ATC: Cessna NXYZ Number 2, cleared to land Runway 25L
NXYZ: Number 2, cleared to land, NXYZ
ATC: NXYZ Number 2, cleared to land Runway 25L
NXYZ: Number 2, cleared to land, Runway 25L, NXYZ
The above exchange took place between Livermore ATC in California and me, in my early days of flight training. My home airport is Palo Alto, California, which has a single strip of concrete: Runways 31 and 13. Naturally, when issuing a landing clearances, all that ATC would say was ‘NXYZ [Number n], cleared to land’, since there was only one active runway at any time. When I started to venture out of Palo Alto to nearby Livermore, however, the situation was quite different. Livermore has two parallel runways, 7/25L and 7/25R, and it was necessary to acknowledge not only the landing clearance, but also the runway that the clearance had been issued for. As is evident from my exchange with Livermore ATC, I had omitted to include the designated runway during my first acknowledgment.
It’s not that I was not aware that I was required to acknowledge the runway I was cleared for. It simply had been too much of a force of habit at Palo Alto to just acknowledge ‘[Number n], cleared to land, NXYZ’.
This got me thinking about the necessity of cultivating a habit of clarity in communication with ATC. Nowadays, even at Palo Alto, I always mention the runway number, even though it isn’t strictly necessary. Examples include:
ATC: Cessna NXYZ, pull up and hold short
NXYZ: Hold short, Runway 31, NXYZ
ATC: Cessna NXYZ, Position and hold
NXYZ: Position and hold, Runway 31, NXYZ
ATC: Cessna NXYZ, Runway 31, cleared for takeoff.
NXYZ: Rolling, Runway 31, NXYZ
ATC: Cessna NXYZ [Number n], cleared to land
NXYZ: [Number n], cleared to land, Runway 31, NXYZ
Sure, as a pilot one needs to maintain situational awareness (and that includes knowing if there is one runway or multiple) and needs to be crisp and clear in communication with ATC without using up any more of the frequency than is necessary, but I find that cultivating the habit of mentioning the runway number in the above exchanges, even when the designated runway is obvious, helps me in getting it ingrained into my system, so that I never forget to mention the number at airports where it is, indeed, necessary to mention it. It takes very little extra time and effort and makes one a safer pilot. One need only consider a non-towered airport with multiple -- and, to keep things interesting – intersecting runways, where multiple pilots may choose the same or different runway at will, whatever their reason may be, at the same time, to see the benefits of developing a habit of clarity.
Non-towered airports can benefit from clarity in pilot communication over the CTAF beyond just calling out runway numbers. How often, for instance, has one heard ‘Smallville traffic, NXYZ, is turning base for Runway nn, Smallville traffic’ and wondered, “Gee, it sure would be nice to know if the pilot meant left or right base” and whether it was a Citabria which is a lot slower than one’s Cessna, or a Bonanza that is chewing up the air fast enough to be on one’s tail before one could say Evasive Maneuvers.
Sure, there are published traffic patterns for non-towered airports, but if, like me, you have, while on right base, seen a Piper Cub come streaking in for a straight-in approach at Half Moon Bay, CA (where straight-in approaches are specifically prohibited), you sure would be grateful for small mercies in communications.
Here are my other rules of thumb on the clarity in communications theme that I have developed for myself for non-towered airports:
1. On the ground, I never say I am “taking the active”. My preferred transmission is to always include the runway number
2. In the pattern I never say “… is on downwind for Runway nn”. It’s always “…left [or right] downwind for Runway nn”
3. If I am turning final behind another aircraft, it’s never “… is on final for Runway nn” It’s always “… is on final for Runway nn behind the [Cessna, Piper, Citabria, etc.]”. Not only is it good for the peace of mind of the pilot ahead of me, chances are, knowing that there is an aircraft behind, the plane will not dally on the runway but will expedite an exit.
4. Finally, I never give only my call sign. It’s always preceded with “Cessna [or Skyhawk]…” The other person looking out for you cannot read your tail number from wherever they are, but have a better chance of finding you (and not confusing you with someone else) if they know what they are looking for. Additionally, it is useful for them to know whether you are a slower or faster aircraft than them so that they can adjust their pattern accordingly, or if an impending emergency is suspected, get out of the way.
Practicing clarity in radio communications, even at the expense of sometimes stating the obvious, develops habits that can contribute to increased flight safety, in the air and on the ground.
