Skylane 1-4 Alpha, shortened to 1-4 Alpha in calls after that. Short and keeps the radio from being tied up.

What aggravates me more than long-winded airplane call signs is guys not stating which airport they're making calls at. There are lots of airports on 122.8 and .7 in South Tx, and it's a lot of fun looking for phantom traffic on a straight in that's anywhere from right on top of you, to 50 miles away.

Skalywag wrote:Be precise n to the point, if N numbers bother u, just say Bug Ren Dog super wagon with survival vest left base!

Goddammit Luke now I have coffee in my keyboard.

CamTom12 wrote:

Bagarre wrote:I put the people who correct people's radio calls in the same category as the people who correct people's spelling and grammar on the internet.

Student's are taught to use their N number in every_single_call for consistency and instructors think is sounds soooooo professional.

What's more important is you get your location right so people know where to look for you.

I think you meant "every-single-call"

Oh, your one of them

In keeping with the OP context, as a student I found the FAR's and the AIM WOEFULLY bleak of useable instruction for radio speak. I spent a bunch of money buying numerous "guides" in the market of instructional materiel to try and get a good understanding of what is expected of me and what I can expect to hear. In a noisy and vibrating aircraft cabin with a green pilot it was anyones guess as to what was going to happen on the radio. Then add the fast talkers (yeah, I'm from south Texas) and my requests for repeats gets old. I can't write that fast. I heard of a case where a guy from Arkansas in a Bonanza advised ATC upon initiating the conversation that they could do this 10 times at their speed or once at his; makes no difference to him...

Since I can't find it in the FAR's either, it may be prudent to use the N# on the initial call.

DeltaRomeo wrote:Then add the fast talkers (yeah, I'm from south Texas) and my requests for repeats gets old.

Ever talked to that fast talking Marine-sounding controller out of Corpus? I've never pissed off a controller as much as that guy when I asked him to say again about 5 times while on flight following. I'm an East Tx transplant, we talk and comprehend 2x slower than South Texians

I was taught (recently) to use the full N# on initial call up then shorten it to the last 3 after that. Most folks around here seem to use that system although a few use the color of their aircraft instead. I personally don't care what folks use as long as it doesn't create confusion.

On a side note, I really hate it when folks describe themselves as experimental whatever. If i'm approaching a strip and a Skyhawk, Bonanza, or whatever also calls in I know about how fast he's probably going and about where he will be in relation to me when I enter the pattern. With the wide range of experimentals out there I don't have a clue what to expect. If somebodys tells me he's an RV or Zenith then I am back to having a good idea where he will be. I suppose its a minor pet peeve, but I just like to get an idea ahead of time of about where everybody will be.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Seems I may have touched a nerve, though mostly a humorous one. I tend to use N-number on initial call and then may switch to type / color if I get the feeling things are getting congested.

This thread at least lets me know I'm not alone in my confusion!!

Kevin

Hammer wrote:They don't use them at OshKosh, which has a reasonable volume of traffic now and again...

Said another way: The busiest airport in the world doesn't use tail numbers...

CenterHillAg wrote:

DeltaRomeo wrote:Then add the fast talkers (yeah, I'm from south Texas) and my requests for repeats gets old.

Ever talked to that fast talking Marine-sounding controller out of Corpus? I've never pissed off a controller as much as that guy when I asked him to say again about 5 times while on flight following. I'm an East Tx transplant, we talk and comprehend 2x slower than South Texians

In a slow drawl:
" y'all hear how fact I'm talking?
That's about how fast I listen."

In a slow drawl:
" y'all hear how fact I'm talking?
That's about how fast I listen."

Har, har. Might work in Texas, in the rest of the world you keep up or you'll get vectors or holds until your fuel runs out. Also in the rest of the world pilots need a radio license, with ICAO standard phraseology and protocols. You don't need it to fly domestically, probably why the standard here is all over the map as we see in this thread. You can have a look at FCC Form 605.

Karmutzen wrote:

In a slow drawl:
" y'all hear how fact I'm talking?
That's about how fast I listen."

Har, har. Might work in Texas, in the rest of the world you keep up or you'll get vectors or holds until your fuel runs out. Also in the rest of the world pilots need a radio license, with ICAO standard phraseology and protocols. You don't need it to fly domestically, probably why the standard here is all over the map as we see in this thread. You can have a look at FCC Form 605.

The standard here isn't all over the map, there is no standard.
We're talking about Non-Towered radio calls.

"Dead Horse traffic, high Wing four foxtrot lima on the 45 for left downwind runway 24. We got the electric lights on. four foxtrot lima Dead Horse"

YMMV

Back when radio licenses for the operator AND the airplane were required, I got both. Yep, did all the required training (none), and sent in the form (plus a check) and got the license. Didn't help me with the OP's original question, though... Not one little bit...

