AVIATION LINGO ON THE AIRBAND:

When you first tune into the airband it may all seem a little daunting. They are talking all this fancy aviation jargon. Here I will attempt to give you an insight into what is actually being said so I've jotted down a few translations.

• SHAMROCK = Callsign used by Aer Lingus
• CENTER = Air traffic control center
• HEADING = The compass direction (degrees) that an aircraft is pointing
• FLIGHT LEVEL = The altitude at which the aircraft is climbing or decending to e.g FL230 = 23,000 Ft
• ILS (Instrument Landing System) = The system that guides the aircraft safely down to the runway.
• LOCALIZER = A transmitter at the end of the runway that sends landing information to aircraft.
• OUTER/MIDDLE MARKER = Beacons on the approach path to a runway.
• SQUAWK = A signal sent by the aircraft to the controllers radar screen that identifies the aircraft.
• WILCO = The pilot is saying to the controller that he will co-operate with their instructions.
• VOR = A radio navigation aid that aircraft use along their route.
• DME (Distance Measuring Equiptment) = Tells the pilot their distance to or from a nav. aid.
• AIRWAY = A designated route along which an aircraft travels.

C.B. CODE AND LINGO:

Most of the lingo used in C.B. comes from standard radio practice and some has been made up over the years. There should be enough here to get you started anyway.

• RODGER/10-4 = I think we all know this one but I'll tell you anyway. It's an acknowledgement or a yes.
• ON THE SIDE/QSK = Means that you are listening on the channel and waiting to join the conversation.
• YOUR TWENTY = Your location.
• SET = Your radio equipment.
• HANDLE = Your name or nickname on the radio.
• HIGHS/LOWS = These are sets of channels that are on higher/lower frequencys than the standard 40 channels
• USB/LSB : These are other modes your radio operates in rather than AM/FM. These modes give out more power and allow longer range communications

 

PHONETIC ALPHABET:

A = ALPHA

B = BRAVO

C = CHARLIE

D = DELTA

E = ECHO

F = FOXTROT

G = GOLF

H = HOTEL

I = INDIA

J = JULIETT

K = KILO

L = LIMA

M = MIKE

N = NOVEMBER

O = OSCAR

P = PAPA

Q = QUEBEC

R = ROMEO

S = SIERRA

T = TANGO

U = UNIFORM

V = VICTOR

W = WHISKEY

X = X-RAY

Z = ZULU