Aero-Tips!
A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard
this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer
statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of
"there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation
so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it
all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.
Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner,
master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us
-- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as
representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have
heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we
might never have considered before, or something that didn't
"stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for
the practical test.
It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers
become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our
ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those
strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow
them to soar magnificently through it.
Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you
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always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips.
Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this
together.
Aero-Tips 02.10.06
In aviation, a "squawk" may be a mechanical discrepancy. It also
refers to use of the airplane’s transponder.
IFF
Transponders as we know them today trace their roots back to the
Second World War’s Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system.
Crews of incoming aircraft would have been pre-instructed to
"squawk" a signal that, when interrogated by a ground-based
transceiver, sent out a coded signal. If the code was correct the
aircraft was a "friendly." Squawk the wrong code (or none at
all) and the reception might not be as welcoming.
This system evolved into the transponder system we use
today.
Squawk Terms
Various controller
terms require we perform specific actions:
- SQUAWK (number): Tune the
four-number code given and turn the transponder ON (in ALTITUDE
mode if equipped)
- IDENT: Push the
transponder’s IDENT feature
- SQUAWK STANDBY: Switch
transponder to the STANDBY position (usually when controllers
detect a transponder malfunction)
- SQUAWK LOW/NORMAL: Turn off the
transponder’s ALTITUDE mode
- SQUAWK ALTITUDE: Turn on the
transponder’s ALTITUDE mode
- STOP ALTITUDE SQUAWK: Turn off the
transponder’s ALTITUDE mode (alternative to SQUAWK
LOW/NORMAL)
- STOP SQUAWK: Turn off
transponder
- SQUAWK MAYDAY: Operate
transponder tuned to code 7700
- SQUAWK VFR: Retune
transponder to code 1200
(Note: Even if accidentally directed by ATC, do not SQUAWK VFR
in the Washington DC ADIZ. Do and you’ll learn all about the
transponder’s IFF roots).
Aero-tip of the day: Know the terminology
used by controllers regarding transponder use.