Aviation

Questions tagged [call-sign]

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Questions about the callsigns that aircraft use to identify themselves when communicating over the radio or other systems.

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Is there a minimum amount of time an airline has to leave between using two identical callsigns?

Does anyone know if there is a minimum time that an airline has to leave before reusing the same callsign? I have noticed that airlines reuse callsigns, they usually leave a day or two between ...
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Is there a specific reason Delta Airlines is allowed to have a call sign that's also code word in the NATO phonetic alphabet?

This is a followup to Is there any specific reason why Delta Air Lines doesn't have its own callsign? I was... "helpfully" informed that, um, actually, Delta Airlines does have its own callsign, it's "...
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4answers
6k views

Is there any specific reason why Delta Air Lines doesn't have its own callsign?

Many airlines have their own callsigns for use over the radio. A British Airways plane is called "Speedbird", US Airways was "Cactus", etc. So why doesn't Delta Air Lines do the same? It would seem to ...
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1answer
444 views

Can pilots change the callsign shown on tracking websites mid-flight?

Today I viewed the following flight on FlightRadar24 website. It show a flight with a callsign of 'BLEED' and with the destination missing. Is this a problem with the website or can an aircraft change ...
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581 views

Who defines the callsign for radio communication? [duplicate]

I started flying with VATSIM and but I couldn’t find a proper answer to this question online. Who defines a callsign for a plane in a given flight? Is a callsign set to a airplane? Is it related to ...
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1answer
179 views

When can a tower's callsign differ from the airfield name, and how do I find the proper callsign?

It seems like a lot of air traffic control towers use callsigns that are much different from the name of the airfield. For example, Lehigh Valley International (ABE) has "Allentown Tower." "...
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1answer
2k views

What does it mean for a ATC to say a flight's callsign followed by “in disguise”?

So I'm just a aviation fan without industrial background. I'm listening to Kennedy Steve's ATC communication and he said more than once like "American 600 in disguise." What does it mean "in ...
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245 views

Why do cathay pilots forget their flight number? [closed]

I hear so many times over frequency "cathay.. uh.. xxx" and always wonder if they have some kind of reason why pilots cant seem to memorize it.
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2answers
3k views

What is the ICAO code and callsign for Amazon Prime planes?

Looks like Amazon started flying its own planes to transport goods - check out the announcement here. Apparently they've been flying since at least August 2016, and I just found out about it now, lol. ...
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3k views

When replying to ATC, callsign first or last?

When I was in flight school, some instructor told me that it is the unknown ICAO standard that you should reply to an ATC call with your callsign first, like this: ...
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2answers
588 views

Is there a list of aircraft types to be used with a callsign?

In the U.S., general aviation aircraft use the airplane type with the callsign when talking to ATC, such as "Skyhawk 123CS" or "Citation 321CT". ATC likes to know what type of airplane you're flying ...
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1answer
658 views

Do any other nations have an equivalent of the “Air Force One” call sign?

Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. - Wikipedia Do any other nations have an equivalent ...
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734 views

Do flights of a specific callsign always depart and arrive at the same airports?

I've been doing some research using flight data, but I'm not particularly versed with aviation. From a quick look, it appears that, say, a flight with callsign SAA203 will always be departing from ...
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1answer
689 views

What callsigns do UK Medical Emergency Response Teams use?

I'm making a simulation game and there's a large focus on the humanitarian effort military personnel put in, putting aside the shooting and more on the story. Part of this is a Medical Emergency ...
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3answers
2k views

Are en-route ATC callsigns standardized?

I've seen different callsigns for en-route air traffic control, including Center, Radar, and Control (and Radio?). I suspect the only difference is the geographic location - Center in the U.S. (e.g. ...
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1answer
398 views

Where to find the callsigns of the en route controllers?

I am looking for the callsigns of ATC upper information region (UIR) controllers on a flight from Frankfurt EDDF to Seattle KSEA. According to the flight plan, the UIRs crossed are: EDDV (Hannover) ...
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318 views

What is the call sign for the US president's private helicopter? [duplicate]

The Air Force VC-25's are Air Force One, Marine aircraft are Marine 1, a private jet is Executive 1. What about when the president is using one a private helicopter?
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727 views

Why do Czech Airlines have the airline code (IATA airline designator) “OK”?

Is there any specific reason why Czech Airlines have OK as the IATA airline designator? According to an urban legend: Urban legend says that when airline names ...
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1answer
552 views

When are you allowed to use a call sign that is not the aircraft registration?

Some General Aviation pilots use their aircraft registration as a call sign, like C-ADYDJ for example. I've heard some use their aircraft type then some numbers like Cessna 45G. Then the typical ...
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1answer
8k views

Callsign includes the term 'with Kilo' ; What does that signify?

