Could some of you who are passionate about listening to ch9 please explain what you get out of it?
I'm a retired USAF pilot and I miss sitting in the first seat on the left. And as much as I like being in airplanes, sitting in row 13 just isn't the same thing. Chan 9 allows me to re-connect a bit.
Could some of you who are passionate about listening to ch9 please explain what you get out of it?
For me, it's somewhat about control. As a passenger in a flying tube with a small porthole, you really can't see what's up. Listening to channel 9 makes me feel just a bit more knowledgeable.
It's also a bit of a security blanket. It's nice to know about turbulence before everyone else...or which way the plane will bank just after takeoff...or why, on ascent, the plane suddenly levels off and the engines slow (usually because ATC hasn't given clearance to the next altitude yet).
Let's face it, as Orson Welles said, there are only two emotions on a plane...boredom and terror. Channel 9 helps bridge the gap between these two emotional states and simply makes me feel better.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by erinv
Could some of you who are passionate about listening to ch9 please explain what you get out of it?
Hi,
For me, its about understanding the whole airport/ATC control process of routing and directing hundreds of aircraft every day through multiple areas of the country in 3 dimensional space and somehow getting it right most of the time.
Aside from the idea that we need an updated ATC system via GPS like yesterday, listening to all the PROFESSIONALS working behind and in front of the scenes transparently to give us, the flying public, a good flying experience, helps me to understand and appreciate all the hard work. And, when things don't always go right, I can pretty much hear it at the same time as the pilot does and mentally work with the options on how I want to feel about it.
Some recent examples of Ch.9 giving me pertinent information:
IAD ground indicating a pretty long line of aircraft ahead of us and letting us know it would be at least 20 minutes before takeoff. We pulled into a taxiway and shut down, thus conserving fuel, and the pilot kept us informed every 5 minutes or so.
Flying transcon, pilots heading west and east were querying the ATC and other pilots about flight conditions (smooth, light chop, moderate chop) at various flight levels to get the best ride vs fuel for their passengers and crew. That I really appreciate, and the ATC controllers were very polite and appreciative of any reports given.
Love hearing the various ATC centers and marveling how far they reach out into the sky, some at least 500 miles out from their city. I don't know the ATC map but how these pilots can keep it all straight is a marvel to me.
Lastly, when encountering a mechanical delay on the ground, sometimes able to hear about the maintenance issue, and if there is a potential to go mech. cancel, you could get on the cell and reroute/book before you even deplane! That's helpful!
Gosh, come to think of it, wish there were a Ch. 9 equivalent at the gate, so we could keep abreast of what's really going on with a delayed or problem flight instead of relying on the GA to tell us at the last moment. I know, for those with mobile internet, you can access websites with that info, but for most of us, we don't always have that capability.
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My son got his SEL (private pilot cert) his senior year of HS. As a reward for Dad, we got to fly several times that Summer. Teasingly, he told me I had to work to earn the right seat priviledge. My tasks were COM and NAV.
He spent the next 4 years in college and has since taken a position near Chicago. I really miss flying with him. CH9 lets me imagine I'm right seat with him again. I can even pretend to respond so I'm sharp if we ever get a chance to fly again ;-) I know, it's an expensive way to practice but as a side benefit to travel, it's great.
In an earlier post one of the pilots said it was boring. I can assure you their boredom is a magical experience for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erinv
Could some of you who are passionate about listening to ch9 please explain what you get out of it?
Erin, 100K for a second year
I really enjoy listening to Ch9. As the others said, it keeps you informed of maintenance issues (twice I have been able to get a seat on the next flight due to the chatter of cancelling the a/c for equipment issues); lets you know the position of the a/c in takeoff; and altitude/chop issues. When I told my daughter about it she rolled her eyes, but take offs and landings she is now listening as well!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by erinv
Could some of you who are passionate about listening to ch9 please explain what you get out of it?
