© Frankljunior | Dreamstime.com – Air Traffic Control Tower And An Airplane Photo
This has become a popular question with our CC Skywave™.
According to Wikipedia, Airband, also referred to as Aircraft or Aviation band, is a group of frequencies in the VHF radio spectrum that are allocated to civil aviation radio communications. VHF is a short range, line of site transmission. Our radio covers 118 – 137MHz for Airband. In most countries a license is required to operate airband equipment but that appears to apply only to transceivers, not receivers. In some countries it is illegal to listen to or monitor the Airband without authorization (even in the UK).
The language that is used to communicate on this band can be a challenge to follow. Ken Hoke’s article on Stuff Pilots Say, gives some great insight into the meaning of the seemingly cryptic language used on Airband.
The primary purpose of Air traffic control worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots. It was difficult to find any “history” of airband but it appears that it was first used extensively after World War I and after 1921 at Croydon airport in London. Navigation and air traffic control have changed over time and many areas use higher frequencies and RADAR and other more sophisticated systems. The Airband radio frequencies still continue to play a part though, especially in ground communication with pilots. It is used almost exclusively in small airports that don’t have control towers. We have one customer who plans to use the CC Skywave for monitoring the ground to pilot communication at the local air races.
As to why we decided to include Airband in our radio? Here is Bob’s answer:
“When you are in a big airport you are sometimes subject to the whims of security and circumstance. TSA does a great job but when the process gets a little tense I yearn for more information. I want to know everything that will affect my tiny domain. When you listen to aviation band you can usually figure out more by reading between the lines on what pilots and the control tower are talking about. Sometimes you gain a sense of power and wisdom as you do with any knowledge.”
For more information on what you might hear or how to listen, visit the links below.
http://radio-scanner-guide.com/radioscannerguidepart3c-civilaircraft.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Listen-to-Your-Local-Air-Traffic-Control
Tell us your best airline story in the comments below.
Howdy: I have not flown but i think it would be kool to Fly in a prop plane.
I took my Mom to a restruant that over looked the runway at a major airport. They had head phones at the table in order to listen in on the air traffic. She looked up at one point and said there is an emergency. We laughed at her until the fire trucks came out. All ended ok. The jet landed safely. Made for an exciting evening.
The best day for me was the day I soloed!
In 2012 I went TDY (temporary duty) U.S. Army for some training at Ft Belvoir, VA, for 6 mos. I was stationed at Schofield Bks, HI, so flew out of Honolulu Intl (HNL) on Hawaiian Airlines. I had 1 stop over at Sacramento Intl (SMF). At SMF I took a Delta flight before arriving at Regan Intl (DCA). When I landed at Sacramento Intl I boarded and took my seat (seated in coach). I sat next to an elderly woman who appeared to be traveling alone. Moments later an elderly gentleman approached me from his seat in the back row. He explained that the woman to my left is his wife, and their seats were not together for some reason. He then asked if I wouldn’t mind switching my seat with him. It was no problem for me so I did. Shortly thereafter I was asked about the seat switching by the stewardess, and explained to her that I switched seats so the man could sit next to his wife. She walked away then came back a few minutes later. She first of all thanked me for doing the couple a favor, then said the captain also thanks me. Next she told me that the captain just upgraded my seat to First Class! I couldn’t believe it. It might have helped that I was in uniform too, but I’d rather think it was good karma. So there you go-my best airline experience.
My best airport story was when my wife and I were coming into Raleigh Durham (RDU) from a holiday trip and the airport was fogged in. My wife was a little scared and hated flying. We circled the airport for about two hours, going up and down, up and down. The pilot told us over and over that we were about to land, but we never got clearance and were finally rerouted to an airport in South Carolina. That was a tough flight, but my wife got over her fear of flying that trip! I would have loved to have heard the conversations between the control tower and pilot.
I love ask aircraft. Spend hours watching the flying patterns ect. Corodors ect.
Love the technologys.
Used too take my son to the airport garage exactly at 6:00pm and watch the ups jumbo jet take off. Great memories.
