What do pilots say when firing?

“FOX 2” is a brevity code used by fighter pilots to declare a weapon's release (sorta like “bomb's away” from WWII).



When firing air-to-air missiles, NATO pilots use "Fox" brevity codes to inform allies of the launch type and reduce the risk of friendly fire. "Fox One" indicates the launch of a semi-active radar-homing missile (like the AIM-7 Sparrow), which requires the pilot to maintain a radar lock on the target. "Fox Two" refers to an infrared-homing or "heat-seeking" missile (like the AIM-9 Sidewinder), which is common in close-range dogfights. "Fox Three" is used for active radar-homing missiles (like the AIM-120 AMRAAM), often called "fire-and-forget" because the missile has its own onboard radar. When firing the internal gun, pilots traditionally say "Guns, Guns, Guns" to notify others of the active stream of tracers. These standardized codes ensure that every pilot in the battlespace understands exactly what weaponry is currently airborne and how it is tracking its target.

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If the pilot needs to warn you that you're going to have to eject in the near future, he will use the word “eject,” as in, “Hey, get ready, we are going to have to eject in about 30 seconds.” If things go horribly wrong and you need to blow out of the ship immediately, the command is, “bailout! bailout! bailout!”

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Once the crew completes the pre-flight gear inspection, it's time to ignite the engine and take to the sky. These days however, it's much more common to hear pilots announce that the plane is “cleared for takeoff” — particularly on commercial flights — for the sake of brevity.

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Common Pilot Phrases
  • AFFIRM. Don't believe everything you saw on Top Gun! ...
  • APPROACH. A plane coming into land.
  • MAYDAY. This is one you never want to use. ...
  • MEL. Minimum Equipment List. ...
  • PAN-PAN. This is the next level of distress down from 'Mayday'. ...
  • ROGER. ...
  • SQUAWK. ...
  • STANDBY.


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Moreover, there is a list of words with special meaning on flights. For example, “Roger” meaning “received”; “affirm” meaning “yes”; “approach” meaning “coming to land”, etc. The language of aviation is changing and nowadays following the current spelling alphabet pilots use “Romeo” instead of “Roger”.

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The word heavy means a larger aircraft type, with a Maximum Takeoff Weight of 160 tonnes or more. These aircraft create wake turbulence from their wings and require extra separation between following aircraft, and the use of heavy reminds other pilots of that fact.

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The call of positive rate (or climb) is made by the PM as an indication that the aircraft is safely climbing away from the ground. This is confirmed by checking that the altimeter indication is increasing. At this point, it is safe to retract the landing gear.

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When turbulence is anticipated or suddenly encountered, the Captain will turn on the FASTEN SEATBELT sign. If turbulence is severe, the Captain will make an announcement “Flight Attendants please be seated”. Immediately discontinue service and return to your jumpseat or sit in the nearest available seat.

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Regarding the number of people onboard an aircraft, the term soul was used to count the number of passengers and crew. The word can be traced back to the great sailing ships of the 18th century. Back then, many ships were lost at sea, and the missing dead sailors were called lost souls.

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There's no fixed number – each individual is unique, as is the ejection that they endure. After ejection, a pilot will be given a full medical evaluation and it is down to that medical professional to advise whether it is recommended that the pilot continues to fly or not.

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Later, this was shorted to the “ball.” When an aircraft is on approach in the groove, the LSO will ask the pilot in the approaching aircraft to “Call the ball,” meaning “Tell me when you can see the light.” Answering in the affirmative, the pilot will then “fly the ball,” so to speak, onto the flight deck.

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Pilots often refer to hard landings using terminology usually associated with carrier landings, such as welcome aboard or caught the 3-wire or something similar.

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By speaking rapidly, pilots can relay important information swiftly, allowing air traffic controllers to make quick decisions and keep the skies safe. Aviation communication is governed by strict protocols and procedures to ensure effective and efficient transmission of information.

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Pan-Pan, short for “possible assistance needed,” is used to communicate an urgent, but not emergency, situation over VHF radio, in the case of aviation, to air traffic control. Examples could include a recreational pilot getting lost, or perhaps needing to climb to a higher altitude to sort a problem out.

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Aviators often speak “pilot English” to avoid miscommunications over radio transmission. “Tree” for instance, means three, “fife” is the number five and “niner” means nine, says Tom Zecha, a manager at AOPA. The variations stemmed from a desire to avoid confusion between similar-sounding numbers, he says.

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