Sport Pilot Talk

tu16 · Joined: 18 Feb 2010 Posts: 85 Location: Bellevue, WA

Here's a light-hearted thread that may (or may not) be of some educational or entertainment value. :) Anything you guys hear on a radio that you think is worth in some sense of sharing?

To start here's a couple transcripts from yesterday lunch flight to PWT (Bremerton) (Call signs used here are purely fictitios)

1. [10nm N of Paine FIeld @ 4,500'. Attempting to raise Seattle Center to pick up flight following to PWT]

"Seattle Center, LightSport 999TU with request."
[3 min nothing. Not much going on on the channel either. Radio problems? Re-transmit]
"Seattle Center, LightSport 999TU with request."
[Immediately]
"LightSport, I GET that you're around - you'll have to wait and MAYBE I'll get back to you!"

Oh, snap! :) :) And I thought simple "Standby" is to be expected here... :) :) Of course, he never did come back to me and I didn't bother to call anymore, schlepping along at 4'500 all by my lonesome... :) With all this waiting I was half way to Bremerton already anyway... :)

2. [Bremerton departure. Holding short @R19 for takeoff with one other plane for incoming Cessna on final. Cessna pilot has a heavy middle-eastern accent thick with excitement:]
"Bremerton traffic, Cessna 5667M is on final. Runway 19. Touch and Go. Bremerton Traffic"
[5sec later with a bit of anxiety in the voice:]
"Bremerton traffic, Cessna 5667M is on final. Runway 19. Touch and Go. Bremerton Traffic"
[5sec later with a bit more of anxiety in the voice:]
"Bremerton traffic, Cessna 5667M is on SHORT final. Runway 19. Touch and Go. Bremerton Traffic"
[5sec later with even more of anxiety in the voice:]
"Bremerton traffic, Cessna 5667M is on SHORT final. Runway 19. Touch and Go. Bremerton Traffic"
[The other guy holding short with me:]
"Cessna, we've GOT that you're on final. You don't need to say it anymore."
[Cessna, crossing threshold at 150' voice raising higher]
"Bremerton traffic, Cessna 5667M is on FINAL. Runway 19. Touch and Go. Bremerton Traffic"
[Cessna, 500' down the runway at 50' feet with a touch of panic in the voice]
"Bremerton traffic, Cessna 5667M is on FINAL. Runway 19. Touch and Go. Bremerton Traffic"

Cessna landed, STOPPED and silently made the third turn off.... :) Maybe poor guy had just enough excitement for a day to do a touch and go... :) I can't blame him. :) Flying sometimes can be this way... :)

tu16 · Joined: 18 Feb 2010 Posts: 85 Location: Bellevue, WA

Something from Boeing Field Tower 02/17 21:17Z

KBFI - Tower Of Terror.mp3

Can anybody provide a clearance transcript? :)

RyanShort1 · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 101 Location: San Antonio, TX

I've had NO END of trouble getting ATC to understand what kind of plane we are. We're flying an Apollo Fox LSA and they have a VERY hard time just taking "Fox" or "Light Sport" - often asking if we are a life support helicopter, or asking us to spell it out. It's nearly to the point of being a major annoyance.

Ryan

slsaowner · Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 80 Location: WI

I've been flying a Tecnam Bravo out of a Class C airport for 5 years now and have given up trying to explain what kind of aircraft I'm in. I just say "experimental" and they seem to be O.K with that.

drseti · Joined: 28 Nov 2009 Posts: 1387 Location: Lock Haven PA

RyanShort1 wrote: I've had NO END of trouble getting ATC to understand what kind of plane we are.

Ditto. All the S-LSAs have an FAA-assigned ID, but the controllers can't possibly know all of them (there are now something like 120 different models approved). So, when I say I'm an Echo Victor Sierra Sierra, they have no idea what that is. "Light Sport" has brought queries as to whether I'm a helicopter. So, I've taken to saying "experimental" too, even though I aren't one...

ibgarrett · Joined: 04 Dec 2008 Posts: 147 Location: Westminster, CO

Out here in Colorado there must be enough of a squadron of LSA's that I don't have too much trouble with ATC when I use "Light Sport". Now if I say "Sting Sport" (which is what mine is), that gets them all flustered - so I just stick with Light Sport and be done with it.

Personally I don't hold it against them. I have no freakin' clue how anyone, much less ATC keeps track of all the different models of aircraft out there. There are the obvious exceptions of Cessna, Cirrus, Piper, etc. but for someone to look at their controller window and try to tell the difference between a CTX and a Remos - that would be a challenge.

Heck, even calling for weather or filing a flight plan can be a challenge...

comperini · Joined: 24 Feb 2008 Posts: 152 Location: California

And the big problem I see, is that the "lists" of aircraft deisgnators (both ICAO and the USA list) are not updated fast enough, nor can they ever really keep up with all the new make/models.

Personally, I wish they'd just come out with a set of "generic" identifiers, for SLSAs to describe the basic performance of the plane, llike they do experimentals now (HXA, HXB, HXC).

And you'd think the FAA would issue a memo to all controllers on what the heck "Light Sport" means. I've actually been fairly lucky this past year or so, with southern California controllers... they did get the memo I guess. But I have had to play the "Just call me an experimental" game more than once, too.

bitten192 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 61 Location: RICHLAND WA USA

I've gotten tired of explaining to approach control what a REMOS is and being called "Lifeguard" when I say Light Sport so I call in as Experimental, HXB. That seems to work OK.

eb

RyanShort1 · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 101 Location: San Antonio, TX

I've gotten the "Lifeguard," too. I just refuse to say Experimental.

Ryan

ibgarrett · Joined: 04 Dec 2008 Posts: 147 Location: Westminster, CO

Sounds like you need to send your friendly ATC folks some cotton swabs to clean out their ears...

RyanShort1 · Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 101 Location: San Antonio, TX

What's super annoying is that I think I'm actually enunciating and speaking clearly. I have 0 problems when I'm in other aircraft as a flight instructor, and I think I talk pretty professionally (when I'm not having too much fun).

Ryan