ATC subtle hints

I really get a kick out of how subtle ATC can be sometimes in giving those
little "hints" to some pilots. I've heard lots of interesting ones over time
that have given me a chuckle while flying along. It got me to thinking about
what some of the more funny ones you guys have heard over the years.

Today, right after being cleared for takeoff, and while rolling onto on Rwy 36
at SAV I got a traffic advisory from tower about a 757 on a 3 mile final to Rwy 9.
(for me, that's the lowest altitude I have ever been when receiveing a
traffic advisory!). I responded with "38H is looking" and made an expeditious
take-off and got a good glance at the big airplane on the way in maybe a mile
out as I crossed the intersection.

Wish I could recall a few of the more funny ones, but telling stories is really
not my forte, sorta like you have to be there.

That traffic advisory more than likely was to motivate you to expedite your
takeoff.
I have had the tower ask me to cycle my transponder as another way of saying
"Turn it on you dip".

David - KGYH


"kontiki" wrote in message
...
I really get a kick out of how subtle ATC can be sometimes in giving those
little "hints" to some pilots. I've heard lots of interesting ones over
time
that have given me a chuckle while flying along. It got me to thinking
about
what some of the more funny ones you guys have heard over the years.

Today, right after being cleared for takeoff, and while rolling onto on
Rwy 36
at SAV I got a traffic advisory from tower about a 757 on a 3 mile final
to Rwy 9.
(for me, that's the lowest altitude I have ever been when receiveing a
traffic advisory!). I responded with "38H is looking" and made an
expeditious
take-off and got a good glance at the big airplane on the way in maybe a
mile
out as I crossed the intersection.

Wish I could recall a few of the more funny ones, but telling stories is
really
not my forte, sorta like you have to be there.

In article ,
"FLAV8R" wrote:

That traffic advisory more than likely was to motivate you to expedite your
takeoff.
I have had the tower ask me to cycle my transponder as another way of saying
"Turn it on you dip".

I heard a tower controller say:
What he said: "I'm not receiving your mode C"
What he meant: "Change that (old) discrete code to 1200"

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

In a previous article, Bob Noel said:
I heard a tower controller say:
What he said: "I'm not receiving your mode C"
What he meant: "Change that (old) discrete code to 1200"

I thought what he meant was "Why the hell aren't you anywhere near your
assigned altitude?"

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"You are installing Internet Explorer 4.0. Windows NT needs to overwrite
all your system dll's and restart your computer. Note that this
application is NOT part of the operating system. Good luck."

In article ,
(Paul Tomblin) wrote:

I heard a tower controller say:
What he said: "I'm not receiving your mode C"
What he meant: "Change that (old) discrete code to 1200"

I thought what he meant was "Why the hell aren't you anywhere near your
assigned altitude?"

The aircraft was in the pattern doing night currency.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate

kontiki wrote:
snip
out as I crossed the intersection.

Wish I could recall a few of the more funny ones, but telling stories is
really
not my forte, sorta like you have to be there.

My favorite subtle hint is, "N#, say altitude." Not that it happens to
me much, you understand, but I hear it a lot while acting as safety
pilot. g

Emily wrote:

My favorite subtle hint is, "N#, say altitude."

Or have them tell you the altimeter setting, as if that's the reason for
the altitude discrepancy. (Yea, that must be the reason)

Mike Adams wrote:
Emily wrote:

My favorite subtle hint is, "N#, say altitude."

Or have them tell you the altimeter setting, as if that's the reason for
the altitude discrepancy. (Yea, that must be the reason)

One night Champaign Approach just wouldn't get off my back. He started
by giving me the altimeter, which I had just received when Indy Center
had handed me off. I shook my head, looked at the altimeter, yes, it's
correct. Five minutes later, "N#, recycle your mode C." Huh? By
this time my altitude, which admittedly had been 50 feet off, was dead
on and my friend and I were both pretty confused. Approach then called
another two aircraft, gave them the altimeter setting, and asked them to
recycle. Another huh. Five minutes later he called me back and asked
altitude...I replied 6000. He replies back, "Oh, ok. Because I have
you at 900 and two other aircraft at 650, so I was just wondering what
was going on."

In article ,
says...


Mike Adams wrote:
Emily wrote:

My favorite subtle hint is, "N#, say altitude."

Or have them tell you the altimeter setting, as if that's the reason for
the altitude discrepancy. (Yea, that must be the reason)

One night Champaign Approach just wouldn't get off my back. He started
by giving me the altimeter, which I had just received when Indy Center
had handed me off. I shook my head, looked at the altimeter, yes, it's
correct. Five minutes later, "N#, recycle your mode C." Huh? By
this time my altitude, which admittedly had been 50 feet off, was dead
on and my friend and I were both pretty confused. Approach then called
another two aircraft, gave them the altimeter setting, and asked them to
recycle. Another huh. Five minutes later he called me back and asked
altitude...I replied 6000. He replies back, "Oh, ok. Because I have
you at 900 and two other aircraft at 650, so I was just wondering what
was going on."




Years ago, as a student in an older 172, doing one of the X-C requirement
flights, I forgot to reset the DG to the mag compass before takeoff. As luck
would have it, it was off by more than 30 degrees. After takeoff, I knew
something was wrong, but I wasn't sure what. I dutifully called center for
VFR flight following, then continued to wrack my pea-sized brain to figure
out why I wasn't seeing the same landmarks I had seen on my way into that
airport. After a few minutes, as I was about to wander into a Class C outer
area, ATC called and asked me "Please say intended itinerary to x" I told
them exactly what it said on my flight log, and they replied "Got it, thank
you" They didn't say any more - they didn't need to say any more. I made a
slow turn to the left, and in turning I recognized enough terrain features to
understand approximately what direction I needed to be going. After pointing
the plane in approximately this direction, it dawned on me what the error
was, and I was able to quickly orient my present location (brushing up
against a busy Class C) and get back on track.

GF

Actually, my favorite not so subtle hint is hearing tower tell an
aircraft on short final to check gear down. It's even better when you
can hear the gear horn going off in the background and when the plane
calls back five second later to say he's going around.