In English R/T it’s possible to avoid pronouns and usually I do so. In Hungarian, however, you have different forms of verbs for first person singular and plural, so it’s basically impossible to avoid choosing one option or the other. We also have T/V (formal/informal) distinction. The official manual calls for the for the formal form in first person singular. In practice, however, always the informal form is used and normally in the plural. I myself tend to use first person singular when I’m alone in the plane and also to address AFIS units where only a single AFISO is on duty.
Fuji_Abound wrote:
“I” am always at one with the aircraft so “we” go around together
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Yea, my plane and I :) So I suppose it’s us.
Previously it always annoyed me when someone called me in the plural when I was flying alone, but I with this explanation the annoyance will be gone. :-)
In true Victorian fashion we use the “royal we”….
WhiskeyPapa wrote:
Uh… slow day you’re having today???
Let’s face it, any time spent on here suggests a slow day. 
Surely it’s ok to share whimsical musings?
request for new and interes…, well, new, topics
any time spent on here suggests a slow day
I guess it depends on whether you are on the internet to engage in discussions which are informative and stimulate people, or just winding people up
It always puzzles me how many people there are who I know can contribute really well but choose not to, while spending an equivalent time on the keyboard.
It isn’t particularly me asking for new threads. It is more that a few people have said they are not seeing topics which interest them, and my usual answer is for them to start threads about them. There is a huge amount of good stuff which can be discussed in GA. On EuroGA we tend to not have the more usual “UK” topics (slagging off Airport X for raising its landing fee by 100% from £1 to £2) and we have almost no fighting threads, and that leaves lots of room for good thought provoking stuff.
Surely it’s ok to share whimsical musings?
Of course.
similar to Hungarian (even the languages are not similar at all) I have to make choice. “Final 02” is clear but “turning final 02” I need to decide if “we” or “I” even I am pronouncing the verb only…ok, you tell me just speak English ;-)
I always wonder about referring to my aircraft as “she” rather than “it” or anything else. Sailing boats are always “she”.
A yacht is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle about her,
Her decks usually have a crew of men milling around,
She has a waist and stays,
She requires much paint to keep her looking good,
She requires a great deal of maintenance,
and is very expensive to maintain,
and of course it takes a man of much experience to get the best out of her.
I suppose not too much different from an aircraft then?
- (sorry I know it may seem sexist, but the tradition is a very old one)
JasonC wrote:
In what context do you use the pronouns?
Yesterday I was passing over Munich towards Salzburg, getting ever closer to SBG, still at 130 in an unpressurised piston, in which I prefer not to exceed 600fpm for pax comfort.
I had asked for descent a number of times, and had not got it. Eventually, when the required RoD reached 1100fpm and increasing I said “I may need to extend the route for descent.” I wasn’t requesting an extended route, but putting them on notice that if I couldn’t start down soon such a route would be necessary.
I could have said “G-ZZ may need to extend the route for descent”, but that is odd, as an aeroplane cannot really have needs.
That is just a recent example.
But you hear it all the time. Such as “We cannot accept that, we are heavy today” or “we need once more round the hold to sort it out.” It is a fairly common use of English.
Timothy – as I said earlier the trouble is you are just not at one with your aircraft – the “problem” is with your inner self, not the English language. You need to feel her needs, you need to realise she doesnt want to descend too quickly, it is not good for her engines, just feel her needs, listen to what she is telling you and your life and that of your pax will be much simpler. Fly her by the seat of your pants.
“We” is a bit like saying you are “IFR”… sounds more professional
