Author Topic: Problems understanding ATC?  (Read 21117 times)

Offline Mike

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Problems understanding ATC?
« on: May 27, 2006, 05:36:41 AM »
Sleek Jet just posted a link to our website in the AOPA forum. (Thanks again, btw  |:)\ )
And when I was checking out who else all posted in this thread I stumbled upon this awesome website which I am sure is great for young and coming pilots so I want to share this here with you.

Check it out:
http://www.liveatc.net/

What I will recommend to my students who have a hard time with radio procedures is to just turn on one of the approaches and just have it on all day while you're working on the computer to just get used to the constant radio traffic.
I even enjoy having it on while I am typing this (which means something since I have listened to loooooots of ATC calls already in my career.... ;D )
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Offline Sleek-Jet

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2006, 03:38:01 PM »
That's pretty cool...

Airmet for strong mountain wave activity and trubulence for so-cal from what I hear. :D  |:)\
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Offline Mike

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2006, 10:38:40 PM »
Yup, It's true!
I just flew from VNY to VGT (North Las Vegas) and got hit with bumps so hard my transmission light came on for a sec. Must have sucked all the oil out of the sump for a moment. It was exciting.
I would be scared to fly in this with anything else but an Astar. What a great machine for flying in turbulence!
It's so gusty here in Vegas my blade tie-downs wouldn't stay on so I had to help them out with some electrical tape. I hope it holds....
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Offline Sleek-Jet

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2006, 10:45:43 PM »
Good old North Town... I used to fly in there once a month.  Once, when they had runway 7 closed while runway 30R was being constructed, had to land in a direct 25 kt cross wind... lots 'o fun.

Did the cafe ever open back up???   ???
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Offline Frank N. O.

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2006, 10:47:13 PM »
I've heard some of that from another site some years ago and I could barely understand one word. Now I heard that the slow speed used in the computer ATC in MSFS2004 would get you in big trouble in the real world, but do you really have to be able to understand that mumble, at least when you "just" fly a single-engine GA plane?

Another question, did turbulence activate the radio-transmit button or what did I miss? And doesn't aircraft engines have dry-sump lubrication (pump instead of gravity circulation).

Frank
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Offline Mike

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2006, 03:07:33 AM »

Another question, did turbulence activate the radio-transmit button or what did I miss? And doesn't aircraft engines have dry-sump lubrication (pump instead of gravity circulation).

Frank

I was talking about the main rotor transmission and the light itself wasn't all that exciting, just the turbulence. Must have been a sudden surge in the MRXMSN pump.
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Offline Roland

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2006, 09:22:27 PM »

Another question, did turbulence activate the radio-transmit button or what did I miss? And doesn't aircraft engines have dry-sump lubrication (pump instead of gravity circulation).

Frank

I was talking about the main rotor transmission and the light itself wasn't all that exciting, just the turbulence. Must have been a sudden surge in the MRXMSN pump.

@ Frank: Most gearboxes are not dry-sump type but sump-type. That means all the oil is collected on the bottom of the gearbox where it is sucked up by the pump and pressed and sprayed around.

While flying through turbulences oil can be thrown up to the cover of the gearbox and the pump sucks … nothing. The pressure transmitter, placed right behind the pump senses … nothing and a light goes on.  As long as this situation is for a short while there is no reason to do anything but get out of the turbulence. Not for the oil in the gearbox but for the sick passenger on the next (rear) seat. ;)
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Offline Zaffex

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2006, 09:54:34 PM »
another compliment to the Live ATC is http://flightaware.com. It shows info on all the commercial and IFR-scheduled flights around an airport, so you can listen in and see where they are in relation to the airport at the same time. I think you just click on a link to it inside the radio boxes on Live ATC.
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Offline Mike

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2006, 09:59:21 PM »

While flying through turbulences oil can be thrown up to the cover of the gearbox and the pump sucks … nothing. The pressure transmitter, placed right behind the pump senses … nothing and a light goes on.  As long as this situation is for a short while there is no reason to do anything but get out of the turbulence. Not for the oil in the gearbox but for the sick passenger on the next (rear) seat. ;)


Yeah, there is nothing like that sudden sinking feeling you get when the PAX sitting behind you just puked on your neck and down the collar.... ;)  :(
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fireflyr

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #9 on: May 29, 2006, 02:00:22 AM »


Yeah, there is nothing like that sudden sinking feeling you get when the PAX sitting behind you just puked on your neck and down the collar.... ;) :(
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That's when you gotta be cool and macho by talking about the greasy eggs and bacon you had for breakfast--don't ever let some puke tosser let you feeling sorry for him/her. ;D

Offline Gulfstream Driver

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2006, 03:25:31 AM »
flightaware also lets you track any tail number on an IFR flight.  It's pretty cool.

