A Question for KORD Pilots

[badaboom 0]

Hello.I 've been listening to O'Hare int Chicago tower via LiveATC.com while I fly FSX lately,I live on the approach for runway 28[the old 27L] I notice the pilots on approach call out ie"O'Hare tower, United 321 Heavy at Wilt" when they get approximately 7miles outside the airport.The tower usually says something of wind direction and gusts before giving the o.k. to land.My question is What is?......"Wilt" for runway 28?"Taft" for runway 27L?[i believe this could be Taft H.S.which is on approach to 27L]"Sibley"for the new runway 27R?"Ridge"for runway 22?[not sure L/R]Any info regarding this would be great!Thank You Captains/Patrick/

[Guest firehawk44]

Hello.I 've been listening to O'Hare int Chicago tower via LiveATC.com while I fly FSX lately,I live on the approach for runway 28[the old 27L] I notice the pilots on approach call out ie"O'Hare tower, United 321 Heavy at Wilt" when they get approximately 7miles outside the airport.The tower usually says something of wind direction and gusts before giving the o.k. to land.My question is What is?......"Wilt" for runway 28?"Taft" for runway 27L?[i believe this could be Taft H.S.which is on approach to 27L]"Sibley"for the new runway 27R?"Ridge"for runway 22?[not sure L/R]Any info regarding this would be great!Thank You Captains/Patrick/

Not a Captain but it sounds like a leg of a STAR into O'Hare. Google SID/STAR for more info on STAR's see if you can find approach charts for O'Hare. I have O'Hare charts laying around the house somewhere but can't find them right now. Hope this helps.Best regards,Jim

[Cessnaflyer 56]

They are intersections along the approach.Here is the one for RWY 28 and you see WILLT is 4.4 miles from the end of the runwayhttp://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0901/00166IL28.PDF

[JimD737 0]

They are intersections along the approach.Here is the one for RWY 28 and you see WILLT is 4.4 miles from the end of the runwayhttp://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0901/00166IL28.PDF

In the MAP view of FSX, you could enable Intersections (don't have FSX loaded right now so I can't say how) and put the arrow over the pink/red or blue triangles to find the intersection you referenced.Or goto www.AIRNAV.Com and search under Airspace Fixes.HTH,Jim

[badaboom 0]

Thank you all for your input and replies and the excellent illustration,but what is meant by the term "Willt"Is it a visual reference for something on the ground?The intersection,is R-155 and 273deg. a intersection in the air?Thank you for your help./Patrick/

[Guest charlie1017]

Thank you all for your input and replies and the excellent illistration,but what is meant by the term "Willt"Is it a visual reference for something on the ground?The intersection,is R-155 and 273deg. a intersection in the air?Thank you for your help./Patrick/

Willt is just an intersection, an imaginary point on the surface of the earth identified by your navigational equipment as:1. The intersection of the 155 radial from OBK VOR and the localizer for runway 28.2. A distance of 4.4 nautical miles from the DME transmitter in the runway 28 localizer.3. Latitude or longitude coordinates (not on chart but on the database of area navigation systems like GPS, FMS, etc)Intersection names don't have to bear any relation with anything on the ground. In fact, in Texas (USA) there is an intersection, BAXTR, named after the late aviation columnist Gordon Baxter. Near Boston we have WITCH and SATAN, thanks to the past history of witchcraft in the area where those intersections are located.

[badaboom 0]

Very,very interesting Charlie,Thanks for clearing that up for me!Cheers/Patrick/

[JHepburn 0]

Willt is just an intersection, an imaginary point on the surface of the earth identified by your navigational equipment as:1. The intersection of the 155 radial from OBK VOR and the localizer for runway 28.2. A distance of 4.4 nautical miles from the DME transmitter in the runway 28 localizer.3. Latitude or longitude coordinates (not on chart but on the database of area navigation systems like GPS, FMS, etc)Intersection names don't have to bear any relation with anything on the ground. In fact, in Texas (USA) there is an intersection, BAXTR, named after the late aviation columnist Gordon Baxter. Near Boston we have WITCH and SATAN, thanks to the past history of witchcraft in the area where those intersections are located.

You hear this at Atlanta a lot too. Of equal importance is the instruction that they most likely got from the approach controller which was probably something like, "Flight XXX, cleared for the ILS runway 28, maintain 180knots to WILLT. At WILLT contact the tower on 1XX.X" (please forgive any phraseology mistakes).Hope this helps!

[AlaskanFlyboy 7]

Speaking of SATAN, it happens to be in the infamous Tweety approach into Portsmouth, NH.http://www.naco.faa.gov/d-tpp/0902/00678R16.PDF

[N7277U 0]

Hi Patrick,I'm not a pilot either, but I can tell you that "Wilt", "Ridge" and "Taft" are the names given to the outer marker beacons for those respective runways. In ATC terms, this is where controller authority changes from the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON, located in Elgin, Illinois in the case of KORD) to the local tower controller. The approach controller at the TRACON will control the flight from about 40 miles out, until the aircraft is lined up and sequenced on the localizer for the runway. Usually, the last instruction issued from the approch controller to a flight would be "cleared for the approach runway 28, 180 to the marker, tower at Wilt, 126.9". This means that the aircraft is cleared to fly the localizer approach to runway 28, at 180 knots, then to contact the ORD tower upon arriving at the outer marker (Wilt for 28). When the aircraft arrives at the marker, the crew switches to the tower radio frequency, and identifies it's location to the ORD tower controller. The ORD tower controller will then usually issue landing clearance, and give touchdown zone wind information. So, "United 321 Heavy, Wilt" is an inbound flight announcing to ORD tower that it's at the outer marker, inbound for 28 and requesting landing clearance.Those names for beacons and intersections often do relate to things on the ground, or of local reference or importance. For example, the outer marker for 14R at ORD is named "Chester". This is in honor or the late Chester (Andy) Anderson, a former ORD tower chief who passed away several years ago. The marker was formerly "Roamy", though I don't know what the significance of that name was. Taffs? (that's how it's spelled on the older 27L approach plate I'm looking at - i'm sort of a retro guy!) may in fact be named for the high school near the OM. A quick look at a map indicates Ridge may have gotten it's name because it is near Ridgewood Cemetery in Maine Township. I don't have the charts in front of me, but if you look at some of the intersection names around the Chicago area, you'll see things like "BULLZ", "BEARZ" and I believe "KUBBS". Sports fans will likely recognize the origins of those names :-)Hope this is of interest to you!Mark