On 1 Feb 2005 14:04:21 -0800, "Ben Hallert"
wrote in .com::

I was doing closed traffic at an unnamed airport with a 'No touch &
goes at night' rule. On downwind, I made the following call (because I
am aware of the rule) "XXX ground, Cherokee 1234 Sierra on downwind,
request full stop."

The tower responds back "Touch and goes are prohibited at night!
Cherokee 1234 Sierra, cleared for full stop ONLY!"

I had my instructor with me, and he said my call was fine.

I would agree with him, if you had called the tower instead of ground
control.

Was the tower being jerky?

Not really. They were just getting the word out in case you might be
unaware of the policy, IMO.

Or was there a better call I could have made?

There was no reason to _request_ a full stop. You are the PIC; you
tell ATC what your intentions are.

I'd have said, "XXX tower, Cherokee 34 Sierra, full stop."

I knew about the rule, that's why I explicitly asked for full stop, but
the tower acted like I had just soiled myself in public.

They may have thought your calling them "tower" and your use of
"request" meant you may not be aware of the full stop at night policy.

I'm not too worried, just curious to hear what other people have
done/would do in the same situation.

Why would you be worried? We pilots and ATC personnel all have the
same goal: safe operations. ATC isn't there to enforce regulations.

Also, if there's a technically better call I can make, I'm all ears.

As a student, you did fine. If you want to sharpen your radio
technique a bit, and become more comfortable with ATC communications,
let me respectfully suggest Bob Gardener's book "Say Again, Please."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846