SCA CALL SIGNS

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Get Your Own Flight Pilot Call Sign With Sky Combat Ace

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SCA Call Sign Patches

As part of the program at Sky Combat Ace, you civilians get to participate in a tradition known to us specially-trained dogfighting stunt pilots as "The Naming Ceremony." 

 

This special event is where your buddy/coworker/parent/ or whoever you choose to share a thrilling flight experience with participates in the extremely condensed version of what every fighter pilot has to go through—the assigning of a first-class call sign!


What Are Pilot Call Signs?

So, what is a pilot all sign? Every pilot must use these well-deserved nicknames to introduce themselves and respond from that point forward, just like Icebox, Maverick, or Goose (any Top Gun fans out there?).

 

A typical naming ceremony requires all the pilots in a squadron to get together to welcome a new pilot with drinks, celebrations, and stories. Throughout the event, the attendees, aka "The MOB," can come up with any call sign for the pilot being named.

 

In some cases, the complete call sign plays off the pilot's actual name. Other times, it can be unrelated to names and has more to do with a person's personality or quirks. Then again, it can seemingly come out of nowhere unless you know the whole story!



How Do Pilots Earn Their Names?

In many cases, call signs will have two stories—one is a "PC-version" of the story they tell everyone who asks, and the other is only known by the squadron. Let's use Yoda, for example.

 

During an exercise, one pilot made so many goods calls that it seemed he was "all-knowing" or a "know-it-all." Sounds nice enough, right? The second part of the story is that he's a short, funny-looking guy dressed in green with big ears. We'll leave it to you to decide which the real meaning is. Station call signs are a stellar way to add a little extra class to the occasion and keep the camaraderie tight.


Sky Combat Ace pilot

Do Airplanes Also Get Call Signs?

Pilots aren't the only ones who get assigned these special names. Airplanes have unique identification numbers consisting of a letter prefix made up of a letter or a group of letters. Flight number prefixes and suffixes work similarly to your vehicle registration number. 

 

Aircraft call sign systems¹ are used by FCC licensed air traffic controllers to limit call sign confusion when navigating more than one plane in the vicinity. Once initial contact is made, the radio service may use a telephony designator when addressing a specific aircraft in flight.

 

Common prefixes include the name of the airline, followed by flight identification numbers or characters. For example, a Delta pilot may use "Delta 135" as a call sign. Sometimes, airlines get creative and replace airline names with call signs such as Republic Airlines, which uses "Brickyard" for identification, and Aer Lingus, which goes by "Shamrock."


What About Amateur Pilots and Stations? 

Even amateur stations that coordinate pilots and aircraft are given an amateur radio call sign, so pilots can radio out to the aircraft control tower when nearby. If you've even taken any airline license classes, you know that using and understanding aircraft codes and names is all a part of the intricate communication process between pilot, aircraft, and tower. 


Naming Ceremony Rules at Sky Combat Ace

So, back to your naming ceremony. We feel it is essential to obey a few rules during naming ceremonies, specifically those held for our dear employees here at Sky Combat Ace.

 

  1. Only fellow pilots can come up with names for the namee. 
  2. A namee is not allowed to contribute ideas or suggestions. 
  3. When the naming ceremony commences, all stories must be told in excess, and at least 10% of the story has to be true. 
  4. If any belly-achers complain about their potential names, you WILL be given a worse name. However, the hangar does accept donations, and compensation (in the form of whatever you see fit) could potentially get you a better one.

 

As a new member of our SCA family, you will also have the chance to earn your call sign and experience the thrills of soaring through the air in a real fighter jet!



Earn Your SCA Call Sign Today!

Other than sounding awesome, these names serve a purpose. When talking on our radios during an aerial engagement or adrenaline-pumping flight experience, calling someone by their call sign is a unique identifier (if four people are named "John," no one knows who the heck you mean, but if you call out "Yoda," they know precisely who you're talking to). These names can also confuse enemies who might be listening in—a technique initially used in WWII.


So, all you FNGs who are willing to be completely mortified by getting one rad (or downright embarrassing, depending on who you're telling) call sign, befriend a pilot at SCA, and you just might get an invite to the best show in Las Vegas… an SCA Naming Ceremony!


To learn more about our team of stunt pilots or to book a unique flight experience,
contact our team today!


Sources:

¹James, R. Aircraft and Pilot Call Signs: What Are They Really For? Pilot Teacher. Retrieved 2 February 2022.

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