Hey all, just a friendly reminder to keep our communications in the air to the point and informative.

Today there was quite a bit of unnecessary chatter which can end up being a distraction to fellow pilots.

First off, I am guilty of it as much as anyone so this message is for me too!

The goal in XC communications is to share critical information so others can take advantage of it if so inclined. In the past if we wanted to share our good fortune, we would call out location (ie: distance from waypoint and cross track), altitude and climb rate.

On occasion it is good to call out a person by name (when they are in sight) to a good climb. When someone calls you to a climb, it isn't necessary to say anything more than "copy" so the sender knows you heard them.

When calling out a climb, it is very helpful to give the rate in fpm versus "I've got a good climb over here". Also it is better to share perhaps your average climb rate rather than the peak surge you are going through ie: underpredict and let the pilots determine whether you are climbing better than them so they can make an informed decision regarding whether to stay where they are or to head your way.

If you are in an area by yourself and get a good climb, share it so others know what is out there. If you are at the tail end of the group, there really isn't any need to share critical information as everyone is out ahead of you.

I have to say it was awesome today having everyone's radio working and on the correct channel (my radio worked great Thursday, I was just on the wrong frequency, lol). So let's tighten up the communications so we can improve our group performance in the air.

Discuss "Chatter on the radio" at the Oz Report forum   link»