Controllers -- Things Pilot's Say That Annoy You.

[flyinkibblez]

i dont have anything very specific....but i swear if i hear "citation XXX, amend altitude, maintain FL220 one more time...." we just laugh because might as well get back down to 17,500, cancel, and go the hell where we want instead of being vectored all over the place.

I know ATC is just doing their job with traffic, but the time and fuel burn they add on by keeping us low is a joke at times. Don't get me wrong, still appreciate everything ELSE they do.

 

[whysoserial]

i dont have anything very specific....but i swear if i hear "citation XXX, amend altitude, maintain FL220 one more time...." we just laugh because might as well get back down to 17,500, cancel, and go the hell where we want instead of being vectored all over the place.

I know ATC is just doing their job with traffic, but the time and fuel burn they add on by keeping us low is a joke at times. Don't get me wrong, still appreciate everything ELSE they do.

I don't get it. Then why don't you just go 17,500 VFR? It's either that or get standard IFR separation (you are IFR right?)

What do you mean "everything ELSE"? Separating you from other IFR traffic isn't what you signed up for when you filed IFR?

I'm confused by your statements.

 

[Screaming_Emu]

When being handed off to another frequency I usually say "125.5 for Niner Four Juliet, thanks for your help today" and I hear that said by others....plus "See Ya" a lot. Yesterday a guy said "Thanks for the memories" I laughed for a long time....

If I get given a frequency, check in, and they immediately give me a new one I use 'going to 125.5 for XXX323, good talk, see you out there" Its an obscure old school reference, but somebody's gotta get it.

 

[mjg407]

If I get given a frequency, check in, and they immediately give me a new one I use 'going to 125.5 for XXX323, good talk, see you out there" Its an obscure old school reference, but somebody's gotta get it.

I prefer to throw in a meow everynow in then ..... XXXX is meow level at FL290

 

[scooter2525]

I prefer to throw in a meow everynow in then ..... XXXX is meow level at FL290

Do I look like a cat to you, boy? Am I jumpin' around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree?

 

[RetiredATLATC]

Do you mean this situation:

"Afternoon, Atlanta approach, Soanso123 9 and a half descending to 7,000"
"Roger, Soanso123. Runway 8L"
"Roger"



ATLTRACON, do you work that sector in atl?

I work every sector at ATL TRACON except the Macon and Columbus GA sectors far south of ATL. What Kills me is this: Citrus777 contact Atlanta Center on 134.95....Roger. Well who in the #### just said Roger. I've got 12 planes on my freq. usually about 5-6 miles apart all going the same way at 300kts, I don't have time to re-question people. And when I do there is a smart ### answer coming back, like yeah of course it was me.

 

[RABIRZA69]

Tower, N12345 is ready # five in sequence..... all this while im tubing because approach is shoving jets doing 250 down my throat on the visual with 25 vfr's coming in like space invaders.

Dough, we have a king air niner one niner shooga pop here in ACK, and he says it just like that.

I'll think of more

 

[flywithmyeyesclosed]

I heard a clip of a Southwest flight check in with a controller at LAS...it went something like this:

SWAXXX: LAS APP, SWAXXX is descending out of 15,000 for 12,000 <insert STAR>
LAS APP: SWAXXX, Roger, descend and maintain 7000, expect the visual to 25L and verify information X-ray
SWAXXX: We have X-ray
LAS APP: SWAXXX, Gotcha! The current ATIS is actually Lima, let me know when you have that.

Lol! When i become a controller i'm definitely using that one. I wonder how many pilots you could catch lying with that in 15 minutes.

 

[ILLpilot]

we have a king air niner one niner shooga pop here in ACK, and he says it just like that.

I've heard "Triple-Nickel" before (N555...)

 

[TXaviator]

Lol! When i become a controller i'm definitely using that one. I wonder how many pilots you could catch lying with that in 15 minutes.

