My Journey to the Air Races

Well, my Air Race Adventure started very early Friday when I had to wake up at 2am to catch a 5:45am flight from Cleveland to Denver. The plan was to use a airline buddy pass to save money because I had just committed to this trip on Wednesday, which makes for a short notice (read: expensive) airline ticket. The buddy pass ended up being $130, but that was ok with me since this airline’s policy was to put folks in First Class first. So my first leg to Atlanta was wonderful up there in seat 2D. I arrived in ATL at 7:34 and had a connection to Denver, where the Air Race starts, at 8:52.

Well, if you’ve never been in Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport, it is the country’s busiest. So this place is never deserted - it is usually mobbed! So I tried not to be nervous about the crowds as I went to the gate for leg 2. There are screens in the airport that list the ‘standby’ passenger list, as I was since I traveled on a non-revenue buddy pass, and I was twenty-something out of thirty-ish. With about 12 seats available. Again, I wasn’t too nervous because many people don’t show up for their flights because they end up not traveling, or make alternate plans, or miss their connection. But it soon became apparent I would not get on. However, I got pretty close, so I was hoping I would have a better shot on the 10:52.

There was still a big crowd, but I was less than twenty on this list, so I was sure I had it. The gate agent even lined up the rest of us “non-revs” up against the wall, scanned us in, and told us to go on board and find a seat. Except there weren’t any. So a United Flight Attendant, a woman whose husband worked for United traveling with her 9 year old son, and I, dejectedly deplaned. The good news is that these folks and I were now “united” in a common goal: to get to Denver. We had all been told that the flights would open up later in the day, so we proceed to the next flight together, the 12:20, and spend time getting to know each other.

Unfortunately, now the number of non revs increased, as many of us didn’t get on that one, which was even oversold so they bumped paying passengers, nor the 1:38pm one either. At least we were having fun spending time together! The woman’s son was amazing. Any other kid would have been whining and groaning about having been in the airport since 6am, but not a complaint out of this kid! The Flight Attendant and I, since we were in uniform, decided to see if we could take advantage of another airline’s policy to let crewmembers fly for really cheap. There was only one seat remaining on this 2:25pm flight, and I let the FA have it since he had to show for work in Denver at 5pm. But before he left, he signed me up for a buddy pass on his airline, so I met the woman and her son at the United gate for the 2:59 flight. No luck.

By this time, we were getting desperate (and really tired). As we waited for the 4:10pm flight, where we were again in the high twenties for a flight that had only single digit seats, we tried to figure out an alternate plan while her son took a nap on the floor. Driving from Atlanta to Denver was not an option, but we wondered if we could at least take a flight to an airport within driving distance of Denver. OR, close enough so that we could go there on Delta and make a connection on United the rest of the way. Wichita, Kansas City, Omaha, Colorado Springs, all oversold. Jackson Hole, WY, available, but we’d have to spend the night, and a $300 hotel room was not in my budget. Cammy called her husband to check flights, I called my contact and we tried to come up with a plan despite the fact that exhaustion was setting in on the adults, too! Meanwhile, the 4:10 flight filled up and left without us. The gate agent here, if not helpful, was at least not hostile. She told us that the 7:10pm and 9:35pm flights were way oversold as well.

Both Cammy and I sat in shock for some time, trying to figure out the best options. It was clear to us we were not getting out of Atlanta, but we didn’t want to spend the night only to have to go through this all again tomorrow! But really, what option was there? So we went to sit at the 7:34 United flight. I had just finished telling Cammy that the second best thing that could happen was that at least she and her son get on this one (a regional jet as opposed to the 737s and 757s we’d been trying to get on) and that would allow me to figure out what to do on my own. And sure enough, they were the last two people called to get on the flight!

I had now been in the Atlanta airport for 12 hrs. I was hungry, tired and a little worried. Although I don’t need to be in Denver until Sunday at the absolute latest (the race organizers were being generous because I was a last minute replacement), the day was a total loss! I still had plenty of things to do for Girls With Wings and our trip. Write a press release, get a webpage built, etc., but I was never in one place long enough to open up the computer and most gate areas didn’t have anywhere to sit anyhow!

I headed on over to the last Delta flight of the day, the 9:35pm, stopping at the Colorado Springs and Wichita gates along the way. If you’ve ever been to ATL, you know that there is no “stopping by” anything. ATL is HUGE, and my body was getting really tired of walking down concourses, taking trains and escalators, while wheeling my overstuffed bags and carrying a 2 foot by 3 foot poster board of Penelope. As the gate area for the Denver flight filled up, I made a decision. I knew that I was not going to get on the Delta flight, so I ran over to the last flight with any airline to Denver, the 10:05pm on Air Tran. The gate area was relatively deserted! Until I started waiting in line, of course. But lo and behold…

…when I got to the counter, I was issued a boarding pass! We were still somewhat far away from the departure time, though. And people just kept coming and coming. I wasn’t going to celebrate until I had myself in a seat and the aircraft door was closed. This did happen, unbelievably, relieving me from finding a place to stay the night and coming back early the next morning to try again.

