Cessna 421 - "Twin Cessna" or "Golden Eagle"?

Twin Cessna could also *technically* be a jet..

"Golden Eagle" sounds ridiculous though.. also, why does what they call you matter? Don't they have your actual type info on a strip? With a little bit of effort and money you could fly around with whatever call sign you want

Tangentially related, the other day while on flight following a controller asked if I was turbo or not.. he never sent me higher, but was maybe curious? I'd never heard that before though
 
The other day at klvk a pilot announced golden eagle ready to take off. The controller asked what’s a golden eagle. Another voice chimes in, it’s a Cessna. It’s ironic this topic came up today.


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IK04 said:
After picking up a new C-152 to replace one of our older C-150s, I decided to fly it into SJC and see how it would do an ILS approach. I called approach with make and tail number...

The prop on a 152 will allow for a high speed descent without overspeeding the engine, so I was able to keep up a pretty good speed on final.

When I was switched over to tower, he replied, "Citation 460, cleared to land 31 Left, maintain best speed, 737 on final behind you."

He obviously didn't recognize the tail number!
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One airplane I have a hard time with is the Swift. Very few controllers have heard of it. I have a little elevator pitch I give. "Globe Swift, Identifier Golf Charlie One, Single engine piston, cruise about 140 knots". Subsequent controllers usually start calling me "experimental" or in one case, I was a twin cessna all the way from Greensboro to Asheville!
 
RussR said:
Truly important question here, I know.

I fly a couple of 421s. I typically just refer to myself on the radio as "Twin Cessna XXX".

When I took my insurance training, the instructor corrected me, saying I should call it "Golden Eagle". Okay, whatever it takes to get the certificate.

Yesterday, when checking in with Center, he asked me "are you a Twin Cessna, or a Golden Eagle?" So I confirmed that yes, I was a Golden Eagle. And then later that flight, I heard another 421 check in as a Golden Eagle.

Personally, I usually try to use a simple, descriptive term for any airplane, not the cutesy marketing term. Some of them, of course, are truly ridiculous. To me, calling it a "Golden Eagle" just sounds pretentious - "no, I'm not one of those mere Twin Cessnas, I have a Golden Eagle" and I imagine the response as being "ooh, a Golden Eagle, you say. Well, la-de-da..."

This probably started when I owned a Warrior. It's a pretty big stretch to call any 4-place, 150 hp "trainer" airplane a "Warrior". What, are we supposed to be afraid of its fire-breathing power and speed?

ATC folks - does it make much difference to you? Would it help if I switched to saying "Golden Eagle"?
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Never made much difference to me for routine transmissions. I’d call you what you called you. On initial contact as a pop up where I would have to initiate the entry into the system, it made a difference though. Then I needed to know the designator such as ‘three ten’ or ‘four twenty one.’ If you said Golden Eagle and I happened to know that was a 421, all the easier, I wouldn’t have to ask.
 
Call yourself a Cessna 421. There are four characters controllers can type in for that and "Golden Eagle" doesn't fit but C421 does.
 
dell30rb said:
One airplane I have a hard time with is the Swift. Very few controllers have heard of it. I have a little elevator pitch I give. "Globe Swift, Identifier Golf Charlie One, Single engine piston, cruise about 140 knots". Subsequent controllers usually start calling me "experimental" or in one case, I was a twin cessna all the way from Greensboro to Asheville!
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So I tell them experimental biplane. Some of them ask what type of biplane. I think they believe I'm jerking their chain when I tell them a Little Toot!
 
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