Why do pilots say airspeed alive?

"Airspeed alive" means that the aircraft has passed this speed and the airspeed indicator has started to move above the minimum speed that it can display. Also it helps to validate that both the indicator is working and that you are making speed at the expected rate.

Why do pilots say positive climb?

The call of “positive rate” (or climb) is made by the PM as an indication that the aircraft is safely climbing away from the ground. This is confirmed by checking that the altimeter indication is increasing. At this point, it is safe to retract the landing gear.

Why do pilots say souls and not people?

The number of “souls” on an aircraft refers to the total living bodies on the plane: every passenger, pilot, flight attendant and crew member, according to Lord-Jones. Pilots often report the number of “souls” when declaring an emergency, she says, so rescuers know the amount of people to search for.

Do pilots feel the speed?

Yes, though to a very limited extent. Pilots almost never do the in-flight equivalent of slamming on the gas pedal. Each commercial jet has a Flight Management System (FMS) that calculates its most efficient air speed given certain variables such as the number of passengers aboard and the cruising altitude.

Why do pilots say V1 rotate?

During the takeoff roll, the pilot monitoring the displays (PM) will call out the two important speeds: V1 and rotate. This indicates to the pilot flying the aircraft (PF) when they are beyond the safe stopping speed and when to rotate the aircraft into the air.

Why do pilots call out SPEEDS?!

Why do pilots say 555?

The phrase "five by five" can be used informally to mean "good signal strength" or "loud and clear".

Why do they say pan pan pan?

The term pan pan, besides being known as airplane talk, is used in radiotelephone communications to signify that there is an urgency on board a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle. It is referred to when it is a state of urgency, but not when there is an immediate danger to a person's life or to the vessel itself.

What is the hardest thing being a pilot?

The most important pilot career challenges

A pilot must know all about weather changes and the operation of various instruments in the airplane cockpit. Also, in case of an emergency, the pilot's task is to land the plane safely.

Do pilots like it when passengers clap?

Answer: It always caused me to smile. The appreciation of executing a challenging approach and landing is a compliment. Often, pilots feel that we are just doing our jobs when faced with a challenging approach and landing.

Why do pilots like flying at night?

Easier Navigation

Navigating at night can actually be much easier than during the day. Large conurbations and their associated street lights can be seen from miles away. Making it easy to pinpoint them and fly towards them. Roads are also much easier to pick out against the surrounding terrain.

What do pilots call other pilots?

An aviator call sign or aviator callsign is a call sign given to a military pilot, flight officer, and even some enlisted aviators.

Why do pilots say Romeo?

Use in air traffic control

For 'R,' this used to be 'Roger' in several old phonetic alphabets, such as one proposed by IATA to ICAO in 1947. In today's NATO alphabet, this letter is instead represented by 'Romeo.

What pilots don t tell you?

Why can't pilots look at the ground?

The three-dimensional environment of flight is unfamiliar to the human body, creating sensory conflicts and illusions that make spatial orientation difficult and sometimes impossible to achieve. The result of these various visual and nonvisual illusions is spatial disorientation.

What do pilots say for yes?

Affirm: Contrary to popular belief, pilots do not say “affirmative” when they mean yes – the correct term is affirm, pronounced “AY-firm.”

Why do pilots tell you how high you are?

Answer: It is normally part of the welcome aboard announcement as a matter of interest. We provide the time of the flight, the cruise altitude, landmarks of interest along way and the weather. Passengers generally like to know this level of detail according to what they have told me.

Why can't you recline during takeoff?

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set the upright seat rule for two main reasons: it makes it easier to evacuate the plane in the case of an emergency and it can help limit injuries.

What does Charlie Charlie mean in aviation?

Short answer. Charlie-Charlie is a fancy substitution for a standard affirmative. It comes from the convention of abbreviating Correct/Yes by letter C in codes. It was early standardized and used at sea since 1857.

What do pilots see when they fly?

Pilots have a unique viewpoint while flying private or commercial aircraft. They get an unobstructed view of stunning natural sights, such as pink lakes and rectangular-shaped icebergs. Some have reported seeing UFOs, while others have flown over swirling hurricanes.

Do any pilots have a fear of flying?

Pilots are trained to handle all sorts of nerve-racking situations, but that doesn't mean that they don't get scared—especially in these real instances, told by the pilots who experienced them, of serious in-flight fear.

What is the easiest pilot to become?

A sport pilot is the easiest and least restrictive certificate a student can obtain. It's meant for those pilots who wish to fly in light aircraft only, at low altitudes in their local area.

What's the hardest part of learning to fly?

Landings

Landing is the most perplexing skill to learn, because each one is different, and it all takes place very close to the ground, at what can appear to be a terrifying speed (wait until you fly jets to find out what it's really like to land fast).

Why do you say mayday 3 times?

Convention requires the word be repeated three times in a row during the initial emergency declaration ("Mayday mayday mayday") to prevent it being mistaken for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual mayday call from a message about a mayday call.

Why do pilots say heavy?

Wake turbulence poses a major risk to other aircraft, so pilots and ATC use the term “heavy” in radio transmissions as a reminder that the aircraft's wake may be dangerous to others passing behind or below the flightpath of these larger-mass aircraft.

Why is it called mayday?

Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing the letter “S” by telephone, the international distress signal “S.O.S.” will give place to the words “May-day”, the phonetic equivalent of “M'aidez”, the French for “Help me.”