Embarrassingly, I was only awake long enough to hear the safety brief and slept until the FA’s announcement that we were preparing to land. I woke up on final to DEN nearly 24 hrs after I had started this trip, with red eyes, bad breath and a grumbling stomach. But I was so happy. My poster of Penelope had made the trip to Denver in the cockpit, so I grabbed her picture and deplaned.

A friend picked me up from the airport and brought me to their house, where I made a horrible guest and went right to bed. Today, I will meet up with Heather and we will start working together on our participation in the Air Race!

Women's Transcontinental AirRace Classic

It's amazing how things can change in the blink of an eye. I received a rather unremarkable request from a friend of mine yesterday asking me if I could put out the word for someone needing a female pilot for a rather long, but very short notice trip. I distribute messages to my contact database quite a bit, whether the pilot is needed for a presentation, public speaking event, flying gig, etc., so I began first with a tweet:

AIR RACE CLASSIC CO-PILOT NEEDED June 23 - 26 http://www.airraceclassic.org/ DM for details and PLS RT!

(If you don't know what Twitter is yet, please (or pls) visit www.Twitter.com)

Some of my twitter friends did RT (or Retweet) and I did get a DM (or Direct Message). Then I started to write up a longer post for FB (Facebook) when I realized I didn't know what the heck I was tweeting and FBing so I better do a little research.

I knew of course, as I mentioned in an earlier post, about the Cleveland Air Race.

Women’s air racing all started in 1929 with the First Women’s Air Derby. Twenty pilots raced from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH, site of the National Air Races. Racing continued through the ‘30’s and was renewed again after WWII when the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race (AWTAR), better known as the Powder Puff Derby, came into being. The AWTAR held its 30^th, final and commemorative flight in 1977. When the AWTAR was discontinued, the Air Race Classic, Ltd., (ARC) stepped in to continue the tradition of transcontinental speed competition for women pilots and staged its premier race. The Air Race Classic was reincorporated in 2002 into the Air Race Classic, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

But I knew nothing about what it consisted of today. Easily enough, I found that the organization is dedicated to

* Encouraging and educating current and future women pilots

* Increasing public awareness of general aviation

* Demonstrating women's roles in aviation

* Preserving and promoting the tradition of pioneering women in aviation.

Which is completely in line with the mission of Girls With Wings, using women in aviation to inspire girls to achieve their full potential! So I started thinking... Nothing really on my calendar, except of course, working on Girls With Wings events, like our upcoming training session in NY, preparing for our booth at Oshkosh EAA Airventure, and a tour with my employer, NetJets, who has been very generous of late in giving out leaves of absence. Note that I personally have very little GA (or General Aviation) experience, being a military pilot who went straight into the airlines, so it'll be educational. And this would be a great opportunity to see the country under VFR, or visual flight rules, since I'm usually flying miles above the earth and above the clouds in a Citation X. AND it's a great networking experience. So my wheels started turning; I tweeted:

@ShelleyDelayne I've got to get a few more details. But I'd love to see what real pilots do!

@ symbol means you're replying to someone.

I gave the remaining member of the Pink and Pearls flight team, Heather, a call. She was understandably a bit non committal when I talked to her. Because of course, she hadn't met me. And I hadn't met her. This race is officially from June 23 - 26, 2009. From Denver, CO to Atlantic, IA, and covers 2359.0 nm/2714.7 sm. But, there are events, meetings, schedules, etc., from 9am the morning of the 19th, til late at night the 29th. TEN days' worth. This is a long time to spend with someone you don't know!

Race Route for 2009

Start: Denver, CO (APA) hosted by the Colorado Chapter fo the Ninety-Nines

Liberal, KS (LBL)
Sweetwater, TX (SWW)
Lufkin, TX (LFK)
Russellville, AR (RUE)
Grenada, MS (GNF)
Sparta, TN (SRB)
Jacksonville, IL (IJX)

Racine, WI (RAC)

Finish: Atlantic, IA (AIO) hosted by Airworks, the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, Cass Atlantic Development Corporation and the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission.

As I told her, I was tempted to volunteer myself but my only issues were, obviously, financial ones. I'd have to give up my paycheck when I took leave from my job, and there are costs involved with doing the race. You know, fuel, lodging, food...? The great thing about this team is that they've been doing a little fundraising! The Pink and Pearls team, so named for Nancy Bird Walton, Australia’s first aviatrix to use a Commercial Pilots License in 1935 where she provided an aerial baby clinic and ambulance in far west NSW and Queensland. Not only had they done the MONTHS of planning involved, they had gotten donations and sponsorships to help cover some of the costs of leasing an airplane. Not to mention the fact that one of the team's sponsors is going to provide Hot Pink Flightsuits. Uh, not my best color :/ (Do you see where my train of thought is heading?)

So I responded to another woman pilot on twitter with: @Av8rgirl I know, I'm thinking about putting myself in the running. Checking flts to CA now!

