CTAF congestion

[mikea]

Agreed.

122.800 isn't the place for:

"So Ed, you up at Podunk?"
"Yeah, Tom - we came up but the restaurant is closed..."
"Yeah, uhhh.. they are only open on Tuesday and Thursday's now..."
"What's the gas price there?"
"Umm...I think four fifty?"

blah,blah, blah...

I heard this conversation between two pilots in the vicinity of an airport 100 nm from ours, but we couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Or for me once,

Me: "Burlington Traffic, Cherokee is 5 miles out on the 45 to right downwind for 29, Burlington"

- "Burlington traffic, Cessna nnn 4 miles on the right downwind for 29 Burlington."

- "Joe! Dat you?"

- "Yeah."

- "What cha doin? Instructing?"

- "Oh. Running into a Cherokee that can't get a word in...."

 

[ScottM]

I am surprised you did not get the " is it right traffic for runway 29?" conversation that seems to happen far to often at BUU.

 

[nosehair]

I heard this conversation between two pilots in the vicinity of an airport 100 nm from ours, but we couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Hey, youse guys, this doesn't have to happen.

That's what the squelch knob is for. Turning the squelch knob down decreases the reception range of your receiver.

Turn the squelch knob up until you hear 'static', and you're increasing your range. You hear static, but you can also hear far far away.

Turn your squelch knob down until you only hear the traffic in your vicinity.

That'll take care of half the unwanted traffic.

 

[dmccormack]

Hey, youse guys, this doesn't have to happen.

That's what the squelch knob is for. Turning the squelch knob down decreases the reception range of your receiver.

Turn the squelch knob up until you hear 'static', and you're increasing your range. You hear static, but you can also hear far far away.

Turn your squelch knob down until you only hear the traffic in your vicinity.

That'll take care of half the unwanted traffic.

...And miss weak transmissions from nearby airplanes?

Nah....

 

[mikea]

I am surprised you did not get the " is it right traffic for runway 29?" conversation that seems to happen far to often at BUU.

C'Mon. You know better. It's ....

"xxx on right ..."

" nnn on right..."

" xx turning on right .."

" nnnn entering right ...."

" Bonzo on left crosswind"

 

[ScottM]

Hey, youse guys, this doesn't have to happen.

That's what the squelch knob is for. Turning the squelch knob down decreases the reception range of your receiver.

Turn the squelch knob up until you hear 'static', and you're increasing your range. You hear static, but you can also hear far far away.

Turn your squelch knob down until you only hear the traffic in your vicinity.

That'll take care of half the unwanted traffic.

That is not what squelch does at all.

I hope you were just kidding.

Squelch does not affect your receiver sensitivity, it sets the level that will be allowed not get your speaker. Once squelch is broken by the high enough signal level you hear everything that is received at the antenna, it does not stop lower power signals from getting in. So you would get a nice loud squeal or heterodyne.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Taxi calls certainly help at an airport with no parallel taxiway.

One size does not fit all.

Oh, I make back-taxi calls and crossing the runway calls, but I do not make the calls that I hear some people make when they're taxiing from the ramp to the only runway on a parallel taxiway.

Also, if I'm at an airport without a taxiway to the runway I want to depart from (doesn't have to be parallel ) I wait until I'm about to cross the hold-short line before I make the call. It's the guys making traffic calls from the ramp that drive me nuts.

 

[gismo]

My personal pet peeve at uncontrolled fields with practice approaches.

There are pilots who insist that unless you fly the approach down to MDA/DH and the MAP, that it shouldn't be logged if you break it off early to stay at/above pattern altitude. I agree that you need this type of practice too, however there are better times to do this when the pattern isn't full on a nice, clear VFR day.

Same with ATC. At controlled fields, I understand it. But at uncontrolled fields, why? Again, I understand the need for practice in the ATC system, but at the expense of safety?

Greg

For some the only available airports for practice approaches are uncontrolled, for others the approaches at the only controlled field nearby get a little too familiar and/or there's a need to practice a particular approach to learn some specific point (one of which may be how to communicate properly on approach to an uncontrolled field). I'm not seeing a whole lot of safety issues here, most of these conflicts are about convenience not safety IMO.

 

[dbman5]

And FWIW, I never announce taxi (other than moving onto the runway for departure), unless I'm clearing, crossing, or back-taxiing on the runway.

NEVER? Them's awfully strong - and maybe dangerous - words.

I agree that if the field is busy and the frequency congested, a taxi-to call is a waste of time.

In many cases - but not all. Sometimes it's even more important to announce a taxi when the field is busy. See below.

Making calls for ground movement is fine. It's a safe thing to do. Just make them short and concise. And, as said earlier, stop the crap with the radio checks and airport advisories. LISTEN before you speak.

YES!

Taxi calls certainly help at an airport with no parallel taxiway.
One size does not fit all.

Good for you, Steve. Like many things in flying, this is something that requires using judgement rather than just adhering to a strict rule.

At Y47 the traffic coming out from the hangers has very restricted visibility down the taxiway until they are almost in the way of traffic on that taxiway. Worse yet, if they get out on the taxiway by their hanger, the trees keep them from seeing traffic coming off the runway from the west until it's already in the way. Of course, the corollary is that the traffic coming off the runway can't see what's happening by the hangers either. And, there is only one taxiway. If the guy taxiing in from the runway isn't paying attention and just turns toward the hangers without stopping to check, he could easily come prop-to-prop with someone taxing out.

So, especially when it gets busy, the polite pilots at that airport announce their taxi intentions including going to/from the gas pumps which means they will be going the full length of the taxiway.

Even (especially?) those who are returning to the hangars/pumps need to announce their intentions so those leaving their hangars will know if they need to wait for the traffic to clear.

So, my recommendation is to use good judgement depending on the situation. Listen and look then announce if you aren't sure it's clear or if it might be helpful to someone else you see taxing in your vicinity. But, as previously noted, listen first and keep it short and to the point.

 

[citationxjl]

I hate the "unicom" calls asking for airport advisory. Also I do not like when I call 10 miles out, do not hear anybody, then call 5 miles out and which runway I am landing (calm wind either runway works), then call turning final and some calls departing opposite direction runway. That is when a taxi out call would have been nice. I would have went to the other runway because that is where they were taxing too.

 

[Ghery]

That is not what squelch does at all.

I hope you were just kidding.

Squelch does not affect your receiver sensitivity, it sets the level that will be allowed not get your speaker. Once squelch is broken by the high enough signal level you hear everything that is received at the antenna, it does not stop lower power signals from getting in. So you would get a nice loud squeal or heterodyne.

Yeah, too bad they don't give us a receiver gain control to fix that. Ah, yes, one more knob on the radio to mis-set.

 

[KennyFlys]

I hate the "unicom" calls asking for airport advisory. Also I do not like when I call 10 miles out, do not hear anybody, then call 5 miles out and which runway I am landing (calm wind either runway works), then call turning final and some calls departing opposite direction runway. That is when a taxi out call would have been nice. I would have went to the other runway because that is where they were taxing too.

You have no idea how much I fight keying up and saying the long version of "STFU and listen, dumb ass!"

I'm not a racist nor a bigot. But, dang do I hate stupidity.