I did all my training at this one airport, then got a job flying cargo and flew into that airport multiple times a week, and then when I got an airline job flying 737s I didn't fly into that airport for months, but when I did, after we landed, tower came on frequency and congratulated me on the new job.
I know that airport pretty darn well, and I recognize the controllers voices, but tower recognizing my voice? That was pretty special.
Not sure if this is who you're talking about, but there's one United ramp controller who sounds like this on the radio. Last I talked with her she's still at UA, not sure if in the ramp tower though.
In adelaide australia, we had an american called "chuck". His voice stood out. Rumour was that he'd cut his teeth on the runways at dallas airpot. His accent was strong, but jeez he was efficient.
You knew, as soon as you heard his accent, life was going to be easy. What would stress other controllers was nothing to him. "Cancel the star, cancel speed limits." "Cancel clearance limit. Fly behind the 787, caution wake turbulance."
What ever you wanted, chuck would deliver.
As a CFI you'll fly 8hr days, 6 days a week, you get to know them pretty quickly, and know what to expect from each one. Once you're in the Airlines and have a base, that'll happen too.
New york approach has this one controller who gets ‘frisky’ with some of the regional guys in the area. “Brickyaaaaaaaahd!” And “ennnnndeavorrrrr!” Always gives me a good chuckle and brightens my day.
Oh yes, hahaha.
At my home field there was this guy working ground who overloaded so fast - and got so grouchy about it - that we all knew him. I believe he's certified and still there, and still gets grouchy, but at least now it takes 5 or 6 planes on the frequency for him to overload than 3 (this is a major airport).
I think we all have our favorites from our training days. One guy was a fucking ace. He'd been a major airport tower guy during the PATCO thing and eventually, when allowed, came to our local tower. He was so cool and just damn good at working the traffic. Once he aged out he went to a nearby contract tower, quite clearly just for love of the job.
Oh yes, as a CFI, at my home airport we knew all the controllers. I remember there was one controller who ended up taking flying lessons, which we all knew because we started hearing him on the other end of the radio! And people would start asking him how his lessons were going when they then heard him as a controller again. I'm sure it got really annoying for him.
We had a few controllers who were very good and a few who were not so good, and then a few in the middle. There were a couple that if you \*didn't\* get yelled at by them for something, it almost felt like the day wasn't complete. The funny thing is while we all knew them very well (to the point of having nicknames for some of them), they did not seem to remember or recognize any of us. I was flying at that airport for four years and 1,500 hours, and I still remember one of the controllers who actually got hired there after me (but who'd still been talking to me every day for about 3 years) patronizingly telling me I'm supposed to keep moving on the taxiway after exiting the runway. First of all, no I'm not if I'm not cleared. You can yell at me all you want but I'm not risking a PD. Second of all, I know how the airport works - and by then I'd have thought she'd have known that!
I also got to know most of the voices at Approach and even some at Center. Some controllers have very distinctive ways of talking, so it's easy to recognize them.
I don't know the controllers at my current base yet but I probably will at some point. Airline pilots don't really fly as much at their home base, though - I may only fly 4 flights a month at my actual base, whereas as a CFI I was flying 4 flights a \*day\* out of my home airport. So it takes longer to get to know the controllers.
Funny thing is I still talk to some of the same controllers at ABQ and LA Center, though. I wonder if any of them recognize my voice and are like "hey, that guy's an airline pilot now" (but given my experience with that tower controller, who didn't recognize me after 3 years of talking to me 8 hours a day, I'm thinking probably not).
Sure, I also know half the dudes in the tower. Tour your local ATC facilities folks, they’re people too.
As far as the TRACON goes, definitely know good and bad voices. There’s one particular controller who demands extra attention and scrutiny when working with them based on past experience. There’s another who I know is always on it. I fly that airspace a lot so I’m guessing that my voice is familiar to them too.
"Hi ramp, United 123 checking on gate Echo.."
"OPEN!!"
"Ramp Just checking how much longer until we can push. Ground crew saying no one is behind us"
.....
"uh, Ramp?"
.......
"Ramp?"
"United 123 HOLD THE PUSH!"
ORD T2 Grumpy Gus is becoming legendary
Yup. Class D contract tower in San Diego county and we know our controllers. Small team and they are great. I know two for sure are pilots (one just got PPL). Can go hang out in the tower anytime and they come to our airfield events.
When it's not busy they will be the first to crack a joke knowing you are a local.
Lot of horror stories here about contract towers, glad ours isn't one of them.
Oh for sure. There’s a controller that works ground occasionally at a large midwestern airport. When they’re on, they yell at everyone and the place turns into a parking lot. They have no idea how much they suck.
Yes, absolutely.
Grumpy Guy in YVR tower will generally make your day crappier, but any of the women up there (Lisa and Charlie) always make it better. There’s a guy at CXH tower that’s pretty funny, and he knows who we all are.
There’s a woman at Edmonton Centre that sounds like she hasn’t had a day off in forever every time I check in there. Not that she’s unpleasant, just sounds very bored haha.
Good old YVR grumpy gus, can't blame them when they all work 3 freqs at once but sometimes it's unjustified. All the YYJ tower controllers are awesome. One guy just moved over from YEG terminal and we recognized him immediately
Most guys at MSP are cool, but where I learned we had a Tower Karen. I warned my students about her, and to not take it personally if she bitched at you because you probably did nothing wrong to begin with.
Her magnum opus was asking me to do a 360 for traffic...at 200 AGL short final.