As I tried to figure out how to get to LAX on a friday when it was already wednesday. I called a friend of mine who is a super incredible flight instructor (and wife of a guy I used to fly with at Flight Options) and said, "what would I need to do to make sure I am legal and able to do this flight?" Remember, the clock is ticking here. Go straight to the source! She gave me the cliff notes version, and erased any other hesitation I might have had when she said it would be a perfect way to spread the news about Girls With Wings. We can even bring Penelope Pilot, who encourages more girls to have an interest in aviation, along for the ride!

The race provides the following resources as well:

Scholastic Outreach - Introduce Air Racing concepts and history into your community. Learn about the opportunities for your Girl Scouts when the Air Race Classic comes to your area.
This year onsite meetings with the Racers will be at both the Denver Start and the Atlantic Terminus. Youth at these airports will meet the Racers as they share their stories and answer questions about racing and aviation choices today.
- Youth "Meet the Racers," Saturday, June 20 - Denver Centennial Airport 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Girls 6 - 17 years of age, Saturday, June 27 - Atlantic Municipal Airport 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

So I tweeted:

Remember tweet about co-pilot for AirRace Classic? Would anyone have a spare buddy pass so I can get out there? Yeah, me, Miss Spontaneity.

...and then, after Ken Nebrig, an airline pilot who generously donated to the GWW scholarship last year offered a buddy pass, I called Heather back. Asked her a few more questions, and then just threw caution to the wind and told her I'd join her team. So I tweeted with a little more confidence: Guess what, y'all. I'm going to do the 2009 AirRace Classic! http://www.airraceclassic.org

I am now only going as far as Denver, not to CA for a checkout, since it's not really required. I'll play co-pilot and not log any PIC time. Heather and I will be Classic 21 (34 teams in all). So I'm lining everything up here and then reality starts sinking in:

@fly2Bfree I'm kinda nervous! This is a unfamiliar world of flying for me. I went from military to airlines. VFR? Flight Following? Huh?

This is a major big deal. There are pages of information on the website. We don't have any hotels lined up, any extra cash, haven't built the webpage, done this blog entry, packed (done laundry even), written a press release... Ack!

So I tweet: @KimberlyRisley I am going to be in the race! Got a whole 48 hours notice before I need to be in Denver where the race starts!

I had to get zen about it though. After all, life is short, something always works out, etc. And I started to think about what a great life experience this is going to be.

@keithjjones I know I am always so jealous of the folks down at lower altitudes flying for fun!

So I've spent the last 24 hrs trying to get ready for the trip. My biggest obstacle has been finding a way to Denver. My twitter friends came through again, this time with a buddy pass on another airline. I just can't afford to buy a ticket now so this really helps. I'm still planning and packing, hence the slightly rushed tone of this entry.

I will tweet and blog and post pictures of the race, here and at www.GirlsWithWings.com. It's a little late for me to find sponsors or donations at this point, but I would like to take this opportunity to ask folks to visit the GWW online store and make a purchase. It would really help with the finances of GWW. You can also make a donation to the GWW scholarship while you're there.

Now, to the mayonnaise...

Yesterday I talked about proper radio terminology and phraseology, and today I would like to talk about putting these theories into practice.

The AIM instructs on Radio Technique

a. Listen before you transmit. [...] Except for a few situations where some frequency overlap occurs, if you hear someone else talking, the keying of your transmitter will be futile and you will probably jam their receivers causing them to repeat their call. If you have just changed frequencies, pause, listen, and make sure the frequency is clear.

b. Think before keying your transmitter. Know what you want to say and if it is lengthy [...] jot it down.

c. The microphone should be very close to your lips and after pressing the mike button, a slight pause may be necessary to be sure the first word is transmitted. Speak in a normal, conversational tone.

"Speak in a normal, conversational tone." That means none of that lowering your voice to do the "Uh, CleveLAND Center. [Pause] This is ...uh, SUuuuPer Jet ONE eight Zeero, with you at uh... FLIGHT level four one OH." Hopefully you can imagine this swarthy, Clark Gable-esque transmission. Just as likely to cause some other crewmembers on frequency to cringe is a cutesy little squeak, "Um, hee-hee, Sunshine Jet Two Two One, at, hee, hee, three eight zero." Occasionally this can result in a controller of the opposite sex (hopefully the pilot was female in this scenario) to get all flustered and respond with his most "attractive" voice.

All that said, I'd rather hear these inflections then frustration and confusion on the radio which can result from non-standard phraseology. Earlier I posted about a time that a controller had asked me to acknowledge an acknowledgement by angrily transmitting, "readback correct, OVER!" Stunned, I ...uh... thanked him? There has been a lot of coverage in the news about making things easier for pilots, who do up to fourteen hour duty days with only ten hours of "rest" in between to close up/prepare the airplane, get to/from the hotel, grab something to eat, sleep, etc. Well, the job of an Air Traffic Controller, also known by many to be a stressful one is regulated as well, especially since "a hiring emergency in the United States has led to some locations having Air Traffic Controllers work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week (mandatory)." Working in a tower affords a controller some scenery to enjoy, but many work in buildings with no windows, staring at screens (the view at left shows much more detail than most photos that show near darkness).

