If things are busy, then keep it brief. Try not to be stupid at any time.

Controllers are people, and will treat you the way you treat them. Have you never been thanked by a controller? Has a controller never apologized for dropping the ball? I have heard controllers give compliments. If a controller gives makes a call to help you out, I think a quick "thank you" is in order. If you hinder them by giving them BS when they are busy, it will urk them.

HERE IS MY BIG PROBLEM

What about people who talk so soft and quiet on the radio that ATC asks them to SAY AGAIN after every transmission????????????????

That drives me bonkers

**If you hear me say "with you", please overlook me as I have fallen off the wagon. I have a "with you" calls anon. meeting next week.

Just curious as to how many people say "tree" and "fife" instead of "three" and "five"??? I have only heard a handful of controllers, and even less pilots say it. It is suppose to be "tree" and "fife", but does anyone actually us it, inside the US???

I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the guys that get worked up about non-standard terminology ("with you") don't use that standard terminology. In fact, I'd bet that from time to time, they even use one or more of the following:

"Thirteen", or other "teens", when checking in with altitude. ("Fedex twelve zero six, climbing out of thirteen thousand for two zero zero.")

"Point" in an altitude callout. ("American twenty five ten, two point three for seven thousand")

"We'll be looking" (As in traffic)

I thought I would quote every word of this post because it was so good! I completely agree. I typically don't say "with you", but I don't care if someone else does. Also, I add in hello, good morning, thanks, ... any of these I deam necessary.

I agree with the above. I think also that the reason people add hello's and thank you's is because they like to humanize the radio a little bit. That way it doesn't sound like a bunch of robots talking to each other. I was flying over Indy center one day and everybody on the radio was saying Seeya! when they got released to another center. It was like a competition to see who could say it in yet another new and interesting way. It really made the long boring flight more fun for everybody.

A decent pilot can usually sense when the controllers need you to be a concise robot and when you can chill out a little bit and be a human being.

I hope this post will not offend any robots. It's not that you're wrong, it's just that you're not any fun.

i agree with wat u said 4fansoffreedom, who cares if you say ''hello'' or ''goodday'' , jeez controllers are humans too!. If everytime you hear someone say "g'day" you get mad enuff where you need to bring it up on forums online, you prob need to get laid and stop worrying about every little thing.

I actually had no idea that me saying "G'day" or "with you" actually got people upset...

Sorry to all those I've offended.

If there's time, I usually say "good morning, afternoon..." to ATC when getting handed to them. Will also say a quick "thanks, have a nice day" etc when leaving. Never hurts to be nice, especially when you're instructing and dealing with the same controllers on a regular basis. They recognize your voice and I'm certain that it's helped me out a couple times when I've gotten cleared to land number one when more than one aircraft is about the same distance away from the other. When it's busy, however, I get in, say what I need to say, and get out.

The Fed I took my CFI checkride with sent me an article on "Any traffic in the area please advise" and told me that if he heard me say it at any point, he'd fail me. The AIM brings this phrase up specifically and says not to use it.

I think this was subject was talked about before except it was targeting the airlines. I like to follow the AIM for the most part, but some stuff can be cut, like the "Fedex twelve eighteen flight level three one zero" or just "level three one zero" My biggest pet peeve with a lot of pilots is their inconsitency with saying the actual altitudes..ex. "twelve point five for two three oh." "Two five zero for three five oh" just confuses me right there. I'm sure the controllers get confused occassionally. Glad not to be a controller

Just for the record -- I said nothing about "Good mornings" or "Good day" or "good-bye" to the controllers. I was only talking about the absolute absurdity and stupidity of saying "....with you". As a reminder and in case you don't realize it, the controllers know that you are "with them" by the mere fact that you are talking to them so why be an idiot and even bother saying it?