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Aeronautical Mobile
Mark Stennett (NA6M)
on
February 4, 2005
View comments about this article!
Ham Radio means different things to different people. To me, having my ham license for the last 29 years is no excuse for not trying something new. A CW man at heart, I never dreamed that so much excitement could be found on 2 meters FM simplex. That is, until I took this cross country trip with a good friend of mine in his private plane in early January, 2005.
Greg Benson, WA6UNL is a private pilot and happens to own an experimental aircraft called a Defiant. Designed by Burt Rutan, his unconventional twin engine propeller driven craft turns a lot of heads. With less than 30 of these home built planes in the air, it's no wonder why.
While I am no stranger to flying, being able to talk on handheld radios while airborne is not something I'm used to. Working for a broadcast company in a corporate capacity doing engineering work, my job takes me all over the nation, via commercial carriers. Radios are not permitted, period.
Not so with general aviation.
So long as you are flying VFR, or Visual Flight Rules, and have permission from the pilot, you are free to use ham radio. Leave it to me to create a small pileup on 146.520 while doing 160 knots at 9600 feet above sea level between Georgetown, TX and Myrtle Beach, SC with 1 watt on a handheld Yaesu VX7-R.
We used two radios. The receiver was a Yaesu VX2-R. It was patched into the plane's intercom panel so we could hear what was going on within our noise canceling headsets. With two Lycoming 0-360 engines running inline opposed at cruise RPM, making intelligible audio with the VX7-R was quite a trick and involved speaking slowly while the microphone was close lipped. Injecting receive audio into the noise canceling environment of the closed ear headsets made it all possible. During the trip, we made approximately 40 contacts. Offering a unique QSL card for the contact has to date yielded 8 incoming cards.
NA6M Aeronautical QSL Front
NA6M Aeronautical QSL Back
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Aeronautical Mobile
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by W3ILG on February 4, 2005
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Mark,
It sounds like you and Greg had a fun time on the cross country in that beautiful Defiant aircraft. Having retired from Lycoming Engines with nearly 40 years of service, I too have had the pleasure of experiencing the same fun a couple of times between the Lycoming factory in Pennsylvania and the Piper factories in Lakeland and Vero Beach, FL. My trips were in the late 70's so there was much less FM activity in those days, but it was still a lot of fun. I used an Icom IC-2AT with a rubber duck, so it was less sofisticated than your setup.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the rest of the ham radio world. I'd suggest you convince Greg to fly you to the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI in July and get to see what the aviation world is all about and meet many more hams there. It's amazing how many hams are also involved in aviation.
73, Mick
W3ILG
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by WA6BFH on February 4, 2005
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Hey, I would love to set up a "sched" with you guys! Come on out to Chino, Brackett, or FlaBob airports maybe?
What companies noise cancelling head-set did you use? I helped in the design engineering of one for a major market aviation audio company a few years ago.
73! de John
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Aeronautical Mobile
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by N3ZKP on February 4, 2005
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Nice story. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I have a friend who flies C130s under contract. He is quite often on HF while in the air. If you enjoyed 2m from 9600', imagine 100w into a 100' trailing wire at about 20,000' :)
Lon
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by WB2FZC on February 4, 2005
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Mark,
Also went aeronautical mobile quite a few times. This was in the mid-70's in Upstate NY in my little two-seater Cessna 140 that I still own today. I still remember the pileups and multiple repeater activations that were quite common in those days. However, the most fun that I had was calling my buddies on the autopatch with my Wilson HT and telling them to come outside and look up in the sky for me as I circled their house. This was well before the days of cell phones and such. The hard part was that the HT picked up all the engine noise as I pressed the PTT switch to key in the patch code. To be successful I had to cut the engine to full idle and coast as I made the autopatch connection.
Later on - in the late 80's I had the pleasure of taking a trip (as a passenger) to the Dayton Hamfest in a Cardinal RG with an ATV setup. We had a ball making video QSO's with quite a number of hams enroute.