Flying back from Europe to JFK with a plane full of immigrants from Iron Curtain back in the mid-1970s. The Pan AM terminal at JFK had a two story escalator with a very short platform between the upper and lower stories. Some of the immigrants had never seen an escalator before and after going down the upper escalator, they were so freaked out that they would not get on the lower escalator. The platform quickly filled with people and people on the upper escalator had no place to go and people started backing up on the moving upper escalator. Before someone got hurt, the hesitant immigrants were convinced to use the lower escalator and all was well. (I was one of the folks stuck on the moving upper escalator.) It was scary at the time, but I guess it is funny now.
We usually fly Hawaiian when we go to the islands. Great service and are usually on time. Only time I can remember being late was on Oahu, we had just started to taxi for takeoff when we had to stop to wait for Air Force 1 to land and get to a “safe” location, took about 30-45 minutes.
Years ago I had a close connection and missed that flight from Seattle to Wenatchee in spite of my running to catch the flight That turned out to be a stroke of luck. It landed in Wenatchee and the landing gear collapsed.
Not far from my home is Moontown airport. It is all small private prop type planes. Every September they have a “fly in” and open the airport to everyone. Its a grass strip and I always take some kind of radio that can pick up the chatter between the planes as they are flying over, buzzing the field and what not. Always a lot of fun. Once they had a biplane there and they would take you up for about 15 mins. Me and another guy split the cost and went up together. The pilot said after a few minutes of flying if we are ok give him the “thumbs up” (no way to talk to the pilot who sat behind you) and he would “lay into it more” as he put it. Anyway after about 5 mins, me and the other guy gave the thumbs up and off we went and boy what a ride that was. Noise, smell of exhaust, much wind blowing across your face and slight amount of oil that would run up the wind screen…WOW it was great. We landed and I was sick as a dog but would go up again anytime. I am close enough to the airport that from my home sometimes I can hear the pilots talking plane to plane on a “unicom” frequency and I always remember the fun I had in that short 15 minute flight around Madison County Alabama.. The only radio I have left that will pick up the frequencies is an old radio shack SW radio. Most of the knobs no longer work well and someday it will be shelved for good and just for looks with something newer to take is place.
In 1986 I was in Switzerland and had finished photographing a very famous movie, singing and broadway star’s wedding. I boarded my plane for the flight home to Philadelphia PA and was relaxing in my seat awaiting takeoff. 1986 was the beginning of international terrorism. Several heavily armed soldiers came down the plane aisle calling my name. I was ecorted to a heavily guarded room. My equipment, which consisted of large batteries, flash guns. cameras, wires, etc.was pread out on a table. After a thorough search and my explanation and demonstration of the equipment, I was allowed to re-plane. All in all those few days of rubbing elbows with the rich & famous & then having the cr_p scared out of me made for qiute an experience.
On my way to West Africa, we passed over the Swiss Alps as the sun was setting, and I fell asleep to the sounds of Strauss. When I woke, all below was pitch black except for dots of campfire light. We were over the Sahara!
Started in SEA in June 1999 for a 10 week, 3 tours of Europe with SAS. At the check-in counter no one was there but a phone. The woman said “I’ll be right out” and then told me we don’t fly on Thursday but we moved you to Friday. I explained that the first tour started on Friday-but to no avail. A frantic call to the travel agent and we were re-booked thru American-or so I thought. American refused to honor the tickets because the first airline you fly holds all the money. We had to return to the “nice” lady at SAS and beg her to re-cut the tickets-these were the old paper ones. The story gets worse from here but we did get to our destination 3 hours early due to better flight connections. Adding insult to injury my partner had just quit smoking 3 days before our trip – talk about stress!
While in the Air Force in 1957 I was returning to Germany from Tripoli, Libya, in a cargo plane. We made a stop in Rome and shortly after takeoff, we were struck by lightning. A long antenna cable atop the plane came loose at the tail end. It began to whip, striking the sides of the aircraft, making loud crashes and punching holes in the fuselage, It seemed to us non-crew passengers, the plane would crash if this kept up. Bur a brave crew member opened a hatch at the top of the plane, reached up, grabbed the antenna cable and pulled its full length into the interior. We didn’t turn around to land but continued a very drafty flight to a landing at a base in France. We changed planes there and continued to Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany.
