Silly things heard on the radio to/from Oshkosh

NoHeat

NoHeat

Final Approach
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Lots of VFR traffic in Wisconsin today, as I flew north to south, staying at least 40 miles from Oshkosh. Mostly very sensible. But two silly things I noticed:

1. I tuned in 123.45 just to hear how people use that frequency. Shortly thereafter, when I was looking right and left, this way and that, frantically trying to spot a flight of three, located 500' below me and within a mile, according to my Stratus receiver, I heard one of the flight's pilots exclaim to his buddies "45 miles to Oshkosh!", to which buddy #2 replied "transponders to standby!" This was affirmed by buddy #3, ""transponder to standby!" I thought, great, now I might not even see them on the Stratus. I was so frustrated at this that I quit listening to 1234.5

2. About 50 miles from OSH I tuned in 121.5 and immediately heard a couple of GA pilots discussing where they were. One of them wasn't sure. This resulted in the standard airliner scolding "on guard!", spoken curtly. The response from Mister GA, who does his pilotage collaboration on 121.5, was a sing-songy "Onnnnnn Guaaaaard." With four long musical notes. This mocking of Captain Airline was followed by another airliner scolding, resulting in an even more drawn-out rendering of the four-note "Onnnnnnnn Guaaaaaaaard!" mocking.

That was my experience, without even going to Oshkosh myself. What is the silliest thing you heard?
 
I'm assuming that only airplanes 2 & 3 shut off their transponders. My understanding is that the practice is preferred to avoid collision alerts at ATC and in fact we've had controllers request it if we didn't initiate it first.

But pilots using 121.5 for ATA is just dumb.
 
When you need it 121.5 may not be available ,with all the fools who believe it's for air to air communication. If you listen to the frequencies for Osh,you'll see how many pilots don't read the notams or just don't care,it's all about them.
 
iflyvfr said:
I'm assuming that only airplanes 2 & 3 shut off their transponders..
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I think they all did.

The EAA asks pilots to turn them off 30 miles out. At 45 miles, these guys came pretty close to doing what the EAA asked. But it wasn't helpful for safety, IMO. In these days of ADSB-in for traffic, why not use transponders closer in?
 
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iflyvfr said:
I'm assuming that only airplanes 2 & 3 shut off their transponders. My understanding is that the practice is preferred to avoid collision alerts at ATC and in fact we've had controllers request it if we didn't initiate it first.

But pilots using 121.5 for ATA is just dumb.
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If they were in formation 2 and 3 shouldn't have had their transponders on at any point. Only lead squawks and talks.
 
NoHeat said:
2. About 50 miles from OSH I tuned in 121.5 and immediately heard a couple of GA pilots discussing where they were. One of them wasn't sure. This resulted in the standard airliner scolding "on guard!", spoken curtly. The response from Mister GA, who does his pilotage collaboration on 121.5, was a sing-songy "Onnnnnn Guaaaaard." With four long musical notes. This mocking of Captain Airline was followed by another airliner scolding, resulting in an even more drawn-out rendering of the four-note "Onnnnnnnn Guaaaaaaaard!" mocking.
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This is amazing and made me lol.
 
frcabot said:
This is amazing and made me lol.
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seriously. I've made accidental transmissions while on guard. Maybe once or twice.

And when the airliners come on and correct me I apologize and flip the com switch. Why flaunt the system?
 
woodchucker said:
seriously. I've made accidental transmissions while on guard. Maybe once or twice.

And when the airliners come on and correct me I apologize and flip the com switch. Why flaunt the system?
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Considering the only way that you could accidently transmit on 121.5 is to have it dialed in for monitoring, no one should ever hold it against you.
 
On Saturday as we were flying the Fisk procedure, a pair of EZ's called Fisk approach (first no-no) and told them they were lost and asked what should they do?

Really?

Maybe just turn around and go home?
 
Do not forget that not all of us (pilots) are smart.
Also, some are too arrogant to follow directions/instructions. As in "we don't need no stinkin' NOTAMs".

Do I need to end my post with a New York "rogaaaaah"? :lol:
 
woodchucker said:
And when the airliners come on and correct me I apologize and flip the com switch. Why flaunt the system?
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I could be wrong, but my impression is that most guard Nazis are not necessarily airline pilots. There are plenty of others monitoring 121.5.
 
