Aviator call sign

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For other uses, see Aviation call signs.

An aviator call sign or aviator callsign is a

NASA Astronauts
with military aviator backgrounds are referred to during spaceflights by their call signs rather than their first names.

The origins of aviator call signs are varied. Most call signs

firstname or surname
. Other inspirations for call signs may include personality traits, middle name, references to historical figures, or past exploits during the pilot's career. Aviator call signs nearly always must come from a member or members of the aviator's squadron, training class, or other cohort.

It is considered bad form to try to give oneself a call sign and it is also common for aviators to be given a fairly derogatory call sign, and the more they complain about it, the more likely it is to stick.[citation needed]

Some aviators use the same call sign throughout their careers; in other cases an aviator might have a series of call signs. For example, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Kara Hultgreen was originally given the call sign "Hulk" because of her ability to bench-press 200 pounds.[1] Later, after a television appearance in which she wore noticeable makeup, she received the call sign "Revlon",[1] and a 1998 biography was entitled Call Sign Revlon.[2]

In fiction

Film

  • The 1986 film
    better source needed] Ray Seckinger (Top Gun instructor and MiG pilot): "Secks";[5] Thomas Sobieck (Top Gun instructor and MiG pilot): "Sobs";[5] Robert Willard (Navy aerial coordinator, Top Gun instructor and MiG pilot): "Rat";[5] C.J. Heatley (aerial camera operator): "Heater";[5] and Ricky Hammonds (Top Gun instructor and MiG pilot): "Organ".[5]
  • In the 1991 film
    Straight Razor
    " at the end of the film because he'd become "a real weapon" in the eyes of his commanding officer. The book's principal character Jake Grafton has the call sign "Cool Hand".

Television

  • In the 1995 TV series JAG, the lead character, Harmon Rabb, is given the name "Pappy" due to the fact that he is the oldest pilot in his squadron. This is later changed to 'Hammer' which was his father's Vietnam War call sign—a mark of respect.
  • In the 2004 television series
    Sharon Valerii and "Athena" for Sharon Agathon.[6] In the original 1978 series on which the 2004 series was based, many of these were the characters' actual names, rather than call signs.[6]

Print
  • The
    US Air Force
    pilot.
  • In Tom Clancy's 1993 novel Without Remorse, fictional Vice Admiral Winslow Holland Maxwell, during World War II, received the call sign "Winnie," which he hated; after a mission in which he shot down three Japanese planes (all confirmed by gunsight cameras), he found a new coffee mug in the wardroom, engraved with the call sign "Dutch." When he later became an admiral, he displayed the mug—no longer used for coffee or pencils—in a place of honor on his desk.
  • A trilogy of novels published 2001-2004 by Ward "Mooch" Carroll, Punk's War,[9] Punk's Wing,[10] and Punk's Fight,[11] featured Rick Reichert, an F-14 pilot with the call sign "Punk" named by his skipper (Commanding Officer) because he was caught listening to punk rock music while he was in the paraloft “walking” (suiting up) for a flight.

In real life

  • Astronaut
    Duane Carey used the callsign "Spider" as an A-10 pilot;[12] When he transferred to F-16s, his call sign was changed to "Digger", because another pilot with that callsign had recently left the group, and the group wanted to continue its use.[12]
  • US Navy fighter pilot Dale Snodgrass used the callsign of "Snort" and flew the F-14 Tomcat. He is known for a photo of him in his F-14 doing a knife edge pass off the side of the USS America.[13][14] After his retirement from the Navy he flew many types of warbirds at airshows across the world, up until his death in mid-2021.[15][16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Thompson, Mark (August 17, 2010). "Navy Man Claims Aviator Call Signs Get Too Personal". Time. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  2. ISBN 9781557508096
    .
  3. ^ a b Powell, William (June 3, 2005). "What's your sign?". United States Air Force. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  4. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Top Gun (1986) (full cast and crew)". IMDb. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9781554903016
    .
  7. ISBN 9781101903551
    .
  8. ISBN 9780761158561
    .
  9. ISBN 9781612515533
    .
  10. ISBN 9780451208774
    .
  11. ISBN 9780451211491
    .
  12. ^ a b Max, B.J. (April 2010). "MMM Interviews Lt Colonel Duane "Digger" Carey". Minnesota Motocycle Monthly. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "Tributes pour in for flying legend Dale 'Snort' Snodgrass after fatal crash Saturday at Lewiston airport | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  14. ^ Leone, Dario (2018-10-04). "The story (and video) behind Dale "Snort" Snodgrass legendary super low Banana Pass". The Aviation Geek Club. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  15. ^ Leone, Dario (2021-07-25). "Dale "Snort" Snodgrass, legendary US Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot, killed in the crash of a SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019". The Aviation Geek Club. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  16. ^ "Dale Snodgrass Bio: Age, Wife, Family About the Legendary Pilot Who Died in a Crash". Earn The Necklace. 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  17. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Gary, Debbie. "The Real Top Gun". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
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