Monday, July 30, 2007

Tying up the airwaves...

Pilots,

Have you ever tuned in UNICOM on a busy saturday morning, and wondered how on earth you'd ever get a word in edgewise? Me too!

I think the art of the compact radio call is fading, and maybe those 5 seconds saved will someday allow that errant "mayday!" into the frequency and convey some truly useful information.

I believe that it is possible to get every call done within 10 syllables, while still being perfectly understandable by any pilot around.



For starters, I've heard this call:

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is taxiing from the fuel pit to the run-up area"

I think this one is superfluous. We have one big taxiway, and planes can't really hide from one another, so there's really no need to say "here I come!" with a taxiing call on unicom.

How about this one?

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is taking the active runway 25 for a right-crosswind departure to Big Bear Lake, Climbing to 10,000 via Chino"

Ugh. Is this guy filing a flight plan? Let's study the anatomy of a good radio call:

1. Who you are
2. Where you are
3. Where you're going

The art of this comes in when you have the opportunity to figure out what people can already assume about you. For "taking the active", we can assume that:

You are at the runup area
You are about to cross the runway hold line
You are about to take off
You'd really like to know if anyone is on final
You plan to make a standard departure (a downwind departure out of the pattern -- the opposite of the "45 degree entry"
You plan to fly the published traffic pattern for your runway
You're using the same runway everyone else is (we hope!)

So with that in mind, which of these calls wastes airtime?

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A taking the active 25, Corona"

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is taking the active runway 25, standard departure, Corona"


"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A departing 25, Corona"


"Corona Traffic, Blue and White Cessna 1234A is taxiing into position for a straight-out departure and we'll be climbing to 3,500 feet, Corona"


They all communicate the same thing -- I'll take the short ones. :)

Now, "taking the active" is real a mouthful, but I think it is sacred text, and worthy of an exception -- because as soon as you say that, we all know what you're up to -- you're about to taxi across the hold line. The rest is just a detail. I don't mind lavishing those 5 syllables.. but "departing" does it in 3. Everyone knows where to look for you in either case.

==

How about returning to the airport? You're entering a place that could be chock full of planes -- it's good form to listen for a bit on your approach, but even if you haven't done that, why tie up the line with your life story? You need to communicate the same 3 things as above, to wit:

1. Who you are
2. Where you are
3. Where you're going

Nobody is recording your callsign at an untowered airport - so why give the full one? Do you remember other peoples' full callsigns? (obviously, don't do this at towered airports or with SoCal, that's a different story)

So bearing the above points in mind... How many times have you heard one of these gems?

"Corona Traffic, we're over the shopping center, landing Corona"

Hmm, that really narrows it down, doesn't it?.

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is 3 north at 2500, will set up a midfield cross, and left turn to join the downwind, then a full stop on runway 25, Corona"

not bad -- a few extra words, but it had good info for something unusual.

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is over the 91 and 15 interchange, out of 2000 for 1500, will enter base leg for runway 25, Corona"

Seems decent, but I dislike it -- aside from the nonstandard and impatient base entry (a no-no, don't do this!), not everyone knows the difference between the 91/15, the 71/91, or the 241/91. What's wrong with a simple "3 East" ?

"Corona, Cessna, Final"

Hmm... You could spend an extra 3 syllables and reassure us which runway you're about to plow into. Otherwise, I guess it works - but it does lack a certain je ne sais qua, doesn't it?

"Corona, Piper, Descending onto downwind"

Hey, fun -- I wonder if a low wing can see you below him?

"Corona, Cessna, Right Downwind"

Is he landing on 7? is he north of the runway? It's a surprise.

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is 14 South, approaching Corona"

Great heads-up. Call us when you're in the same area code, bozo.

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A, We're Three and a Half Miles South, Descending through Three Thousand Five Hundred for One Thousand Five Hundred, we will be flying over the foothills, and turning left 45 entry to the downwind, runway 25, full stop, corona traffic"

By the time this pilot has told us what he's about to do, he's already done half of it.. too much info!

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is 3 South, left 45, 25, Corona"

Yeah, that works pretty nicely.

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 1234A is 4 to the Southeast, will join the pattern over the auto center"

I'll buy this one too. While there are infinite shopping centers, car lots are really easy to spot from above.


==

Take a look at those last 3. Do you think there is a real difference between 3, 3.5, or 4 miles if you're looking for that airplane? No, not really. Are your eyes that precise? Probably not -- especially not at an unfamiliar airport. On an INITIAL call, we only need to know which direction to look -- the fact that you're calling at all tells us you're "around 3 miles".

I only declare 1 or 3 miles, regardless of what the truth really is. Super-Precision might impress the examiner on an XC plan, but it's not really needed in the pattern.

So what should you say on your triumphant return to Corona? Well, let's break it down:

Who: Cessna 34A
Where: 3 South
What are you doing: Left 45, 25, Full Stop

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A, 3 South, Left 45, Landing 25, Full Stop, Corona"

In, out, listening -- everyone knows where you are.

