quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Splash the zeros

One of my favorite movies of all time, except I wish they had done an alternative ending.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
I imagine they'll attempt to contact you on Guard, 121.5 AM.

I agree with you, that is how it should work. Great in theory, unfortunately it doesn't work in practice.

I have held a Flight Instructor certificate for more than 50 years. I tell my trainees, until I'm blue in the face, "Monitor 121.5 on your # 2 radio. Always." When I give someone a Flight Review, I watch for this.

Do you want to guess how many General Aviation pilots actually do this? My experience says, fewer than one percent.

I seem to recall that the military radios had a receiver that did monitor UHF guard, way way back when I was involved with avionics maintenance in the Navy. If the radio was powered on, guard frequency was being monitored. Our civilian gear does not have that, so we have to remember to tune the second radio (most of us have two) to 121.5 and enable the receiver via the audio panel. Virtually nobody remembers this. I have never seen it on a store-bought checklist, either, although I do put it on my custom-built checklists.

I’m sure a pair of light gray aircraft with missiles passing closer than non-formation experienced pilots have ever seen before will jog their memory.

If not a couple of close passes turning in front of the plane will convince the pilot “something isn’t exactly right here”.

Maybe enough to have them get on the horn with some ATC agency to ask what the problem is.

If there's an ATC to ask. VFR general aviation aircraft often operate without talking to anyone, and if not in Class B, C, or D, may very well be talking to no one; no ATC to call.

I've intercepted a number of aircraft in TFR's, most of whom weren't talking to anyone, and many of whom didn't seem to have a clue that anything might be wrong.

Back in the aftermath of 9/11 just after air traffic was allowed to fly again, there was a GA plane that decided to fly around the Puget Sound area near Seattle. It was headed in a straight line for Bremerton Naval Shipyard in some sort of a restricted airspace.

I was working and got the call from some Air Force Major at JB McChord asking if our helicopter was available because the F16 they sent to intercept couldn’t get a response and couldn’t go slow enough to ID the aircraft.

Helo wasn’t avail so couldn’t help, but if I remember the F16 was able to get the guys attention and get him to change course.


We also had some idiot violate the TFR when obama was in town and decide to land his float plane on Lake Washington while it was a no fly zone as bho was getting ready to leave the area. A couple of our Deputies were sent to interview the pilot on behalf of the FAA and Secret Service.

They scrambled two Air National Guard planes (F15s I believe) from Portland for that. Those guys decided to go supersonic somewhere in the Auburn area totally lighting up our 911 lines with the resultant BOOM. I heard the booms as I was returning from lunch and walked in to see 84 911 calls holding on our reader board.

Good times...