My best flight was from Siagon in October of 1964 back to the good ole USA. Back to the land of cold milk and hot water.
In the early 80’s, I was on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore during a very severe thunderstorm. I had flown more than a half million miles up to that point, but this storm was the worst I had ever experienced. The plane was engulfed in St. Elmo’s fire – it is amazing to see the planes wings surrounded by fire. The plane would drop hundreds of feet before catching some air only to have it drop again. I don’t usually white knuckle when I fly, but I was definitely deforming my arm rests.
At that time, there were many Texans in Singapore installing oil rigs in Malaysia and Singapore. There were several Texans on this flight and they were inebriated. They kept joking and laughing about how this flight wasn’t as bad as another one they had been on in the past year. For some reason, their levity calmed me. I thought if they survived a previous flight that was worse than this one, then maybe everything would turn out OK.
Needless to say, we arrived safely in Singapore but I was incredibly thankful to set foot on solid ground.
Best advice I ever received from my paraglider instructor was to look for reasons not to fly.
Once while in Dallas I watched 5 maintenance people stand around an American Airlines Jet with a flat nose tire.
This went on for about 20 minutes and one guy kicked the tire at least 4 times. Looked like a government job in
progress.
Years ago I flew Alaskan Airlines to Anchorage. The landing pattern entailed flying up a fiord. I could see the water below and the blades of grass on the slopes on each side. We flew for an extended period of time with crosswinds. At the end of the fiord the plane climbed rapidly and dropped sharply onto the runway. All in a days job for Alaskan pilots but for me the words “God bless skilled pilots” came to mind.
For twenty-six years I flew as a commercial pilot. I always carried a backup VHF receiver so that even it I lost the aircraft’s radios, I could still receive ATC’s instructions. While flying near Chicago and listening to ATC Enroute Traffic Control handle other traffic, I heard the following exchange, “Chicago Center, this Citation NxxxC requesting a deviation from my flight plan to avoid a thunderstorm. ATC Controller replies,”NxxxC this is Chicago Center, Request denied.” Pilot of NxxxC answers back, “`Chicago Center this Citation NxxxC, I say again, I need to deviate from my Flight Plan to avoid a dangerous thunderstorm.” ATC again tells the pilot, “that any deviation that he makes will be unapproved.” The pilot of Citation NxxxC replies to the Controller, ” Let me get this straight…”Am I up here so you can be down there, or are you down there so I can be up here?” There was a pause, and then the ATC Shift Supervisor broke into the exchange, Identified himself and told the pilot of Citation NxxxC, “Sir, you are cleared to deviate as you deem necessary.” The Pilot In Command ( PIC ) has the ultimate authority to take whatever actions are necessary to maintain the safety of his aircraft and passengers. The Controller apparently didn’t agree with that. and made an unnecessary issue of the matter until his decision was over-ruled by his boss.
My first airline flight was on United from Seattle to Los Angeles. The mean was served on real china and the cutlery was real silver with United on the handle. We were flying down to meet my Dad coming home from Korea. Everyone was all dressed up in their Sunday best complete with hats. The Stewardess gave me and my siblings “wings” for our first flight. It’s a treasured memory.
When I was student pilot my instructor had me fly to San Jose Intl. Airport from our home field at Palo Alto to familiarize me with operations at larger, busier fields. We landed on the main runway. Taxing back to the main runway for departure take off back to Palo Alto, our Cessna 152 was dwarfed by the adjacent passenger and freight heavy aircraft. A pilot of a commercial passenger jet wanted take-off priority over our craft, and he wrangled a bit with the air traffic controller to no avail. ATC ended the discussion with, “Cessna 48745 cleared for take-off, United Heavy 765 taxi into position and hold”.
In 2003 I had just passed through security at BWI and while sitting in the waiting area I heard one of the inspectors say that their equipment could not detect anything in the passengers’ shoes. Back then, no one was asking passengers to remove their shoes, and nobody seemed to see anything wrong with that.
