Question for real pilots: How chatty are ATCs allowed to get?

[dho112 17]

I was listening to Oakland Center on liveatc.net the other day and the controller started talking to a traffic helicopter pilot about what was happening since he was orbiting. He went on to explain there was a traffic fatality accident at which point the conversation went back and forth for a little while all in the middle of what seemed to be a really busy time in the sf/oak TCA... is that pretty much normal? I thought it was odd in such a busy zone with constant radio traffic...

 

 

[NoahBryant 26]

Yeah it is - Depending on the facility of course but I've heard a tower talking to a pilot once about where to go hunting nearby... The controller always know how busy it really is and I doubt it would have happened if it was actually interfering with operations.

 

My favorite quote:

Plane: "To the ramp via Alpha 7, thanks for the ATC."

Tower: "This is't VATSIM!"

[KORDATC 80]

My favorite ATC quote from KORD:

 

"Put your compass on 'E' and get out of my airspace."

 

This controller was NOT very "chatty" at all. :LMAO:

[MarkW 1,502]

My favorite quote:

Plane: "To the ramp via Alpha 7, thanks for the ATC."

Tower: "This is't VATSIM!"

 

Did this really happen? If so, epic.

[ryanbatc 13,047]

I've chatted up a few pilots on freq... hey, I like aviation and airplanes...

[JakobF 19]

My favorite ATC quote from KORD:

 

"Put your compass on 'E' and get out of my airspace."

 

This controller was NOT very "chatty" at all. :LMAO:

 

Hahaha lol very funny! :-)

 

Well during world cup football there was a lot of chatter. ;-) and perhaps will happen again during Olympics this year. ;-) But yeah depends on the controller, I have had some good talks with a couple of them. :-)

 

I also like the Vadim quote!! ;-)

[NoahBryant 26]

Did this really happen? If so, epic.

 

Yes, it really happened. In fact, I even heard of it happening somewhere else too. Another one I heard about was when some student pilot called up with his VA's callsign (United 500 or whatever) and the controller said something else similar to this isn't VATSIM, but I don't know if that one is true, lol. I do know that some student pilots have occasionally said, or at least started to say their VA callsign on freq though.

[Danielsen 14]

I've had experience in both US and EU airspace with ATC, and US controllers seem to be much more chatty. Of course it depends on the mood his in, how busy they are and so on. However US controllers seem to use a lot of non-standard phraseology compared to the EU controllers. ICAO is supposed to be the standard around the world, even for radio, and I learned radio in the US, but I've been corrected countless of times in EU. I do have a ICAO level 6 radio certificate now, which I acquired in the EU. However I still prefer the US ATCs because most of them can take a joke. From my experience, ATC in Europe is slightly more strict.

 

Funny story. I was flying northbound along the eastcoast of Florida when switching from Miami Center to Jacksonville Center. The controller was saying goodbye in different languages to aircrafts leaving his airspace. Like contact jacksonville center on xxx.xx au revoir or buenos noches. So when we got switched over to Jacksonville I said auf wiedersehen. It sounded like he enjoyed that somebody was saying something differently back to him instead of the usual spanish replies he got We where a handful on the flight school that I went to in Florida, that was on first name basis with some of the controllers at the airport. Getting out in the weekends getting a beer or two and having BBQ's!

[g_precentralis 191]

Yes, it really happened. In fact, I even heard of it happening somewhere else too. Another one I heard about was when some student pilot called up with his VA's callsign (United 500 or whatever) and the controller said something else similar to this isn't VATSIM, but I don't know if that one is true, lol. I do know that some student pilots have occasionally said, or at least started to say their VA callsign on freq though.

 

Lol, I have bad habit to use same callsign again and again on vatsim, so when I fly RL and I made that mistake one time, so embarrassing.

 

Btw, I heard some pilot that ask female controller for drink if she is about to finish her shift soon. :lol:

[realpilotsimpilot 11]

Depends entirely on the sector and workload. If you fly certain areas enough (especially towers), you get to know certain controllers by voice. But, if I'm flying in DC or up the East Coast near the cities, its usually pretty much all business except for maybe a quick one liner, not long conversations. Inland (over Allentown) or south closer to Richmond, they are chattier because the load is less. Favorites I've heard over the years include:

 

1. Asking a GA plane to check if Kings Dominion is open. (An amusment park, for those who don't know.) Response was "rides are moving and cars are in the parking lot"

2. A long fight between a CRJ heading into White Plains, NY (KHPN) about which way they were supposed to be going, which ended with the ATC starting to call him a name, but then released the mike. CRJ responded by not responding to the handoff, just leaving. Very amusing to me, the guy motoring along in an Arrow at much slower speed needing something to pass the time while at cruise.

3. A discussion about roulette while plane was heading to Atlantic City. Good stuff.

 

The one my wife likes to tell is the one where NY Approach tried to give me a mid-air re-route that was completely different and over different airways than I had never used, complete with an obscure intersection transition. When I read it back I got "That wasn't even close, advise when REALLY ready to copy." Oops.

[NoahBryant 26]

Ohhh, I almost forgot this one..

 

Delay

[503(V) Driver 0]

Ohhh, I almost forgot this one..

I wonder how much he saved? LOL

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

My favorites (from the FSUICP page):

 

Cessna 152: Flight Level Three Thousand, Seven Hundred

ATC: Roger, contact Houston Space Center

 

 

Beech Baron: Uh, ATC, verify you want me to taxi in front of the 747.

ATC: Yeah, it's OK. He's not hungry.

[FrankG2625 9]

In May of 2009 my instructor and I headed down to Dulles around 14:00 local time (as some of you may know, in the middle of the afternoon rushhour) as a storm was brewing south of the field. After holding outside of his bravo airspace while the SFRA clearance was pending, Potomac handed us over to tower, where we requested a full-stop taxi-back. He responded something along the lines of:

 

"You're where in what wanting to do what?"

Instructor: "We're north in a Cessna 172 coming in for straight in 19R, maybe do a couple of touch and goes if you're okay with that."

ATC: "Hahahaha. What? Touch and goes? No, no way I can let you do that. Just come straight in for a full stop and we'll take it from there."

 

Then on departure, the storm was getting a bit worse (still south of the field):

ATC: "Cessna 11019, I'm sure you can do this, you're cleared for takeoff runway 19R, after takeoff turn right heading 270 before crossing runway 12/30."

 

That was an interesting departure to say the least. I listened to it on liveatc.net afterwards, and got a laugh.

[Morganw487 2]

That is actually quite odd. Although I have never spoken to any ATC centers, I have had my fair share of talking with Approach and Tower controllers. The conversations are very precise, to the point, and use the normal pilot-ATC lingo. If they are not very busy they might be a little more talkative about a few things here and there, but they do not by any means have a heart to heart conversation with you. This is the way it should be, as the pilot has enough to worry about without having an unprofessional conversation with the controller.