What if you're sneaking back from Catalina? Try this:

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A, Prado Dam, Landing 25, Full Stop, Corona"

or

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A, 3 West, Left Downwind 25, Full Stop, Corona"

From Brackett?

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A, 3 North, 2000, Midfield Cross to Left Downwind, 25, Full Stop, Corona"

==

All of these calls may not suit your situation, but notice how they are strung together like pearls -- little 3-syllable pearls that convey one specific idea.

How about this for your inbound call toolbox:

Corona Traffic
Cessna 34A
3 [South, North, East, West]
[Left 45, Runway 25] or [Right 45, Runway 7]
[Full Stop, Closed Traffic]
Corona

Now the rest are already made for you, easy!



"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A Left Downwind, 25, Full Stop, Corona"

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A Left Base, 25, Full Stop, Corona"

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A, Final, 25, Full Stop Corona"

"Corona Traffic, Cessna 34A, Go-around, 25, Corona"

just kidding, obviously your call was:

"Cessna 34A Clear the Active Corona"

These are my $0.02 ... your CFI may have other thoughts, of course, and any call is better than no call at all... communicate first, then be concise second... but the real pro pilot does both and makes it a habit.

Also, I think tower and socal operations are different animals, and I'll prepare a different batch of thoughts/peeves for those... until then, Blue Skies, Quieter Radios.

- Mike

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Brother can ya spare some fuel?

Pilots!

Cessna 1ES is in the engine shop for fuel-delivery issues to her new engine, which was caught at run-up. Yikes! This likely explains the repeated low-idle problems we've been having -- perhaps it wasn't the idle at all. We anticipate she will be down through the weekend while a new part for her fuel injection system is installed.



Blue Skies!

- Mike

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Doodads

Pilots,

Some updates around the ranch:

We are redoing the front landscaping again. Apologies for the mess! :)

Cessna 1ES completed her 100hr this weekend

Cessna 17J completed her Annual yesterday

Not much else to report -- summer is in full swing, stay hydrated, climb high, be cool.

Blue skies,

- Mike

Monday, July 16, 2007

A pair o Pilots!

FlyC Fliers,

Please join me in congratulating the two newest Private Pilots ever!

First, a congratulations to Bert V., who passed his ride with DPE Tom Hamm yesterday in Cessna 68U. Nice work, Bert!

Second, another congratulations to Brett W., who also passed his ride with DPE Tom Hamm yesterday in Cessna 1ES. Nice work, Brett!



Tis the season for some new wings to get underway -- say hello when you share some sky with them!

==

In other news,

Cessna 08V has a new radio and has emerged from her 100hr.

Cessna 04H has completed her 100hr

Cessna 20U will be undergoing 100hr this week.

Piper 85Y will be down on Friday for some landing gear rewiring. Nothing is wrong with the gear, but we wish to keep it that way. There is a Piper design flaw which "kinks" the landing gear wiring at every up or down cycle -- A new kit has come out to reroute the wires to prevent this fatigue, as well as update the design of the microswitches which tell the system the gear is up or down. We like the idea of modernizing our planes, especially ones where the wheels are "optional", so 85Y will be down for appx 1 day.


Blue Skies,

- Mike

Monday, July 09, 2007

What the heck?

Pilots!

Strange things are afoot in both maintenance and CFI land -- here's the scoop:

Cessna 08V remains in 100hr pending repair of a small leak in her fuel tank. The leak was probably measurable in drops per week, but we don't take chances with this sort of thing -- the repair and completion of the 100hr is expected this week some time.

Cessna 04H will be going down for 100hr this week.

Cessna 20U will be going down for 100hr next week.

Cessna 1ES needs her headset jacks recrimped.

Cessna 17J is going to Tom's in Long Beach for some warranty tweaks and to have the XM activated, hopefully permanently this time.



We have removed CFI Jeremy from the schedule, as he is too busy flying fancy planes. Students affected by this, please let the office know so we can find you a CFI to your liking.

Speaking of which...

CFI Dave is back on the schedule! He has some time off and wishes to fly, he is available for bookings immediately, and we expect him to fly with us for the next month or two.

Welcome back, Dave!




Nice and warm lately -- although there is some morning haze afoot. We're keeping the fridge stocked as best we can with bottled water.

We also have new "sport sized" misty mates to help keep your cool. They work great, but they are the opposite of fashionable. Don't worry, we won't tell -- promise! Give them a shot, your CFI may be glad you did.



Blue Skies!

- Mike

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Have a Safe 4th of July!

Pilots!

Fly Corona! will be closed tomorrow, July 4, 2007. All of the CFIs are attending their respective BBQs, and we will be endeavoring to do the same.

Pilots who are flying are to follow after-hours procedures. Please call and inquire if you are unfamiliar with after-hours procedures.



Blue Skies!

- Mike