In 2012 I went TDY (temporary duty) U.S. Army for some training at Ft Belvoir, VA, for 6 mos. I was stationed at Schofield Bks, HI, so flew out of Honolulu Intl (HNL) on Hawaiian Airlines. I had 1 stop over at Sacramento Intl (SMF). At SMF I took a Delta flight before arriving at Regan Intl (DCA). When I landed at Sacramento Intl I boarded and took my seat (seated in coach). I sat next to an elderly woman who appeared to be traveling alone. Moments later an elderly gentleman approached me from his seat in the back row. He explained that the woman to my left is his wife, and their seats were not together for some reason. He then asked if I wouldn’t mind switching my seat with him. It was no problem for me so I did. Shortly thereafter I was asked about the seat switching by the stewardess, and explained to her that I switched seats so the man could sit next to his wife. She walked away then came back a few minutes later. She first of all thanked me for doing the couple a favor, then said the captain also thanks me. Next she told me that the captain just upgraded my seat to First Class! I couldn’t believe it. It might have helped that I was in uniform too, but I’d rather think it was good karma. So there you go-my best airline experience.
I live near a county airport and would enjoy listening to the air traffic coming and going, sometimes the planes come over our house.
LAX is the best airport in the world. I use to work for TWA airlines (remember way back then) and got to know the in’s and out’s of this amazing facility. Pretty cool!!! The thing that I miss is the smell of jet fuel. Once you smell it, you’ll never forget it. TM
A long time ago, I used to fix CB radios. One day I met a private pilot who had a problem with his air craft radio. I told him that I was an active monitor of Air Craft communications, so he invited me to join him in a flight so I could listen to the problem first hand. He took us up a couple of thousand feet , and put the plane into a dive and shut off the ignition so I could hear the difference in the static level while flying normal and with the ignition shut off. Needless to say, I immediately told him that I knew what the problem was so that he would re-start the engine and level out. Once I got back on the ground, I vowed that in the future that I would only listen to air band radio on my home radio and never again in the air.
I’m 1 of the lucky few that has never traveled on an airline. I thank God for it everyday and since 9/11 I’ve been glad not too! I like airplanes though,and I have liked them since I was 3 yesrs old. I made such an impression on my mother about flying them that my mother thought that I would like to fly them someday and she’s right if I ever got the chance to learn to fly with enough experience I would eventhough if you saw me then if I did know how to fly a plane you would never know by looking at me that I like to keep my feet on the ground because I’m afraid of heights though I know that learning to fly a plane would change that in me at least well enough to live without being afraid of heights just by some small margin enough to make a significant difference.
My favorite airline WAS Piedmont Airlines. I remember flying it often to return home to visit while in the Navy. My weirdest flight was on a puddle jumper airline that was prop, seated about 20 people and the aircrew also was the same people who checked my ticket at the counter, loaded the luggage and alo removed the wheel chocks.
During a flight from honolulu to los angeles i was invited into and given a tour of the cockpit as the jet was taking off.
I haven’t flown much, but I do remember flying on an airline known as “Carnival” back in the late 1990’s. We flew down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from Newark, New Jersey, to visit my grandmother for a week after Christmas, and my dad got return tickets for New Year’s Eve. Of course, since the flight wasn’t sold out, we waited on the Tarmac as they transferred passengers from another “half full” flight to Dulles Airport. After being delayed approximately 2 hours we finally took off, and instead of a nonstop flight to Newark, we had to make that extra stop at Dulles. By the time we arrived at Newark, we got to spend New Year’s Eve at the baggage claim as the clock struck midnight.
In 1969 to 1971, I was a piping designer at the JFK airport. The beautiful architecture of 2 terminals in particular, TWA & PAN AM was so wonderful it had to make travel more of a pleasure. How many people can say an airport is beautiful ? ✈️
Being a new low time private pilot, years ago, a friend and I left my private farm air strip one moon-lite night. We left Northern Vermont for New Hampshire in my little Cessna 150 to pick up equipment parts. All went well till we returned home around midnight to find that the cows had gotten out of their pasture and were all over the air strip! Running low on fuel and the moon starting to hide behind the clouds which were moving in, we had to land! Revving the motor and with full flaps, making the most noise we could, the cows started running everywhere!!!!!!!! There was just a big enough hole between the running cows to make a safe landing, with our hearts beating fast!!!!!!! No instant milk shakes or plane- milk -nogs were made. All’s well that ends well……………..