BigBadLou said:
Do not forget that not all of us (pilots) are smart.
Also, some are too arrogant to follow directions/instructions. As in "we don't need no stinkin' NOTAMs".

Do I need to end my post with a New York "rogaaaaah"? :lol:
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ya.... directions are just another mans opinion....:lol::lol::lol:
 
frcabot said:
This is amazing and made me lol.
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I heard the same kind of mocking on 121.5 recently near Washington D.C. I started monitoring Guard as I approached the SFRA, because that's how the Air Force communicates if you mess up. But somebody on 121.5 was purposefully trying to annoy. He wanted to receive the customary curt "on guard!", and he did. He then sang his response "onnnnn guaaaard!" in a kind of falsetto, prompting a repeat of the usual curt response. After that, he elaborated on his mocking in falsetto: "ohhhhh, Iiii liiiiike it wheeeeen you get maaaad at meeeee!"

I was so annoyed I turned Guard off, and just took my chances with the Air Force.

Not sure how common this is. Maybe just my bad luck I've heard something similar twice in the last month.
 
The silliness on the way to OSH is still better than the Guard Nazis who kept stepping on a plane trying to reach the nearest tower- because they were on fire!
 
warthog1984 said:
The silliness on the way to OSH is still better than the Guard Nazis who kept stepping on a plane trying to reach the nearest tower- because they were on fire!
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I've started hearing pilot explicitly state their on guard when asking for the nearest controller to avoid the nazis.

I heard one show down that ended with ATC stepping in and yelling at the nazi. The nazi was yelling at a guy trying to figure out what sector freq he needed after a botched handoff. The nazi told the guy that he needed to get a "f***ing AF/D" and to get off guard.
 
This week I heard everything from someone playing Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" to someone asking for good restaurants in Green Bay. I also heard "Livin' The Dream!" 8 times. Gets annoying after a while
 
Today a controller from ABQ Center asked for a radio check on guard. One pilot answered "5 by 5" and one did the "ON GUAAARD" thing. The controller switched to another transmitter with the same two guys responding.
 
ARFlyer said:
I heard one show down that ended with ATC stepping in and yelling at the nazi. The nazi was yelling at a guy trying to figure out what sector freq he needed after a botched handoff. The nazi told the guy that he needed to get a "f***ing AF/D" and to get off guard.
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I wonder if it occurs to them that clogging up the guard frequency by yelling at people for being "on guard" actually accomplishes what they're so upset about... :rolleyes:
 
The best is when somebody is calling ops on 121.5 and someone quick witted is listening and plays along. Gives them some BS gate number, its hilarious.
 
Guard nazis...

I hate guard nazis.

fark__qaVvc3KDGvXeCC4u6D31RfaxTQ.jpg
 
No silliness on our flight, well maybe the guy that cut inside RIPON in front of us from the NW. We still were able to salvage that. After we landed precisely on the green dot we set up camp near the Hilton.

All was well, even my order from Aircraft Spruce arrived just fine. With that stronger NW wind today I saw at least one go missed approach after getting blown past final for 27. Fly safe.
 
OK. Newbie-ish question; I have about 100hrs xc over 50nm and haven't monitored guard. I was under impression, from my training, that this was for emergencies only and sacred like busting a class Bravo. Seems from this thread that is not the case. Should I be monitoring guard? What is OK to use guard for other than a true emergency?
 
linuxjim said:
OK. Newbie-ish question; I have about 100hrs xc over 50nm and haven't monitored guard. I was under impression, from my training, that this was for emergencies only and sacred like busting a class Bravo. Seems from this thread that is not the case. Should I be monitoring guard? What is OK to use guard for other than a true emergency?
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There's a standing notam that requires you to monitor guard whenever able.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
linuxjim said:
OK. Newbie-ish question; I have about 100hrs xc over 50nm and haven't monitored guard. I was under impression, from my training, that this was for emergencies only and sacred like busting a class Bravo. Seems from this thread that is not the case. Should I be monitoring guard? What is OK to use guard for other than a true emergency?
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A couple reasons to monitor 121.5 such as if you hear an ELT going off, you can report it. Also, if ATC is trying to reach you and no one can reach you using a relay, they might try to use 121.5 to give you a better frequency. It's just good practice to monitor it during non-critical phases of flight.
 
