"Requesting lower"

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...

What does CTAF have to do with "requesting lower"?

Forget it.

Tony,

The connection, Steve, is that MX didn't take his meds today.


Does he ever?

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

John Theune writes:

It has everything to do with understanding other pilots which is what I
responded to.

But you don't have to understand other pilots if you are talking to
ATC, and if you are "requesting lower," you are talking to ATC, not
other pilots.

You need to keep up with the flow of the coversation.

I simply looked at the topic.

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It helps, but it is not mandatory. In theory, all you need is ATC.

In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice. In
practice, there is.

Theory is all well and good, but air traffic procedures have evolved
irrespective of theory, and they have evolved around the present
communications system. Replacing the system with one that is
incompatible with present practice, despite somebody's idea of what is
theoretically "adequate", is not a good idea.

Further, there is no ATC for non-towered airports. We transmit in the
blind to other pilots, and listen to them. It helps.

The other problem with digital is it does not degrade gracefully. That
is essential to any communications system.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
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But you don't have to understand other pilots if you are talking to
ATC, and if you are "requesting lower," you are talking to ATC, not
other pilots.

But you are using the same system that the other pilots (at uncontrolled
airports) would need to use.

They certainly need to understand other pilots.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose writes:

Theory is all well and good, but air traffic procedures have evolved
irrespective of theory, and they have evolved around the present
communications system. Replacing the system with one that is
incompatible with present practice, despite somebody's idea of what is
theoretically "adequate", is not a good idea.

If you can hear only ATC, what do you lose in terms of safety?

Further, there is no ATC for non-towered airports. We transmit in the
blind to other pilots, and listen to them. It helps.

No doubt, but the original topic was requesting a lower altitude,
which you would not ask of your fellow pilots on CTAF.

The other problem with digital is it does not degrade gracefully. That
is essential to any communications system.

It's not essential, it's just different. There isn't much practical
difference between hearing something incorrectly and not hearing it at
all.

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Jose writes:

But you are using the same system that the other pilots (at uncontrolled
airports) would need to use.

If they are not in contact with ATC, they are using a separate system.

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If they are not in contact with ATC, they are using a separate system.

Only in theory.

In present practice, we use the same radios as we use to contact ATC.
There are different frequencies assigned for different types of
communications, but it is the same radio in the cockpit, and the same
system.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

If you can hear only ATC, what do you lose in terms of safety?

Situational awareness of where other aircraft are. I have been made
aware of other aircraft near me by their radio calls to the tower. This
helped me find them visually and avoid making noise.

No doubt, but the original topic was requesting a lower altitude,
which you would not ask of your fellow pilots on CTAF.

True. But CTAF is the same system. The same radio. Just a different
frequency.

It's not essential, it's just different. There isn't much practical
difference between hearing something incorrectly and not hearing it at
all.

Degraded digital is very hard to make out, and easy to make out in
error. Degraded analog is still easy to make out. It has to be very
degraded before it's hard to make out.

Jose
--
He who laughs, lasts.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jose writes:

In present practice, we use the same radios as we use to contact ATC.
There are different frequencies assigned for different types of
communications, but it is the same radio in the cockpit, and the same
system.

Yes, but normally you are not talking on UNICOM or some other CTAF at
the same time that you are talking to ATC. It's one or the other.

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