The pilot will traditionally make an announcement telling you the local time and temperature of the area you're landing in so that you have some knowledge of what you're about to be stepping into.
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning / afternoon / evening. Welcome on board (flight reference). This is Captain / Co-pilot (your name) speaking and I have some information about our flight. Our flight time today will be (flight duration) and our estimated time of arrival in (destination) is (ETA)local time.
After safely landing, pilots usually say something like "Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed at [destination airport]." Others here have good answers; however, my favorite was from my initial flight instructor and uncle. His quote was “Once again, skill and cunning has won out over luck and superstition.”
PED – Descent
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into [city]. Please turn off all portable electronic devices and stow them until we have arrived at the gate. In preparation for landing in [city], be certain your seat back is straight up and your seat belt is fastened.
When pilots realize that their plane is going down, they'll immediately get on the radio and say Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This will clear the radio of traffic and clutter and allow them to call in their emergency.
Very high-frequency radio communications are the most abundant example of pilot communications, accounting for nearly every pilot/controller interaction on the ground and in the air. VHF radio frequencies are allocated to multiple industries, with aviation and marine navigation being two of the most significant users.
It covers the five phases of a normal landing: base leg, final approach, round out, touchdown, and after-landing roll.
How do pilots request permission to land? Normally, a pilot will request to enter the controlled airspace immediately surrounding the airport. The tower will issue instructions regarding approaching the airport and joining the "landing circuit" (the standard route to fly on approach to any runway).
Simply put, the landing process consists of four aspects or phases: the approach, the flair, the touchdown and the landing roll.
But if you've ever felt compelled to applaud the pilot for landing safely, think again. Pilots actually hate it when passengers clap. According to a Q&A on internet forum Quora, Scott Kinder, who identified himself as a 737 captain of a major US airline, said it is ignorant. “Don't even think about it.
Knowing the amount of altitude to descend and the vertical speed of the descent, the proper time to begin the descent can be determined. Most modern airplanes do these calculations for the pilot and provide him/her with a top of descent point in the flight management computer.
When communication switched to radio, pilots carried on using the letter “R” to confirm a message but started to use the word “roger”. As not all pilots speak English, it was decided by the International Telegraph Union in 1927 that “roger” would be an easier command than “received”.
Usually one aircraft will turn on their landing lights about 2-5 miles back and wait for the other to briefly flash their lights in response. It is not uncommon to get no response because the pilots on the other aircraft may have their heads down, and not see the other aircraft.
Being that the Captain is the pilot in command, they are the final authority to the safe operation of the aircraft and therefore, the final decision maker. The Captain will delegate tasks to the First Officer to help fly the aircraft.
Convention requires the word be repeated three times in a row during the initial emergency declaration ("Mayday mayday mayday") to prevent it being mistaken for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual mayday call from a message about a mayday call.
Air Traffic Controller - This person works in the control tower and talks to pilots by radio. An Air Traffic Controller tells the pilots when and where they can land their planes at the airport.
Wake turbulence poses a major risk to other aircraft, so pilots and ATC use the term “heavy” in radio transmissions as a reminder that the aircraft's wake may be dangerous to others passing behind or below the flightpath of these larger-mass aircraft.
When clouds surround an airport, pilots have been able to find the path to the runway for decades by using an Instrument Landing System, or ILS.
Landing is accomplished by slowing down and descending to the runway. This speed reduction is accomplished by reducing thrust and/or inducing a greater amount of drag using flaps, landing gear or speed brakes.
Aviators often speak “pilot English” to avoid miscommunications over radio transmission. “Tree” for instance, means three, “fife” is the number five and “niner” means nine, says Tom Zecha, a manager at AOPA. The variations stemmed from a desire to avoid confusion between similar-sounding numbers, he says.
Pilots are trained to handle all sorts of nerve-racking situations, but that doesn't mean that they don't get scared—especially in these real instances, told by the pilots who experienced them, of serious in-flight fear.
Easier Navigation
Navigating at night can actually be much easier than during the day. Large conurbations and their associated street lights can be seen from miles away. Making it easy to pinpoint them and fly towards them. Roads are also much easier to pick out against the surrounding terrain.