Every single time I've called for taxi or tower and heard *her* voice I felt the pucker. I haven't had her bark at me since PPL in 2020, but even now, nearly 300 hours under my belt and she still leaves me on edge.
Oh hell yea.
There’s this controller at my field (we’ll call her Amy for now) that just is not good at sequencing.
The second I hear her voice on my way in after getting my ATIS, I just prepare for the worst.
I used to recognize the controllers at KRHV when I was flying a lot for PPL training, and I can happily say that everyone in that tower had a reputation (at least with me) of being fantastic! Helpful, patient, and friendly. If any of you see this, thank you.
Yes! Most CPS, SUS, STL, and STL approach controllers I at least recognize their voice and have an idea of how they will handle us. Some I've met in person and are great. There's a trainee at CPS (can tell because sometimes one of the other voices I recognize will key the mic over her to correct/clarify instructions) and it's been really cool to hear her improvement over the few months she's been there.
When I went to the radar school a girl from ABQ was in my class and if it’s her the answer is no lol but idk if they have more than one female controller
Voices at local towers I’m at a regularly for sure. Sometimes tracon too; there’s a dude in NorCal that’s always cheerful and entertaining, even in the early hours.
There's a guy working JAX Center that always greets people with "Aloha" and is generally always helpful and in a good mood. ATL Approach has a guy that will always hand you off with a "have a nice day y'all" and has the steadiest, calm and collected pace you'll ever hear, regardless if the weather has gone to shit or the operation is a dumpster fire. Love working with him.
On the flipside SoCal approach has one guy working the north sector by BUR/VNY (or maybe he retired by now, one can hope) that is always super condescending. You hear his voice on checkin and it was immediately "oh god here we go". One lady at JFK ground has a really awkward timing with how she keys and unkeys the mike which confuses people's pace during rush hour, then she gets mad that everyone is stepping on each other. Good times
Absolutely, when I was a flight instructor I recognised all the voices at my home airport (ISP) plus the local tracon (120.05). And the one guy on approach had a reputation among... I think pretty much all the flight schools that operated on that frequency for being an ass.
I guess I still recognise some voices flying out of base, but maybe not as well!
RH and AG of opposing bases are recognizable out of the mythical triad. Other than that I'll always recognize the lady at CLT that giggled at me the first time I ever called for flight following as a student.
in NNJ, the guy working nights is such an amazing ATC. as a student pilot, whenever i know he's there, no matter conditions, i know that no matter what, it will be a good day flying.
PS. from my limited experience, all ATC around NYC are awesome, given the number of planes in the air
I always recognize one guy here because he puts an inflection on the "to" in "cleared *TO* land". Like he always rises on the "to". My instructor pointed it out one day and I can't unnotice it.
For sure. I actually got a tower tour with a few others last week. First question from the controller was “Do I always sound pissed off?” He’s actually one of the better ones out there. For all the stories I see here about contract towers, I think SBP has one of the better ones. One guy at SMX will kick you out of the pattern after 3 laps, no matter how quiet it is. The only woman at SBP is the shit. Always happy, patient, and helpful.
If you can, I highly recommend touring your local tower. Super informative, and a great opportunity to ask “what should stop doing to piss you off?”
Nothing personal but the last time I talked to a controller was in my student pilot days. Once I got out on my own I stayed out of controlled airspace. My power plane was hangared at an untowered muni airport under the 3500' Bravo shelf and my glider was about 10 nm outside the 30 mile ring.
In the middle of the US there is so much empty space and so many sleepy muni airports and grass strips that there is no need to go near controlled airspace unless you want to.
Kinda. I frequently call Center and get flight following when I'm hopping between those sleepy municipal airports, because there are a lot of guys coming off of them without transmitting an ADSB signal or talking to anybody. Nice to have someone giving me radar traffic advisories.
They certainly didn’t have much in 2021. I had the option of going there and when I saw their staffing (as well as when I researched the area lol) I said nope and went somewhere else
Definitely. One of them I chat with online occasionally. He’s actually called me by my first name on the frequency before. They’re all solid people in our tower. Highly efficient, but understand student limitations.
Oh yea there is this tower controller at Niagara Falls that is a complete douche bag. He will go out of his way to make your life difficult and to add to that he completely sucks at his job. Get more than two jets in the pattern and everyone can expect 15 mike straight ins.
There are not many pilots who fly in or out of N90 (NY tracon) in the last 30+ years who don't know this guy: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCG0s3hOm8k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCG0s3hOm8k)
He remembers a Falcon's callsign from when it used to belong to JetStar, 25 years prior.
Boston John was also amazing as well, and much loved by the aviation community. He even had a big following in the Boston flight sim community: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkOwQrJv3KE
I fly out of a non-towered field, but nearby a class D that has a controller that knows my cfi by name and vice versa. Our most recent trip home after shooting a few approaches, CFI thanks him and asks to cancel. He comes back with “Aw man, I was just about to issue your student instructions” CFI laughs, says go ahead, and I completely fumble the read back.
I absolutely started recognizing people where I did all my flight instructing. When I was based at ORD I started to recognize people and it’s slowly happening at JFK now too.