73, Alan WB2FZC
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by KA4YKC on February 4, 2005
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That's a great looking card- only wish I'd worked you guys myself!
Dad W4QAZ was a Beech dealer in the seventies and would routinely call home via autopatch using a TR22 with a homebrewed encoder into the High Point NC repeater. He 'brewed a suction cup to the 'duck and would stick it on the cockpit side window. Worked OK in the King Airs because they weren't too noisy inside.
I would work 2m aero/mob from my TriPacer in the mid-nineties. I'd just switch from the A21 aero handie to the 2AT. Fun!
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by W4KYR on February 5, 2005
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What is the mileage for a two way contact for 9600 feet? And what is the farthest mileage you ever had for a two way contact airborne? Enjoyed artticle.
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by KB1GMX on February 5, 2005
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Its a fun club aeromobile.
I've done this a few times using my htx245 in my C150
and also from my friends Stinson 108. Always causes a pileup on the frequency.
Allison
KB1GMX
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by AB2KT on February 5, 2005
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A few years ago it was not unusual to hear ham pilots on commercial flights make some QSOs during slow periods in transatlantic flights. Talk about pileups. They'd mostly be working on 15 or 17m phone.
Haven't heard any on the air since 9/11, however, although that could be simple coincidence.
Can you imagine /AM roving in a VHF contest? Mindboggling.
73
Frank
AB2KT
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by NY7Q on February 5, 2005
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Lots of fun...I have been aeronautical mobile many times over the years in my Wren-460, both vhf and Hf., and then alot in my Cessna T210..I love airplanes, and was an avid hamradio op until recently..still flying tho.
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by K2WH on February 5, 2005
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Worked many air mobiles in my time but only on HF when the "Heavies" are over the Atlantic on the way to Europe.
Want a real treat, you think 9600 feet is high? Work the satellites for even more fun.
K2WH
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by WW0H on February 5, 2005
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When I lived in Kansas, I had the good fortune to be on 146.52 simplex when AES had their Beech Starship in Wichita for its annual service check-up. They called CQ when they were off the ground and I was able to talk to the crew until they were somewhere over Des Moines. Their QSL was a magazine size brochure telling about the aricraft. I don't know if they still have the Starship, but that was one of the best contacts I've had.
As to working satellites; I think that's a different subject. In this story the operator was at 9600 ft, not the repeater. Someday I hope to do the same.
Thanks for posting. Great story.
John
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by WA4MJF on February 5, 2005
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I worked'um and got the pretty QSL
card to prove it :-)
73 de Ronnie
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Aeronautical Mobile
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by K3TIN on February 5, 2005
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Hi Mark!
Yup, great fun! I used to run airborne mobile from several different aircraft from singles and twins to jets. Ran HF from Learjets and Westwinds and 2M FM from everything else. I used to have a Turbo Commander (twin jet prop) and I ran packet from it with the laptop, ht, tnc, et al sitting in the right seat. Left messages all over the place!
Early on I got "chastised" for signing "aeronautical mobile", being told that unless I was actually over water (the 'nautical' part), I was technically "airborne" mobile. Oh well, whatever! Only other grief I got was from a guy squawking about me keying up a bunch of repeaters at the same time (how did he know??!!) Otherwise, it was a lot of fun, particularly on those long, lonely, overnight freight runs.
I found 2M simplex to be about the best. Depending upon aircraft (altitiude and speed) you could hook up with someone over a hundred miles ahead of you and yak with them until you passed over and flew out of range. Often this led to a nice 30 min + "ragchew". Hope you (and I) get to do it again soon!
73,
de Larry
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by KD4ADV on February 5, 2005
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KD4ADV - Sean
13 January 2005 @ 1625 UTC / 1125 Hrs - Eastern
Altitude was 6 thousand 7 hundred feet and he was headed to New Bern, North
Carolina.
