<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Ocn Vw 1K:
There are lengthy threads on this in the past. You may be able to increase your chances of ch.9 by asking the crew, but this won't work every time. Like others, I've found ch.9 working on most post-9/11 flights. Sometimes, it'll be on but your headset may be inop, so don't eliminate that possibility. I did find a senior Captain last week who was outspokenly anti-ch.9 because he "didn't want anyone who might cause trouble on his aircraft to know more about its position" than he did. While I disagree with his reasoning, he was the Captain; and as UA says, it's "at the Captain's discretion" </font>
Does he also try to disable the Airshow? That's a much better graphical presentation of where we are than what is available in the cockpit (in terms of referencing geographical points of interest and overall position). And knowing that you're talking to Chicago Center gives away so much position information. There are some guys who are just a joy to fly with.
--Mark Rogers