Another Checkride scheduled and a question
Rob Luce
Well, I'll throw mine in as well. After vegging most of the winter
:-) my checkride is officially on the books. Should be the weekend of
the 18th, the DE is going to let me know exact time and Sat/Sun. Just
need to slam out some time the next 2 weeks to make sure I'm polished
(and reread all of my books again).
Here's the question: How do you determine a good freq for
plane-to-plane or ground-to-plane chatter? There have been a number
of times that I've been by the house with my wife having the radio on
listing to the local unicoms, but I never initiating a conversation
with her. Carrying on a conversation on a unicom freq is just plain
stupid, for a multitude of reasons.
Only problem is, how do I pick another freq to use? Are there any
freqs that aren't used by anything official?
Rob
E. Bruce Shankle III
If memory serves, there is a frequency set aside for air-to-air chatter: 122.750. I've read that's what it is for anyway and that is "often abused". Perhaps you should use that frequency. I guess it applies in your case as well.
--
-
E. Bruce Shankle III
bsha...@ipass.net
http://www.ipass.net/~bshankle
Fax: (425)969-5391
VoiceMail (425)969-5391, option 1
I believe it's
"Rob Luce" <robluce1@NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:38cb84fe...@netnews.att.net...
Matthew Majka
>
> Here's the question: How do you determine a good freq for
> plane-to-plane or ground-to-plane chatter? There have been a number
> of times that I've been by the house with my wife having the radio on
> listing to the local unicoms, but I never initiating a conversation
> with her. Carrying on a conversation on a unicom freq is just plain
> stupid, for a multitude of reasons.
>
> Only problem is, how do I pick another freq to use? Are there any
> freqs that aren't used by anything official?
AIM Paragraph 4-1-11.
Mark Kolber
>Here's the question: How do you determine a good freq for
>plane-to-plane or ground-to-plane chatter?
As you "slam out some time" to polish your flight skills, don't forget
to do the same for the oral part of the Practical Test. I spoke to a
DE 2 weeks ago who pink slipped a PP applicant before walking our the
door. Couldn't describe weather or aerodynamics. As the DE said, "He
may be the best skilled pilot in the world, but he hasn't a clue why."
Long way of answering your question, but sounds like you need to
review the AIM as part of your preparation.
Check out AIM Paragraphs 4-1-11 and those following. Of course,
although they tend to be used that way, they're not really for
"chatter." They're not there so you can have a running conversation
with someone in the air or on the ground. They're supposed to be used
to communicate information pertinent to flight. For example, in our
area, we tend to go to 122.75 in the practice area, with calls like,
"Southeast Practice Area traffic, Skyhawk 12345, 5 SE of Franktown,
maneuvering at 8,500'" to let other training aircraft know where we
are.
=======================================
______|______ Mark Kolber
\(o)/ Denver, Colorado
o O o www.midlifeflight.com
=======================================
email? replace "spamaway" with "mkolber"
Jim Fisher
122.75 & 122.85 are the official chatter freqs. Perhaps somebody can give
you the proper AIM references but these are the freqs.
Use 'em all the time during FORMATION FLYING.
Jim Fisher
PP-ASEL
North Alabama
Rob Luce <robluce1@NOSPAM@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:38cb84fe...@netnews.att.net...
>
>
>
> Well, I'll throw mine in as well. After vegging most of the winter
> :-) my checkride is officially on the books. Should be the weekend of
> the 18th, the DE is going to let me know exact time and Sat/Sun. Just
> need to slam out some time the next 2 weeks to make sure I'm polished
> (and reread all of my books again).
>
> Here's the question: How do you determine a good freq for
> plane-to-plane or ground-to-plane chatter? There have been a number
> of times that I've been by the house with my wife having the radio on
> listing to the local unicoms, but I never initiating a conversation
> with her. Carrying on a conversation on a unicom freq is just plain
> stupid, for a multitude of reasons.
>
> Only problem is, how do I pick another freq to use? Are there any
> freqs that aren't used by anything official?
>
> Rob
>
>
Jim Fisher
areas? Is this a local FBO rule?
It should seem to me that you'd wanna make advisories on the local CTAF
where folks will actually hear you.
I have never thought to tune in the chatter freq. when I'm flying over a
practice area and I doubt strangers to your area would do so either.
Illuminate me?
Jim Fisher
North Alabama
Cherokee 180
Mark Kolber <spam...@email.com> wrote in message They're supposed to be
Mark Kolber
>Why would anyone use chatter freqs. for traffic advisories over practice
>areas? Is this a local FBO rule?
>
>It should seem to me that you'd wanna make advisories on the local CTAF
>where folks will actually hear you.
>
>I have never thought to tune in the chatter freq. when I'm flying over a
>practice area and I doubt strangers to your area would do so either.
>
>Illuminate me?
First point is, it's not a "chatter" frequency. It's for air-to-air
communications.For example, the AIM tells us that in the vicinity of
Class B airspace (para 3-2-3)
"Pilots operating in VFR corridors are urged to use frequency 122.750
MHz for the exchange of aircraft position information."
Second, Unicorn and multicom are designed for airport traffic
advisories. Our practice area is about 11-20 nm away from the airport
(with tower). We're obviously not going to use Tower, and unicom
doesn't fit the bill. The communication is truly meant to be
air-to-air. Transients probably wouldn't tune it, but they wouldn't
tune in to a CTAF either.
As I remember where I originally learned how to fly, we didn't
communicate at all in the practice area. of course, there were a total
of maybe 8 training aircraft to worry about. At APA, there are more
like 50-100. So the local procedure developed to call out planned
practice area maneuvers in the blind to other aircraft that use the
area. Not an FBO rule, all the flight schools out of APA use it, as
does FTG, to our northeast, and I believe Jeffco, to our northwest.