According to The ILO commissioned a manual on Occupational stress and stress prevention in air traffic control by Professor Giovanni Costa (CONDI/T/WP.6/1995), Air traffic controllers are widely recognized as an occupational group which has to cope with a highly demanding job that involves a complex series of tasks, requiring high levels of knowledge and expertise, combined with high levels of responsibility, not only with regard to risking lives, but also the high economic costs of aeronautical activities. (Not too much different than the description for a pilot, no? -ed.)

Sources and consequences of stress in air traffic control

Surveys show that the main sources of stress reported by air traffic controllers are related both to the operative aspects of their job and to organizational structures. In the former case, the most important factors are peaks of traffic load, time pressure, resolving conflicts in the application of rules, and the limitations and reliability of equipment. The factors relating to organizational structure mainly concern shift schedules (and particularly night work), role conflicts, unfavourable working conditions and the lack of control over work.

Analysis has emphasized the complexity of the work of air traffic controllers. For example, the cognitive/sensory capacities required for high performance at radar workstations include spatial scanning, movement detection, image and pattern recognition, prioritizing, visual and verbal filtering, coding and decoding, inductive and deductive reasoning, short- and long-term memory, and mathematical and probabilistic reasoning. Air traffic controllers are also among the groups of workers who are most exposed to critical accidents which cause unusually strong emotional reactions, such as air accidents with loss of life or serious injury, near collisions or loss of control due to overload.

However, the consequences of these stressors on the performance of individual air traffic controllers may differ widely in relation to factors such as age, life style, work experience, personality traits, attitude, motivation and physical and mental health. Indeed, many studies on the consequences of stress on air traffic controllers have reported apparently contradictory findings. Nevertheless, a number of studies indicate that the demanding work of air traffic controllers may well be a risk factor in the long term in the development of stress-related symptoms, including headaches, chronic fatigue, heartburn, indigestion and chest pain, as well as such serious illnesses as hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, peptic ulcers and psychoneurotic disorders.

They don't put that into the job description when seeking ATC School applicants! So, since there are stresses on both sides, extreme caution should be used so that, as I mentioned yesterday, "Radio communications are a critical link in the ATC system. The link can be a strong bond between pilot and controller or it can be broken with surprising speed and disastrous results."

Clear and concise transmissions are key for the ATC system to work as advertised. One of the methods that we use to ensure not just Pilot/Controller communication, but also comprehension, is the use of the words, confirm, verify or "say again" if a pilot or controller is unsure of a a transmission or directive given. For example, pilots can taxi on to the runway with either a "position and hold" clearance, or a "cleared for takeoff" clearance. In the middle of running checklists, looking for traffic, flipping switches, etc., one or both members of the flight crew can forget the actual clearance. Any pilot can, should, and better, confirm whether takeoff clearance has been issued if there is any question about what they were authorized to do. No pilot wants to hear, "Uh, you weren't cleared for takeoff" as they're pulling up the gear. Same with landing clearance. Pilots get violated if they land at an airport without clearance (or worse, swap paint with another aircraft).

So often, if a pilot asks her co-pilot, "Have we been cleared to land?" because only the other pilot remembers getting the clearance, cockpit procedure dictates that the controller is queried that aircraft does have clearance to land. Just in case. Unfortunately, a pilot requesting a confirmation occasionally gets an irritated response from the controller, I suppose because she remembers giving the clearance. Yes, the frequency is congested and having to repeat a clearance is annoying, but it is also critical to safety. On the other hand, there have been several times where I was told to go "direct to" a fix, and a few minutes later, told by the same controller to go direct to the same fix. Some pilots would say, "Yeah, you told us already." But I believe in professionalism (and not trying to make anyone look stupid), and so I will just read back the clearance as given. What neither pilot or controller group wants to do is make it so someone is hesitant to confirm a clearance for fear they will be chastised on the radio. However, the results of not getting confirmation to the pilot could be fatal.

So in researching the entry for yesterday's post, which led from the extraneous modifier "with you" being used when checking into a new frequency, I searched for "pilot phraseology avoided" regarding the "with you" comment and found this article: Proper Radio Phraseology and Technique A Review and Tutorial It is a very interesting insight into the perspective of an Air Traffic Controller and is worth the read, if you can get past the supercilious tone. (Perhaps the author used the tone of a parent talking to an errant four year old to to reinforce his instruction so that no one could forget who's in charge here!) For example:

Here, in no particular order, is our list of the dumbest things we hear on the radio.