I just love Channel 9, and there are so many reasons. One, I am a total aviation geek. Two, I am preternaturally curious, and I just have to know what's going on around me. Ch 9 provides the only link to the outside world after that cabin door shuts, and that's so nice. Three, I really enjoy listening to the pilots do their thing. These folks are at the pinnacle of a profession that I have a lot of respect and admiration for, so listening to them work is a pleasure.
About a million years ago when I was 7 or 8, my family and I flew a UA 747-100 SFO-HNL. My mom (travel agent) booked UA specifically because she knew I would go nuts over Channel 9. She was right. I went up to the flight deck (up the old-school spiral stairs,) met the flight crew, and probably made a huge nuisance of myself with all the questions and whatnot. The captain asked me to listen to Channel 9, and I did, all the way to HNL. That was my first ever flight on United, and all these years and flights later, I still look forward to Channel 9.
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I don't know the ATC map but how these pilots can keep it all straight is a marvel to me.
Like so many other tools before it, google (at least today) only works if you use it. There's a map on the wikipedia entry for ARTCC, or others floating around in places like this.
I just love Channel 9, and there are so many reasons. One, I am a total aviation geek. Two, I am preternaturally curious, and I just have to know what's going on around me. Ch 9 provides the only link to the outside world after that cabin door shuts, and that's so nice. Three, I really enjoy listening to the pilots do their thing. These folks are at the pinnacle of a profession that I have a lot of respect and admiration for, so listening to them work is a pleasure.
Pretty much what flyinryan said. When I first started flying United a few years ago, I turned it on out of curiosity on a short trip. Found it fascinating to understand a little and try to understand the rest. As I started listening more, I enjoyed hearing what was going on with our flight in real time. And as I made flights into ORD, I grew to appreciate how casual conversations with ATC earlier in the trip became much more prompt and crisp as we neared Chicago - I just really liked hearing how, without acknowledging it, everyone just knew that, "Okay, now's the time to focus."
I usually don't leave it on for the entire flight unless it's a route that's new to me, but the airport organization during takeoff and landing is something I look forward to on my flights.
I'm the one who asked why you enjoy ch9. I'm glad I did, because my own guesses were nowhere near as interesting as the answers that have started coming in! Please, tell me more! --Erin
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Quote:
Originally Posted by erinv
Could some of you who are passionate about listening to ch9 please explain what you get out of it?
Like flyinryan I describe myself as a total aviation geek. I've loved airplanes and flying since I was a little kid. I always wanted to be an airline pilot, but have lousy vision, so gave up that dream a while back. For me, I think part of the appeal of Ch. 9 is that I never really got over my admiration for professional pilots and love of flying. I also have my private pilot's license, so I have a feel for the way ATC procedures work. I'm not sure I'd be able to make heads or tails of Ch. 9 if I hadn't learned radio procedures and flown in and out of busy airports as a student pilot.
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Shut Out again
Nothing on a very empty 1156 SFO-LAX this am. Went up to the flight deck on the 757 and after introductions, asked the captain:
"Hey, I have noticed Channel 9 has been off on a lot more flights than usual these last few months. Is there a movement away from it, or am I just unlucky?"
His response made me angry.
He said (and I won't use quotation marks, because I don't have this exactly right,)
Well, our union is afraid that people might be recording it, and that it could end up on YouTube, and there are a lot of liability issues there, so our union says we should use it at our own risk.
At that point, I knew I had just been lied to by a United pilot. I said "Ok" and turned around and left the cockpit.
Even if the union does have an opinion on Channel 9, anyone with a radio that uses FAA com frequencies - available at every Radio Shack and avionics supply everywhere - can listen in and record ATC conversations, and they are all recorded by the FAA anyway. So that was just a bunch of BS to avoid telling me one of 2 things:
"I don't want to turn it on because I don't like having passengers listen to me."
or
"I am doing this as part of our petty little union/management game that we have been playing lately." (see the threads about the SFO-HNL cancellations, or the fact that SFO-SYD has been canceled 3 times this week.
