Do you write frequencies as you go?

Firefighter_324 said:
I am pretty sure I would keep my location awareness and be able to find a freq on the chart that works... and in the meantime while your head is buried in your lap writing down a frequency..... TRAFFIC !@!@$!!

I can see when there is a need to write down bits of info, such as a clearance or something that involves 3 or 4 bits of vital pieces of info.. I could see where if you only had 1 radio without a standby it would be nice to have it jotted down somewhere as well..

let the arguments begin! :goofy: lol
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You can't write without staring at the paper? :)
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
God forbid you people have a power outtage....and have to go to the handheld.:eek:
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Unless you're on top of the tower, handhelds don't quite cut the mustard.

Also all the freqs are on the chart

Plus if you're so frazzled that you can't find the freq on the chart or lost all situational awareness, 21.5.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
God forbid you people have a power outtage....and have to go to the handheld.:eek:
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121.5 as a starting point will always get you there. "Guard, lost primary radios, could you get me a frequency for my handheld? Squawking 4356" No worries, the infrastructure is in place to handle it.
 
Henning said:
121.5 as a starting point will always get you there. "Guard, lost primary radios, could you get me a frequency for my handheld? Squawking 4356" No worries, the infrastructure is in place to handle it.
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That's what I was taught to do. In fact I had to do it during my instrument training.. Just so I knew what to do.
 
Shawn said:
Along with the frequencies I also jot down WHO to talk to. I do a lot of long XC's with a gazillion handoffs and often think "who the heck am I talking to now".
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I dont care who Im talking to other than, "Center, Approach, Departure, Tower, Ground, etc."

OP, I dont write anything down. If you cant remember a simple frequency, how could you possibly remember an approach brief?

I also have just about every frequency for the Atlanta area memorized, so i really dont write anything down other than a clearance.
 
EminiTrader said:
That's what I was taught to do. In fact I had to do it during my instrument training.. Just so I knew what to do.
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When you need to talk to someone, and you don't know who to call, call on 121.5; that's what it's there for.
 
Shawn said:
Yes...in addition to approach there are also these pesky controllers called "Center"...I will often transition through 4 different approach names and two different center names...then several handoffs within each of those.

You call center approach and you look like an unprepared idiot.
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I don't, there is only so many centers, I they are easy enough to predict.
 
Shawn said:
You call center approach and you look like an unprepared idiot.
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Thats just being overdramatic.

SixPapaCharlie said:
brscirrus1002a.jpg
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:rofl:
 
who would you call though, on 121.5?

"anyone listening, help a brotha out?"...or what?
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Thats just being overdramatic.
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Sometimes, But I have been corrected twice for accidentally calling Center, approach.

Both times under higher than normal workload in IFR and it just slipped.

I remember being corrected with a chuckle on the other end so it was no big deal and I felt dumb for at least 2 seconds....then it passed. :confused:

Think it was Cleveland or maybe Indy?:dunno:
 
vkhosid said:
who would you call though, on 121.5?

"anyone listening, help a brotha out?"...or what?
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Not quite that way.. This may work a bit better for you.

"Approach, Cirrus 123AB on Guard".

"Cirrus 123AB - atlanta center, go ahead"


"Atlanta Center, 123AB lost radio, on portable, need appropriate frequency"

"Cirrus 123AB contact JAX Center 124.90:

Pretty simple stuff :)
 
EminiTrader said:
Not quite that way.. This may work a bit better for you.

"Approach, Cirrus 123AB on Guard".

"Cirrus 123AB - atlanta center, go ahead"


"Atlanta Center, 123AB lost radio, on portable, need appropriate frequency"

"Cirrus 123AB contact JAX Center 124.90:

Pretty simple stuff :)
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Roger that, wilco, over and out.
 
GeorgeC said:
Yep. Helps on the way back, too.
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I got bit by that once.

"Cessna 123AB, Approach, contact approach on... actually stay with me on this frequency. Traffic 12 o'clock, 5 miles, opposite direction, a Mooney."
vector, vector, vector
"Traffic no factor, squawk VFR and switch to advisory frequency. Good day."

Then on the way back, I hit the flip-flop button when I was done with CTAF and the controller was rather annoyed that I didn't use the departure frequency published in the AF/D.

