Worried about talking on the radio

[Squaretail]

I’m like shouting at my tv “Bill! It doesn’t matter how you sound on the radio!”

Wait, I lied. I don’t watch a tv anymore, I’m shouting at a tablet. I mean guy is going to perform in front of thousands yet worries about what a few pilots and one controller are going to think?! You’re in a collection of spare parts flying in loose formation and your chief worry is how you sound?! To quote Seinfeld: “death is number TWO?!”

How does a guy deliver a stand up set, yet worries about two seconds while a transmit button is pushed?

I liked the bit about being in a “flying guiotine”.

[David MacRay]

Sort of, he said he liked to listen to traffic interacting with the tower, so he could keep up with the language. It helped him avoid sounding like he had less hours when he spoke on the radio.

He didn’t want to be trying to remember subtle things during the first call, after not doing it for a while.

I definitely know what he means, you’re not nervous but… Nobody wants to sound like me trying to remember things when responding to tower after I have not flown for several months.

Sort of related, it’s fun to be with a new instructor that wants to help you out with their favourite calls. You should say, “xxxx.” Sometimes it’s ok, occasionally it is actually a pretty good phrase, other times it might be, “Any conflicting traffic please advise.”

I was scolded once for saying “thank you” fair enough it took up a second of radio time and it all adds up but I don’t think I could avoid it.

My all time favourite bad calls, were by a balloon pilot in the 1990s who kept saying “10-4.” Responding to ATC in Calgary. I smiled every time he did it.

[Colonel]

How you sound on the radio has got to be the lowest possible priority for a pilot.

I know some fearsome fighter pilots with squeaky little voices. I mean, who cares? He's
got a Gatling gun on his airplane, and you don't, with your Air Canada fake four bar drawl.

It's nice to be sharp on the radio, but how you fly your airplane is at least 1000x more important.

Yesterday, ground cleared me to cross 25R and hold short 25L, which I read back. Coming to
a stop and angling just short of the 25L hold line I hear the panicked ground controller, his voice
an octave higher, rapidly telling me to HOLD SHORT OF 25L ... there was traffic short final for 25L
that I was watching.

I calmly replied, "Holding short 25L as instructed".

No one cares, but you can tell the stress from someone's voice on the radio. One octave, they
are under stress. Two octaves up, you had better deal with them carefully because they are close
to losing it. This applies to both pilots and controllers.

Again, no one gives a shit, but when it comes to the radio, less is more. The fewer words you can
use to clearly communicate, the better the call because you have consumed less bandwidth of a
very busy frequency.

I used to issue those radiotelephone licences, and I would tell students about the Four W's.:

Who you are talking to
Who you are
Where you are
What you want to do

That's really all you need to know about the radio. Oh yeah, the alphabet.

"Podunk Tower, MiG Flight ten south at eight thousand, inbound 13R request overhead break with Lima"

Pop Quiz: in that scenario, how have I configured my formation? Why?

[John Swallow]

Still in battle formation for maximum mutual protection (look out)...?

[Colonel]

Since the runway is 13R, 99% chance it's right traffic to avoid 13L. So for an overhead
break RIGHT, you're thinking the answer is LEFT echelon, correct? Lead breaks away
from the formation :^)

That works. We are approaching from the south, so we might expect a gentle turn left
and then almost 180 degrees of turn to the RIGHT to join a 5 mile initial 13R.

We don't want to make that 180 degree turn into the formation. You can get away with
it two-ship, but not a good idea with four. So, having the guys on your LEFT as you turn
RIGHT away from them to join initial, ensures that you don't slow them down and run
them out of AOA (esp #4).

Unless you're very, very good, don't turn into the formation.

[Squaretail]

The big thing that I have always noticed on any frequency is how often there are slip ups and it just doesn’t matter. Occasionally you will hear someone get irritated, like maybe after someone has read a clearance back wrong twice. Maybe not even then if cooler minds prevail.

It just doesn’t matter if you’re paying attention. Just avoid the guys who try to come right at you.

[Squaretail]

Still in battle formation for maximum mutual protection (look out)...?

I just assumed he always flew in a Schwarm formation.

[Colonel]

Oh yeah. Radio. Students need to learn about squelch and range (of VHF) and the implications of AM vs FM.

[David MacRay]

Of course you guys don’t understand.

When is the last time you went two months or more without speaking to ATC or traffic? At this point you could probably go six months and it still wouldn’t be a big deal.

Yeah, sounding great on the radio would be pointless if you are not flying the plane ok. Is it really bad to want to do both best you can?

I wonder if the controller concerned about the Colonel zipping onto or across 25L had watched someone else do it?

At least once when I pulled out of a run up bay an instructor has panicked. I don’t know if they think I’m about to pull onto the runway or what. I just want to turn around and see if anyone is on final, before calling the tower.

Then as soon as the time is right, I would like to say, “Springbank tower, X-ray X-ray X-ray, holding short one six, ready for takeoff in sequence.” Too wordy?

[Squaretail]

Is it really bad to want to do both best you can?

But one takes precedence over the other. I would say 90% of other pilots I fly with if I ask them what they think they need to improve, they will say “my radiowork “ and 100% of those guys are doing something else way worse than just their pilot voice

For instance, Bill probably does’t need to listen to more controllers, he probably just needs to fly more often.