On 2/10/03, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: >The radio call "speed bird" would signify it was a British Airways Concorde. >Whereas most airlines use the company name and flight number, for example >"United 1234", British Airways uses "speedbird", as in "Speedbird 1234". > >Just a bit of useless information.
Standard BA callsign. Here's a story that plane buffs will like. I do not know how true it is. It was told to me by a Fat Albert pilot (RAF slang for Hercules C130) called JJ who heads the press relations team at RAF Fairford's annual Royal International Air Tattoo (largest military air show in the world). If you're not air-savvy, one thing you need to know is that the height a plane flies at is called the 'flight level' and is measured in feet, but shortened, thus: flight level 350 is 35,000 feet (and incidentally more or less the normal operational height of passenger aircraft), flight level 150 is 15,000 feet, etc. Okay? JJ tells of some radio chatter between pilots and air traffic control that he heard. An SR-71 Blackbird called to request clearance as it had entered this particular ATC area, and asked if it could have flight level 670. The controller replied with a sarcastic voice, "If you can make it, you can take it". The Blackbird pilot acknowledged accordingly: "Thank you, [SR-71 callsign] descending to 670......" LOL. Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _____________________________ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
