What is pilot code?

Alpha, Bravo, Charli, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, PaPa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu. Pilots pronounce numbers similar to regular English, with a few exceptions: The number three (3) is pronounced “tree.”



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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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For the purpose of safety, much of aviation is standardized, including communication. Pilots use the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Phonetic Alphabet to communicate. Pilots never pronounce letters when they are transmitting to Air Traffic Control, and vice-versa.

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Military Phonetic Alphabet Code Phrases Charlie Mike: Continue mission. Oscar Mike: On the move. Bravo Zulu: Good job/well done. November Golf: No go/fail. Tango Mike: Thanks much.

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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 number of “souls” on an aircraft refers to the total living bodies on the plane: every passenger, pilot, flight attendant and crew member, according to Lord-Jones. Pilots often report the number of “souls” when declaring an emergency, she says, so rescuers know the amount of people to search for.

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Fox is short for foxtrot, the NATO phonetic designation for the letter F, which is short for fire. The radio call announcing that a weapon has been fired is intended to help avoid friendly fire, alerting other pilots to avoid maneuvering into the path of the munition.

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Most pilots write their call sign down on a visible piece of paper when flying to help them remember it.

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A Bravo is generally that airspace from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL surrounding the nation's busiest airports.

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The answer is mostly no. Indeed, some professional pilots don't wear watches at all. It comes down to personal preference. Times have changed, said Mark Vanhoenacker, British Airways 787 pilot and author of Skyfaring and How to Land a Plane.

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What the ads are selling is so-called pilot watches, which typically feature a black dial and bold, white and luminescent hands. There's real history behind these watches. But as it turns out, most airline pilots don't wear pilot watches at all.

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Keypad. The cockpit door automatically locks, but a keypad outside allows a flight attendant to insert a security code to gain access. A buzzer sounds, and the pilots must switch the door control inside the cockpit to “unlock” to release the door after verifying the crew member through a peephole or video surveillance.

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