In FS-X I sometimes see with Kilo at the end of a Call-sign. For example the one from last night had Mike Sierra Alpha Bravo with Kilo What does With Kilo mean?
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1answer
188 views

Can repeated call-signs be present in one day?

I am working with a big ADS-B traffic sample of one day Europe, and identified repeated call signs. Examples include: Flight that ends in an airport and repeated call sign starts from there. Two ...
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10k views

Why isn't the Presidential 747 “Air Force One Heavy”?

Aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of at least 300,000 pounds add the word "Heavy" to their callsign. (Example: Lufthansa 415 Heavy in this video.) The current Presidential 747's have a maximum ...
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2k views

What callsign should an ultralight use?

I plan to operate an ultralight aircraft domestically (in Oregon, USA) in uncontrolled airspace and will not venture out of the country nor will I come near the Canadian or Mexican borders. I have ...
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2k views

What call sign does Marine One use when the President is not on board?

How would the pilot of Marine One identify himself to air traffic control without the President on board? Does it have an N-number? If anyone knows, I would like a specific call sign/N-number of any ...
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952 views

What would they call the US President's personal plane?

Air Force One is called that because it is operated by the Air Force. The President's personal helicopter is called Marine One because it is operated by the Marines. What would the President's ...
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0answers
317 views

Why do some airlines have different flight numbers for IATA and ICAO? [duplicate]

Most of the time when I see flights on either flightradar24 or flightaware it doesn't matter whether you use the 2-digit IATA code or the 3-digit ICAO code, the flight number is the same, i.e. a ...
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310 views

How do you reconcile an airline flight number with an ADS-B record, is this possible?

If you go look at arriving flights at an airport, you'll see something like "American Airlines Flight 224." How do you cross reference that ADS-B flight data? Is this possible? Seems like there's ...
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2answers
1k views

How can a sUAS operator contact ATC/identify themselves when contacting ATC?

In a comment, abelenky offered some words of wisdom which I personally agree with regarding sUAS ops near a surface Class C: When in doubt or close, call Tower and state your intentions. They'll ...
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1answer
867 views

What are the FAA requirements for when to use an airline call sign & flight number versus the aircraft registration number?

Is there any FAA guidance which specifies when a call sign & flight number or registration number must be used for Part 91 & 135 operations? I am familiar with the guidance on how to obtain ...
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3answers
9k views

What are the guidelines for call signs for aircraft dealing with US ATC?

Suppose a general aviation aircraft is operating VFR under part 91. When they call ATC they'd normally use their tail number as the call sign. Something like "November 1-2-3 Foxtrot Uniform." What if ...
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1answer
1k views

Has a C-130 ever been designated as “Air Force One”?

Near the end of the movie, "Air Force One", Harrison Ford is transferred to a C-130, which then changes its call sign to "Air Force One". My question is, has a president of the US ever flown in a C-...
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1answer
911 views

Is it okay to ask the Call Sign of the plane to Pilots / Flight crew during boarding?

I sometimes open "Live ATC" app on my iPhone and listen to the "status" of my airplane when I'm taking off until my plane reaches the runway (I know the phone have to be turned off but its exciting to ...
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1answer
1k views

What are these suffixes used after the call sign?

I often play a flight simulator game Infinite Flight (http://www.infinite-flight.com) on my iPhone. The game lets you choose the following suffixes with your call sign. Heavy Super Flight of 2 Flight ...
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2answers
1k views

Do presidential aircraft use additional call signs?

From the answer to another question I learned that the call sign Air Force One (or Marine One, Navy One or Executive One) is transferred immediately to the aircraft currently carrying the president of ...
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1answer
790 views

Can a U.S. President have a non-government owned aircraft that would routinely be given the call sign AF1?

Can a US president use a personally owned jet with the call sign AF1? Would the Air Force be obligated to add security and defense measure to this aircraft if the president refused to fly in the VC-25?...
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1answer
3k views

How are duplicate call signs dealt with?

Many airlines (at least here in the U.S.) have flight numbers that use different aircraft for different legs of the flight. For example, Delta 158 uses a 747-400 from Incheon International in Seoul to ...
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1answer
4k views

Is the “Red two standing by” dialog in Star Wars: A New Hope sensible for real fighter pilots?

This SFF.SE question: " Why did Red Squadron give their call signs in random order? " raises a good point: for some reason, the "Standing by" responses Red Squadron pilots give before attacking the ...
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1answer
3k views

How is an airline call sign assigned?

Commercial aircraft are identified on the radio with an airline call sign and their flight number. The answer on this related question mentions: the telephony designator of the aircraft operating ...
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5answers
9k views

Why are some ATC call signs different than the flight number?

When listening to air control traffic, or watching flights on flightradar24.com, some flights show up with ATC call signs (as transmitted on ADS-B) that do not match the flight number as they usually ...