On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 22:51:03 -0800, "mindenpilot"
wrote:


"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
The wikipedia article
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet) on phonetic
alphabets says:

"At some United States airports, the use of Delta for the letter D is
avoided because it is also the callsign for Delta Air Lines. "Dixie"
seems to be the most common substitute."

The tower at HPN has been known to take liberties with the alphabet on
Thanksgiving Day ("Advise you have information Turkey"), but I've never
heard dixie. Is this really common usage?

I've heard both the aircraft and tower use this in Reno, but not often.


The use of the phonetic alphabet was designed to reduce the chance of
confusion when communications were poor. The use of more than one
syllable improves clarity and many amateur radio operators use other
words but they are all designed for clarity when trying to read a very
weak signal almost lost in noise -

I assume Reno communications are clear so I don't see a big problem
with the change if it avoids confusion.