I was on my lunch hour and when I heard NA6M I immediately answered his call.
That's really something when you can QSO with a land/mobile station on simplex from an aircraft.
I would like to hear that kind of activity around my area in Chesterfield and Amelia County.
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by KC8VWM on February 5, 2005
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I wonder how many hams operate Aeronautical Mobile.
Anyone have any numbers?
73
Charles - KC8VWM
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by K0PP on February 5, 2005
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Trivia... The use of the phrase "Aeronautical Mobile" in conjunction with or as part of an ID is only correct/legal when one is over international waters. The same is true for "Maritime Mobile".
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by K0BG on February 6, 2005
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Ken is correct. About the only time I use the phrase mobile is when I'm operating from my car and I'm working a DX station, and ask to have it added to the log. Otherwise, who cares?
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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by N4GVA on February 6, 2005
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Nice card. I work almost exclusively Aeronautical Mobile these days (due to schedule, etc) - 100% HF running PSK/RTTY/MFSK/CW and SSTV on 20m and 15m from the SE USA several times a week.
http://www.qrz.com/hampix/a/v/n4gva.1073083254.jpg
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by N4GVA on February 6, 2005
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..."Otherwise, who cares?"...
Probably nobody - but I use "/am" on my call when I'm airborne and I often have a ton of people calling me one after the other because of it. Most of them seem to understand the "/am" call, and most of them always say "you're my first [psk/rtty/mfsk/etc] contact from an /am".
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by WA4MJF on February 6, 2005
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Always remember and don't forget
that ITU regs require you to
sign region that you are in with
your Maritime Mobile and Aeronautical
Mobile designation. Different regions
have different ham band limits.
If you're in the waters or airspace
of a country then you're just mobile.
Reciprocal agreements rather than
ITU regs apply, in this case, if you're
not licensed in that country.
73 de Ronnie
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by KF4VGX on February 6, 2005
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There are a few hams that use my Repeater year after year while flying to the Bahamas. Using the Echolink system they link up to their home town repeater and talk with their friends ,who sound rather pleased to hear their voices. After a they start losing contact, they will drop my repeater and link to another one around Charleston S.C. and so forth along their way.
Enjoyed the read .
73 KF4VGX
Node 3702 Echolink
146.865 Repeater
N Myrtle Beach SC
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by WA2JJH on February 6, 2005
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TNX FOR THE BIRDS EYE VIEW!
I remember one ultra crazy flight back from DAYTON.
EVERY doo-fuss dork ham baught one of the new dual bander H-Ts.
Despite the poor stewardess WANRINIGS. About 50 hams had to talk to each other on the commercial jet.
Yes, at 25,000 feet they did kurchunk about 10 34/94
machines!
AMAZING all the IMOD did not mess with the avionics.
FINALLY as were were desending to LAGUARDIA in NYC.
A group of us explained that LAGUADIA, there is an old pilot saying.
PILOTS will say that airport."you really have to be on the money!"
They finally stopped, when it was explained that Ok take off no problem. LaGUARDIA you will get us in FLUSHING BAY.
LAGUARDIA WAS NEVER REALLY MEANT FOR JETS!
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by WD259 on February 6, 2005
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Great QSO and partial cross country. Bert is a friend who designs the great ones, including the "Voyager" aircraft which flew around the world non-stop on one tank of fuel (darn near the whole ac was tanks). Berts brother Dick Rutan and then "friend" Jeanna Yeager flew the ac trading sleeping for piloting. My company built the propellers (one with yours trulys name signed on the inside of the spinner)..thats another story. Congrats and enjoy! Hope to see you as Oshkosh. 73 Dave Daytome Oh
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by GM0WDD on February 7, 2005
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I'd love to be able to use the HF radio for ham radio but my company says no :-(
The HF radio in the Boeing 737 covers all the main amateur bands and the antenna is in the fin.