“With you at 8,000 feet.” It sounds so special to be “with” someone but it conveys no useful information. If you use it, stop.
“Roger, standing by.” In street talk, stand by means “shut up, I’ll get back to you in a minute.”
“Cherokee nine six alpha taking the active” Taking it where? And is “active” stenciled on the runway somewhere? Wouldn’t it be better to specify the runway – “departing runway two six” – and be done with it in one call? Ditto “clear of the active.”
“We’ll do the best we can.” [...] Trouble is, if your best isn’t good enough, smoking metal will be the payoff. Either you can or you can’t. It’s “unable” or “wilco.”
“Whatever works best for you.” Helpful pilots sometimes get the impression that their purpose in life is to fly around and give controllers something to do. Remember, ATC is a service and pilots are the customers. [I'm not sure what he means with this statement - ed.]
“Climb and maintain 8,000” in a readback. If you’re on the ground, how else are you going to get to 8,000 except climb? Lose the verbiage.

I have heard all of these examples above, so I am not denying they don't happen.

A pilot in command should be familiar with all aspects of her flight. According to the federal regulations: "Each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight." There are so many factors, like the ones we've been talking about, Pilot/Controller communication, that are contributing factors to pilots and their passengers arriving alive. I am very interested in the field of ATC, and have even visited a few facilities. You can too, as in the AIM: Pilots are encouraged to visit air traffic facilities (Towers, Centers and FSSs) and familiarize themselves with the ATC system. This helps to have an understanding of the person on the other end of that radio frequency. This goes both ways, since it was during a visit to Cleveland Center that a controller told me when a pilot hears, "I was offline; last aircraft say again," the controller was most likely screwing around at the time. (Caveat: Of course, this is not always true!) I have also been given a heading directly into the dark black maw of a thunderstorm, but had ATC not authorize me NOT to fly into it. Ok, if you can't let me fly left around it, let me fly to the right. Just don't expect me to fly into it because it's inconvenient. Teamwork...

So are we ever going to get to the mayonnaise?

“Hold the Mayonnaise!” says this author referenced above and continues with his advice to pilots to avoid the "pet peeves" of controllers.

One of the keys to effective radio communications is eliminating all unnecessary words from your transmissions. This can be accomplished simply by thinking for just a moment about what you want to say before you key the mike.
Let’s consider a transmission. Then let’s replace all the unnecessary words with the word “mayonnaise.” Then we’ll hold the mayonnaise and see how much it cleans up the call.
“And, SoCal Approach, this is, uh, Cessna eight zero one three eight with you.”
If we replace the unnecessary words with the word “mayonnaise” we get:
“Mayonnaise, SoCal Approach, mayonnaise, mayonnaise, Cessna eight zero one three eight mayonnaise.”
All the pilot really needed to say was:
“SoCal Approach, Cessna eight zero one three eight.”

His point is: "Listen to the way controllers talk; their language is highly standardized because they receive years of specialized training. Most pilots only know what their instructors taught them, and many instructors have never seriously studied this part of the AIM. Many pilots mimic the bad habits that they overhear, and this tends to perpetuate certain common mistakes." Like I said, this article if very condescending towards pilots and disregards the years of specialized training that pilots undertake, as well as neglecting the fact that pilots are also completing their own multitude of duties up there in the cockpit. Or, more importantly, it is a relatively new pilot learning the system, and positive reinforcement from a controller is more beneficial than a very public smackdown. If a controller makes a mistake, it potentially results in a loss of life. If a pilot does so, it has the same result with the additional consideration that the loss of life could be their own!

This pdf is 31 pages long and uses quizzes and other behavior modification techniques to cover things pilots can do to "successfully [prejudice] ATC in his favor." Later on he says, "Think about it: if you were a busy air traffic controller, whom would you like better (my italics) – the pilot who made the top transmission or the pilot who made the bottom transmission?"

TWEEEET!! [Whistle blows] "Now both sides go to your corners and come out when you are willing to act like professionals!"

In summary, the AIM says,

b. The single, most important thought in pilot-controller communications is understanding. [...] Brevity is important, and contacts should be kept as brief as possible, but controllers must know what you want to do before they can properly carry out their control duties. And you, the pilot, must know exactly what the controller wants you to do. Since concise phraseology may not always be adequate, use whatever words are necessary to get your message across.

Am I advocating the use of non-standard phraseology? Absolutely not. Here is a link to numerous studies and articles on the hazards of its use from the Flight Safety Foundation. But if you need to use a little mayonnaise, do it sparingly - don't slather it on. It's not good for you; cholesterol and all that. My point to this post is that all of us in the high speed, high stress world of aviation benefit from practicing professional, calm, and rational behavior. Accepting that others (pilots and controllers) make mistakes can decrease the time spent chastising someone for an incorrect transmission (just try to operate in the NY area and get a clearance wrong!), and it may also encourage confirmation rather than assumption ("well, I think we're cleared to land").

If you've gotten to this point, I thank you for the investment in your time. There is just always SO much to talk about! Later I would like to continue the talk of ATC and its current and future state. I encourage feedback from the controllers out there!

Jargon, chatter, and mayonnaise, er, I mean "CB" slang

Well, I promised I would finish up with this subject last month, but things have gotten in the way... I had hoped to write the last word on the subject today, but this has turned into a two day post.

