Why do you want to monitor 121.5

I think it's a good idea, regardless.

If I'm circumnavigating Macon, let's say, below their Class C, I might tune in Macon approach for a while to monitor traffic, and I have no convenient way to monitor a second frequency. As soon as I'm clear, it's back to 121.5.

It's a habit, and a good one to have.
 
JoeSelch said:
But it's a NOTAM in your briefings. Just like the stadium TFR.

Surely you've read a flight briefing?
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I am unsure sure what you mean. I call flight service before every flight and along with the weather briefing I ask for NOTAMS and if there are any TFRs along the route.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
Well 121.5 was taught as the emergency frequency.... But no one said to monitor it continuously. My Sportys online course didn't mention it and neither does the Jeppesen private pilot textbook.
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Same experience for me.
 
For you Garmin 530 guys, if you need 121.5 FAST and didn't already have it tuned in ... press and HOLD the frequency flip flop for 2-3 seconds and it'll put it in for you.

I monitor on comm 2 anyway, so no worries.
 
It's also a good method of checking (keeping one radio on 121.5) that your own ELT hasn't accidently gone off.

I was flying near KCNY last summer and heard a "Mayday" call while monitoring 121.5. The fear in the pilot's voice was evident, he had lost power and was over inhospitable terrain near Arches National Park. I had my right seat non flying pilot friend copy all information once we heard the call and location info was given. We turned towards the area just in case we could offer some kind of help but the pilot worked his emergency checklists and was able to regain partial power and make it to KCNY safely. You never know...
 
timwinters said:
Assuming you two have good memories, you both need to go punch your primary instructors square in the nose. What else did they leave out of your training?


:dunno:
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One takeaway I have from learning to fly is there are a lot of things that you don't have to know to get your PPL.

I remember after my night XC, my CFI says, well you have met your night requirement. I promptly stated "There is no way in hell I am prepared to fly at night. 3 hours is not enough."

I think there are a lot of things like that with flying. I wouldn't state that they need to make it more difficult to get your cert but there is something to that whole "license to learn" thing.

We covered everything in training enough to pass (and pass with high scores). but in hindsight, I had my ticket in my hand and:
1. knew very little about weather
2. had never gotten flight following
3. only ever called a briefer 1 time
4. barely understood proper leaning
5. Probably tracked to a VOR 3 times
and the list goes on.

Somehow still managed to impress the examiner.

Fortunately I am aware how dumb I am and I am not a risk taker so I continue to go through the list of things I know I should know better. In my younger years if I got that ticket, I would have viewed it as confirmation that I was a badass and now had my license to show off.

Now, I work on areas where I know I am weak and work to improve with every flight.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
So lots of comments about people (even prof pilots) providing comedy on that frequency.

Is that just meaning they mis-dialed the frequency
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More audio panel switchology errors than misdialing on the desired radio, but you've got the idea. You hear airline crews making cabin PA announcements ("...on your left is the Grand Canyon...") and "in range calls" about how many wheel chairs they need, light plane people making pattern calls ("Cessna 123 turning left base..."), and sometimes some rather embarrassing stuck mics.

However, you also get to hear the USAF calls to pilots about to bust TFR's (and too often, the additional calls once they're in), ATC trying to get some IFR aircraft back on the right freq, and once in a while, someone really in trouble or an ELT beeper, and every now and then, a chance to help save someone.
 
Bryan, next time we go fly, I'll share the tips that Ron Levy taught me on this subject and how it became useful on our flight from KMFE back to KRAS.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Also I think I am foggy on how it is used.
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It is used primarily to grab hold of someone when you don't have the right frequency to call. That could be when someone misses a frequency change, and either ATC is trying to get them back, or they're trying to find their way back to ATC. It could be when someone is lost or in immediate distress and doesn't know who the nearest facility is to call for help.

If I go on 121.5 and say this is 6PC to whom am I speaking?
Aside from other pilots monitoring, is there a corporate or government body that is listening?
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Every ATC and military facility monitors the frequency. So if you pop up and say, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, 6PC is ten south of Waco, engine failure, going down," there will be no shortage of people who hear it and respond. In fact, your biggest problem may be sorting out which of the many responders can actually be of help, and getting all the airline pilots 200 miles away to shut up so you can talk with the folks nearby.
 
weilke said:
1% ELTs, all of them known to ATC if you call them in.
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My experience is otherwise. Yes, sometimes they say "We know, CAP is on the way to find it," but many other times they start asking around on the freq to find out who else hears it so they can locate it better. Don't ever let fear of ATC saying "we know" stop you from reporting it, as you may be the first to hear it, and if someone's down, the clock is ticking on their survival.
 
JoeSelch said:
But it's a NOTAM in your briefings. Just like the stadium TFR.

Surely you've read a flight briefing?
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Both the stadium TFR and the 121.5 NOTAM are published NOTAMs not included in a "standard" briefing unless you check the box for "all that other stuff" (or whatever that box is called).
 
