Blakey wrote:Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the origin of the "Crabfat", "Pongo" and "Fishead" approach fixes for Shearwater Nova Scotia? OFD, you are not allowed to answer for 24 hours to give the young guys a chance!
I'll hold off for awhile longer.
Right now, I just a little south of "BARNES" beacon ... named after long-time Inspector Reg Barnes of the Winnipeg office that did countless flight test examinations in the area over the span of several decades ....so not all are senseless.
The saving grace is the controllers don't know how to pronounce them either......so just play games and pronounce it differently every time.....i've had several pregnant pauses (and laughs at the controllers expense) with that game....
Severe Clear wrote:Is it just me? Or is anyone else tired of saying ridiculous words while briefing an RNAV approach. I’m talking about those retarded names of fixes like “XIBWKX” that you can’t pronounce half the time! I understand that these are computer generated names, but come on! Why not put some creativity into these approach plates and come up with some cool names of fixes. How awesome would it be to be cleared the RNAV runway 30 via “Maverick”.. Just something I had to get off my chest...
SC
If I read XIBWKX during an approach briefing, I wouldn't spend more than a second pronouncing it. I'd just say "zibwicks". I'm pretty sure the guy listening is going to understand that fix I'm referring too. Not a big deal. Consider the hundreds of thousands of waypoints in the world.
Blakey wrote:Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the origin of the "Crabfat", "Pongo" and "Fishead" approach fixes for Shearwater Nova Scotia? OFD, you are not allowed to answer for 24 hours to give the young guys a chance!
I'll hold off for awhile longer.
Right now, I just a little south of "BARNES" beacon ... named after long-time Inspector Reg Barnes of the Winnipeg office that did countless flight test examinations in the area over the span of several decades ....so not all are senseless.
The Old (ex-Pongo) Fogducker
I think I remember a friend saying they were named after Pubs... any truth?
Crabfat: the slang for an ointment used to treat pubic lice (crabs) in Nelson's navy it was made using fat from sheep and mercury, a chemical reaction during preparation resulted in a blue/grey substance similar to RAF blue. Sometime after the creation of the RAF some RN wit made the connection between the colour of crabfat and RAF blue, the nickname stuck like glue and has been applied to all the Royal Air Forces to this day.
Fishhead: a term of endearment (?) used by soldiers and airmen to identify their water borne brethern.
Pongo: a term of endearment (?) used by sailors and airmen to identify their landlocked and gravity trapped brethern.
Sometime after the integration of the Canadian Forces a wag was sent on the Instrument Check Pilot Course, one part of the course was designing an approach complete with approach fixes. If memory serves me correctly Crabfat, Fishhead and Pongo were TACAN approach fixes and they were well recieved and appreciated by all.
I might be dreaming this, but I seem to recall CURLY, LARRY, MOEEE (Atlanta perhaps) and MICKY, MINNY, GOOFY (Orlando).
The other night actually it was quiet on centre and our next waypoint was something like MVMWN. As it was my understanding that all 5 letter waypoints had to be pronounceable in the english language, I asked the controller how he would pronounce it. After a long pause, he said he'd ask the other controllers near him. After a minute or so, he came back and said that none of them knew how to pronounce it and that it was quite a conundrum. His suggestion sounded like what you'd sound like after having a full day of dental anaesthesia. Gave us a bit of a chuckle!
