Using the word "traffic" at the end of approach and landing call outs

Rykymus said:
As to using a description rather than tail number, if I'm close enough to tell what color you are, I'm already turning to avoid colliding with you.
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If you're close enough to read my 3" numbers we may have already collided.

Nauga,
Fox 4
 
Rykymus said:
What bugs me is describing your color and type instead of using your call sign, especially at a relatively busy uncontrolled field. What the hell are people trying to do? You hiding from the man? There's a reason we're supposed to use our tail number. It's a unique identifier so that there is no confusion as to who you are talking to.

One of the reasons I try to stay away from non-towered airports.
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I thought using tail numbers was an FCC requirement.
 
"Red RV" is a lot quicker to say at a nontowered airport than my tail number. I'll do the full number on initial contact when I'm 10 miles out, though.

I've NEVER heard anyone in SoCal end with "traffic," but it's a pet peeve that many don't end with the airport name at all, because Hemet's calls come in loud and clear at Cable.
 
Just like a lot of things, the use of color in position calls is situational.

I agree that using color for Cessna or Cherokee or Arrow or Bonanza, etc., is overkill. Just state your position (and intentions if not obvious) clearly: "entering downwind", "1 mile north", " left base", etc.

That being said, I do use color in one circumstance - when flying my GREEN Cub. We have two yellow Cubs and two green Cubs at our field. Most of the time if you say Cub, people are looking for a yellow plane, so I say "Green Cub" so that folks immediately know what to look for. Of course at a towered field I will report in with the tail number as usual, but at my home base (private, uncontrolled) I use "Green Cub".

Furthermore, at fly-ins during times of heavy arrival traffic I oftentimes hear people using colors (yellow bi-plane, green low-wing, etc..) similar to how the Fisk guys at Oshkosh do when calling you up for the first time. This just makes sense when there are a lot of planes in one place. Not so much during normal pattern operations.
 
frfly172 said:
how much more does saying the word traffic at the end of the broadcast actually take
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if it's already long enough it takes even longer... Try "Los Angeles special flight rules traffic Skyhawk 123 3500 southbound over the Marina, Los Angeles special flight rules traffic... I hated saying all of these and kept shortening it to Los Angeles Special but my CFI made me say the whole thing...:mad:
 
Ravioli said:
Oh, I bet you said something like "What a knob."

You just didn't hit the PTT while you said it.
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Lol! I actually did mumble something like "whatever dude. Just gave a 10 mile call, not giving another one."
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
...but it's a pet peeve that many don't end with the airport name at all, because Hemet's calls come in loud and clear at Cable.
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Even then, the name doesn't *always* help. :D I used to hear "Ramona," "Pomona," and "Corona" when flying out of Meadowlark. o_O

Nauga,
and his experimental nature
 
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Seems like the tail number vs. color & description choice depends on whether your using the information to build a picture in your head of where everyone is (so you want the tail numbers to keep multiple Skyhawks or whatever straight) or whether you're only trying to find somebody with your eyeballs (so color and description is preferred).

I think the answer is both. I'm building a picture of where everyone is in my head 1) because I may not be able to see everybody yet, 2) tells me who might conflict with me. I'm also looking for anybody I think might conflict with me and I certainly hope I don't get close enough to read your numbers.

Cessna isn't at all useful since it could be a 120 to a Citation. Skyhawk? Twin Cessna? (albeit 310? 414? Conquest?) use something that gives me an idea of shape and performance.

And, of course, listen first. Are their three other Skyhawks in the pattern? Use your type and number.

John
 
Hippike said:
if it's already long enough it takes even longer... Try "Los Angeles special flight rules traffic Skyhawk 123 3500 southbound over the Marina, Los Angeles special flight rules traffic... I hated saying all of these and kept shortening it to Los Angeles Special but my CFI made me say the whole thing...:mad:
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Is there anything else on that frequency within reception range?
 
So, I guess saying "Podunk traffic, slow white experimental entering left downwind for 26, Podunk" wasn't the best idea? Do people even want to know that my speed is half of what a typical 172 goes on downwind?
 
jsstevens said:
Cessna isn't at all useful since it could be a 120 to a Citation. Skyhawk? Twin Cessna? (albeit 310? 414? Conquest?) use something that gives me an idea of shape and performance.
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I think most people would assume a "Cessna" call would range from 120 to 172, and 172s out number most of the other Cessnas combined, so odds are it's a 172. I usually hear 177 pilots call Cardinal, 182 pilots call Skylane, 210 pilots call Centurion, etc. They want you to know they're faster than the rest of us Cessnas!

I'm not going to call Cessna 140 90098, so I'll just stick with Cessna 098 or Silver Cessna.
 
jsstevens said:
And, of course, listen first. Are their three other Skyhawks in the pattern? Use your type and number.
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That's when I'd rather hear something descriptive and distinctive rather than an N-number that I can't see.

Nauga,
in the blind
 
nauga said:
That's when I'd rather hear something descriptive and distinctive rather than an N-number that I can't see.

Nauga,
in the blind
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But better than the 3rd blue & white Cessna. I don't disagree, but (the full) numbers are guaranteed to be unique. My point is differentiate yourself from the others so my mental picture knows there are n Cessnas and roughly where each is.