So, to introduce the concept of proper radio terminology, I quote the Aeronautical Information Manual, "Good phraseology enhances safety and is the mark of a professional pilot. Jargon, chatter, and "CB" slang have no place in ATC communications."

Last month I posted about the phrase "with you" sometimes used when pilots checked in on a new frequency. It is an extraneous modifier, because the very fact that one is "checking in" means that they are "with" the Air Traffic Controller. My post generated this comment:

Another age-old radio debate! Really, "with you" isn't so bad. I used to use it because it sounded cool. Took a while to get rid of that habit! But now I say "xxx Center, *level* at eight thousand." The reason "with you" isn't so bad, in my book, is that if you say "with you at {altitude}" instead of "level at {altitude}" it's the same number of syllables and takes pretty much the exact same amount of frequency time. I don't really know why pilots debate this so much, it seems to be controllers that get annoyed at "with you". Annoying controllers tends to lead to longer vectors, fewer direct clearances, etc. so that's why I got rid of the "with you" but it really is a silly debate.

I would like to focus on the "annoyed" comment. Why would there be a perception that controllers get annoyed and then take it out on later clearances and instructions? Pilots and controllers are all professionals, right, trying to get a job done safely, efficiently, etc.? Certainly the mark of a professional is to not be vindictive. One might get frustrated if someone blatantly disregarded protocol, like calling the TCAS, or Traffic Collision Avoidance System (right), a fish finder. But just to be safe, what could pilots do to make sure they're making the most of their side of Pilot - Controller communication?

The first obvious answer is for pilots to know their way around the Pilot/Controller Glossary.

This Glossary was compiled to promote a common understanding of the terms used in the Air Traffic Control system. It includes those terms which are intended for pilot/controller communications. [...] Use of the Glossary will preclude any misunderstandings concerning the system’s design, function, and purpose.

Within this glossary there are pretty obvious definitions, because we use them in our normal conversation, like VERIFY− Request confirmation of information; e.g., “verify assigned altitude.”

But a word can have additional meanings when associated within the aviation context, like FIX− A geographical position determined by visual reference to the surface, by reference to one or more radio NAVAIDs, by celestial plotting, or by another navigational device.

And then there are the really confusing definitions, that even have to reference different publications, just in case there is any question, like VISIBILITY− The ability, as determined by atmospheric conditions and expressed in units of distance, to see and identify prominent unlighted objects by day and prominent lighted objects by night. Visibility is reported as statute miles, hundreds of feet or meters.
(Refer to 14 CFR Part 91.)
(Refer to AIM.)
a. Flight Visibility− The average forward horizontal distance, from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight, at which prominent unlighted objects may be seen and identified by day and prominent lighted objects may be seen and identified by night.
b. Ground Visibility− Prevailing horizontal visibility near the earth’s surface as reported by the United States National Weather Service or an accredited observer.
c. Prevailing Visibility− The greatest horizontal visibility equaled or exceeded throughout at least half the horizon circle which need not necessarily be continuous.
d. Runway Visibility Value (RVV)− The visibility determined for a particular runway by a transmissometer. A meter provides a continuous indication of the visibility (reported in miles or fractions of miles) for the runway. RVV is used in lieu of prevailing visibility in determining minimums for a particular runway.
e. Runway Visual Range (RVR)− An instrumentally derived value, based on standard calibrations, that represents the horizontal distance a pilot will see down the runway from the approach end. It is based on the sighting of either high intensity runway lights or on the visual contrast of other targets whichever yields the greater visual range. RVR, in contrast to prevailing or runway visibility, is based on what a pilot in a moving aircraft should see looking down the runway. RVR is horizontal visual range, not slant visual range. It is based on the measurement of a transmissometer made near the touchdown point of the instrument runway and is reported in hundreds of feet. RVR is used in lieu of RVV and/or prevailing visibility in determining minimums for a particular runway. (See why you would need a glossary? The definition continues, but I'll let you read on in your own time if you'd like.)

Plus, there are some things a pilot has to pick up OJT (on the job training) when talking to ATC. You can tell a pilot who's unfamiliar at this if she modifies her call sign with the word, "student," because "The FAA desires to help student pilots in acquiring sufficient practical experience in the environment in which they will be required to operate. To receive additional assistance while operating in areas of concentrated air traffic, student pilots need only identify themselves as a student pilot during their initial call to an FAA radio facility."

EXAMPLE-
Dayton tower, Fleetwing One Two Three Four, student pilot.

Sometimes it's not so obvious, and confident sounding pilots make mistakes (I am using this term generically to mean errors in judgement, technique, phraseology, etc). A lot of pilots fly only occasionally, so they get rusty, or are just nervous on the frequency of a busy, new airport when they do just fine at their home base (Read this post about me, a 16 year pilot on O'Hare's frequency). Or, we've just been doing this so long, we get a little lazy. For example, our VHF frequencies from 118 to 136 MHz are used for civil air/ground voice communications. So when we tune up a frequency it is, for example, 122.80, like the radio at left (121.50 is in the standby position). Occasionally, controllers and pilots will drop the one at the beginning (since the frequency is always going to start with one) and just say, "Twenty-two point eight." Additionally, most ground controllers transmit and receive on 121.7 or .8 or .9, etc., so a controller might just tell a landing aircraft on rollout to contact ground, on "Point 9," meaning 121.9. This could be confusing to a pilot unaware of this shorthand. You can listen live to some ATC facilities.