I like flying, the takeoff and the flying, but I still don’t like landing. I’ve got great respect for all pilots. What they do every day is amazing to me. Always thank the pilots when exiting the plane.
really like the omaha ne air port . freindly people and nice facillities
I feel this would be very interesting to hear conversation and communicating between airline pilots and air traffic control.I never gave this a 2nd thought but feel this would be a new experience. When I travel I like North West Airlines great service and prices never a bad experence.
On October 1, 1992, I returned from living in Europe. I flew to New York, and made a connection to Pittsburgh, where my cousin was to pick me up.
Upon arriving in Pittsburgh and leaving the plane, without being able to orient myself, there were attendants saying “go here” as the directed the passengers to moving walkways. One moving walkway lead to another attendant and another moving walkway, and, feeling out of control, I began to get mad.
Low and behold that, as I arrived at the end of the last moving walkway, and I was totally disoriented and a little angry, my cousin said “How was your trip?”
You see, I had arrived at the absolutely totally new Pittsburgh International Airport on its opening day, and everything went perfectly.
I like watching Youtube videos of Qantas cockpit take offs and landings. Of course, radio talk is abundant at the take off and landing stage. Not only does the flight deck converse with the control towers, they converse with the ground control and ground staff who chock the wheels. Now, most heavy aircraft have high definition video cameras in the cockpit, and even on the tail and wheel wells, so you can see below you and forward above the fuselage. I think the videos of the flights are really cool. Baltic Aviation Academy has videos of students in cockpit simulators going through various maneuvers. Very cool for all of us aviation enthusiasts.
Every time I fly, I have a change or layover in Atlanta. I remember before the current airport was built, trying to sleep over in one of the plastic seats on an overnight layover. this was before that had ANYTHING in the airport, and I couldn’t get a drink or a cup of coffee. I made a call to a friend and he delivered a midnight snack.
On my first solo cross country in a Cessna 152 the radio went out and I had to get back to Kansas City airport. I found a little grass strip, landed, and called the control tower and told them my problem. The air traffic controller gave me a number to “squawk” for ID and told me to come in over the refinery and watch the tower for a light. Green – go into the pattern or Red – go play somewhere and come back later.
Came in and got a Green so I went into the traffic pattern, got the Green again as I turned final. Put her down and then went up to the Control tower to thank the guys for getting me how. The air traffic controller said, “We needed the practice. We haven’t landed anyone with the lights in 10 years.”
Sure glad they remembered… I was too green to know it wasn’t a normal thing.
Bill
Due to a confusion of scheduling a possible alternate return trip – my visiting grandson was told he couldn’t get a boarding pass as his originally scheduled reservation had been cancelled…The reservation desk immediately saw why this mistake had taken place and called another airline which accommodated him at nearly the same time. This cooperative effort really impressed me….I wish all our hurdles (TSA Screening, etc.) could be overcome so smoothly..
Milt
I recall being shipped to Vietnam in the late ’60s on a U.S. Military chartered Braniff Airlines Boeing 707. That was probably the most uncomfortable flight I have ever taken. They had the seat density so high that our knees were in our chest with zero legroom. Braniff Packed as many troops in as possible to get the most money they could from the government. I enjoy listening to our local airport ATC traffic.
I was working for Chrysler at the time and found out they needed drivers for their proving ground operations in Wittman, Arizona. I applied and got the transfer. Being from Michigan my whole life, we packed up everything and took off West.
We flew Southwest Airlines and I could not believe the airline people were so friendly and nice to everyone. When we landed in Phoenix, the colors and atmosphere were outstanding and the Spanish flair was everywhere. We loved it there and made many good friends during our stay in Chandler, Az. The proving grounds were sold 3 yrs later and Chrysler moved to Yucca, Az. and that’s where the testing is done now. We will always miss the beautiful nights in Phoenix but their airport is outstanding to say the least. The cleanliness of the area was way above average. Hats off to the maintenance people at the airport! Beautiful people everywhere.
My favorite airline is Icelandic Airlines since it is the shortest distance from Seattle to Europe of siting for only 6.5 hours at one time before proceeding to other cities.