John
Not blind yet.
 
zaitcev said:
So, I guess saying "Podunk traffic, slow white experimental entering left downwind for 26, Podunk" wasn't the best idea? Do people even want to know that my speed is half of what a typical 172 goes on downwind?
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Only if OJ is aboard...
 
They "differentiate" themselves in the pattern by stating their position. I'm about to bail out of this one, some folks are just making it way too complicated.
 
nauga said:
Even then, the name doesn't *always* help. :D I used to hear "Ramona," "Pomona," and "Corona" when flying out of Meadowlark. o_O

Nauga,
and his experimental nature
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I still fly out of Meadowlark, but it's usually a 6-iron hit OB. :eek:
 
jsstevens said:
My point is differentiate yourself from the others so my mental picture knows there are n Cessnas and roughly where each is.
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I agree completely. I think whether you use number, color, or both is situation-dependent, not cast in stone.

Nauga,
deviating from the recipe
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
I still fly out of Meadowlark, but it's usually a 6-iron hit OB. :eek:
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:p
The golf course was there way back then, but I think midfield is now somewhere around the produce department.

Nauga,
rigs inbound
 
nauga said:
I agree completely. I think whether you use number, color, or both is situation-dependent, not cast in stone.

Nauga,
deviating from the recipe
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There we go with crazy talk again.
 
Lowflynjack said:
A friend of mine had a yellow N3N. He would could call, "Yellow Biplane" and people would ask him why he didn't just say "Yellow Stearman". I couldn't stop laughing one day when a guy replied, "Whatever. I know a Stearman when I see one."
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Well, some Stearman pilots [correctly, if not usefully] identify as "Boeing"...

I used "biplane" with my last plane because "Fisher" (404) wouldn't convey much to most pilots. The Starduster I have now is somewhat more familiar, but still probably not to the average Cessna driver, so I'll continue to just use "biplane".
 
I believe that you may use the word "traffic" at the end of your transmission but only if you use "with you" and "ATITPPA" and identify yourself PROPERLY with your aircraft serial # and your SSN too (so that we know who you really are). Safety first!

Such as: "Podunk traffic, dumb knob N12345, serial # 1445, SSN 666-66-6666 with you on 25 mile final, ATITPPA, Podunk traffic .... 12345 ... Podunk .... traffic".
 
POA traffic, white archer with beige and red stripes, WITH YOU, POA traffic

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Podunk area Unicom, podunk area Unicom, podunk Unicom, this is Cessna 172 Skyhawk November one two tha-ree tango bravo with you, a high-wing, blue over white, with you 20 miles southeast, about 30 minutes out, descending through five point tha-ree for tha-ree point zero, three thousand feet, planning a left downwind for runway one tha-ree, thirteen, any traffic in the area, good luck getting a word in edgewise, podunk area Unicom, and we’re about 10 miles out now, podunk area Unicom.
-vs-
Podunk traffic, white Cessna tree tango bravo, 5 miles southeast, entering left downwind runway one tree, podunk.

There isn’t really a right answer, but there are a lot of wrong ones. Don’t beat yourself or anyone else up over saying an extra word here or there. No matter what you say or how dumb you sound when you say it, there is someone else out there sounding dumber.

Although the correct response to ATITAPA is “Be advised, I’m in the area.”
 
Timbeck2 said:
They "differentiate" themselves in the pattern by stating their position. I'm about to bail out of this one, some folks are just making it way too complicated.
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And if they state their actual position, that would really differentiate them.
 
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We have one guy who does radio maintenance who always calls us thusly:

D-M ground, (inflection up) D-M ground (inflection down) this is radio maintenance with a V-H-F radio check, how copy, over.

I always answer: Radio Maintenance Radio Maintenance this D-M ground, D-M ground, you're loud and clear, loud and clear.

He hasn't gotten the hint in years. I hate that guy.
 
Timbeck2 said:
We have one guy who does radio maintenance who always calls us thusly:

D-M ground, (inflection up) D-M ground (inflection down) this is radio maintenance with a V-H-F radio check, how copy, over.

I always answer: Radio Maintenance Radio Maintenance this D-M ground, D-M ground, you're loud and clear, loud and clear.

He hasn't gotten the hint in years. I hate that guy.
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"D-M ground, D-M ground, this is radio maintenance with a V-H-F radio check, how copy, over."

"Radio Maintenance, D-M ground...I copy with a Xerox machine, and you?"

I dare ya..!! :lol::lol:
 
iamtheari said:
Podunk area Unicom, podunk area Unicom, podunk Unicom, this is Cessna 172 Skyhawk November one two tha-ree tango bravo with you, a high-wing, blue over white, with you 20 miles southeast, about 30 minutes out, descending through five point tha-ree for tha-ree point zero, three thousand feet, planning a left downwind for runway one tha-ree, thirteen, any traffic in the area, good luck getting a word in edgewise, podunk area Unicom, and we’re about 10 miles out now, podunk area Unicom.
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You, ah, left out, ah, all the, ah, "ahs"...
 
Dana said:
You, ah, left out, ah, all the, ah, "ahs"...
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And hearing his/her friend on the radio, which is treated like a long-lost reunion despite being two hangars apart at an airport with 20 planes, thus turning the CTAF into a personal chat-line...
 
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