BTW in answer the original question, yes. I fly with some cantankerous old radios and having the frequency written down helps if a display goes belly up and/or I have to switch a COM to talk/hear.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
God forbid you people have a power outtage....and have to go to the handheld.:eek:
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A power outage will sort of obviate the need for knowing what the radio frequency is. When the power comes back, the frequencies reappear (at least in all the radios I've ever had in my aircraft).
 
In reply to long ATC instruction
"Is this something Im going to have to write down?"
 
I really should, but I don't.

I'm trying to get in the habit of recording all instructions, but at the moment, all I copy religiously is IFR clearances.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
I dont care who Im talking to other than, "Center, Approach, Departure, Tower, Ground, etc."

OP, I dont write anything down. If you cant remember a simple frequency, how could you possibly remember an approach brief?

I also have just about every frequency for the Atlanta area memorized, so i really dont write anything down other than a clearance.
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Your bravado really doesn't impress anyone, sir. :rolleyes2:
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
Yup.....that's the engrained response they're teaching.....:goofy::D
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Maybe a bit of a stretch.

My training was here are the 6 circumstances in which the chute becomes a valid option:
1. Engine out over water
2. Unable to get out of a spin
3. Engine out over hospitable terrain
4. Disorientation
5. Icing
6. Medical issue

It was also pointed out that one must not let their ego / pride prevent them from pulling it if they know they are in over their head like this gentleman that killed everyone on board when he had the get out of jail free handle above his head:

http://www.aopa.org/AOPA-Live.aspx?watch=6CAEC9E8-77C4-49F3-B2AA-7D49BC1C2FC9

I never felt like they skipped any part of flying, dealing with emergencies, etc. Those bullet points above were really all that was even mentioned about the chute. The rest was normal training.
 
bugsiegel said:
I'm in the habit of writing down frequencies as I go. I wasn't intentionally taught this but it helps me not enter the wrong frequency on a handoff.
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I used to write it prior to a NAVCOMM with a flip flop. Now I repeat the frequency to ATC as I'm dialing the new one on standby. If I say it wrong they 99% of the time correct me, otherwise if no one answers on the new(wrong) one I flip flop back and tell them.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Maybe a bit of a stretch.

My training was here are the 6 circumstances in which the chute becomes a valid option:
1. Engine out over water
2. Unable to get out of a spin
3. Engine out over hospitable terrain
4. Disorientation
5. Icing
6. Medical issue
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This probably falls into 3. ( inhospitable btw :goofy: ) but one more thing I was taught was engine out with significant snow coverage on the ground. For example last winter we had several feet of snow cover build up, often with a layer of a nice icy crust in between snowfalls and it was discussed by my instructor that in an engine out the chute may be a better option than trying to land on one of those amazing looking fields below due to the snow and ice posing a flip hazard.
 
What I do is flight plan and write the freqs down on a notepad of scratch paper on my kneeboard before the flight. Saves times later on.
 
Blueangel said:
What I do is flight plan and write the freqs down on a notepad of scratch paper on my kneeboard before the flight. Saves times later on.
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All of them? You can't necessarily know.

NorCal has dozens of sectors, and staffing gets shifted around sometimes.

If you're headed to an airport with an instrument approach, all the destination frequencies are already written on the IAP. Except for approach and departure, on the airport diagram as well.
 
After watching a captain do it, I've started putting the next frequency in standby when I hear a hand-off ahead of me. An small step in staying ahead
 
JoeSelch said:
OK... But, how does it save time?
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It saves time when it's critical, and trades it for time when it's not critical.

It really saves time when your iThing goes TU. Yes, I've had that happen right before tuning Tower outside Class D.
 
Hardly ever. When I have my coffee in one hand I might jot it in the FMS scratchpad till I can get my hand free to dial it in ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Blueangel said:
What I do is flight plan and write the freqs down on a notepad of scratch paper on my kneeboard before the flight. Saves times later on.
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To each his own but this is also why I use the knee board even with a bunch of digital crap in my plane. I write down the destination AITS, Tower, Ground and Approach frequencies prior to arrival on my kneeboard. I like having them literally at a glance to make sure I have it dialed in correctly as the arrival phase is usually one of the highest workload periods.
 
Having the destination ATIS handy is a different matter than writing down imagined frequencies that may be given to you in handoffs. I don't typically worry about writing the destination ATIS down because:

1. It's on the plate which I'll have out anyhow.
2. It's three button pushes on my radio (INFO...FREQ...A->).
 
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