Their callsign, your callsign, message. Just get exactly what the message part is in your head before pressing tx!

How did you guess?!! As you say, decent enough guys but I have a theory they think we are all mode s equipped and can just punch the code in as they read it out.

I called said frequency the other Day, on a CAVOK day, with every bob and dog on frequency, forgetting they did that. Oh, after manically remembering how to write, did i eventually program their squawk. Next time i shall remember to tell them to standby!

Maybe I'm in danger of starting to feel I know what I'm doing... but 'Squawk XXXX and pass your message' has never bothered me. I do exactly that i.e. dial in the squawk (short pause therefore while I do so, though modern transponders do make that easier) then pass the message which, after all, I was expecting to do so I have already thought through.

I do think the 'pass your message' spiel gets a lot easier with time. It used to worry me a lot. So the message to the OP is keep at it, like everything else in flying it gets easier with time.*

*apart from landing which seems to go in waves.

It's the short pause that's the problem. How many times have you been twiddling the transponder knobs and in that pause some other cheery soul comes blurting in with 'G-**** for basic service'. then you get 'Standby G-****' and on it goes. It just doesn't sound sharp either. I like to be quick and punchy on the radio, gaps to me are a sign of someone who hasn't thought about what they are going to say.

It should be 'G**** for basic service (or whatever)

'G-**** squawk 1234'

Squawk 1234 G-****'

Short pause...

'G-**** identified, pass your message.'

Far more civilised.

Nope. They have been doing this since well before mode S was invented. I think it's an imperfect copy of a military way of doing things similar to your last post.


MJ:ok:

With experience comes capacity. Once you have a few hours under your belt you'll realise what you once thought were big issues are actually fairly insignificant because now they're second nature.