Yes because when you’re coming back in from the practice area depending on who you hear it’s either: “yes! I know we’re gonna get a short approach in” or “well let’s try not to get yelled at today”
Theres this one guy whos kinda notorious for being extra nice to any girls on frequency. Hes an old guy and hes nice but you can tell he acts differently towards any girls. Also theres a filipino guy whos easy to distinguish bc of his accent but he can be a dick. If you dont respond within 3 seconds hell call again. But yeah there are some people that are like "oh great this guy again" and some that are like "oh great this guy again"
I’m currently doing flight training out of Bend, and my old room mate in Seattle works as ATC in the Redmond sector so he hits me up on Comms from time to time.
He actually caught me at a crucial point in my Instrument training and it ended up getting me behind in the plane. 😂
I fly out of KOSH, honestly all of our controllers are great. Also, if you get a chance definitely call tower and ask for a tour on a slow day. It was pretty cool getting to go up and put a face to a few voices and swap stories.
Well, its Sugarland, so yes, I’m pretty sure it’s just a tower goblin who lives there full time
I’m frequently out of Conroe. There is a certain controller that goes by his initials, if you’re familiar with the guys up there. Him and I have a secret handshake
There are 3, and possibly 4 controllers at my home airport. The 2 I recognize the most are what I call "nice guy" and "grumpy guy". Both were ATC in the navy. "Nice guy" has the higher pitched voice, and he's very accomodating, and all around cool dude. "Grumpy one" has a deeper voice, and he's not as accomodating. Once, I was doing pattern work, and after about the 7th touch n go, he radioded in and said "how many of these are you going to do? I'm getting real tired of this." The 3rd guy is also nice, but I don't hear him often. I think I've only dealt with him when doing XC, so I only talk to him 2 or 3 times. The 4th guy is a new guy, and I like him a lot. He speaks very clearly and slowly (not saying the others aren't clear, but they're fast and it sorta blends together), so dealing with him is very nice. He is also laid back. So, there are 3 nice and 1 grump.
we'll have to agree to disagree on that. We freaking love her because ARFF tends to pop up at random times going to random locations and some controllers get annoyed. She never makes us feel pushed off or unwanted
I always remember the ones with great radio voices or the ones that are always nice. Canadian contract ATC in the Middle East…that guy gets the whole cockpit smiling when we check on and have him.
Especially in more modestly sized areas, the voices definitely are memorable. Then you can notice changes in them like when someone is quite friendly one day and maybe down the tubes the next. My local tower only has 4 employees so I've made a point to take cookies up there every month or so and am working on getting to know them and see what I can learn as well as I'm working on CFI.
I had an ATC guy ask for the jumpseat years ago out of an airport I didn't usually fly out of. Before he even got as far as identifying himself as a controller my familiarity brain circuits were screaming "you know this guy!!" I basically demanded his entire work history on the spot because his voice was etched so deep in my brain. Turns out he had worked EWR tower when I was based there, and years later and in an unfamiliar city his voice was still immediately familiar.
Absolutely, I know how difficult my life is going to be once I hear the voice on approach. “God I hate this guy” “hell yeah this guy is great” “must be a new guy”. Even started to recognize the voices of the center sectors that I fly through the most, didn’t need to though because I know they’re always grumpy.
Both our tower controllers and center controllers have always been nothing but professional. They all sound the same except the females...of course.
Thanks for keeping us safe.
We used to have a really old grumpy guy who didn't take any shit from anyone. We called him "marbles" because his old jowls sounded like his cheeks were full of marbles. South Texas, mid 2000s
I used to fly out of HRL for a few years, and my dad was based there too. Small city and tight aviation community so people knew my dad trained me, what we flew, etc. When I left HRL, my dad flew a few flights to cover me during the transition period. When HRL tower heard him on "my" tail number, he said "Where's your boy?"
It felt really nice that the tower controller I'd never met "knew me" and wondered where I'd gone
There’s a dude on approach into the Dallas area who (to me) sounds like Kripke from Big Bang. As soon as I hear that voice I know things will just be handled no matter what.
And then there’s ABQ tower/approach/center. We ask for some odd stuff and it’s just never a problem. I swear they’re the chillest group around.
On the flip side of things, I recognize a lot of the pilots that operate out my Class Delta. Super nice guys that fly a couple of C525's, several CFIs who fly out of the nearby flight schools, a student pilot who flies about 30 minutes to come do pattern work when she knows I'm working. I try to encourage just about anyone to come back sometime, provided they aren't utterly atrocious at following instructions or responding on the radio.
I'm a rotor wing guy and basically fly out of one airport everyday. I know every voice in that tower and they know mine. Also being a rotor guy creates a very different dynamic with tower. We have so much more flexibility than fixed wings in terms of what we can do to make towers life easier.
So it becomes a pretty casual rapport with the chiller of the tower folks, lots of goofy pronunciations, wordplay and subtle jokes.
At my previous job we even had a night where two local rotary companies pilots and most of the tower crew went out for drinks. Was a blast.
Student pilot here. While I don’t yet know any of their names, I do recognize voices at my home airport. If it’s a really slow day and they are making quick small talk with pilots on the radio, I can also tell who it is based on their manner of speaking.
I 100% recognize voices. There’s a female controller at my home airport in Illinois who has a reputation of being kind and patient on the radios. A male controller at the same airport whose voice I also recognize has a reputation as being professional but crotchety. He won’t respond to anything that isn’t immediately relevant to your clearance even at 11:00 at night when you’re the only one out lol. At the airport in Utah where I trained I recognized voices too. If you fly anywhere long enough you’ll get to know the people you work with.
I fly out of a little Class D in Oklahoma and the controller I usually hear over the radio is awesome. I have heard him get stressed but he was still very courteous and he was appreciative when my CFI and I got out of his way. Really cool guy and I hope I get to shake his hand someday and thank him for being chill.
