Adair is concerned that a future IFR student would be repeating "approach control," etc. An IFR student should be ready to learn, the appropriate IFR transmissions. If not, the instructor should work with the student on the ground before he talks to air traffic control.
Adair's second concern is not being able to get a fuel advisory from a busy nontowered airport after a long cross-country. What happened to flight planning and knowing your destination airport? Descent is not the time to ask unicom if they have fuel. The time for fuel planning is before the flight.
My experience is that frequency congestion is not caused by the pilot who follows the recommended phraseology, but rather by the pilot who says, "XYZ unicom, uh, Cessna Skyhawk November 12345, uh, 7.5 miles on the, uh, 230 radial of the XYZ VOR, uh, inbound for XYZ, uh, at 2,350 feet, uh, landing in a few. Uh, advise winds and, uh, runway." Other problems are the pilot who is asking unicom to call his wife or talking to another plane about Charlie's fishing trip.
Students should be taught from the first flight the appropriate transmissions to use at various points. Use the proper phraseology, proper sequence keep it short and to the point, and listen. Then everyone will have a better chance of getting in. When the time comes for IFR training, the radio will be easy, and ATC will not be upset.
Bill Matthews
Via the Internet
From Beginning To End
In the August issue there was a letter referring to an article in the previous issue titled "Safe and Sound: How you can operate safely at any airport." The letter writer disagreed with the recommendation made by the editor to include the name of the airport at both the beginning and end of position reports at nontowered airports. Everything I have ever read suggests that pilots include the (nontowered) airport's name at the beginning and end of position reports. All instructors and classes I've ever attended also advocated this. Most experienced (sounding) pilots practice this.
There are very good reasons for it too! For one thing; as we well know, many unicom and multicom frequencies from different airports overlap. Discerning which airport the position report is about is greatly aided by the name at the end. Second, without the aid of controllers to sort things out, there has to be no question in a pilot's mind about which airport the communicating aircraft are at. And probably the most salient point is that these very important communications are almost the only time a pilot receives information that could require immediate attention which is not preceded by his or her N-number. Therefore, it is very easy for pilots to miss the start of the transmission. Thus the vital need for the airport name at the end of the transmission.
Seasoned pilots who fly at nontowered airports do not need to be urged to use this procedure!
Vince D'Angelo
Naples, Florida
Remembering The Beginners
With 15 hours of instruction time, I asked my CFI for her recommendation of a good flying magazine. Her immediate response was, "Flight Training!" I received my own very first copy, the July issue, and was really impressed. The articles are answering some questions I would have had to ask my instructor about. How do you determine the traffic pattern altitude of a new airport? David Montoya's, "How You Can Operate Safely at Any Airport," answered that for me nicely. How do you set an altimeter if the barometric pressure isn't known? Jack Williams answered that in his article, "Altimetry."
I especially appreciate that you write for those of us who are new to the nuts and bolts of flying and translate the jargon into a language we can understand in a fashion that we can remember. Thanks for remembering the beginners and thanks for a really excellent magazine!
John Whitaker
Arlington, Washington
We welcome your comments. Address letters to Editor, AOPA Flight Training, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Send e-mail to [email protected] . Include your full name and address. Letters selected for publication will be edited for length and style.
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