John Hill,
You are right about 'Ops Normal' not being limited to military. All I meant was that I had only heard the phrase in military circles. The important point is that in 'those days' both aircrew and ATC knew what the phrase meant, and when to use it.
The danger in using Ops Normal nowadays is that it has no proper definition. So ATC can ask the question based on their understanding of what it means, but the pilot interprets it differently and gives an answer that misleads ATC. Cue cock-up. Gonzo also makes a good point.
I'm surprised that in these days of the omni-present NATS R/T police SS are using this non-standard phrase. Hope the SS LCE's don't know Vlad's true identity.