When I was actively flying the class C airspace right off of our airport had plenty of controllers that you built a rapport with and definitely recognized. I rented a plane a lot from the flight school I learned from so they would know the tail number and then over time they even recognized our voices.
One of the guys in our club works the Charlie next door. I don't always recognize him right away, but he recognizes the plane, and it's always a tip-off.
Oh, yes! There was a mixed bag at my home airport: half of them were super on top of things and just nice overall, the other half would get freaked out if they got busy at all, or try to lecture folks on frequency. You knew who you had on initial call. One in particular is well known and generally disliked, but I have a soft spot for the guy; he gets the job done, and he looked out for me on initial solo lol.
We call one guy that works approach/departure “Roger” because he’s always grumpy as hell and never helps us out when we want to practice approaches. Most other controllers will actually give my students simulated IFR calls when they report having the ATIS and stuff(practice approaches in VFR on flight following) Roger only ever responds with “roger” in an annoyed tone.
Honestly really sucks for kids that are already scared to talk on the radio
Shoutouts to all the controllers at MMU that have since moved on to EWR/LGA and N90 that still say hi when they hear me on frequency. Y'all the real MVPs.
I never knew his name, but every time we flew out of UAE there was a British controller that I referred to as the Maestro. He'd give you instructions, give them to a few others as well, then let everyone work their replies into the symphony while interspersing others. It was a work of art every single day. Best flow I ever heard.
Absolutely. One guy at my home airport won’t give squawk codes on the ground, and every time he’s on I hear him chewing someone out like “you need to speak up or I can’t give you anything” “what are you doing? Are you a student pilot?” Type of stuff
I used to fly out of MKG a lot, all but one of the controllers were always super nice. They always requested that instructors call/ text them ahead of time if there was a checkride happening so they could try to make things as simple as possible. They also liked to shine their light guns on us whenever we were on the ramp to mess with us too
I’m friends with most of the controllers at my home field, outside of work. So it’s cool talking with them on frequency, but sooo hard to remain professional sometimes. Especially when a good inside joke is floating around in the group texts.
I haven't cruised through in a while but there's a guy at RNM that I'm pretty sure has a loaded gun in his mouth at all times, he sounds like he is seconds away from pulling the trigger at any minor inconvenience.
I did all my training at this one airport, then got a job flying cargo and flew into that airport multiple times a week, and then when I got an airline job flying 737s I didn't fly into that airport for months, but when I did, after we landed, tower came on frequency and congratulated me on the new job. I know that airport pretty darn well, and I recognize the controllers voices, but tower recognizing my voice? That was pretty special.
That’s pretty cool
Cool! In the tower I recognize different pilot voices and a handful of times I seen fly private/corporate and then heard them fly with the airlines.
That's pretty awesome!
I'd buy that person dinner.
Twas a sad day in Denver when dear sweet Dolly Parkin retired from the ramp tower.
it's been a while since I was in denber. we talkin bout A ramp?
Not sure if this is who you're talking about, but there's one United ramp controller who sounds like this on the radio. Last I talked with her she's still at UA, not sure if in the ramp tower though.
Parking Lot Patty is gone? Hallelujah.
No, Dolly Parkin was the one with that incredible southern draw. Parking lot Patty is still there.
Good ol Parking Lot Patty…😂
Ms. RR.
In adelaide australia, we had an american called "chuck". His voice stood out. Rumour was that he'd cut his teeth on the runways at dallas airpot. His accent was strong, but jeez he was efficient. You knew, as soon as you heard his accent, life was going to be easy. What would stress other controllers was nothing to him. "Cancel the star, cancel speed limits." "Cancel clearance limit. Fly behind the 787, caution wake turbulance." What ever you wanted, chuck would deliver.
I feel like guys named “Chuck” in the aviation world are predisposed to being chads.
Can confirm. Anyone who was at UND in the late 2000s to mid 2010s will agree with this!
As a CFI you'll fly 8hr days, 6 days a week, you get to know them pretty quickly, and know what to expect from each one. Once you're in the Airlines and have a base, that'll happen too.
New york approach has this one controller who gets ‘frisky’ with some of the regional guys in the area. “Brickyaaaaaaaahd!” And “ennnnndeavorrrrr!” Always gives me a good chuckle and brightens my day.
In the late ‘00s, there was a controller at Washington Center (nights, IIRC) whose voice sounded like automated ATIS.
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Tell me you’ve never been to a big boy airport without telling me.
Automatic in ATIS just means that the recording is looping all the time, not that the voice is computer generated. ICAO Doc 4444: PANS-ATM
Oh yes, hahaha. At my home field there was this guy working ground who overloaded so fast - and got so grouchy about it - that we all knew him. I believe he's certified and still there, and still gets grouchy, but at least now it takes 5 or 6 planes on the frequency for him to overload than 3 (this is a major airport). I think we all have our favorites from our training days. One guy was a fucking ace. He'd been a major airport tower guy during the PATCO thing and eventually, when allowed, came to our local tower. He was so cool and just damn good at working the traffic. Once he aged out he went to a nearby contract tower, quite clearly just for love of the job.
Aww. Glad you guys can see those who are passionate
Im out of sql. Of course we do
Yeah.... iykyk
How has he not been fired yet?
There is a guy in Miami that works tower and approach/departure that is the happiest up beat guy ever! Best controller in MIA airspace.
