buttman wrote:

When I used to fly Cessna 152's and 172's, I'd always just say "Cessna
12345...". Now that I fly Piper Warriors, I began using "Piper
12345...", but then I realized no one else says just "Piper", they say
"Seneca 12345", or "Twin Comanche 12345...", so I began using the
callsign "Warrior 12345..." to fit in with the rest. This makes more
sense, considering the point of putting your aircraft type before your
tail number is to specify what you are. If you just say "Cessna", you
don't know if its a Citation X, or a 140, just that it's a Cessna. And
you'd think with all the 172s in existance I'd come across a single
instance of a pilot using "Skyhawk" in their call sign, but I've yet to
witness one.

I've noticed that also, and have never understood why for sure, but I
think it may be related to many Cessna's using a number for the model
rather than a name. When I owned a 182 I always used Skylane in the
call sign and most controllers responded in kind, but some would reply
using Cessna.


Matt