RCO Operators: What's with all the extra babble? (A bit of a rant...)

[HighFlyingA380]

So before this job, I never really needed to use an RCO, since I always had the option to obtain/cancel IFR in the air. But due to my ops specs now, we have to always be IFR, so it must be obtained/canceled on the ground. At KBRL it's easy since you can reach ZAU from the ground, but not so from KJBR...

So if I use the same vernacular as I would with ATC, it's a quick exchange; Not so with Jonesboro Radio...
"Jonesboro Radio, Weber 2708 on the ground at Jonesboro, clearance to St. Louis."
"Weber 2708, Jonesboro Radio, confirm you are wanting to pick-up your IFR clearance from Kilo-Juliette-Bravo-Romeo Jonesboro Municipal Airport to Kilo-Sierra-Tango-Lima Lambert St. Louis International Airport?"
...Seriously? Don't they have my flight plan in front of them and us saying the basic airport name is just to ensure it's the right plan?

Why do they feel the need to give me oodles of unsolicited information? They'll just go reading off AIRMETs, SIGMETs, NOTAMs, closures, TFRs, ect., and wasting time, when that's stuff which we have already obtained before boarding and deemed the flight can be completed safely/legally. Do they think the flight crews/PICs aren't doing what they're required to do???

And do the words "ready to copy" mean something different when said over an RCO? After not saying it the first couple of times then being asked to "advise when ready to copy," I decided to start including it in my initial call-up. But even when that's added, they still say it. Are there seriously a bunch of people calling for something, then being surprised they might need to write it down?

Just seems ridiculously inefficient, especially when we're short of a runway burning jet-A with folks sitting in the back getting uneasy...

 

[frfly172]

Sorry you seem to be overworked.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

So before this job, I never really needed to use an RCO, since I always had the option to obtain/cancel IFR in the air. But due to my ops specs now, we have to always be IFR, so it must be obtained/canceled on the ground. At KBRL it's easy since you can reach ZAU from the ground, but not so from KJBR...

So if I use the same vernacular as I would with ATC, it's a quick exchange; Not so with Jonesboro Radio...
"Jonesboro Radio, Weber 2708 on the ground at Jonesboro, clearance to St. Louis."
"Weber 2708, Jonesboro Radio, confirm you are wanting to pick-up your IFR clearance from Kilo-Juliette-Bravo-Romeo Jonesboro Municipal Airport to Kilo-Sierra-Tango-Lima Lambert St. Louis International Airport?"
...Seriously? Don't they have my flight plan in front of them and us saying the basic airport name is just to ensure it's the right plan?

Why do they feel the need to give me oodles of unsolicited information? They'll just go reading off AIRMETs, SIGMETs, NOTAMs, closures, TFRs, ect., and wasting time, when that's stuff which we have already obtained before boarding and deemed the flight can be completed safely/legally. Do they think the flight crews/PICs aren't doing what they're required to do???

And do the words "ready to copy" mean something different when said over an RCO? After not saying it the first couple of times then being asked to "advise when ready to copy," I decided to start including it in my initial call-up. But even when that's added, they still say it. Are there seriously a bunch of people calling for something, then being surprised they might need to write it down?

Just seems ridiculously inefficient, especially when we're short of a runway burning jet-A with folks sitting in the back getting uneasy...

Just remember, ATC is the awful bureaucratic inefficient government employees, and Flight Service is the amazingly efficient private enterprise at work.

LockMart sucks.

I'm not sure whether you're flying similar routes over and over again or if you're going into new places all the time, but if it's the former, you may want to just ask for their phone number on freq and call them directly from your cell phone rather than radioing for someone at LockMart to do it for you.

 

[mondtster]

Just give them what they want rather than fighting it, your life will be easier.

Can't you call ahead and pick up your clearance before boarding passengers?

 

[timwinters]

It might help if you told them "I'm not from Arkansas, I just happen to be here right now."

 

[txflyer]

Let 'em go through their whole spiel, then key up and say "say again"

That really ****es them off.

 

[Brad Z]

Most of the stuff they say has been thrust upon them by FAA policy, usually as a result of a crash. It's CYA.

These parts, if I check in on FSS to file a pirep, they feel compelled to offer of that stuff as well, but further ask me if I have the DC SFRA training. Kinda late now, as I'm already departing from it.

 

[gismo]

AFaIK, some RCOs go to FSS not ATC. Sounds to me like you were using one of the former. If it was a GCO (dials ATC or FSS on a landline for you) there's a different activation sequence for ATC vs FSS.

 

[ISaidRightTurns]

Compared to 20 years ago, how many people actually use FSS? Even compared to 5 years ago (now with smartphones and all). So your operation is one of the rare that actually relies on FSS.

FSS is a contract done by the FAA. What sort of metric would you use to judge that contract's performance? Maybe number and length of transmissions? Maybe if my job relied on me keying up a bunch for a long time I would do it too.

 

[ARFlyer]

It might help if you told them "I'm not from Arkansas, I just happen to be here right now."

You might to want to guard your food come Gastons.

 

[ARFlyer]

Compared to 20 years ago, how many people actually use FSS? Even compared to 5 years ago (now with smartphones and all). So your operation is one of the rare that actually relies on FSS.

FSS is a contract done by the FAA. What sort of metric would you use to judge that contract's performance? Maybe number and length of transmissions? Maybe if my job relied on me keying up a bunch for a long time I would do it too.

Our FOM requires a FSS flight briefing and an active flight plan anywhere outside our local area. It gets annoying trying to raise FSS over our local RCO.

 

[JasonM]

I don't often open up my VFR flight plans as I tell people where I am going and when to expect me as well as have gps tracking, but one afternoon I decided to do it and dialed in the FSS. This guy wanted to ask me about a million things and he talked so long about nonsense that I actually lost contact with him on the radio. I'm training for my IR now and after that experience I am kinda worried if that will happen more often.