@ Frank:  You can't really get in trouble for speaking too slow on the radio.  They'll just ignore you or put you in a half-hour holding pattern.   ;)  If you don't understand something they say, all you have to do is ask them to repeat it.  You do have to do what they say, though, unless you can't or feel their instructions will put you in jeopardy. 
« Last Edit: June 25, 2006, 05:26:38 PM by Gulfstream Driver »
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fireflyr

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2006, 05:48:40 AM »
This thread reminds me of a time back in the early 80s when I was coming out of OAK and a lady controller was pretty swamped and she was issuing clearances at about a thousand words a minute with gusts to fifteen hundred when a Delta pilot came on in his best basso profundo saying something like"Bay approach-----Delta 1234--- Maam---------ya'll hear how fast I'm talkin'?-----------Well, that's about how fast I kin listen---------Say again please!"
There was a moments pause and she came back slower but rather sarcastic too.   
Not gut busting funny now---------guess you had to been there! :-\

Offline Roland

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #12 on: May 29, 2006, 09:08:21 AM »
I hear it, I really can hear it.   :D

On the second seat of a helicopter one can hear the radio conversations. Especially helicopter pilots, flying wood logs and sometimes cows out of the mountains are sh!t frightened to talk to any ATC.  :-X

And here in Europe the whole lot sounds so unnatural as well (except UK ATC, of course. But fly over France …) and some try to show of the even better English than the counterpart. Sometimes it is just awful. One can hear the young trainees with their clear, slow voices, unsure and being ignored and handled as super-stupid. Unfair, really unfair. But “listen to the radio” helps a lot indeed. It helps to enter the phraseology.
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Offline Mike

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2006, 04:55:19 AM »
HA HA!!! That's a good one, Jim!!!  ;) :D
I can also totally hear it!

I agree with both of you guys. Europe does seem weird on the radio.
I knew I was in trouble and might never be able to go back the day a flight attendant friend of mine hooked me up with a jump seat on an Austrian Airlines Jet on my way home and I understood everything they said leaving Washington DC (actually helped them out during a Clearance Delivery Issue) and then couldn't figure out what's going on over German airspace..... ;)
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fireflyr

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Re: Problems understanding ATC?
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2006, 08:56:37 AM »
HA HA!!! That's a good one, Jim!!! ;) :D
I can also totally hear it!

I agree with both of you guys. Europe does seem weird on the radio.
I knew I was in trouble and might never be able to go back the day a flight attendant friend of mine hooked me up with a jump seat on an Austrian Airlines Jet on my way home and I understood everything they said leaving Washington DC (actually helped them out during a Clearance Delivery Issue) and then couldn't figure out what's going on over German airspace..... ;)
Thanks guy.  You know, I hadn't given the language issue much thought but now that you mention it I recall hearing hearing Japanese students on frequency who were having a hell of a time trying to understand ATC controllers who were issuing some long instructions.  My hat is off to all of you who are learning to fly and have the double burden of having to speak on the radio in something other than your mother tongue!
On another note, I've been very sick with the floomuckle crud ( ;D a name of my own invention) for the last 2 weeks and unable to fly due to head congestion, taking enough drugs to stun a horse, and laryngitis.   My voice is almost back and today a friend called to ask if I could fly down and pick him up in San Jose, well I says "sure thing" and off to the local aerodrome I trot and rent me an aeroplane, forgetting that ye olde voice ain't quite up to par.  Everything is fine till I enter the San Francisco class B airspace and I'm talking to NorCal approach and the controller is asking me to repeat my request because my radio is "really scratchy" well, my radio kept getting "scratchier" as I went along until I was conversing in loud whispers by the time I got to Reid Hillview tower.
My friend handled the radios on the trip back and I learned yet another lesson in pushing your limitations--it was good to be back in the air though!