We were flying from Oakland down to San Luis Obispo for lunch. On Oakland Center frequency, the controller was quizzing a Skylane every minute or so:
Oakland Center: “Cessna Two Three Quebec, that’s a ’78 182?”
Cessna 23Q: “Roger.”
Center: “Cessna Two Three Quebec, that’s the 182M model, right?”
Cessna 23Q: “Affirmative.”
Center: “Two Three Quebec, that’s got the 270 horsepower engine and 80-gallon tanks in it?”
Cessna 23Q: “That’s right.”
Center: “Cardinal Seven Sierra Delta, contact Santa Barbara Approach, 127.72.”
Cardinal 7SD: “Seven Sierra Delta, 127.72. Sure sorry you lost that Skylane in your divorce!”
Paul Millner
Berkeley, Calif.
On a sunny, weekend morning, I was dosing off in the right seat at Runway 13L at Reid-Hillview Airport, waiting for my student to finish his runup and start the routine of trying to kill me, when I heard the following:
Seneca 45X: “Reid-Hillview Ground, Seneca Two Two Four Five X-Ray at transient with Juliet. Request taxi to the active for southbound departure.”
Reid-Hillview Ground: “Seneca Four Five X-Ray, taxi Runway 13L runup area via Zulu; understand straight-out departure. Information Oscar is current.”
Seneca 45X: “Taxi Runway 22 via Tango, we have Juliet.” (RHV has parallel Runways 31 and 13, right and left. There’s no Runway 22 or taxiway Tango.)
Ground: “Seneca Four Five X-Ray, negative. Runway 13L via Zulu, and Oscar is current.”
Seneca 45X (after a moment of silence): “Ground, can we just follow the Cessna across from us on the ramp to the runway?”
Ground: “You can follow them all you want, but it won’t get you very far. They’re tied down. If you want to follow someone, you better pick an airplane whose prop is turning.”
Seneca 45X (after several moments of silence): “Ground, we figured it all out. We skipped a step in our checklist. It says, ‘Brain – On.’ We’ll taxi to Runway 13L via Zulu. We have Oscar.”
Ground: “Seneca Four Five X-Ray, readback correct.”
Nadav Eiron
San Jose, Calif.
On my return trip from Madison, Wisc., to Osceola, Wisc., my direct routing would take me through two MOAs and a Restricted Area. The following exchange occurred:
Minneapolis Center: “Baron Eight One One Charlie Foxtrot, turn left 15 degrees for military airspace.”
Me: “Fifteen degrees left, Baron Eight One One Charlie Foxtrot.”
A few minutes later the GPS was showing that the reroute was still going to take me through a tip of an MOA.
Me: “Minneapolis Center, Baron Eight One One Charlie Foxtrot, I see that this reroute will take me through a tip of the MOA.”
Center: “Baron Eight One One Charlie Foxtrot, that’s OK. The MOA is cold. It’s the Restricted Area that has live firings today and I didn’t want you to become involved.”
Me: “That works for me!”
Woody Minar
Dresser, Wisc.
After landing at Tamworth, New South Wales, and clearing the active runway, we then had the following conversation with Tamworth Ground:
Tamworth Ground: “Will you be requiring guidance to the GA parking area today?”
Me: “I’ll take all the guidance I can get, sir.”
Ground: “Welcome to my world.”
Sterling Kitchings
Canberra, Australia
Enjoying some good flying weather, I took off from Somerset N.J., (near the intersection of I-78 and I-287 for you Jersyites) and later heard an Ercoupe talking on a very busy CTAF frequency to let traffic at Robbinsville know that he was on his way in:
Ercoupe: “I can see from the highway signs that I’m at Exit Six.”
Unidentified: “If you can read the highway signs, you’re too low.”
Ercoupe: “I hope they won’t make me pay the tolls.”
Unidentified: “Don’t you have EZ Pass?”
Ercoupe: “I’m an Ercoupe. All I have is loose change.”
Gregory Palermo
Plainfield, N.J.
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