I was reading some of the other threads about talking on the radio and patern entry. I thought of a few things that drive me nuts when I am flying. Was wondering if any of you are disturbed by these or other habits that some of us tend to have. I am sure that some of the things I do tick off some other pilots too, but here are a few of my personal (un)favorites:

I can't stand to hear a pilot say "clear of the active" at an uncontroled airport. I always mention which runway I am clear of and where I got off. "Clear of the active" IMO is something you can say to a ground or tower controller when he askes you to expedite or clear ASAP so he can put another one in safely behind you. I think that people get the idea of the runway in use mixed up with the term active runway (which I believe should only be used at a tower controlled airport).

My airport has no taxiway so we have to back-taxi (5000 ft runway, ramp is at mid point). I listen for a while and look around and announce before back taxiing on the runway. Several times (2 times recently) I have listened, looked and announced, waited and began my taxi and then heard someone calling in that they are heading straight in from 5 miles out. Once I re-announce, the other pilot has had to fly upwind or make a 360 deg circle because they didn't overfly the field or announce their intentions early enough. Once I began to taxi too fast to be give the approaching plane a chance at landing after my departure and realized that I was risking a ground loop for this schmuck and immediately slowed down and let the guy go around. I recently decided that its safer, sometimes, at my airport to use an intersection departure rather than back taxiing. My plane gets off in way less than a thousand feet, but the old saying about nothing more useless than runway behind you and altitude above you is always in the back of my mind.

I don't really appreaciate the casual conversations between pilots on the UNICOM or CTAF. I don't mind a little friendly banter, but some guys go on too long. I am a transplant to NC. Some of the good ole boys down here like to chatter and its sounds dumb to me (the accent combined with the CB radio jargan) not to mention that it's inconsiderate.

I can't stand hearing people use the wrong phonetic alphabet when flying. "Rodger" is widely accepted, but it comes from the Army's alphabet (I have heard some of the old timers use "Baker and a few others too). I know what they mean, but it doesn't sound right.

Interested to see what gets under the skin of others.

I share most of your beefs, and will add one of my own- transplants who criticize the local culture. I'm sure whatever highway or airway you drove / flew in on runs both directions.

I like it down here in NC, as apparently do lots of other folks (as indicated by the incredible population increase), but it pisses me off pretty good to have folks move in from other places and then spout off about how dumb we sound or how many ways we do things wrong.

Sorry OBX- you seem like a decent guy and I still hope to meet you some day, but I can't keep my big mouth shut on this one...

Peace offering to follow...

how dumb we sound

I always found it to be an advantage that folks underestimate slow talking Crackers. Talking slowly gives you way more time to think.

Georgia Boy

TD

My pet peeve is $4.xx fuel. Every time I taxi up to a sign with those numbers I start twitching.

Vick wrote:My pet peeve is $4.xx fuel. Every time I taxi up to a sign with those numbers I start twitching.

I think your "twitching" is gonna get worse...does $5.xx mean convulsions?
No fens, No fens

Snowmachine tracks criss-crossing an established runway. Oh, and some yahoo around these parts that used to yodel his call sign every time. And oh yeah- bureaucracy

I have to agree with the OP about conversations on CTAF that resemble a telephone call. Regardless of what accent they are in. A lot of airports are sharing that frequency.

I've been lurking for a while but I had to respond to this post.

My pet peeve is the "ah..." guys.

"Oakdale traffic, this is ah... Cessna, ah... 626. We're ah.... about, oh, 5 miles out on a ah... left ah.... 45 for runway.... ah.... .... 28. Is there ah... any other ah.... traffic in the pattern? ..... Oakdale?"

Now, I was raised in Georgia so I talk slow even though I live in California. But... ah.... come on! You really didn't know what you were going to say before you keyed the mic? In the time it takes some guys to announce, three airplanes could have announced and landed. And cleared the "active."

My other pet peeve is spoiled rich guys in expensive airplanes that think everyone else waits for them. Stupid Fokkers.

I can't stand people who intolerant of my intolerance. I'm set in my ways, and if you don't like me making a center field x-wind, picking my nose while taxiing to the runway, or talking to my friends on the CTAF, keep flying to another field! $4.50 a gallon gas pisses me off too.
Dave
Codger in training

One of my favorite "chit chat" on the radio stories.

I was flying over to the Kitsap Peninsula one very nice day and heard two dingbats chatting back and forth on 122.9 about where they were going to land and where the truck was parked etc. I was just about to key the mike and ask for some courtesy when McCord AFB tower came on and called the to dingbats to inform them they had busted the McCord airspace and they needed to get out of his space and talk to FAA.

Amazing silence followed.

One thing about McCord airspace is one can have a close encounter w/ a C-17 or other heavy iron really easy.

TD

TomD wrote:One of my favorite "chit chat" on the radio stories.

Sure beats someone discussing his winter in Hawaii with his bud. At length. On 122.9. This from a 135 operator.

