Author Topic: ATC Phrasology...  (Read 6884 times)

Offline Old Dog Flying

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ATC Phrasology...
« on: October 25, 2005, 04:08:38 PM »
The past short while flying in or around CZBB, I've been hearing one or two tower controllers using the phraseology "best speed forward" with light single engine aircraft joining the traffic pattern.  Now being the oldest controller in the system when I retired and a 50+ year pilot with bags of experience, what in blazes else could you expect from a Cessna 152 pushing 90 knots?

Phraseology like this is absolutely pointless because unless the pilot is practicing slow flight, he's going to do hi/her best to get home ASAP.  

The one controller has some flight instructor time and he seems to be the worst offender when it comes to using this type of terminology.

Can you imagine the response if I'd ever used that therm in controlling a Starfighter or Voodoo?  Just a thought for the tower controllers on the board.

Barney



Offline Lexxx

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ATC Phrasology...
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2005, 04:35:10 PM »
Barney

Not sure if you were a controller at Boundary Bay or a Centre Controller, but as a controller from CYKF I certainly use similar phraseology.

I don't use the exact phraseology you mention, but often say something like "keep your speed up" or "keep your speed up, faster aircraft behind you".

I'm not sure I'd ever assume that every pilot wants to get on the ground and off the runway as quickly as possible. Anyway, what I'm trying to do is to impress upon the "slower" aircraft that I need his/her airspace and the runway as soon as possible.  It only takes a second or two for the transmission, and keeps everyone informed as to what's happening.

I’m sure you had plenty of situations in your career when it was getting a little tight on final, and to make it work you had to prod the slower aircraft to go as fast as he could, and land so as to get off the runway and onto a taxiway as quickly as possible.

I suspect this, or some variation of this situation, is what the controller at ZBB is trying to accomplish.

Hope you are enjoying retirement.

Cheers
Peter

Offline Old Dog Flying

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ATC Phraseology
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2005, 09:08:07 PM »
Peter:  I was at Boundary Bay for about 18 years and I did use 'Keep the speed up" but not with aircraft on final...and certainly not with certain types of aircraft after landing.

I tried to instill in my trainees that pressing a pilot of a taildragger, for instance, to "expedite to taxiway( ) was just asking for an incident.  And all too frequently I've seen the results of this...a ground-loop with a runway closure all because of a squeeze play.

I even went to the extent of producing a Power Point program of all the various types of aircraft on the airport, and there were a lot, giving their normal approach speeds and any comments about pilot visibility while on short final/ground.  This program disappeared without the trainees who had no flying background ever seeing it.

Such was life at Blunder Bay.

And as for the phrase 'Give me your best speed forward", it certainly is not in Manops.

Barney

Offline cal737pilot

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ATC Phrasology...
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2005, 11:09:03 PM »
Well, I dare say that having flown to many different places in the US and Canada, I have to say that the Canadian controllers (in the terminal area) do a very good job of planning the required separation of fast and slow moving A/C.

Numerous times I have had controllers here in the US ask us to keep the speed up (250 below 10) and then tell us, once they have the proper seperation, to"give me a good rate of decent and slow to 180" to follow light twin traffic.  :roll:   It doesn't happen very fast with a 737, especially a 73 with winglets.  Now that I think about it, it's mostly the California airports (SFO, SAN, SNA, LAX etc...) when you transiton from a STAR to an approach.