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Author needs research details confirmed

Old 09-13-2019, 06:00 PM
  #11  
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“Heavy” is required (last I read) on all ATS and FIR boundaries except for enroute in the US. If you hear guys saying it, it’s bc they’re used to saying it everywhere else on the planet. For guys that fly mostly domestic and venture up into Canadian international airspace lol, this will be the time you hear it often.

If you happen to wonder up there you will here a call sign, heavy, flt level and cpdlc if they’re logged on.

But cut the guy some slack. I mean the movie “flight” was spot on, and “top gun”, “flight of the intruder” “airplane” “final count down” “pushing tin” am I right? (sarcasm)

Stop being in such a hurry to be “right all the time” and crushing people souls. It the internet, who the **** really cares?
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Old 09-13-2019, 07:06 PM
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Thank you, Aeirum.

I like the idea of the sat phone call. Here are my questions arsing from this technology:

* Are sat phones installed on all aircraft of this calibre? i.e MD-11, MD-10 (including freight variants)?
* In the scenario I have outlined above, who would the captain call?
* Using a sat phone, I would imagine that their conversation would be carried on as wound a normal phone call with the "over" used in one way radio conversation. Am I correct?

Other questions:

* In this paragraph: "Do you have an aircraft handling situation?" I was reasoning ground control wanted to ensure that the aircraft was functioning normally. So they would not ascertain this? They would rely on the pilot to initiate a conversation about his aircraft not handling well?
* Regarding Interception techniques, I have written in such an interception as I imagined would occur.

Rather than piece by piece improving the accuracy of my manuscript, I'm looking for a person with whom I can email some material and have them comment on it. What you have given me so is very helpful. What I can offer in return is to include your name, if you wish, in the Acknowledgements section of my book. Would you be interested?

Peter
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Old 09-13-2019, 07:29 PM
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Thank you Adlerdriver,

So if I were to not use the word "Heavy", it could be considered acceptable at a cruising altitude? I would prefer not to use heavy as I want my story to be read easily and by removing it, I cut out words getting in the way of the readers flow.

It seems I have four choices:

1. Use the radio to declare an emergency
2. Call Pan-Pan Pan-Pan Pan-Pan over the radio
3. Call Mayday Mayday Mayday over the radio
4. Use a sat phone, assuming there would be one on board.

I prefer option 4 as that lends much better to my story line. If I were to go with option 4, I assume I would not get too many howls of anguish from experienced pilots?

Is there a procedure for using a sat phone to contact a particular number appropriate to deal with the scenario I have outlined?

Thank you,

Peter
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Old 09-13-2019, 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by petersfreeman View Post
Thank you Adlerdriver,

So if I were to not use the word "Heavy", it could be considered acceptable at a cruising altitude? I would prefer not to use heavy as I want my story to be read easily and by removing it, I cut out words getting in the way of the readers flow.

It seems I have four choices:

1. Use the radio to declare an emergency
2. Call Pan-Pan Pan-Pan Pan-Pan over the radio
3. Call Mayday Mayday Mayday over the radio
4. Use a sat phone, assuming there would be one on board.

I prefer option 4 as that lends much better to my story line. If I were to go with option 4, I assume I would not get too many howls of anguish from experienced pilots?

Is there a procedure for using a sat phone to contact a particular number appropriate to deal with the scenario I have outlined?

Thank you,

Peter
Go with option 3. I think most pilots would definitely consider a live nuke a mayday situation. The satphones I’ve used both Inflight and on the ground in remote settings are like a normal phone conversation and do not require releasing the mic button. There is a slightly longer than normal latency due to the signal passing through satellites. However, other than that, satcom is like any other phone call. I’ve ordered pizza in Anchorage from mid-Pacific to be delivered by my wife, who at least pretended to miss me, at the airport.
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Old 09-13-2019, 09:00 PM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by catching waves View Post
“Heavy” is required (last I read) on all ATS and FIR boundaries except for enroute in the US. If you hear guys saying it, it’s bc they’re used to saying it everywhere else on the planet.
There’s “the book” and there’s reality. I’ve spent the last 15 years flying through and within every continent north of the equator and occasionally venturing into the southern latitudes on my way to Australia. Maybe you can back this statement with a reference in some manual but I can tell you definitively that it doesn’t happen in practice. Canada is the exception, not the rule, at least where I’ve been flying.
Finally, the guy writing the book is having his pilot talk to Cleveland center. So why would you confuse the discussion when the scenario is in fact “enroute in the US” where you already stated “heavy” is not used?
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Old 09-13-2019, 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by petersfreeman View Post
So if I were to not use the word "Heavy", it could be considered acceptable at a cruising altitude?
Very acceptable, especially in the US.

Originally Posted by petersfreeman View Post
I prefer option 4 as that lends much better to my story line. If I were to go with option 4, I assume I would not get too many howls of anguish from experienced pilots?

Is there a procedure for using a sat phone to contact a particular number appropriate to deal with the scenario I have outlined?
The problem is that option 4 is not going to be any pilot’s “go to” solution for communication with ATC, especially within the US where the easiest option (VHF radio) is so common and reliable. It’s also not a particularly expedient option in a time critical situation like that in your book. If I were in Cleveland center’s airspace and my choice was to dig into my enroute chart and try to find their phone number or just key the mic and talk to them, I’ll choose the radio every time. So if you’re going for realism, I don’t think the satphone is going to play well, especially if all the pilot wants is a vector over a uninhabited area. If he’s going to talk to some nuke expert to figure out if he should cut the blue wire or the red one, that’s where the satphone would make more sense. Just my .02.
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Old 09-14-2019, 01:46 AM
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Does the flight get routed to San Francisco?
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Old 09-14-2019, 08:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Adlerdriver View Post
Very acceptable, especially in the US.

The problem is that option 4 is not going to be any pilot’s “go to” solution for communication with ATC, especially within the US where the easiest option (VHF radio) is so common and reliable. It’s also not a particularly expedient option in a time critical situation like that in your book. If I were in Cleveland center’s airspace and my choice was to dig into my enroute chart and try to find their phone number or just key the mic and talk to them, I’ll choose the radio every time. So if you’re going for realism, I don’t think the satphone is going to play well, especially if all the pilot wants is a vector over a uninhabited area. If he’s going to talk to some nuke expert to figure out if he should cut the blue wire or the red one, that’s where the satphone would make more sense. Just my .02.
I clearly haven’t had an accidental nuke on board my civilian aircraft but i’d Venture to say that a potential national catastrophe shouldn’t be broadcast as the first action. A little discretion might help the situation. Just my .02
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Old 09-14-2019, 09:22 AM
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Most aircraft have an ACARS system installed these days. It’s basically SMS in the sky.

I’d declare a mayday, tell Center I need to hold over some point while “troubleshooting a problem”, and send a message to dispatch using the ACARS system. ACARS is discrete, it won’t broadcast in the open.

None of the 320’s I fly have satphones installed, but when I was flying heavy international freight all of my 747’s had satphones installed.
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Old 09-14-2019, 04:46 PM
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Perez isn't going to "flip a switch", he is going to "key the mike [or mic]".

"Perez keyed the microphone."
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