No more "Left Downwind"?

Ditto! When I am coming in I'd like to know where that guy is, many times
they don't know the traffic is right hand, this tells me at least where to
look for him.

Jay Honeck wrote:

We attended a safety seminar on Tuesday during which the FAA presenter
(who was otherwise outstanding) went over a list of unapproved radio
calls. (Number one being, of course, the despised and now-specifically
prohibited "Any other traffic please advise...")

To our surprise, he claimed that the common phraseology "Iowa City
Traffic, N56993 entering left downwind for Runway 25, Iowa City" is
incorrect. In short, he stated that you should say "Iowa City
Traffic, N56993 entering downwind for Runway 25, Iowa City", omitting
the word "left".

In his opinion (and, apparently, the FAA's), saying "left downwind" is
redundant, since everyone should know that the pattern is left (or
right, if appropriate) hand traffic. In high traffic areas, the FAA
thinks that omitting this single word will open the over-crowded unicom
frequencies so that other pilots can squeeze a word in.

Mary and I (and several other pilots) kept quiet during the
presentation, but strongly disagree with him on this topic. IMHO,
saying "left downwind" is clear, concise, and -- most importantly --
clarifies which side of the airport you're on. To assume that everyone
knows whether the pattern is left (or right) is, in my experience,
naive.

What do you guys think?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Ronald Gardner wrote:
Mary and I (and several other pilots) kept quiet during the
presentation, but strongly disagree with him on this topic. IMHO,
saying "left downwind" is clear, concise, and -- most importantly --
clarifies which side of the airport you're on. To assume that everyone
knows whether the pattern is left (or right) is, in my experience,
naive.

What do you guys think?

ITA with you and will continue to report LEFT or RIGHT downwind, not
just "downwind" *assuming* everyone knows where the pattern is. One of
the biggest things my CFI stressed during training was, *never ASSUME*
what other pilots know/see/are about to do.

ICAM with those who object to excessive unnecessary verbage -- pilots
"in the area" don't need to know you're on the ramp looking for the
restaurant. But it continues to amaze me what a big deal people make of
telling you you're "wrong" to include an "unapproved" word in radio
communication that CLEARLY makes your position or intentions more
specific/precise. The recent exchange over the word "looking" (for
traffic) was a prime example, IMO.