I can live with the first one, but I had a feeling it was the second one, since he brought the union card into it. He could have just as easily said 'I never turn on Channel 9, sorry."
Really threw a wrench into an otherwise pleasant morning.
Ch 9 was on from LAX-IAD, and that was quite nice.
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That infuriates me, Ryan, really really infuriates me. Gotta love that some pilots will believe anything the union tells them.
Let's start our own movement. Before every flight visit the cockpit and ask if Channel 9 will be on. If not, and a stooopid excuse is given, you know what.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lucky9876coins
That infuriates me, Ryan, really really infuriates me. Gotta love that some pilots will believe anything the union tells them.
Let's start our own movement. Before every flight visit the cockpit and ask if Channel 9 will be on. If not, and a stooopid excuse is given, you know what.
You know, if the guy just said "Sorry, I don't do Channel 9," I would just have said "Whatev" and that would have been the end of it.
But I am getting the sneaky feeling that the upcoming labor negotiations have something to do with all this. I think the pilots are all kinds of pi$$ed off at management, Tilton in particular, and they are starting to do all the little things they can do to take it out on the airline, and by default, on the paying passenger. Not accepting a 777 SFO-HNL or 747 SFO-SYD because of non-critical gripes in the maintenance logbook. I mean, that's just going to inconvenience about 350 people at a time. These are not isolated incidents, either, there has been a lot of this lately. No CHannel 9 is another thing. We are just all caught in the middle, and it makes me mad.
I will go up front on my IAD-LHR in about an hour or so, like I always do on 777s and 747s, and have my usual polite 3 minute chat with the captain, like I always do. We shall see...
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Another Irate Pilot
Continuing my little cross-pond adventure...
Channel 9 was available on 918 last night, IAD-LHR on the 777. Great captain, and I gave a GTEM to the purser for the excellent service from the whole C cabin crew. I love Channel 9 going into LHR, because there is so much traffic, so many different airlines and accents, and it's fun to listen to which hold we are going to use, etc. It really underscores the fact that London and LHR are truly world hub airports.
So, I get on 923 a little later, 763 LHR-IAD, and there is music on Channel 9. I asked the purser if Ch 9 would be coming on, and she says "No, not with this captain."
There were tons of people coming in and out of the flight deck, so I tried to use good judgment in timing my usual visit, but it was clear I was unwelcome in that cockpit, so I just said thanks and left.
After landing (man, an 8 hour flight is BORING with no Ch9,) I happened upon the captain at customs. I approached him and said "Say, Captain, I'm a little curious about Channel 9 - I've been striking out a lot lately with it..."
He cut me off by saying that it is at the pilots' discretion.
"Yes sir, I understand that just fine - but lately, a lot of pilots seem to..."
He cuts me off again. "You know, ten years ago, I was making $25,000 a year more as a first officer than I am now as a captain."
I was pretty shocked that the conversation went immediately to his compensation, since I thought we were talking about Channel 9. I said "Ok, well Captain, I understand how that's an issue, but I just want you to know that one of the reasons I choose to fly with United is because I really enjoy listening to Channel 9." Had I not been so put-off by him, I would have been more on my game, and would have pointed out that his pay and problems with it have nothing to do with me, the paying passenger.
"Well, it's still my discretion." He finished re-packing his flight bag, turned his back and huffed off.
I am still pretty shocked that the subject of money entered into this at all. I only wanted to ask him if there is a reason that Channel 9 seems to be off a lot more these days, the same thing I asked the other captain in the above post. So there we go, ask the same question to 2 different people and get 2 different answers. Suspicion not yet confirmed, but where there is smoke...
Still 3 flights left in my run today: IAD-ORD on a 763, ORD-LAX on a 2-class ghetto 763 and LAX-SFO on a 757. Since I am in C or F on all of these, I will try to board right away and speak to some more captains, because I would love to collect some more opinions on this.
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