So even in that last paragraph, though it is often done, I used incorrect terminology, and I will tell you why it is. The relevant chapter in the Aeronautical Information Manual, which I refer to often here, states:

a. Radio communications are a critical link in the ATC system. The link can be a strong bond between pilot and controller or it can be broken with surprising speed and disastrous results. Discussion herein provides basic procedures for new pilots and also highlights safe operating concepts for all pilots.

For example: Saying "Twenty-two point eight" as I mentioned above is incorrect phraseology, and is often even shortened to "Twenty-two eight" (no point). This would be even more confusing had the frequency been 120.95. If I were to say, "Twenty ninety-five," as many of us do, I could be referring to 120.95 OR 129.5. That's where the link can get broken.

According to the AIM, proper phrasing of numbers:

4-2-8. Figures

a. Figures indicating hundreds and thousands in round number, as for ceiling heights, and upper wind levels up to 9,900 shall be spoken in accordance with the following.

EXAMPLE-
1. 500 five hundred

2. 4,500 four thousand five hundred

b. Numbers above 9,900 shall be spoken by separating the digits preceding the word "thousand."

EXAMPLE-
1. 10,000 one zero thousand

2. 13,500 one three thousand five hundred

e. When a radio frequency contains a decimal point, the decimal point is spoken as "POINT."

EXAMPLE-
122.1 one two two point one

So what does it matter that I say "Twenty-two point eight" instead of "one two two point eight"? If there is any confusion about what a pilot or a controller has said, the other party has an obligation to clarify any transmission, in the interest of safety, as well as to not result in a FAA violation on their record. [That would be bad.] So the controller in this situation may query the pilot whether she was planning to switch to the frequency that she was in fact given. If not, the pilot could switch over to the wrong one and transmit, hear nothing, transmit again, and then finally decide to switch back to question the controller to verify the correct frequency. In this case, it was the pilot's fault resulting from the use of improper terminology.

If at altitude, this would probably not be a big problem, just a delay in handoff. However, if the pilot was in the landing phase and didn't switch over to tower to get say, the instructions to execute a missed approach in a timely manner, it may cause, you know, a problem with other airport traffic. On the other hand, though, it has happened that the controller will give the wrong frequency inadvertently, either because they misspoke or listed a frequency for the incorrect sector. When the pilot switches back, the controller reissues the correct frequency. Teamwork.

I have heard many errors over the years, on both the pilot side and the controller side. One that is common is for a controller to transpose the numbers in a call sign. Sometimes when I am flying, to not cause further congestion, I will answer a call for "ExecJet 904" even though my call sign is ExecJet 940, because I figure chances are it's for me. If I say, "Was that last call for ExecJet 940?" The controller will then have to repeat the whole clearance, further tying up the radios. If the controller didn't realize she misspoke, then she might respond to you with a tone of voice as if assuming you just weren't paying attention and missed your call. Sometimes it just easier to answer the call and pause, to see if the controller comes back and corrects you. 9 times out of ten, it IS for me. Unfortunately, on the recent day that this happened, there was an ExecJet 904 on the frequency. So, what did I hear? "No, ExecJet 940, you stay with me." Doh!

Where's the condiment mentioned in the title? Tomorrow you'll have mayo, I promise.

A McMissed Opportunity

I have just returned from a wonderful weekend camping trip with my 5 year old niece Kate. I absolutely love camping, and being able to take my niece along makes it that much more enjoyable. You may remember the blog entry from last year where I took Kate to an airshow, but since I get to see her so rarely, I decided to cut her some slack and not force her to go to another one [Kate at age 10: "Oh, great, Aunt Lynda again. I guess I'll be spending hours staring at airplanes..."]

So we went up to the East Harbor State Park up on Lake Erie, where we started setting up camp. I thought Kate had developed the Ewww! tendency as she scouted out a place to set up the tent, but the bug aversion soon passed. While I worked on the tent (I learned last year that youthful enthusiasm and fiberglass tent poles don't mix), Kate rode her bike up and down the street scoping things out. Unfortunately, I had the tent up and the canopy tent halfway up (this is a 2 ADULT job), when my neighbors rode up. On their motorcycles.

I am not against bikers per se, since I have a motorcycle myself. But it was a bad sign to have a group of them spewing profanity set up next door. Kate didn't seem to notice their use of a certain four letter word, but that could have been because of their ability to substitute it for any noun, adjective or verb seamlessly. By the time I realized it was going to be a problem, after they had cranked up the Willie Nelson and unloaded their cartons of beer (begs the question - how ever did they carry them?), I had set up and unpacked everything and didn't want to go through that again. I decided I would not let it bother me. After all, I had earplugs. I just didn't have any for Kate.