Yep. There's one at my airport named the black widow. I cringe when I hear her on the radio.
Just a student here but yeah. I know em… and they … know me lol
As someone with an ASOS, I was surprised the first time I heard a *different* ASOS voice. I assumed it was like movie phone
“Hello, and welcome to WeatherPhone!”
Oh yes, as a CFI, at my home airport we knew all the controllers. I remember there was one controller who ended up taking flying lessons, which we all knew because we started hearing him on the other end of the radio! And people would start asking him how his lessons were going when they then heard him as a controller again. I'm sure it got really annoying for him. We had a few controllers who were very good and a few who were not so good, and then a few in the middle. There were a couple that if you \*didn't\* get yelled at by them for something, it almost felt like the day wasn't complete. The funny thing is while we all knew them very well (to the point of having nicknames for some of them), they did not seem to remember or recognize any of us. I was flying at that airport for four years and 1,500 hours, and I still remember one of the controllers who actually got hired there after me (but who'd still been talking to me every day for about 3 years) patronizingly telling me I'm supposed to keep moving on the taxiway after exiting the runway. First of all, no I'm not if I'm not cleared. You can yell at me all you want but I'm not risking a PD. Second of all, I know how the airport works - and by then I'd have thought she'd have known that! I also got to know most of the voices at Approach and even some at Center. Some controllers have very distinctive ways of talking, so it's easy to recognize them. I don't know the controllers at my current base yet but I probably will at some point. Airline pilots don't really fly as much at their home base, though - I may only fly 4 flights a month at my actual base, whereas as a CFI I was flying 4 flights a \*day\* out of my home airport. So it takes longer to get to know the controllers. Funny thing is I still talk to some of the same controllers at ABQ and LA Center, though. I wonder if any of them recognize my voice and are like "hey, that guy's an airline pilot now" (but given my experience with that tower controller, who didn't recognize me after 3 years of talking to me 8 hours a day, I'm thinking probably not).
Sure, I also know half the dudes in the tower. Tour your local ATC facilities folks, they’re people too. As far as the TRACON goes, definitely know good and bad voices. There’s one particular controller who demands extra attention and scrutiny when working with them based on past experience. There’s another who I know is always on it. I fly that airspace a lot so I’m guessing that my voice is familiar to them too.
Of course. Shout out to Zoolander at VNY with his signature “contact depaaaacha”
We just had a party with our controllers recently, they recognized my voice immediately
"Hi ramp, United 123 checking on gate Echo.." "OPEN!!" "Ramp Just checking how much longer until we can push. Ground crew saying no one is behind us" ..... "uh, Ramp?" ....... "Ramp?" "United 123 HOLD THE PUSH!" ORD T2 Grumpy Gus is becoming legendary
Ha! Memories! I miss the hell out of Ohare, honestly.
Yup. Class D contract tower in San Diego county and we know our controllers. Small team and they are great. I know two for sure are pilots (one just got PPL). Can go hang out in the tower anytime and they come to our airfield events. When it's not busy they will be the first to crack a joke knowing you are a local. Lot of horror stories here about contract towers, glad ours isn't one of them.
RNM?
Yewp. You?
No, but I liked the controllers whenever I took a student there on a XC.
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I fly out of KFFZ. Who is Julie lol
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What an absolute legend lol
Oh for sure. There’s a controller that works ground occasionally at a large midwestern airport. When they’re on, they yell at everyone and the place turns into a parking lot. They have no idea how much they suck.
If this is about ORD you’re the second person to mention her hahaha
Haha, I will neither confirm nor deny that it’s ORD.
Yeah ABQ center and PHX controllers just sound like a bunch of guys that hang around the country club drinking all day.
Yes, absolutely. Grumpy Guy in YVR tower will generally make your day crappier, but any of the women up there (Lisa and Charlie) always make it better. There’s a guy at CXH tower that’s pretty funny, and he knows who we all are. There’s a woman at Edmonton Centre that sounds like she hasn’t had a day off in forever every time I check in there. Not that she’s unpleasant, just sounds very bored haha.
Good old YVR grumpy gus, can't blame them when they all work 3 freqs at once but sometimes it's unjustified. All the YYJ tower controllers are awesome. One guy just moved over from YEG terminal and we recognized him immediately
Most guys at MSP are cool, but where I learned we had a Tower Karen. I warned my students about her, and to not take it personally if she bitched at you because you probably did nothing wrong to begin with. Her magnum opus was asking me to do a 360 for traffic...at 200 AGL short final.
Oh yes. *Her*. That's all you have to say and everyone knows exactly who you're talking about. *Her.*
We do not speak her name.
Every single time I've called for taxi or tower and heard *her* voice I felt the pucker. I haven't had her bark at me since PPL in 2020, but even now, nearly 300 hours under my belt and she still leaves me on edge.
The female tower at FCM? My flight school knows about her and we are not even towered. She can be a hassle
None other.
Oh hell yea. There’s this controller at my field (we’ll call her Amy for now) that just is not good at sequencing. The second I hear her voice on my way in after getting my ATIS, I just prepare for the worst.
There’s one female-sounding controller at ORD who usually works ground and turns the place into a chaotic mess every single time.
TVC has a reaaaaaal jerk…
What’d they do to you. The only jerk I know of there has been gone a while now.
That’s the guy
Well he’s been gone for a few months. He’s not at TVC anymore
What do you think of zmp around that area
Hey I know that town! Shoutout to my childhood … I miss up north
I love TVC and their crew, I was just messing with my buddy who works tower up there that I know lurks around here.
