Jay Maynard wrote:
On 2008-03-28, Jim Logajan wrote:
The poster said these were ATC transmissions, not internal company
communications. Since ATC doesn't concern itself with weight,
balance, or any other flight performance factors, your explanation is
almost certainly wrong.

You haven't had an airline flight pause on the taxiway waiting for
this information? I have, as recently as last week.

ATC would indeed care if the aircraft wasn't ready to go yet because
it couldn't legally depart.

While you may be right, I'm having a difficult time understanding why ATC
would concern itself with something unrelated to traffic control - unless
the PIC first brought it up. In any case, I thought weight, balance, and
such "numbers" were strictly a PIC responsibility.

For them to ask if the crew had "their
numbers" yet (note, not "the numbers") would make sense if, for
example, they were going to hold off obtaining IFR release from
Departure until the flight was ready, and the crew had advised them
they weren't because they hadn't gotten that information.

Okay - it would make more sense (to me, anyway) only if it was the pilot
who first brought up not having their "numbers" as the reason they might
not be as ready as they claimed. I also assumed the more well known meaning
of "have numbers" was involved here.