!\u00a0 Remember that I said I\u2019m a teacher.\u00a0 That means that I often fly with my mouth.\u00a0 As my student, whatever his experience or ratings, is on short final, it\u2019s likely that I\u2019m talking to him, guiding him and advising him.\u00a0 Naturally, that\u2019s when everyone starts talking!\u00a0 And that\u2019s when I start questioning what they are saying and why they are saying it.\u00a0 Unless circumstances call for it, I only make one call per circuit.\u00a0 When I\u2019m on midfield downwind I call that leg and usually, I\u2019m done yakking.\u00a0 But invariably when I\u2019m on short final and coaching my student, our conversation is interrupted by some guy who is several miles away, not inbound to our traffic pattern, and who is making a lengthy call that he\u2019s \u201cmaneuvering\u201d.\u00a0 That\u2019s nice.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need to know that.\u00a0 Hmmm, maybe the flight schools could use the flight school frequency for that call if they really must make it.\u00a0 Nah, why use the flight school frequency when you can screw with CFIs on the CTAF???!!!<\/h3>\n

The radio is supposed to be an aid, not a distraction or nuisance.\u00a0 Years ago, I ran a private airport at a Central Oregon Resort.\u00a0 As a chartered Citation jet was on short final, my own lineman picked up the microphone and asked, \u201cCitation landing on 18, how long will you be with us?\u00a0 And do you need transportation?\u201d\u00a0 I rolled my eyes, but had something else to do, so I didn\u2019t reprimand him.\u00a0 Turned out, someone else would do that for me.\u00a0 When the Citation had shut down, the Captain entered the FBO and asked the young man, \u201cWas that you on the radio?\u201d\u00a0 The lineman replied that it was and the Captain laid right into him.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t EVER transmit to a landing aircraft!\u201d\u00a0 I think the reasoning was obvious and after the young man thought about it, he got the idea and apologized.\u00a0 He never did it again.\u00a0 Just as we never drive, taxi or walk toward the runway when an aircraft is landing, we never transmit on the radio to a landing aircraft.\u00a0 Personally I don\u2019t mind if it\u2019s just me.\u00a0 I can even rub my stomach and pat my head at the same time.\u00a0 But I can\u2019t communicate with someone who has come to me for a flying education when someone else is yammering in our ears.<\/h3>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve started to do something new.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s a great idea, only that it\u2019s the only thing I can do.\u00a0 Often, when I\u2019m on final to a tricky airstrip with others telling their life stories on the radio, I transmit that I\u2019m turning my radio off.\u00a0 Yup, you can call all you want, but I won\u2019t hear you. \u00a0I would prefer not to resort to that move, but I simply can\u2019t afford to have my coaching interrupted and perhaps my landing or takeoff placed in jeopardy by an unimportant call.<\/h3>\n

The other day, I was on short final at a local airport and the helicopter behind me called. I responded, \u201cStandby, I\u2019m busy\u201d.\u00a0 When I was on the go and on my usual early turn, I came back with, \u201cokay, it\u2019s your turn to talk\u201d.\u00a0 He replied that he wanted to know where I was.\u00a0 And I thought Robinson helicopters were hard to see!<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2026 I\u2019m not a radio Nazi.\u00a0 I\u2019ve even been known to yack just a little bit to a pal who I hear on the frequency.\u00a0 I keep it short, in case someone needs the frequency, but I don\u2019t consider it a huge breach of communication etiquette.\u00a0 However, I do wish that I could have a modicum of silence when I\u2019m yakkin\u2019 on the ICS.<\/h3>\n

Since this little rant was only about the radio, I guess I won\u2019t deal with the subject of those huge patterns that Acme flies.\u00a0 Maybe next time\u2026.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Oh, did I say \u201cOne\u201d more rant?\u00a0 I lied.\u00a0 Here\u2019s another one,<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Your Turn toTalk\u201d<\/h2>\n

Written in April, 2017<\/h6>\n

All right, I\u2019ll admit it:\u00a0 As I have gotten older I HAVE gotten grumpier and more curmudgeonly.\u00a0 I try to keep it in check, but sometimes circumstances bring it out in me.\u00a0 Y\u2019know what has lately been bringing it out in me a lot?\u00a0 It\u2019s the hesitance of so many pilots to simply answer when they are addressed on the radio.\u00a0 I\u2019ve actually had to say, \u201cit\u2019s your turn to talk now\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve always wanted to add, \u201c\u2026ya moron!\u201d\u00a0 But I believe in being mannerly on the radio, so I\u2019ve left that clause out.<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

So, to those student pilots taught by Acme to limit their transmissions to the usual \u201cleft downwind\u201d, \u201cBase\u201d and \"\"\u201cFinal\u201d calls, which also drive me nuts with their cluttering effect on the airways, I would like to say, \u201cIt\u2019s okay to use plain English on the radio and, in fact, it is plain English between planes in the pattern, which usually does more to keep us separated than your dependence on canned transmissions.\u201d<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

So, if you hear some guy call you on the radio and ask you a question, usually about your intentions, do me a favor:\u00a0 ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

Happy Swooping!<\/h3>\n

Brian<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“I guess I\u2019m one of those guys who believes that \u201cBernoulli makes airplanes fly, not Marconi\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[24,67,173],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}