I like the folks in NC, never met a nicer bunch, generally speaking. I know a "transplant" from sunny CA who lives there and does flight instruction...good guy also. He moved in and started making a few waves, wouldn't ya know it...his barn got burned down...accidental - like. Said it took him several years and multiple encounters before he finally learned he wasn't in CA any more.

I do like to read about you guys that get all wound - up about using/not using the radio and the SOB that tries to cut you off in the pattern, calls in for landing while you are back - taxiing, clears the active, straight - in approaches, etc. Funny stuff.

I gotta say, "Traffic in the area please advise".
That pisses me off more than anything, well except the people that do not know what the air-to-air freq is for and use unicom.

670x wrote:I gotta say, "Traffic in the area please advise".

Zane- If you ever need to replace "Around the Campfire" with an alternate name, may I suggest...

OK, call me weird .... but I don't get pissed off when I'm flying my airplane. I might shake my head once in awhile, or mutter to myself, "what was that guy thinking when he said/did that?" ... but the older I get the less pissed off I get ... maybe I've already used up most of my lifetime quota for pissing and moaning .... but mostly, I'm just glad to be at the controls of my own airplane and not riding in a Boeing 7 whatever winged sardine can packed with hundreds of other pissed off passengers ... or seeing my life pass before my eyes while some yucklehead in another car does another incredibly stupid/life threatening stunt that makes me wish I was flying my airplane instead of driving with the idiots .

nmflyguy wrote:OK, call me weird .... but I don't get pissed off when I'm flying my airplane. I might shake my head once in awhile, or mutter to myself, "what was that guy thinking when he said/did that?" ... but the older I get the less pissed off I get ... maybe I've already used up most of my lifetime quota for pissing and moaning .... but mostly, I'm just glad to be at the controls of my own airplane and not riding in a Boeing 7 whatever winged sardine can packed with hundreds of other pissed off passengers ... or seeing my life pass before my eyes while some yucklehead in another car does another incredibly stupid/life threatening stunt that makes me wish I was flying my airplane instead of driving with the idiots .

Not weird at all! I feel pretty much the exact same with all your comments above.

If I don't like all the chatter, I'll simply turn that volume dial to the left a little.

I'll agree with some others, I don't care for the "Other Traffic in the Area, Please Advise!!" Especially when you hear it from a NON-jet, turbine, or turbo prop plane.

Oh, edit......

It drives me crazy when pilots don't spell correctly !! Ah hum...... Tim!

obxbushpilot wrote:I can't stand to hear a pilot say "clear of the active" at an uncontroled airport. I always mention which runway I am clear of and where I got off. "Clear of the active" IMO is something you can say to a ground or tower controller when he askes you to expedite or clear ASAP so he can put another one in safely behind you. I think that people get the idea of the runway in use mixed up with the term active runway (which I believe should only be used at a tower controlled airport).

I think that's when you are sposed to use "clear the active", at a towered airport the tower is there to keep track of all the planes, so their is no need to tell the guy who is paid to make announcements that your clear, he knows and will clear others when safe. One the other hand at a uncontrolled field its nice to let others know when your clear, I've turned final a few times to see some guy still on the runway even though it was 5 after since he called final


My big peeve is when someone one is shooting a approach to a non towered filed and uses only IFR lingo. Heck I'm IFR rated too, but when I'm flying in somewhere VFR unless I have a plate on me I even get lost in what they are trying to say. The big concern here is many student pilots use these types of fields to train (large runways, no tower) and this type of radio call might as well be static to them.

None of the radio stuff really bothers me too much. If folks are chattering too much, advising of the option of 122.75 or 123.45 usually quiets things down pretty quickly. Of course that's much less of an issue these days with fewer folks flying.

Confession: I have used "clear of the active", particularly after backtaxiing and someone's in the pattern, or if someone's waiting to depart from behind me. At the home field you can't see one end of the runway from the other, so it seems to make sense.

I have also asked for traffic advisories if everything's quiet but I suspect there's someone in the pattern. It's amazing how the frequency sometimes lights up after I say that.

I think overcommunicating is a far lesser sin than saying nothing. My only true scares thus far in flying have been a few near-midairs, several of which could have been completely avoided with better communication. And my head is ALWAYS on a swivel near the pattern...

Guys who use 123.45 mhz as a chatter channel. That is an assigned ATC frequency, folks. It's commonly used by trans polar flights. I've been asked by European cargo pilots why so many pilots in Alaska chit chat on an ATC frequency.

122.75 and 122.85 are the approved air to air frequencies.

MTV

Guys who use 123.45 mhz as a chatter channel. That is an assigned ATC frequency, folks. It's commonly used by trans polar flights. I've

Interesting- there are many sources that list 123.45 as an air-to-air frequency, but some others that imply exactly what you say, MTV. I'm sure you're right- time to go back to the AIM. Thanks for learnin' me something!