You have heard of the official pilot/controller glossary in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM). This ain't it. Out of curiosity, we surveyed a few controllers around the country and came up with this list of slang heard in control centers but not over the radio. Here's what they're really saying.
A deal — When two airplanes get too close.
- DC-10 — Diesel 10
- Boeing 747 — 18-wheeler
- MD-80 and -90 — Mad dogs
- Boeing 727 or DC-9 — Jurassic jet
- Boeing 737 — Baby Boeing
- Boeing 777 — Big foot (because of the main gear)
- Embraer jets — Jungle jets (because they are made in Brazil)
Alley-oop — When controllers take a faster aircraft up over a slower aircraft and back down, often while the aircraft are in a turn. Often used in box canyon finals where aircraft are boxed in on both sides by adjacent approach or departure corridors.
Blue bayou or doing a Linda Ronstadt — Telling aircraft they are to be passed by a faster aircraft, as in blowing by you, after Ronstadt's popular hit "Blue Bayou."
Box 'em or bring them back around — Refers to sending aircraft around a fix in a box pattern.
Bug smashers — Small and slow piston-engine aircraft.
Captain Magoo — A pilot who can't see traffic right in front of him. (Named after the nearsighted cartoon character Mr. Magoo.)
Crowbar arrival — Nickname for LENDY Intersection arrivals into John F. Kennedy International Airport. Jets from the west cross LENDY at Flight Level 190 (19,000 feet), and then do a big, curving descent onto the final. If the crew doesn't want to go for a tour of eastern Long Island on their way into JFK, they need to establish a descent rate after LENDY about equal to that of a falling crowbar. Crews familiar with the procedure often report on frequency, "[Flight number] with you at one-nine-zero with crowbar at the ready!"
Dinks — In some centers this is slang for general aviation single-engine aircraft (mostly trainers) for the imagined sound they would make bouncing off the big jets, like a pebble thrown onto the hood of a car. "Dink!"
Dr. Pepper final or Leon Spinks final — Uneven spacing of aircraft with gaps, like those created by Spinks' missing teeth. Dr. Pepper refers to the clock used in the soft-drink logo originally indicating people should drink Dr. Pepper at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Here, it means erratic or uneven spacing of aircraft, as in 10 miles, 2 miles, and 4 miles.
Drop-dead times — Refers to the time a particular aircraft — usually an airliner — will lose its departure clearance.
Drop 'em like a bag of hammers or rocks — Obviously a rapid descent.
Eat 'em — A command from one controller to another to hold aircraft that would cause traffic congestion if allowed to continue their arrival routes.
FLIB — Refers to small GA aircraft. The L stands for little and the I stands for itinerant. The other two words can't be printed in a family magazine.
Goin' home final — A tightly packed final approach course.
Going down the (slang for toilet) or down the tube — The controller has too much to handle.
Heavy-jet gap — This is sometimes used on the radio as in, "Turn left heading 300 for heavy-jet gap." (It is especially confusing to pilots who can plainly see that it's a non-heavy they are following.) However, the gap is for the heavy jet that will be taking off in front of the arrival aircraft, not a heavy jet in the final approach sequence. This term may be unique to operations at La Guardia Airport, but can be used anywhere.
Jeeps — actually JEPs — refers to junior executive personnel at a center.
Mad dog right (or left) bang — A hard left or right turn off the downwind leg of the traffic pattern in order to roll in behind an MD-80 ( Mad dog, see aircraft definitions above) already established on final. Not to be confused with, in the main bang, used when an aircraft passes directly over the radar antenna into the cone of silence.
Manhole arrival — Refers to a steep descent during an arrival.
Meat missiles or body drops — Parachutists.
Nearjet — Any of the smaller business jets that are considered by controllers to be slow and don't fit into a traffic flow well.
Nordo — Often used by pilots to refer to airplanes that are not equipped with radios, its use by controllers actually refers to a pilot who fails to listen and misses a call.
Pull the plug — A term referring to an aircraft that had to be held at a higher altitude because of traffic, and now needs to descend rapidly.
Redneck Air Force — Aircraft used to carry Nascar crews to races from Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina.
Runway configurations at Chicago O'Hare International Airport:
- Plan Weird — Simultaneous use of Runways 22R and 27L.
- Plan Strange — Use of Runways 22R, 27R, and 27L, with 22R traffic holding short of 27R.
Scratch and hold — Refers to flight plans being activated for the wrong aircraft. Then controllers put the correct flight plan into limbo until the real aircraft leaves.
Ship 'em — Refers to switching control of an aircraft, accomplished by changing frequencies, from one controller to another, as in "Ship this guy."
Slam-dunk — Commonly used expression for a high rate of descent (often 4,000-plus feet per minute) to "dunk" the aircraft into a gap on the final approach or arrival sequence, and turn short final. Most GA aircraft are not capable of slam-dunk approaches. The Boeing 727 was the king of slam-dunk approaches; it wouldn't climb well, but came down rapidly.
Spin 'em — Right 360-degree turns assigned to delay or slow traffic flow. Can also result in aircraft being turned, rather than ordered to fly circles, or given vectors to slow traffic.
Spoon-feed — An exaggerated effort to put arrivals to the tower in exact sequence, at matched speed, and with extra space (usually when there's a trainee working). The command for the procedure is, "You need to spoon-feed the tower." Can also refer to handing off arrivals or departures to an adjacent sector where training is in progress.
Squirrels — See FLIB. Refers to small GA aircraft. Used in the expression, "[There are a] bunch of squirrels out there." Spoken as a warning from one controller to another, it is advice that the pilots need to be watched. Often used after GA aircraft have failed to follow instructions or are headed in all directions but the correct one.
String of pearls — Even, well-ordered spacing of aircraft on final approach.
Trauma! — What controllers sometimes call out when two aircraft get too close together.
Trip or tripping — Refers to tripling. It means a three-runway operation is in effect.
Walk you right up to the localizer — It means the controller will vector a pilot to the edge of the localizer, so be ready to turn.
Weak stick — Any controller who can't handle the traffic.
Weekend warrior — Pilots who fly only on the weekend and who may have rusty ATC radio skills.
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