Talk Show

Microphones are amazing devices. They can turn a highly verbal person into a tongue-tied, stammering second-grader with a vocabulary consisting only of "...uh..." and "...can you repeat that, please?" The bravest pilot has been known to choke when forced to interface with an honest-to-God air traffic controller.

The "stuck tongue" problem varies from individual to individual, but those afflicted the least are those exposed to controlled airports the most. Pilots trained at tower-controlled fields aren't afraid of the mic. On the other hand, they may have other problems, like electronic verbosity or a blind allegiance to what is said rather than what is actually happening. The concept of working with a control tower involves everything from using correct phraseology, to developing situational awareness, to common courtesy. Working with a control tower also requires a certain amount of empathy for the controller and others in the pattern, not to mention a fair amount of skepticism - believe it or not, controllers make mistakes too.

We're going to focus on working with control towers, but everything said is directly applicable to every other type of radio communication. Whether it is talking to ATC, ground control, or simply using the unicom at a nontowered rural airport, it all works the same.

Controllers Are People Too

You'd think that working with a tower would be the same from place to place, but it isn't. Towers have personalities. The personalities of the individual controllers blend together to give that tower a general "feeling," and that persona changes from tower to tower. Some of the busiest, like where I'm based at Scottsdale, Arizona, are among the very friendliest and work hard to help the pilot. Other towers go out of their way to let you know they are controllers and you aren't. The good news is that towers with an attitude are few. However, they do their jobs, and all we can do is work around them in the best way possible.

Air traffic controllers are people, just like pilots. And controllers bring their personalities, capabilities, and philosophies about controlling airplanes - and life in general - into the tower cab with them.