We recently had our tower person attend an EAA meeting, and asked how we're supposed to identify ourselves in a "towered" environment, and the answer was "Experimental" (or Aircraft-Type, for certified types) + N-number on the first call, and just "last-3" after that... Ditto with entering the Dallas Class Bravo.

But for non-towered airfields, I usually just say "Citabria 02Sierra" on the first call, and "Citabria" on subsequent calls.

Karmutzen wrote:

In a slow drawl:
" y'all hear how fact I'm talking?
That's about how fast I listen."

Har, har. Might work in Texas, in the rest of the world you keep up or you'll get vectors or holds until your fuel runs out. Also in the rest of the world pilots need a radio license, with ICAO standard phraseology and protocols. You don't need it to fly domestically, probably why the standard here is all over the map as we see in this thread. You can have a look at FCC Form 605.

Ya...no vectors here. And give me the runaround for any length of time when I am on instruments and I'll declare a fuel emergency and just come in and land. The controllers in their swiveling office chairs don't have any right to endanger my safety because they don't like my radio voice.

That said, being able to understand what's said on the radio depends a LOT on being able to anticipate what people will say, hence the common phraseology most radio disciplines demand.

But said phraseology in NO WAY requires aircraft identify with their tail numbers.

I was listening to LiveATC today and noticed that controllers give traffic by type, not tail number. "Dash 8 on 3 mile final".

That pretty much tells me what I need to know though our airfield is anything but busy and a couple extra letters or numbers ain't gonna ruin anybody's day.

My wife (an American) learned to fly in Arizona and people wonder why she calls it a 'pattern' and why she always identifies the field at the end of each transmission.

albravo wrote:I was listening to LiveATC today and noticed that controllers give traffic by type, not tail number. "Dash 8 on 3 mile final".

That pretty much tells me what I need to know though our airfield is anything but busy and a couple extra letters or numbers ain't gonna ruin anybody's day.

My wife (an American) learned to fly in Arizona and people wonder why she calls it a 'pattern' and why she always identifies the field at the end of each transmission.

When the CTAF is shared by a couple different fields and often audible from distance I believe it's proper to identify the airfield at the beginning and end of the transmission. If there is no-one around anyway just announce minimally I suppose.

Mister701 wrote:

albravo wrote:I was listening to LiveATC today and noticed that controllers give traffic by type, not tail number. "Dash 8 on 3 mile final".

That pretty much tells me what I need to know though our airfield is anything but busy and a couple extra letters or numbers ain't gonna ruin anybody's day.

My wife (an American) learned to fly in Arizona and people wonder why she calls it a 'pattern' and why she always identifies the field at the end of each transmission.

When the CTAF is shared by a couple different fields and often audible from distance I believe it's proper to identify the airfield at the beginning and end of the transmission. If there is no-one around anyway just announce minimally I suppose.

This is very important where I do most of my flying. We've got 4 airports using 122.8 in a fairly small area so not clearly identifying which one you're at can lead to confusion.

I totally understand the necessity of calling the airport if multiple airports can potentially hear you but around here there ain't nobody listening but us. I mention her tendency more to point out that when we aren't thinking about radio etiquette (in favour of thinking about a 2200' foot runway with terrain on all sides, 20-25 knots of typical wind and a hydro substation then high trees on short final) we revert to our trained behaviour.

To be clear though, all radio calls around here start with 'Squamish traffic...", she just makes her call then tacks 'Squamish' on again at the end. Embry Riddle, then airline training, she has professional habits even in the backwoods.

Repeating the airport at the end of the transmission is critically important to me. After 13yrs of marriage my wife has finally learned that if she doesn't get my attention before she starts talking I don't comprehend a word she's saying.

I've used both methods of ident on the radio.

Can any of you really discern color from a mile away? A blue Cessna and a red Cessna look the same to me. Type of aircraft is important though as I know the speed of a King Air and the speed of a Luscomb are quite different and I can plan my pattern entry accordingly.

Having recently starting using ADSB and with the Scout unit magically tied to Foreflight on my iPad, I realized that many N numbers are displayed. So when N12345, N54321, and N98765 are all in the pattern, I am better aware of where each of them are. Color doesn't matter to me unless it's so bright that I can see it from a mile away. My home field has an active flight school and it's not unusual for the student's location to be a bit off from where they think they are. With ADSB and a pattern full of airplanes, the N number helps a lot for me to determine who is where ......... and where I will fit into the mix as I enter the pattern.

So N numbers may increasingly have a place in the radio call as ADSB becomes more prominent.

I was always told that it was the FCC that required a radio operator to identify his call sign, not the FAA, but I've never heard of the FCC actively listening to pilots to enforce this, if it's true.