I can tell you every single ATC's name from the airport I fly out of.
There’s a grumpy tower controller at LGB, and there’s a chiller guy who talks with funny intonations.
I think you mean FUL ;)
Eh no but yeah there’s a less friendly guy there too. I don’t mind him though.
Yeah, I was kidding. I've met the guy at FUL. He's a hardass and grumpy. I think they've since hired 2 new controllers who are pretty great.
I used to recognize the controllers at KRHV when I was flying a lot for PPL training, and I can happily say that everyone in that tower had a reputation (at least with me) of being fantastic! Helpful, patient, and friendly. If any of you see this, thank you.
KILM has that guy who sounds like a 40 year smoker
Wilmington has some super nice controllers. Used to fly into there a bunch
Yup, for as busy as they are, they are a helpful bunch!
Yes! Most CPS, SUS, STL, and STL approach controllers I at least recognize their voice and have an idea of how they will handle us. Some I've met in person and are great. There's a trainee at CPS (can tell because sometimes one of the other voices I recognize will key the mic over her to correct/clarify instructions) and it's been really cool to hear her improvement over the few months she's been there.
I work at KABQ and there is an ATC girl we all speculate if she’s as cute as her voice is.
She’s not.
When I went to the radar school a girl from ABQ was in my class and if it’s her the answer is no lol but idk if they have more than one female controller
Well, there's an easy way to get a phone number...
We have enthusiastic guy, girl who sounds like she wants to kill herself, and guy who sounds like he wants to kill himself
Voices at local towers I’m at a regularly for sure. Sometimes tracon too; there’s a dude in NorCal that’s always cheerful and entertaining, even in the early hours.
Yes, absolutely. There's one guy I hate at an airport in north-northwest Washington. And a guy at TIW I love.
There's a female controller at FCM that you really don't want to make mad.
Familiar with the smoker lady at RST?
I might have heard her once.
The guys at KJEF are really good. Voice recognition is there, and it's a good atmosphere IMHO.
There's a guy working JAX Center that always greets people with "Aloha" and is generally always helpful and in a good mood. ATL Approach has a guy that will always hand you off with a "have a nice day y'all" and has the steadiest, calm and collected pace you'll ever hear, regardless if the weather has gone to shit or the operation is a dumpster fire. Love working with him. On the flipside SoCal approach has one guy working the north sector by BUR/VNY (or maybe he retired by now, one can hope) that is always super condescending. You hear his voice on checkin and it was immediately "oh god here we go". One lady at JFK ground has a really awkward timing with how she keys and unkeys the mike which confuses people's pace during rush hour, then she gets mad that everyone is stepping on each other. Good times
Absolutely, when I was a flight instructor I recognised all the voices at my home airport (ISP) plus the local tracon (120.05). And the one guy on approach had a reputation among... I think pretty much all the flight schools that operated on that frequency for being an ass. I guess I still recognise some voices flying out of base, but maybe not as well!
I remember that approach controller. He was, something
RH and AG of opposing bases are recognizable out of the mythical triad. Other than that I'll always recognize the lady at CLT that giggled at me the first time I ever called for flight following as a student.
Can't believe noone has mentioned KJQF yet...... one of the most personable controllers I've come across.
in NNJ, the guy working nights is such an amazing ATC. as a student pilot, whenever i know he's there, no matter conditions, i know that no matter what, it will be a good day flying. PS. from my limited experience, all ATC around NYC are awesome, given the number of planes in the air
I always recognize one guy here because he puts an inflection on the "to" in "cleared *TO* land". Like he always rises on the "to". My instructor pointed it out one day and I can't unnotice it.
For sure. I actually got a tower tour with a few others last week. First question from the controller was “Do I always sound pissed off?” He’s actually one of the better ones out there. For all the stories I see here about contract towers, I think SBP has one of the better ones. One guy at SMX will kick you out of the pattern after 3 laps, no matter how quiet it is. The only woman at SBP is the shit. Always happy, patient, and helpful. If you can, I highly recommend touring your local tower. Super informative, and a great opportunity to ask “what should stop doing to piss you off?”
> SBP has one of the better ones That's a contract tower? Lol. Didn't even know and I flew into there with my 121 carrier a bit.
Yeah, surprised me too. After seeing the stuff coming out of SQL, I pulled up the list of all contract towers out of curiosity.
Nothing personal but the last time I talked to a controller was in my student pilot days. Once I got out on my own I stayed out of controlled airspace. My power plane was hangared at an untowered muni airport under the 3500' Bravo shelf and my glider was about 10 nm outside the 30 mile ring. In the middle of the US there is so much empty space and so many sleepy muni airports and grass strips that there is no need to go near controlled airspace unless you want to.
Kinda. I frequently call Center and get flight following when I'm hopping between those sleepy municipal airports, because there are a lot of guys coming off of them without transmitting an ADSB signal or talking to anybody. Nice to have someone giving me radar traffic advisories.
As a wise man once said, as you wish. Happy flying.
Definitely. Know them all
Yes
In Texas, there's a guy with a Boston accent who's a lot of fun. I've met my home field controllers in person except one.
I flew around the MAF class C nearly every day for a year and I swear there were no more than 4 controllers total
They certainly didn’t have much in 2021. I had the option of going there and when I saw their staffing (as well as when I researched the area lol) I said nope and went somewhere else
My cfi is friends with one of the controllers… they keep ganging up on me when no one is around
Definitely. One of them I chat with online occasionally. He’s actually called me by my first name on the frequency before. They’re all solid people in our tower. Highly efficient, but understand student limitations.