Camping with earplugs? Who goes camping with earplugs? Well, I usually don't, since half the fun of sleeping in a tent is waking up to the sounds of nature. But I have learned to pack a set of earplugs everywhere in all of my bags that I take on the road, so thankfully I had some in my purse. You just never know when you're staying at a hotel when the neighbors will decide to start celebrating the American Idol victory (this really happened to me in a hotel once and the security guard had to tell the people upstairs AND 2 doors down that they would have to cheer with a little more restraint). My rule of thumb (since this is the Life on the Road as a Pilot blog): No loud noises once you depart the elevator on your floor in a hotel. You never know who is trying to sleep!

Kate and I spent Friday night at the playground, riding bikes and making s'mores. Our neighbors let us go to sleep at 11, but got us up at 6. Definitely not enough sleep for a 5 year old. She was pretty good playing at the campground's park, then on our trip to the Marblehead Lighthouse, occupying herself by throwing rocks in the lake after being disappointed to find out that the lighthouse and the museum were closed. She hates having her picture taken, which makes having a digital camera that much better. Most of the hundred or so pictures I have of her show her hiding behind her hair. Which is why I was so glad to get the one below of her on top of the jungle gym. After a stop at the ubiquitous Walmart for flip flops and a beach towel, we went to the beach. The lack of quality sleep soon started to take its toll.

Poor Kate lasted about an hour before the short night started to get the best of her (that it was so cold didn't contribute to the fun). By the time we got showered and I put her down, it was three pm. And she was still sleeping at 4:30. I chose to wake her up so she wouldn't be up all night. [Little did I know I could have saved us the trouble. The neighbors kept the party going until 1am, when the park rangers finally made them shut it down.] We ended up just hanging out at the campsite, making s'mores again, and then going for a nature walk with a park ranger.

On sunday, we packed up the tent. Yes, we. Kate did help with the clean up - and I even let her help with the tent (collecting the pegs, though). At every other minute, however, she asked about the Animal Safari surprise that I had finally let her in on. I'm sure you've seen these, the parks where you drive through, letting "wild" animals feed off food you hold out your window? Well, I'm not sure deer, the majority breed, really constitutes wild, but they were definitely aggresive creatures. At one point, one tried to grab the cup of whatever that stuff is out of my hand and a whole huge pile landed on the ground next to the car. These are ruthless creatures, marauding beasts! Stay clear! I rolled the car forward slowly to move on and think I may have run over a deer's hoof anyway. The teenager at the front desk shrugged when I told her, "well, it's their own fault." As you can see from the picture at right, there were also larger animals. The car behind me rode my bumper from this point on. I have to admit, I did have a sequel to Chevy Chase's "Vacation" spooling up in my head as the bisons lumbered near. That is a rare picture of Kate in the front seat. For the most part she hid in the back. I was frankly less than enthusiastic about the drooling, slobbery snouts shoving their way into my car window as well. At least Kate got a pony ride. She liked that MUCH better than the camel ride. Again, can't say I blame her on that one, either.

So, to get to the whole aviation related subject of this post: Not only did I feed Kate uncrustables and Frosted Mini Wheats, but the big meal of the camping trip was Mac and Cheese (the Scooby Doo variety). In addition, since the cooking implements were packed up, I'm not a great cook, we were on our way home, etc., I also took her to McDonalds to eat Chicken Nuggets. She excitedly dug for her Happy Meal toy first and came up with: something brown. Something buttermilk yellow with baby poo brown. And a splash of blue. She peered through the plastic trying to see what it was and I recognized that it was an airplane! Oh, what a coincidence! We do get to look at airplanes after all! And as Kate wrinkles her nose at my excitement, I catch the writing on the package. It's even Amelia Earhart from Night at the Museum. A WOMAN pilot! Only Kate now takes the plastic and stretches it across the face of said pilot. The disappointment was written there clearly. So I open the package and see, as you see here, how Amelia is rendered:

Now I'm not saying Amelia needed false eyelashes and red lipstick, but I mean, really? They couldn't have at least tried to make it look like a woman? Amelia was not the most feminine of women, but she was a very famous woman pilot known the world over. This was an opportunity for McDonald's to trumpet the fact that "WOMEN DO FLY!" But how many parents took the time to read the package and tell their kids? (I didn't see the Night at the Museum movie, so perhaps it would be obvious to those who have....)

As the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum states, "Her hope for the future progress of aviation was not that she would be well-known or remembered, but "that women will share in these endeavors, even more than they have in the past, is [Amelia's] wish -- and prophecy." Her accomplishments in less than 40 years, from July 24, 1897 to July 2, 1937, earned Amelia the prestige of being the most famous female aviator in the world -- an accomplishment that stands today. "

Luckily(?), a woman seated near us had ordered a Happy Meal and got a dinosaur which she thought Kate might like. Given the two, Kate started playing with the McDinosaur instead. At least she played with both toys on the drive home. But then again, she also played with her toes.