Hopefully I never intercept anyone (especially anyone I know) but when we do, you can bet we've already tried calling on VHF guard several times. There are several reasons you might get intercepted - typically it's a TFR or DCA issue but we do get scrambled for aircraft in distress, even a lost airplane a couple of times. Part of our checklist is to attempt contact on 121.5 every few mins. Obviously if you call up the local ATC freq they can tell you what's going on also because we'll be in touch with them as well.

I monitor guard on all my Bonanza flights for all the reasons stated in this thread - you never know when it might come in handy.
 
1% ELTs, all of them known to ATC if you call them in.
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Just because its been reported already, that doesn't mean your report is unimportant. Your report defines a range circle around your airplane, dependent on altitude, that in theory contains the ELT. At 5000' AGL that circle is about 160 miles in diameter. At 1000' AGL it's about 75 miles. Plotting a bunch of those circles on a map and looking at where they intersect gives a good starting point for a search. So call it in even if you have already heard others do the same thing. With no SARSAT-generated coordinates available, those low-tech circles are important.
 
Ron Levy said:
My experience is otherwise. Yes, sometimes they say "We know, CAP is on the way to find it," but many other times they start asking around on the freq to find out who else hears it so they can locate it better. Don't ever let fear of ATC saying "we know" stop you from reporting it, as you may be the first to hear it, and if someone's down, the clock is ticking on their survival.
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Doesn't stop me from reporting it. The couple of times I have heard one, ATC asked me to report when I stopped hearing it.
 
EvilEagle said:
Hopefully I never intercept anyone (especially anyone I know) but when we do, you can bet we've already tried calling on VHF guard several times. There are several reasons you might get intercepted - typically it's a TFR or DCA issue but we do get scrambled for aircraft in distress, even a lost airplane a couple of times. Part of our checklist is to attempt contact on 121.5 every few mins. Obviously if you call up the local ATC freq they can tell you what's going on also because we'll be in touch with them as well.

I monitor guard on all my Bonanza flights for all the reasons stated in this thread - you never know when it might come in handy.
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So I am just learning some of this for the first time myself. I have a question...when flying your Bonanza are you flying IFR? If you are how do you monitor 121.5? Dont you have to stay on with ATC?

thanks!
 
signu127 said:
So I am just learning some of this for the first time myself. I have a question...when flying your Bonanza are you flying IFR? If you are how do you monitor 121.5? Dont you have to stay on with ATC?
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You can set up your audio panel to monitor/transmit on com1 and to monitor only on com2 (or vice-versa).

You communicate with ATC on com1 and just listen to com2 in the background. The things you are listening for on 121.5 are the warble of an ELT, the words 'air force' and 'mayday', pretty easy to pick out from the usual ATC chatter on com1.
 
signu127 said:
So I am just learning some of this for the first time myself. I have a question...when flying your Bonanza are you flying IFR? If you are how do you monitor 121.5? Dont you have to stay on with ATC?



thanks!
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Yes I fly IFR when wx requires it. Com2 is on 121.5, Com1 with ATC.
 
With all this talk about ELTs, I've realized that I don't know what one sounds like. Is there a good way to describe it?
 
Ron Levy said:
My experience is otherwise. Yes, sometimes they say "We know, CAP is on the way to find it," but many other times they start asking around on the freq to find out who else hears it so they can locate it better. Don't ever let fear of ATC saying "we know" stop you from reporting it, as you may be the first to hear it, and if someone's down, the clock is ticking on their survival.
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This!!! And this holds true for other things too. I reported a forest fire a couple of years ago, certain that it had been reported a billion times already. Nope. It hadn't been reported even once.
 
jpower said:
With all this talk about ELTs, I've realized that I don't know what one sounds like. Is there a good way to describe it?
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Want to hear one?

Tune to 121.5 and turn yours on.

IIRC, the recommendation for tests is to do it in the first 5 minutes after the hour, and no more than 3 audio sweeps.

Part of my annual is to do that, and also to smack it hard enough to go off (in the direction of the "Forward" arrow), and finally to make sure the remote panel works.

After a test, be sure to place it back on "Arm" after resetting, and be sure it turns off. If you're not 100% comfortable doing it! find a pilot or instructor who is to show you the first time.
 
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weilke said:
You can set up your audio panel to monitor/transmit on com1 and to monitor only on com2 (or vice-versa).

You communicate with ATC on com1 and just listen to com2 in the background. The things you are listening for on 121.5 are the warble of an ELT, the words 'air force' and 'mayday', pretty easy to pick out from the usual ATC chatter on com1.
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Is that something a standard radio does? I will ask my CFI if his 172 does it next time I see him.

thanks
 
signu127 said:
Is that something a standard radio does? I will ask my CFI if his 172 does it next time I see him.

thanks
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If you have two radios sure. Just put 121.5 on the second radio. Put it on speaker if you want. Some radios can monitor even with one radio. My 480 I can have a freq on the primary and on the standby I can select monitor. It'll stay quiet until someone transmits or in the case of 121.5, an ELT goes off.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
I am unsure sure what you mean. I call flight service before every flight and along with the weather briefing I ask for NOTAMS and if there are any TFRs along the route.
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OK. Sounds like you've never used DUAT/S to pull up a briefing that you read.