I was taking ground school in 1987 for my private pilot license. I have been a radio nut since I was a kid so always had some form of aviation scanner or tunable radio. As part of my learning I decided to go out to Orange County airport to watch traffic and listen to what was being said and where in the pattern. I was situated opposite the end of the main runway with my then trusty Bearcat 220 scanner. A short time in to my session a light twin was cleared to land. Then a moment later, the tower cleared another plane on to the runway to take off with the twin on short final. The tower controller realized his mistake and needed to tell the landing twin to go around but must have been new, for he then panicked and almost shouted on the radio, “twin on short final, aircraft on runway, twin, runway, AHHHH!”. The twin pilot responded calmly, “twin, no problems, doing a right 360” and powered up to go around. He executed his right 360, the aircraft took off, and the twin landed easy as can be. It was interesting to see and hear this all, and see the professionalism of the twin pilot.
Feeling upset about end of vacation and the future. Waiting to board the plane I got into a conversation with an older woman in front of me,, she left me with the words “Let go and Let God”. I never saw her on the plane. Her words echo still in my heart.
In the late spring of 1967, I remember a brief 15-minute ride in an old Ford Trimotor aircraft at Lambert Field in St. Louis, MO, now known as St. Louis International Airport. The Ford Trimotor was first built in 1926 and ended production in 1933. The full history of the Ford Trimotor is interesting, but I knew nothing of it at the time. It didn’t fly higher than about 3,000 ft. and was not pressurized at all, so even at such low altitudes one could feel the popping of ears and hear the roaring of the engines. The cruising speed of the brief flight was only about 50 mph, which allowed ample views of the scenery on the ground. I loved it! If you’d like to know more about the Trimotor, here’s a Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Trimotor
There was a weather delay on a recent flight from SF to Boston which kept the equipment from appearing on time in SF. Many people had to be diverted to other flights but I was traveling direct and it didn’t matter to me. While other people got crammed into other flights like sardines, I just waited. Another delay – more people got resheduled. We ended up leaving SF two hours late, but United had given anyone waiting free meals in the airport and as a bonus, the plane was nearly empty. Most people had a whole row to themselves.
We didn’t get in much later as it turns out, there were no screaming kids on the plane and they handed out free food since there were so few people.
watching the old airplanes flying in to SRQ over my house….just like the old days
Just got back from a trip to Las Vegas via American and United. American is a big disappointment. They left us to fend for ourselves when American missed the connection. Rude people. Went to United and got on another flight without issue. United is impressive. On the way back encountered more rude people from American. Everyone who checked luggage on the last leg of the flight had some sort of oily substance all over the luggage. American no help. BTW, American installed the seats very close, very uncomfortable to fly with them. Back to Delta, United and Southwest.
July 9th 1982 I had the misfortune to be eating lunch across from the Kenner Louisiana airport and witnessed 150 people killed on Pan Am flight 752. I have been haunted by that experience for over 30 years! God rest their souls!
Our family grew up next to Detroit Metro airport. I.can still remember looking up and seeing the. Wheels tuck in as they headed into the sun.
My wife and our two children aged 5 and 21 months were returning home from France in 1983. We arrived at Kennedy late due to our flight from Paris being delayed an hour and a half. The busses to Laguardia were packed, and we were getting antsy about missing our flight to Knoxville. Finally a bus arrived that had some room, so I grabbed some of the luggage and the children and boarded the bus. My wife had the rest of the luggage and was trying to get on the bus with us, but the rude driver shut the door right in her face. So, there I was on a bud headed to Laguardia with two kids and part of our luggage, but no wife. The driver kept yelling at me to get the luggage out of the aisle. Every seat was taken and there was nowhere to put the luggage. He finally came back to where we were standing and literally tossed the luggage onto he back of one of the seats.
When we arrived at Laguardia, the kids and I waited for the next bus from Kennedy, hopefully with my wife on board. Several busses later, she finally arrived. Obviously she was beside herself with worry about the kids. We literally had to try to run through the terminal to catch our flight. Can you imagine trying to run with a 5 year-old, a toddler, and all our luggage? Thankfully, we made it with minutes to spare. We’ll never forget that trip!