Why do pilots say tree instead of three?

Aviators often speak “pilot English” to avoid miscommunications over radio transmission. “Tree” for instance, means three, “fife” is the number five and “niner” means nine, says Tom Zecha, a manager at AOPA. The variations stemmed from a desire to avoid confusion between similar-sounding numbers, he says.


Who says tree instead of three?

Air traffic controllers are taught very specific ways of speaking to avoid confusion or misunderstanding. These include saying “tree” for three, “fife” for five and “niner” for nine but pretty much everything they say is scripted.

How do you say 3 in aviation?

Understanding Aviation Language
  1. The number three (3) is pronounced “tree.”
  2. The number five (5) is pronounced “fife.”
  3. The number nine (9) is pronounced “niner.”


Why is the number 9 pronounced niner?

Did you know that in aviation, 9 is pronounced "niner" instead of "nine"? The reason for this is to encourage the pilot to enunciate clearly. “Nine” can be easily muffled, slurred, or confused with other words, like five.

Why do truckers say Niner?

Changing “nine” to “niner” adds another vowel sound, which may help distinguish them when radio reception is poor. Save this answer. Show activity on this post. "Niner" is spoken for the numeral 9 to avoid it being mistaken for 5.


Why Pilots Say Panpan And Strange Words



Why do they say breaker breaker?

What are some of the Trucker Sayings? “Breaker breaker 1-9, anyone got a copy?” This is a trucker saying that is widely used commonly as a courtesy call for the truckers to get access to the CB radio Channel. The “1-9” refers to channel 19 on the CB radio, which is the most popular channel.

What does rubber duck mean in CB talk?

"Rubber Duck" – The first vehicle in a convoy.

Why do pilots say souls on board?

The number of “souls” on an aircraft refers to the total living bodies on the plane: every passenger, pilot, flight attendant and crew member, according to Lord-Jones. Pilots often report the number of “souls” when declaring an emergency, she says, so rescuers know the amount of people to search for.


Why do pilots say heavy?

When a pilot uses the phrase “heavy,” he is reminding ATC that his aircraft is large and requires more separation between it and the aircraft following.

Do pilots still say Roger?

The term then went on to become well-used as part of the international aviation language. Pilots also used it during World War II, which further cemented it in history. Although “Romeo” is now used instead of roger in the phonetic alphabet, “roger that” continues to be used widely around the world by pilots.

Why do pilots say foxtrot?

"Fox" is short for "foxtrot", the NATO phonetic designation for the letter "F", which is short for "fire". The radio call announcing that a weapon has been fired is intended to help avoid friendly fire, alerting other pilots to avoid maneuvering into the path of the munition.


Why do pilots say Charlie?

Charlie-Charlie is a fancy substitution for a standard affirmative. It comes from the convention of abbreviating Correct/Yes by letter C in codes. It was early standardized and used at sea since 1857.

What is the 3/6 rule in aviation?

For larger aircraft, typically people use some form of the 3/6 Rule: 3 times the altitude (in thousands of feet) you have to lose is the distance back to start the descent; 6 times your groundspeed is your descent rate.

How do Irish people say 33?

🙊 The Irish Accent: "33 & A Third"

You may notice Irish people dropping the H sound from many words. This means that 'three' is often pronounced as 'tree'. Or '33 and a third' as 'turty tree and a turd'.


Why can't Irish people say three?

Because neither of the “th” sounds in English eg. the “th” in bath or in father, exist in the Irish language and it's easier for us not to pronounce that sound.

Why do pilots say butter?

The term butter comes from the texture of regular butter. It is smooth and slick, how a good landing is. To butter the landing, when you land you have to keep the nose up by flying just above stall speed to keep the plane at a neutral rate of altitude speed.

Why do pilots say bingo?

"Bingo" actually means to divert. The official US Navy definition of "BINGO" is: "An order to proceed and land at the field specified, utilizing a bingo profile. Aircraft is considered to be in an emergency/fuel critical situation. Bearing, distance, and destination shall be provided."


Why do pilots say knock it off?

The phrase "knock it off" means to stop the work, listen, then reassess the situation. 2. Odie says that, like fighter pilots, workers have nothing to lose if something goes wrong on the job. 3.

Why do they pour water on pilots?

Water salutes have been used to mark the retirement of a senior pilot or air traffic controller, the first or last flight of an airline to an airport, the first or last flight of a type of aircraft, as a token of respect for the remains of soldiers killed in action, or other notable events.

Why do pilots say blue skies?

Named after the wish “Blue Skies and Tailwinds” that all pilots give each other blessing them with safe travels as they navigate where the birds fly.


Why do pilots say blue?

The callout from the pilots like "LOC blue" serves to remind themselves of the current flight guidance modes, and to maintain awareness of mode changes. This is also to ensure that their mental idea of "what the aircraft will do next" is up to date and fits to the current flight situation.

Why do truckers say 10-4?

10-4 is a way of saying “message received” in radio communications. It's also used as a way to “you got it.”

What is a creeper in trucking?

Lot lizard (or sleeper creeper) — a sex worker that solicits drivers at a truck stop.