The Liberty Gazette
October 4, 2022
Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely
Linda: “Clear right,” I call out at an intersection when Mike is driving. This is one of the ways in which we communicate that is normalized for us (and the rest of the pilot world) but isn’t common outside of aviation. It comes as part of being a crew, helping each other. There’s a plethora of words used in aviation that raise eyebrows in ‘the real world.’
Like “Standby,” used in place of, hang on, when communicating with air traffic control or co-pilots. I get funny looks if I say this at a check-out counter while I’m digging in my purse.
“Say again,” is the standard reply when asking an air traffic controller to repeat something. Some of them do talk awfully fast, so that phrase gets some use. It sounds much nicer than, “huh?”
We say things like, “negative” for no; “affirmative” for yes; “ready to copy” when we’re about to be given instructions; “disregard” instead of never mind; and “unable” for I’m not going to comply with your request.
Recently, I replied to an email in which I was asked to do something with, “Wilco.” Unfortunately, the recipient isn’t a pilot, but I was still surprised he didn’t know. “What’s ‘wilco?’” he asked. “That’s short for ‘will comply,’” I explained.
My favorite is “Departing the fix.” Mike and I text this to each other when one of us is leaving someplace to come home.
Mike: Not all unusualness is in the words and phrases though. Some things fall into the broad category of “way of life” for pilots. For instance, situational awareness. It’s easy to understand why being aware of your location, heading, speed, and situation are all so important when flying. Generally speaking, it’s not that easy to just turn off that awareness. And why would we want to?
We also know not to purchase an airline ticket with multi-leg flights when avoidable. Especially if a flight connects in Chicago’s O’Hare, New York’s LaGuardia, or Denver International. Even if a direct flight is more expensive, it’s worth the extra money to not risk being stuck, missing a connection. Unfortunately, it can be more difficult to avoid Heathrow, depending on where you’re going and the airline you choose.
Arguably, one of the parts of this lifestyle that infiltrates “normal” life the most is that we check the weather – all the time, not just when flying. We tend to geek out on weather facts and forecasts, even though we’re not meteorologists.
But one of the most tell-tale signs of a pilot is that we look up to the sky whenever we hear an aircraft – and identifying it when we see it (or sometimes just by the sound). It’s an automatic reaction. We spend so much of our lives up there, that when we’re on the ground and hear an engine, we want to see who’s in our playground.
It’s not always easy to leave work at the office. Then again, our office windows have the best views.
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