28 Nov 2022 – Flight 04: Aviation Alphabet -The Chairman

Alpha Bravo Chairman 

With the holiday weekend still lingering, and today being Thursday, the holiday itself which is when I usually write my posts (“just in case,” you know) I’m making today’s post  on the miniature end of the spectrum. To my recollection – not to be completely trusted at 72 years old (yikes!) –  I don’t think I’ve ever written a minimalist post before, as I’m far more prone to err on the side of being loquacious. 

Today’s Feature the Wannaskan Almanac’s Chairman 

Good news: The Chairman is back with a poem composed out of the Aviation Alphabet featured in last week’s post. Will he ever stop churning out these amazing prams? Actually, this creation isn’t exactly a poem with the exception that it’s written in wonky line breaks 

Here is The Chairman’s Take(off) on a new use of the Aviation Alphabet:

Alpha Bravo Charlie

Delta Delta

Do I hear an Echo

Let's Foxtrot to the

Golf Hotel in

India, Juliette

A Kilo of Lima for

Mike

In November

Oscar Papa loves

Quebec

Romeo does the

Sierra Tango in his

Uniform

Victor drinks

Whiskey

X-ray that

Yankee please

Zulu

THANKS, MR. CHAIRMAN! / BLUE SKIES AND HAPPY LANDINGS!

Numbers also have a place in aviation lingo. Here they are:

To make them more distinct, some numbers are pronounced differently on the aviation airwaves. You probably know how to count to ten, so we included the slightly different pronunciation next to each number. 

0 - "Zero"

1 - "Wun"

2 - "Two"

3 - "Tree" (pronounced like a Scandinavian)

4 - "Fower"

5 - "Fife"

6 - "Six"

7 - "Seven"

8 - "Eight"

9 - "Niner"

FL330 - "Flight level tree, tree, zero"

Consider an aircraft tail number such as M345N. Over the radio, this would be said as “Mike, tree, four, fife, November.”

Background

ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) adopted its phonetic alphabet 71 years ago, on 1 November 1951, as a universal standard for communicating English letters over a phone or radio. Dissatisfaction with the then-existing internationally recognized phonetic alphabet led to the first draft of a proposed single universal alphabet. Through 1948 and 1949, Jean-Paul Vinay, professor of linguistics at the Université de Montréal in Canada, had collaborated with ICAO’s language sector to develop a new spelling alphabet. The minimum requirements for the words were to have similar spelling in English, French, and Spanish and to be live words in each of these languages.

After studies and following consultations with communications experts as well as comments from all ICAO Member States, a new ICAO alphabet was adopted and incorporated in the Aeronautical Telecommunications Annex 10 for implementation in civil aviation. The words that represented the letters C, M, N, U and X were replaced, and the Organization completed its final version on 1 March 1956, which is still in use today worldwide. You can learn more about the development and implementation of this alphabet in the ICAO Museum, which is situated inside ICAO’s Montréal Headquarters.

Exploration 1: Are there disadvantages to using the Aviation Alphabet that you can think of? 

Exploration 2: Can you come up with other uses for the Aviation Alphabet, or do we already use it informally? Or maybe something else like it?

Exploration 3: If you choose to do the “Extra Credit Reading” below, do so now. Then observe your level of confusion and comment.

Extra Credit Reading: 

History of the Aviation Alphabet

The need for a spelling alphabet arose after the adoption of long-distance telephone circuits (often referred to as lines). These initial long-distance telephone lines were of low quality and made communication difficult.

The first internationally recognized spelling alphabet was adopted in 1927 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which was named Consultative Committee International Radiocommunication (CCIR) at the time. Established in 1865, the ITU is the oldest UN agency in existence and was initially created to help connect worldwide telegraphic networks.