Originally Posted by
Easy Street
I am struggling a bit with the debate about use of "number one". Its inclusion in a transmission surely indicates that the aircraft is *not* cleared to enter the runway. Think about it: why would ATC say "line up 34R, number one for departure" or "cleared for takeoff 34R, number one for departure"? They wouldn't, because it would be implicit. The presence of those words must mean that you have been told to hold short. The only possible exception I could think of would be if cleared to line up full length behind an intersection departure, but then you'd be number two, not number one...