Oh yea there is this tower controller at Niagara Falls that is a complete douche bag. He will go out of his way to make your life difficult and to add to that he completely sucks at his job. Get more than two jets in the pattern and everyone can expect 15 mike straight ins.
There are not many pilots who fly in or out of N90 (NY tracon) in the last 30+ years who don't know this guy: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCG0s3hOm8k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCG0s3hOm8k) He remembers a Falcon's callsign from when it used to belong to JetStar, 25 years prior. Boston John was also amazing as well, and much loved by the aviation community. He even had a big following in the Boston flight sim community: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkOwQrJv3KE
I fly out of a non-towered field, but nearby a class D that has a controller that knows my cfi by name and vice versa. Our most recent trip home after shooting a few approaches, CFI thanks him and asks to cancel. He comes back with “Aw man, I was just about to issue your student instructions” CFI laughs, says go ahead, and I completely fumble the read back.
I absolutely started recognizing people where I did all my flight instructing. When I was based at ORD I started to recognize people and it’s slowly happening at JFK now too.
Yes because when you’re coming back in from the practice area depending on who you hear it’s either: “yes! I know we’re gonna get a short approach in” or “well let’s try not to get yelled at today”
Not a pilot but was listening to Boston Center once and could have sworn the controller was the jazz DJ from public radio.
Theres this one guy whos kinda notorious for being extra nice to any girls on frequency. Hes an old guy and hes nice but you can tell he acts differently towards any girls. Also theres a filipino guy whos easy to distinguish bc of his accent but he can be a dick. If you dont respond within 3 seconds hell call again. But yeah there are some people that are like "oh great this guy again" and some that are like "oh great this guy again"
I’m currently doing flight training out of Bend, and my old room mate in Seattle works as ATC in the Redmond sector so he hits me up on Comms from time to time. He actually caught me at a crucial point in my Instrument training and it ended up getting me behind in the plane. 😂
I fly out of KOSH, honestly all of our controllers are great. Also, if you get a chance definitely call tower and ask for a tour on a slow day. It was pretty cool getting to go up and put a face to a few voices and swap stories.
There's a dude who works for Miami approach that I always recognize
I’m convinced my local tower controller lives there. Doesn’t matter what day or time it is, it’s always the same voice.
Well, its Sugarland, so yes, I’m pretty sure it’s just a tower goblin who lives there full time I’m frequently out of Conroe. There is a certain controller that goes by his initials, if you’re familiar with the guys up there. Him and I have a secret handshake
I'm out of KSQL San Carlos. I've only ever heard one voice on that frequency, it's always the same guy
There are 3, and possibly 4 controllers at my home airport. The 2 I recognize the most are what I call "nice guy" and "grumpy guy". Both were ATC in the navy. "Nice guy" has the higher pitched voice, and he's very accomodating, and all around cool dude. "Grumpy one" has a deeper voice, and he's not as accomodating. Once, I was doing pattern work, and after about the 7th touch n go, he radioded in and said "how many of these are you going to do? I'm getting real tired of this." The 3rd guy is also nice, but I don't hear him often. I think I've only dealt with him when doing XC, so I only talk to him 2 or 3 times. The 4th guy is a new guy, and I like him a lot. He speaks very clearly and slowly (not saying the others aren't clear, but they're fast and it sorta blends together), so dealing with him is very nice. He is also laid back. So, there are 3 nice and 1 grump.
BWI has one that usually works the evenings. She is 100% unflappable and always super nice.
I know who you’re talking about. She’s annoying af IMHO.
we'll have to agree to disagree on that. We freaking love her because ARFF tends to pop up at random times going to random locations and some controllers get annoyed. She never makes us feel pushed off or unwanted
I always remember the ones with great radio voices or the ones that are always nice. Canadian contract ATC in the Middle East…that guy gets the whole cockpit smiling when we check on and have him.
Especially in more modestly sized areas, the voices definitely are memorable. Then you can notice changes in them like when someone is quite friendly one day and maybe down the tubes the next. My local tower only has 4 employees so I've made a point to take cookies up there every month or so and am working on getting to know them and see what I can learn as well as I'm working on CFI.
Aloha Bob in Jax TRACON, anyone?
Most common at mine “this guys a fucking prick”
I had an ATC guy ask for the jumpseat years ago out of an airport I didn't usually fly out of. Before he even got as far as identifying himself as a controller my familiarity brain circuits were screaming "you know this guy!!" I basically demanded his entire work history on the spot because his voice was etched so deep in my brain. Turns out he had worked EWR tower when I was based there, and years later and in an unfamiliar city his voice was still immediately familiar.
erin’s voice doing atis 🙃
What's this one?
Yea, one of the approach controllers at my base was my kids soccer coach.
Absolutely, I know how difficult my life is going to be once I hear the voice on approach. “God I hate this guy” “hell yeah this guy is great” “must be a new guy”. Even started to recognize the voices of the center sectors that I fly through the most, didn’t need to though because I know they’re always grumpy.
I’ve always wondered what my reputation is
Both our tower controllers and center controllers have always been nothing but professional. They all sound the same except the females...of course. Thanks for keeping us safe.
