Ready to Copy! Deep Breath And….
May 13th, 2009 •
I was at the airport tonight watching the traffic go around, listening to the radio, and it struck me (not for the first time) that most pilots like to read back their instrument clearance in one breath.
Cessna 1234 cleared to Brown Field after take off left turn 270 radar vectors Mission Bay VOR direct 3000 feet expect 400 feet 10 minutes after 119.6 and squawk is 5244
You literally hear the poor guy collapse at the end, gasping for breath. I know I am often guilty of this and actively try to pause after the route or altitudes part. I wonder why it is that we do this, and how it is that we never hear Clearance give us the clearance in this fashion – do they get special training?
Ah, the good old IFR clearance readback. I’m thankful that most of European airports use Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), which shorten the clearanced. The typical one I received when flying from Geneva (LSGG) to any destination to the nort-east was:
“Cleared to destination via KONIL 4 C departure, squawk 1234″.
The “KONIL 4 C” includes the initial climb, turn out and departure frequency