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beginning to forfeit the honor of that professional-sounding poise to GA pilots, who are fast becoming the example to emulate.
Have Me Drug Tested
We are all guilty: me, you, GA, regional, mainline, military and controllers. Most of our brethren use good radio discipline; others sound like truckers on a CB radio or a teenager on the two-way phone. Some seem to think the pilot who can talk the fastest wins. In response to an ATC instruction from O’Hare ground control, I once heard a regional pilot say to the controller: “What-ever”. I was taken aback. For sure, dude – like, I really did hear him say that. It totally sounded rad, but he actually pulled it off.... for real. Another employed a common colloquialism of the times: “My Bad.” I hate that one. If you ever hear me sound like that on the radio or PA, or even if you heard a rumor I may be thinking like that, pull my pants up to where they belong, turn the bill of my hat around to the front and have me drug tested. I was equally stunned to hear a Captain on the PA, as I commuted to work, announce that, due to weather, things in Chicago were “screwed-up”. Must be he didn’t know the words for which many interpret “screwed-up” to be a euphemism.
Occasionally, we are all guilty of poor radio discipline, but while researching this story my personal observations were verified time and time again. The culture at
the ever- expanding regional or “commuter” carriers seems to promote a lack of discipline. Most use the radio professionally, but a disproportionately large number of lapses in radio discipline come from the regionals. Partial call sign use, use of colloquialisms, talking too fast, “clipping” their own calls and “stepping-on” or blocking others are common faux pas. In their defense, the culture at the regionals is at least partially due to the experience level of the co-pilots and the pace at which crews are overworked; too many hours awake and too many hours in the cockpit. The result of ongoing, chronic fatigue is lethargic compliance with, among other things, radio discipline. Reversion to colloquial language and poor manners comes to the surface, overtaking discipline. If you have ever experienced hypoxia, chronic fatigue presents similar symptoms.... and results.
How do we filter out colloquial contamination and what is the course of treatment for our vernacular disease?

Just The Vaccination Please
In order to rejoin GA in the professional use of the radio, perhaps we airline pilots need a vernacular vaccination, a language laxative, or even an eloquence enema to relieve us of the colloquial contamination infecting our radios. After listening to the radio for the last forty years, I sure would like to see a few verbose pilots administered that eloquence procedure; I’m hoping all I need is the vaccination. Now that the story is over, what’s up with all the big words and the medical expressions? There is a place for expanding and exercising your vocabulary in extended playful banter and pleasantries; an aviation magazine may be one of them, but your aircraft
radio is not. T&T
Kevin Dingman has been flying for 39 years. He’s an ATP typed in the B737 and DC9 with 18,000 hours. A retired Air Force Major; he flew the F-16 then performed as a USAF Civil Air Patrol Liai- son Officer. He flies volunteer missions for the Christian or- ganization Wings Of Mercy, is employed by a major airline, and owns and operates a Beech- craft Duke. Contact Kevin at Dinger10d@gmail.com.
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