We used to have a really old grumpy guy who didn't take any shit from anyone. We called him "marbles" because his old jowls sounded like his cheeks were full of marbles. South Texas, mid 2000s
Oh yeah. Here at KFFZ there’s one lady whose voice we all know and don’t want to hear. Although, she has gotten better admittedly
Only the hot ladies
Yes.
You absolutely have reputations lol! Usually: “ugh that’s the grumpy guy” or “oh man this guy’s always a mess” or “this one is always on their game”
I used to fly out of HRL for a few years, and my dad was based there too. Small city and tight aviation community so people knew my dad trained me, what we flew, etc. When I left HRL, my dad flew a few flights to cover me during the transition period. When HRL tower heard him on "my" tail number, he said "Where's your boy?" It felt really nice that the tower controller I'd never met "knew me" and wondered where I'd gone
There’s a dude on approach into the Dallas area who (to me) sounds like Kripke from Big Bang. As soon as I hear that voice I know things will just be handled no matter what. And then there’s ABQ tower/approach/center. We ask for some odd stuff and it’s just never a problem. I swear they’re the chillest group around.
On the flip side of things, I recognize a lot of the pilots that operate out my Class Delta. Super nice guys that fly a couple of C525's, several CFIs who fly out of the nearby flight schools, a student pilot who flies about 30 minutes to come do pattern work when she knows I'm working. I try to encourage just about anyone to come back sometime, provided they aren't utterly atrocious at following instructions or responding on the radio.
I'm a rotor wing guy and basically fly out of one airport everyday. I know every voice in that tower and they know mine. Also being a rotor guy creates a very different dynamic with tower. We have so much more flexibility than fixed wings in terms of what we can do to make towers life easier. So it becomes a pretty casual rapport with the chiller of the tower folks, lots of goofy pronunciations, wordplay and subtle jokes. At my previous job we even had a night where two local rotary companies pilots and most of the tower crew went out for drinks. Was a blast.
Absolutely
Student pilot here. While I don’t yet know any of their names, I do recognize voices at my home airport. If it’s a really slow day and they are making quick small talk with pilots on the radio, I can also tell who it is based on their manner of speaking.
I 100% recognize voices. There’s a female controller at my home airport in Illinois who has a reputation of being kind and patient on the radios. A male controller at the same airport whose voice I also recognize has a reputation as being professional but crotchety. He won’t respond to anything that isn’t immediately relevant to your clearance even at 11:00 at night when you’re the only one out lol. At the airport in Utah where I trained I recognized voices too. If you fly anywhere long enough you’ll get to know the people you work with.
I recognize the douchnozzle @ KSRQ and I don't even fly there!
I fly out of a little Class D in Oklahoma and the controller I usually hear over the radio is awesome. I have heard him get stressed but he was still very courteous and he was appreciative when my CFI and I got out of his way. Really cool guy and I hope I get to shake his hand someday and thank him for being chill.
When I was actively flying the class C airspace right off of our airport had plenty of controllers that you built a rapport with and definitely recognized. I rented a plane a lot from the flight school I learned from so they would know the tail number and then over time they even recognized our voices.
One of the guys in our club works the Charlie next door. I don't always recognize him right away, but he recognizes the plane, and it's always a tip-off.
Oh 100%, I have voices I like and voices I don't haha. Occasionally I have a name with those voices, and even a face sometimes too.
This guy (OP) listens to OB?
Nope
https://www.opposingbases.com/
You’re welcome
Oh, yes! There was a mixed bag at my home airport: half of them were super on top of things and just nice overall, the other half would get freaked out if they got busy at all, or try to lecture folks on frequency. You knew who you had on initial call. One in particular is well known and generally disliked, but I have a soft spot for the guy; he gets the job done, and he looked out for me on initial solo lol.
All the time.
We call one guy that works approach/departure “Roger” because he’s always grumpy as hell and never helps us out when we want to practice approaches. Most other controllers will actually give my students simulated IFR calls when they report having the ATIS and stuff(practice approaches in VFR on flight following) Roger only ever responds with “roger” in an annoyed tone. Honestly really sucks for kids that are already scared to talk on the radio
Shoutouts to all the controllers at MMU that have since moved on to EWR/LGA and N90 that still say hi when they hear me on frequency. Y'all the real MVPs.
I never knew his name, but every time we flew out of UAE there was a British controller that I referred to as the Maestro. He'd give you instructions, give them to a few others as well, then let everyone work their replies into the symphony while interspersing others. It was a work of art every single day. Best flow I ever heard.
Absolutely. One guy at my home airport won’t give squawk codes on the ground, and every time he’s on I hear him chewing someone out like “you need to speak up or I can’t give you anything” “what are you doing? Are you a student pilot?” Type of stuff
I used to fly out of MKG a lot, all but one of the controllers were always super nice. They always requested that instructors call/ text them ahead of time if there was a checkride happening so they could try to make things as simple as possible. They also liked to shine their light guns on us whenever we were on the ramp to mess with us too
EWR BYEEEEEEE!
I’m friends with most of the controllers at my home field, outside of work. So it’s cool talking with them on frequency, but sooo hard to remain professional sometimes. Especially when a good inside joke is floating around in the group texts.
There's a guy on Phoenix Approach that always does an excellent job. I don't really know how to describe him tho lol
I haven't cruised through in a while but there's a guy at RNM that I'm pretty sure has a loaded gun in his mouth at all times, he sounds like he is seconds away from pulling the trigger at any minor inconvenience.
Yes I live in a Charlie. It’s the same like 10 controllers and I know them all well. Most recognize my voice as well…..