Flying Through FAA's Alphabet Soup

The ABCs of flying have been a critical but often loathed part of piloting since the CAA became the FAA. But as things progress in our wild world of aviation, Average Joe pilot needs to be able to translate a mythical exchange like this between an inbound airplane and ATC:

Cherokee 8527W: "Center, Cherokee eight-five-two-seven Whiskey with you six thousand five hundred inbound for landing BFD, and FYI, we have the airport on our GNSS with the GUI showing clear and a million over the ITWS."

ATC: "Cherokee two-seven Whiskey, confirm you have the current MSAW from the NMCC and are following safe RNP procedures for your PATS."

Cherokee 8527W: "Roger center, two-seven Whiskey is squared on the AOAS and is expecting my ALTRV of four thousand. And be advised the DARC shows minimal LFME traffic inbound on the SWAP, so we'll need a UPT for the alternate STARS as we cross the EARTS via the outer MARSA LOC."

ATC: "Two-seven Whiskey, roger the alternate STARS, we have NARACS frequency interpolation in effect today, so the NPIAS requires you to monitor the PRM and REGIS simultaneously as you pick up the RML for inclusion into the PAMRI system behind the 747 heavy that we show is at your twelve o'clock opposite direction same altitude closing fast. For immediate traffic avoidance, you'll need to initiate a STVS switch to 126.45 and monitor the SMGCS for spacing."

Whew.

It used to be that new flight students were scared to use the radio for fear that they'd say something to ATC that made them sound like a rookie. But as we move quickly through the 21st century, it is more important than ever that we are all up to speed on the radio.

When I first wrote about this topic on my blog, World of Flying, I offered this downloadable PDF that shows every FAA acronym I could find. All this gibberish about STARS and SIDS may be overwhelming to someone first learning to fly, but don't let these acronyms scare you away from the airfield. Like many things we learn as pilots, you will learn what you need to learn in a structured way, and with a competent Certified Flight Instructor, you can expect to be well-prepared when the days comes to take your private pilot check ride.

If learning to fly has always been your dream, one of the best resources on the web is AOPA's Flight Training Magazine. You can access their web editions here, and find a CFI in your area here.