Early on a quiet morning, as I was taxiing, a rather over‑eager student pilot called ground control. A young voice, with textbook radio language, and a perfectly articulated request to taxi from the flight school ramp. The seasoned controller just could not resist: “Cessna 123 alpha bravo, you will have to hold for about 30 minutes as we need to finish our breakfast.”
There was a long pause, as the student clearly hadn’t been trained for this possibility. The controller made him sweat for a perfect number of seconds before saying: “It’s okay Cessna three alpha bravo, you can taxi to Runway 35.” Many chuckles on frequency, as everyone appreciated hearing a little humor from our local tower.
Bill Colton
Houston, TX
Jus part of trainin’ – pilots have to deal with the unexpected. 😉
Several years ago, We were taxiing out to the active runway in our little single engine Commander when a G-4 took off. My wife looked over at me and commented “ Yea, but ours is paid for!” I was laughing so hard I couldn’t convey her comment to ground control! I too love humor on the radio!