Ron Levy said:
Both the stadium TFR and the 121.5 NOTAM are published NOTAMs not included in a "standard" briefing unless you check the box for "all that other stuff" (or whatever that box is called).
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LOL. I have to uncheck the box to NOT see it!


Back to fiveoboy ... you can find the published NOTAMs here (at least until they move it again): http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/notices/

(And, yeah, I think the system is whacked and in need of reform.)
 
In the beginning of my training I'd use DUAT. But I normally just call a briefer because he can interpret the information better than I can.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
In the beginning of my training I'd use DUAT. But I normally just call a briefer because he can interpret the information better than I can.
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...and filter it, too, so you may not get everything you later find you want, say, due to a diversion. Or you may not be able to copy it all down verbatim. OTOH, if you download it to your tablet (say, using ForeFlight and iPad) or print it off DUAT/DUATS, you'll have everything (including items which the briefer might have decided were irrelevant) available and complete for reference in flight if necessary/desired.

Not saying you shouldn't call FSS for a standard briefing in addition to the computer download, but if you can have a full, accurate, written copy of everything (including things the briefer won't tell you without being asked specifically) with you in the plane, why not?
 
You're definitely correct and it's obvious I'm not getting all the information I need. I'll be doing both now. Don't want to miss important information and not getting in trouble is a bonus:)
 
timwinters said:
Assuming you two have good memories, you both need to go punch your primary instructors square in the nose. What else did they leave out of your training?

:dunno:
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I've worked with at least 5 instructors in the last 3 years in the course of ASEL PPL training, aircraft checkouts, tailwheel endorsement and BFR.

NONE of those instructors has mentioned monitoring 121.5 while enroute.

After reading the regs and the posts here I get the regulatory and practical motivations to do so. I'm pretty shocked that I'd never been counseled to do this before.

And yes, I wonder what else I'm doing/not doing thats boneheaded?
 
I keep it on 121.5 so when that bargain engine overhaul shows it's true worth, I don't have to fiddle with the radio. :rofl:
 
Z06_Mir said:
This!!! And this holds true for other things too. I reported a forest fire a couple of years ago, certain that it had been reported a billion times already. Nope. It hadn't been reported even once.
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Same here in Banning Pass returning to Texas. ATC asked if I would over-fly the fire/smoke and transmit when directly over it (it was reported by another AC further away). I replied their were TWO separate fires, several miles apart, and did they want both ... they said yes.
 
fiveoboy01 said:
You're definitely correct and it's obvious I'm not getting all the information I need. I'll be doing both now. Don't want to miss important information and not getting in trouble is a bonus:)
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If you have an Ipad-Iphone here's a trick for you (using PDF reader app). Get your Long XC info on Duats on computer (the FULL version). When it is in the window with pages and pages of local notams print to PDF (DoPDF is free and acts like a printer driver). Send to Iphone or Ipad. Can do the same for your Nav-Log (I like a paper copy of that). THEN, if there's any diversion on your 500 mile XC trip you have ALL the NOTAMS for every airport along your route at your finger tips.
 
darthnomster said:
And yes, I wonder what else I'm doing/not doing thats boneheaded?
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License to learn and all that...it's good to fly with other pilots & instructors...and POA is a good resource when it's not too annoying sorting fact from fiction.
 
I didn't see it mentioned so forgive me if I'm repeating but the number 1 biggest reason EVER to listen to 121.5 is to check for your own ELT going off.

Everything else is a bonus.
 
Listening to 121.5 was never really ingrained into me during my primary training in a C-152 with just a single COM/NAV radio and no flip/flop feature.

More recently, I monitor 121.5 on my #2 in cruise flight.

It's a lot quieter than listening to CTAF while VFR and overflying the field at 8 or 9000ft.

When I was recently flying through Virginia within the 60nm SFRA ring, I was monitoring 121.5 ALL the time. I did hear aircraft with military callsigns on the frequency which was interesting to me.

I have heard on 121.5 "Lufthansa 435 Heavy, Cessna, you are transmitting on Guard"

I have also heard a center controller talking with another piston single declaring an emergency near an airport about 100nm away.
 
weilke said:
Thats why: 'This Is the US air force. Aircraft 8 miles north of somethingtown travelling at 140kts on a 150 course, you have entered a restricted area.'
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This, except for when I've heard AWACS aloft, they are actually warning aircraft that are not yet in a TFR or restricted area - They'll give you a call a couple minutes beforehand if you're headed into it. Could save your ticket. I monitor guard any time I'm not getting ATIS/AWOS or on the ground.
 
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