Short Final

Back in the ’70s, a Southern gentleman friend was an airline pilot who owned a C-182 that he called “Juan” – as in “Juan Eighty-Two.” His N-number ended in 4Q, and if he either wanted a laugh or didn’t like an ATC instruction, he acknowledged with, “Roger. Four Q.” Pronounced in that Southern-gentlemanly style that sounded more like, “Roger. Fork you.” Bless his heart, he always gave me a $20 bill any time he came in the shop. And now you know why we now need a full N-number readback! Tom Ciuravia e-mail

Back in the '70s, a Southern gentleman friend was an airline pilot who owned a C-182 that he called "Juan" - as in "Juan Eighty-Two." His N-number ended in 4Q, and if he either wanted a laugh or didn't like an ATC instruction, he acknowledged with, "Roger. Four Q." Pronounced in that Southern-gentlemanly style that sounded more like, "Roger. Fork you."

Bless his heart, he always gave me a $20 bill any time he came in the shop. And now you know why we now need a full N-number readback!


Tom Ciura
via e-mail