NoHeat said:
... whenever able to tolerate the annoyance of what you hear on guard.

That's how I interpret it.
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Fair enough... I come up with reasons not to listen... like I'd rather hear the same ATIS or ASOS 400 times! :rofl:
 
mkosmo said:
I'd rather hear the same ATIS or ASOS 400 times! :rofl:
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In the 60's, my dad listened to VOR Morse code and ID during the entire cruise portion of his cross country flights. Maybe it reassured him that he was navigating well, I don't know. Or maybe it was the only thing available for listening. Anyway, I thought it was normal, so I did it myself decades later, as a soloing student pilot. I did it also on my PP checkride. Drove the examiner crazy, until he lost his patience and adjusted my audio panel, without asking me, to stop what he found to be an annoyance.
 
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NoHeat said:
In the 60's, my dad listened to VOR Morse code and ID during the entire cruise portion of his cross country flights. Maybe it reassured him that he was navigating well, I don't know. Or maybe it was the only thing available for listening. Anyway, I thought it was normal, so I did it myself decades later, as a soloing student pilot. I did it also on my PP checkride. Drove the examiner crazy, until he lost his patience and adjusted my audio panel, without asking me, to stop what he found to be an annoyance.
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When did he start flying? Wonder if that habit was a carryover from the old AN range days.
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
You must be Delta. Never a smooth ride for you, is it?
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Nope. Not Delta.

linuxjim said:
I was under impression, from my training, that this was for emergencies only and sacred like busting a class Bravo. Seems from this thread that is not the case. Should I be monitoring guard?
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Either your CFI failed to discuss it or you missed it when he did.

AIM 5-6-2.a.
2. All aircraft operating in the U.S. national airspace, if capable, will maintain a listening watch on VHF guard 121.5 or UHF 243.0. It is incumbent on all aviators to know and understand their responsibilities if intercepted. Additionally, if the U.S. military intercepts an aircraft and flares are dispensed in the area of that aircraft, aviators will pay strict attention, contact air traffic control immediately on the local frequency or on VHF guard 121.5 or UHF 243.0 and follow the intercept's visual ICAO signals. Be advised that noncompliance may result in the use of force.​

The stated reason is for communication if you are intercepted. Additionally, you'll be able to hear and report ELTs and other aircraft which are in distress but not within radio coverage of ATC.

The "if capable" part allows you to use your communication radio(s) for other purposes, i.e. #1 ATC/CTAF, #2 ATIS/FSS, etc., without having to always have one on guard. When you can, though, you should monitor guard.
 
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NoHeat said:
In the 60's, my dad listened to VOR Morse code and ID during the entire cruise portion of his cross country flights. Maybe it reassured him that he was navigating well, I don't know. Or maybe it was the only thing available for listening. Anyway, I thought it was normal, so I did it myself decades later, as a soloing student pilot. I did it also on my PP checkride. Drove the examiner crazy, until he lost his patience and adjusted my audio panel, without asking me, to stop what he found to be an annoyance.
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The only use of the ADF in my old club plane (besides ballast) was to listen to AM radio. I was fond of baseball in the summertime, myself.
 
We used it to find Wheatland AM station and listened to the HOG report as we came in!
 
Larry in TN said:
Additionally, you'll be able to hear and report ELTs and other aircraft which are in distress but not within radio coverage of ATC.
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It's a good practice to occasionally turn off the squelch for this purpose. Somewhat distant ELT's and especially those impaired by inconvenient wreckage orientation or position (e.g., under trees) can get hidden by the squelch fairly easily.

Keep in mind that a low altitude aircraft may not be able to contact anyone but a higher altitude passing aircraft, particularly if terrain is a factor or they are using a handheld.
 
In theory too one should listen to 121.5 briefly before shutdown to make sure your own ELT isn't transmitting. There have been cases where people had a hard landing such that the aircraft was OK but they triggered the ELT and then shut down and walked away from their aircraft emitting distress signals.
 
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