Niner Six Quebec

     For today's post i've decided to share an essay i wrote during my Freshman year of college for my English comp class. The assignment was something like describe how communication plays a role in your career field or something like that. That's why you'll see that topic talked about in the essay. However for the most part though the essay talks a lot about my flight training days and even before that. I know its a little over the top probably in places but i had to make it good and juicy for the professor. Anyway hope you enjoy the read, its long but oh well.

Niner Six Quebec

“Oh I have slipped the surely bonds of earth
and danced the skies on laughter silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun split clouds
and done a hundred things you have not dreamed of,
wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence.”

“High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee

“Cessna niner six quebec enter a right base for runway 35 Right your number 2 following a Cherokee on 1 mile final cleared to land.” Those were the instructions I received from Wiley Post tower.

            I responded “Roger well enter a right base for 35 Right number 2 behind the traffic.”

            It was a magnificently beautiful evening. The sun was beginning to set in the western sky.  As we flew over downtown Oklahoma City my dad, who was in the right seat, pointed out the sun reflecting off the sky scrapers. Earlier that day I had taken my private pilot check ride. It had been an intense morning of demonstrating my flying skills to a FAA designated flight examiner. That afternoon my dad and I decided to take a celebration flight. We departed from our hometown in Ardmore Oklahoma, to go see my mom who was at a school conference in Oklahoma City.  As I listened to the busy chatter of the air traffic controllers in the busy airspace, I thought to myself how I found it easy to understand this language. It was not always easy for me. Although English is the worldwide language for all air traffic control, it is in many ways different than just speaking normal English to one another.

            Years before I started my real life flight training I became intrigued by a computer flight simulator. The game was played online with hundreds of other aviation enthusiasts. Since the game is focused on real world detail, even air traffic control is simulated. I remember the very first time I flew using voice air traffic control. I had listened to people talk on the game and even found myself listening to recordings of real pilots talking on the radio. Even though I had a pretty good idea of what to say, I was scared to press the button that would transmit my voice over the internet to the virtual air traffic controller.  After sitting there for what had to have been 5 to 10 minutes I finally gathered the courage to speak into the microphone.

I said “Delta 1129 request IFR clearance to Dallas Forth Worth.”

After a short pause the controller responded “Delta 1129 cleared to Dallas Forth Worth via the Atlanta 5 departure WESTWO transition, climb and maintain one two thousand feet. Departure on 126.9 squawk 4435.”

It all came so fast I couldn’t believe it.  I had to repeat almost everything he just rattled off to me. Most of the time I have a good memory, but the nervousness must have gotten to me. I was afraid I would say something wrong but I tried anyway. I soon was corrected on my mistakes. I only got a few of the directions and numbers right. I felt embarrassed but luckily the controller was nice about it. After a lot of practice and mistakes, I finally started to catch on to the flow of air traffic control language.

A couple of years later, I found myself sitting in the cockpit of a Cessna 172. I was about to take my very first real life flight lesson. I was incredibly excited. I was embarking on a journey to fulfill my lifelong dream and begin progressing towards my career. The aircraft I was flying was a 1971 model. I know this sounds very old, which it is, but airplanes age very well. Looking at it from the outside one could easily tell it was from the 70’s. The original white paint with puke yellow stripes showed signs of wear and tear. The interior consisted of brown and yellow seats. Even though she wasn’t the newest or shiniest plane out there, nothing could take away from my excitement and adrenalin. As I buckled myself into the pilot’s seat, my mind began to wonder if my experience on my computer game would help me with the air traffic control language of real life. After working my way through all the preflight checks, it was finally time to start the engine for the first time. After cranking a few times our engine sprang to life. The spin of the propeller and engine vibrated the entire plane. As we taxied out towards the runway I began thinking about what I would say over the radio. I felt like I knew what to say, but again just like on the computer that nervousness came over me. I turned and asked my instructor what to say just for reassurance.

Aviation uses a lot of abnormal words compared to the normal English language. One of the most noticeable differences one might hear, is the use of the phonetic alphabet. Instead of using letters such as A, B, or C, both pilots and air traffic controllers will say Alpha, Bravo, Charlie. This helps to avoid confusion with letters that sound alike. For example, M and N are commonly confused and sound alike. In the phonetic alphabet M and N are referred to as “Mike” and “November.” The steepest learning curve does not come from the language itself; instead it comes from the speed at which the words are presented. Often times in a busy airspace, air traffic controllers will rattle off an entire sentence, sometimes multiple sentences, in just a split second. A pilot must be able to hear, interpret, and reply within a matter of seconds. It takes a great deal of concentration and understanding to accomplish this.

As I progressed in my training, I found myself becoming more and more confident with my communications with air traffic controllers. Once my flight instructor saw that I had become comfortable with the air traffic control language in our local area, he decided to take me on a flight into the Dallas/Forth Worth airspace. This particular airspace is ranked in the top 5 of the busiest airspaces in the world. I was excited about the opportunity to test my newly acquired confidence. We took off and headed south towards Dallas. The closer we got to our destination in Dallas, the more air traffic control chatter I could hear. Even for the experienced pilot, this airspace can be challenging and confusing. Soon before I knew it, we were in the thick of things. The controllers in Dallas began shooting instructions and commands at us left and right. However I found myself staying calm, understanding the instructions, and responding in a timely manner. Although the common little mistakes were still made, overall I performed excellent. This trip completely assured my confidence that I truly knew and understood the aviation language.   As with nearly everything, practice makes perfect. The more opportunities I received to talk to air traffic controllers, the more confident and fluid I became with the language. After nearly a year of training, my flight instructor said I was ready to take the test for my private pilot’s license. I had spent hours upon hours on practicing the flight maneuvers and techniques that I would be required to demonstrate.

It was a steamy morning in June. I was scheduled to meet with the FAA flight examiner at 9:30AM. I woke up and took a shower to help wash the drowsiness away. I left the house early so that I would have time to stop by sonic and get some food in my stomach. I felt nervous, but I knew I was ready for the task at hand. Once I arrived at the airport, I was wished luck by all of the local “airport coffee drinkers.” Once the examiner showed up we began the test. It started out with an oral portion that took roughly an hour and a half. He asked me all different questions pertaining to aviation. Some of them included information about the different kinds of aviation language used. Once we completed the oral section, I did a preflight on the airplane. The flying portion of the review only took about 45 minutes. He instructed me to perform several different maneuvers I had learned. Once we made our last landing and began taxing back to the hanger, I felt relieved it was over, but now I was nervous to hear if I passed or not. As I parked the aircraft and shut the engine down, he opened his door and stepped out.

He leaned back in and said “congratulations you’re a private pilot son.”

As we turned onto final approach for the runway at the Wiley Post airport, I felt a sense of pride

greater than anything else I had experienced in my young life. I had learned the skill of flying an airplane and was now on my way to fulfilling my dream of becoming an airline pilot. Language played a large role during my training. Not only in the sense of communication with air traffic control, but also being able to understand and communicate efficiently with my flight instructor.