Yeah but then you'd have a mountain of paperwork for all the violations you'd have to pass on to the FAA. :banghead:

 

[Juliet Lima]

still the most annoying in a GA tower environment is pilots not knowing the difference between north and south, or east and west.

pilot: tower, N123, 10 miles north with Alpha
tower: N123, XXX tower, make straight in runway 18, report 3 mile final
pilot: tower, were better set up for right downwind to runway 18
tower: so are you saying that your NOT NORTH of the airport or do you really want to fly around the globe for that right downwind??

at least once a day someone says he's north when he's really south...or vice versa. if your heading north then chances are your not north of the airport, or else your going away from it. :banghead:

 

[TripSix]

Not including aircraft ID in a transmission.

A response to a traffic call that includes the phrase TCAS, "fish finder," or "the box."

Responding to a change/issue of heading, altitude, or speed with just a number.

My all time pet peeve isn't something that's said, it's something that is done: Pilots who won't wait one measly second between flipping the radio and keying the mic.

 

[JT ATC]

My personal pet peeve...

Me: NXXXXX, Traffic, 12 oclock blah blah blah...
Pilot: No joy, NXXXXX.

I dunno why I hate that, but I do.

And I almost always say "see ya" after giving a freq change, but I think I'm gonna steal that "thanks for the memories" bit.

 

[loubetti]

"Looking" sounds so much more proactive than "negative contact." Every time I hear some guy croak "negative contact" after a traffic call, it just sounds like he's given up and the controller should vector him around the traffic.

I do agree, and I use "looking" too.

The moment I hear ATC tell me the position I am "looking", and looking further once I hear the altitude of the traffic.

Just going OT here...

To tell an interesting story:

The other day I was taking off out of CDW (Caldwell, NJ) in our mechanic's flight school's Warrior to go pick up our 210 at N30 (Cherry Ridge, PA) where we had left it for maintenance.

Normally I would have called up NY approach for advisories, but they were too busy, and I knew not to bother him, so I just listened and kept my head on a swivel.

Prior to departure from CDW, I noted that my former Piper Dakota was out, and I was certain that one of my former partners in it had flown out to N30, where he is going for IFR training.

Sure enough, I heard him call in to NY approach, descending out of 5500', and the next thing I knew NY told him to squawk 1200. That was a surprise, but NY was so busy they wanted to get rid of him early.

Now, I knew he had TIS on his Garmin 430, but I had nothing of that sort on the Warrior, and I knew he was coming toward me. I mean, I am going to and he he coming from the same place, and we're both going "direct".

Knowing where I was, I decided to stay at 2500', knowing that he would probably still be above me when we "met", about 5 miles SE of SAX VOR.

Sure enough, I caught my former Dakota and friend passing off my right at about 500' above me and about 1/2 mile away a couple minutes later.

Sorry to get OT with this story.

 

[n9088d]

I'm a pilot, not a controller (yet). But I always shake my head for controllers when I hear "we've got 'em on TCAS" in repsonse to a traffic advisory. There is nothing more worthless to say on the radio than that. You're required to see the other aircraft with your eyeballs in order for it to make any difference to ATC, so save your breath and frequency air time and respond properly. Do these guys think ATC is going to respond, "United 123, Roger, maintain TCAS separation with that traffic."

On the same token I've also been suspicious of some pilots of TCAS-equipped claiming to have "traffic in sight" when the other aircraft is a significant distance away, especially when they call traffic in sight immediately following the advisory (meaning they visually located the other aircraft within 2-4 seconds of when it was called out by ATC). It's possible they're seeing contrails, but it's also possible they're being lazy and pretending that the electronic diamond on the TCAS is "the same as seeing the aircraft out the window."

 

[polo708]

doesnt really matter to me... its on the tapes and its the pilots responsibility. If he wants to lie its only hurting him, just means I stop giving traffic calls.

 

[AUSTIN23]

The other day I was on with Memphis and one of the controllers asked a guy how his rides were at whatever altitude. Without missing a beat the pilot responded with "Smoother than the prom queen's thigh and not near as dangerous"

I thought it was the funniest thing I've ever heard on the radio.