"Peter R." wrote in message
ups.com...

Also, it's safe to say that a percentage of time the controller is
asking these questions to prod the pilot to get back on the course
and/or altitude that the controller last assigned. :-)
--
Peter


And sometimes not that subtle. I can recall listening in on a United
flight when the controller told the crew twice to get back on the
localizer and if they busted it again they were going missed. That
was real comforting at a very busy airport in 200 & 1/2 conditions.