Shortened call signs?

[aviatingnvestr]

Hi guys,

New to PilotEdge. I'm a real life Canadian private pilot with a recent instrument rating. Have only flown in Canada in RL.

I have started Pilot Edge and gone through I1 through I5 over the last couple evenings. What a blast! Not used to flying in complex airspace like Socal and am catching on to some variations to how certain things are done in Canada vs the US.

My question: in my 5-6 hours of flying on PilotEdge, not once has ATC shortened my call sign. I wonder if it's simply how it's done on PE or if it's because I'm using a Canadian tail number (CFFQZ) and they are supposed to say it full because of that? Using the full tail number is a mouthful during every transmission, especially with those particular letters. In real world flying I've always had it reduced after initial call...

Not a big deal but I was curious so thought I'd ask...

Thanks - loving every minute of PE so far!

Jeff

[Kevin_atc]

FAA controllers aren’t allowed to shorten foreign registrations, so that’s the reason. Although, they CAN call you by your non phonetic letters. Reference: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNEQC8hcH4 ... tr0d5tj77b

[aviatingnvestr]

Aaah, got it. I had a suspicion it must be a foreign thing but didn't know for sure. Thanks Kevin - makes perfect sense. I think I will have to make up an N-tail number going forward!

Another question: ATC can call me by my non phonetic letters, can I refer to myself using my non-phonetic letters or I have to wait for ATC to do it first?

EDIT: Third question: do controllers care if you shorten foxtrot to fox? I do that in real life and nobody's ever corrected me but curious on that while I'm at it..

[Kevin_atc]

Aaah, got it. I had a suspicion it must be a foreign thing but didn't know for sure. Thanks Kevin - makes perfect sense. I think I will have to make up an N-tail number going forward!

Another question: ATC can call me by my non phonetic letters, can I refer to myself using my non-phonetic letters or I have to wait for ATC to do it first?

EDIT: Third question: do controllers care if you shorten foxtrot to fox? I do that in real life and nobody's ever corrected me but curious on that while I'm at it..

I’m not sure about the Pilot side of it- I’m not even certain you can legally use non phonetics even after ATC does because it’s not really a form of abbreviation as far as callsign abbreviations usually go. I’m not certain if that would be a FAR/AIM reference or more the equivalent for Canadians.

As far as controllers caring Fox via Foxtrot, no- I don’t think they’ll care at all. But always know the rule you’re breaking and be able to defend yourself in the court of law should something happen. There’s a lot that you could get away with while flying, but just because someone might not care doesn’t mean it’s legal. The fox vs foxtrot seems rather harmless, but if you’re going to bend the rules, my philosophy is to be conscious that you’re bending the rule and be able to defend yourself in some way.

[frantzy]

On the topic of US/Canadian ATC differences, I loved 2 things on the occasional RL flight up to Canada:

1) Controllers saying “Roger” after pilot readbacks in flight. A little extra effort but lessens the risk that a pilot mishears the instruction and dials in the wrong course, altitude, etc.

2) SIDs which prescribe an automatic call to Departure climbing thru a specific altitude on climb out from a busy airport, rather than waiting for a handoff from Tower.

On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy getting a bill for ATC user fees after the flights

Mike

[Shawn Goldsworthy]

As a Canadian myself, it took me a bit to get used to that when I first started controlling US airspace. "Airborne, contact departure xxx.xx, clear for takeoff runway xxx"

[Shawn Goldsworthy]

On the other hand, I didn’t enjoy getting a bill for ATC user fees after the flights

Mike

LOL, the user fees are like 50 bucks a year for GA aircraft in Canada.