One day things may change but with the security climate being the way it is I don't think you'll see change for a while.......
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by WA7NDD on February 7, 2005
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Our repeater is on Garns Mountain, Idaho at 9016'. It's like haveing the the repeater in a plane and us on the ground. It takes hours to drive out from under it in some directions. You can stand at Craters Of The Moon with a hand held which is near Sun Vally, more than two hours by car, with a hand held and a solid signal.
A fighter pilot flew over here one time operating simplex .52 and we talked to him clear into Utah. He was very high.
Jim,
WA7NDD
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by KD4AFW on February 7, 2005
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Thats one nice plane!! I enjoy doing the aero mobile stuff too. I do mine out of a Standard class 15 mtr sailplane. Its a real quiet enviroment and its neat to generate pileups on 2 mtrs. My favorite adventure to date was Wave Camp 2004 at Mt Mitchell NC. I took my sailplane to 20,000 ft in standing waves gererated by Mt Mitchell. Im going back this year, so be listening around mid morning from April 9th through 17th. I was able to work stations from Knoxville, Spartanburg, Charlotte last year with my Vertex VXA700.
John McClary
Chilhowee Tennessee
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by KO4NX on February 7, 2005
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Thanks for the great article!
While living in California I was assigned to a Gulfstream-IIB that was used for SAR (Synthetic Aperture RADAR) Imaging. Contained within that aircraft where two Collins HF transceivers with a coupling unit. The coupler was attached to the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer.
Since most of our flying consisted of racetrack patterns over some pre-determined spot in the desert, there was plenty of time to play radio while waiting for the RADAR system to finish its data collection. This is where I first learned what its like to be the main attraction of a large pile-up. It was great fun to be the center of attention, but I wondered which was harder flying the Gulfstream, or working the pile-up?
73
Rich Miller
AJ3G
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by WV4I on February 8, 2005
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I sometimes have time to operate Aeronautical Mobile from my office. In my case, all I have to work with is RF and AF gain, and tuning in 1kc steps....That's it. Please do not tell me how my audio looks on your radio's "scope", quiz me as to whether equipment is separate, or tell me that I'm off "your" frequency. I'm probably just trying to give some folks a contact with a commercial jet as workload permits, and don't have time for or interest in such debates. Yep, all this has happened, repeatedly, but I try to remember the deserving and don't just QRT, at least until I have to get to other tasks. Thanks, Link, WV4I.......
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by KE6TNN on February 8, 2005
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I have operated aeronautical mobile while flying in a CH-53E helicopter from Okinawa to the Philippines. Made several contacts, but the horrendous noise of the aircraft made it a bit difficult.
During the trip, we aerial refueled twice, and during the last refueling, the refueling drogue from the KC-130 fell off and almost hit us. Got the whole thing on tape. It was a pretty memorable experience.
My QSL card, as shown on qrz.com, is a pic taken during that trip.
Joel
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by WW4FLY on February 9, 2005
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Great job guys! A fellow ham/pilot and I did an airmobile to airmobile contact a while back. So if you are ever between Atlanta and Houston, and see a low level Cessna...
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by N5RMQ on February 9, 2005
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This was'nt really aeronautical Mobile but more like Aero Stationary. When I was stationed on Guam, working the graveyard shift on the B-52 ramp, things would slow down and we would fire up one of the onboard HF radios and "work the World". The Higher-Ups did'nt mind just dont say that you were sitting in a B-52 (security reasons?) Had a great time with that one.
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RE: Aeronautical Mobile
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by K1MKF on February 12, 2005
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I worked a Comm Jet once - 17m phone over the Atlantic. Seemed kinda cool. He said he was not on the crew that day but was a pilot for the company being shuffled around.
While 2m FM simplex might be the easiest to do from a private plane I would imagine that 6m SSB would be a lot more fun. I actually think it's a great band from anywhere!
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