I heard it in Japan a while ago. Only other US carrier on frequency was Delta. It could have been someone not on approach, but I’m going to pin it on the Delta professionals.
Makes sense.
A capital Greek letter delta is a triangle (Δ).
Triangles are pointy.
You know what else is pointy?
A cat's claws.
Errorgo, Delta pylotes are cats.
Q. E. Fuckin. D.
The logic is irrefutable.
Well, didn't you know that's what the mask with the hose is for? What did you think it was - some hippie oxygen bar thing? I mean, it's that too, but you don't get the cool bubbly water tank in front of you, so it's pretty lame.
I have a buddy who slept with a handheld by his bed specifically to monitor a nearby untowered, but busy, frequency.
If he happened to be awoken by somebody making their last calls, he’d lean over, key the handheld, and say, “Uhhh. You *have* checked your NOTAMS, right?” Then he roll back over and sleep like a baby.
Also, multiple euro nations use VDF-triangulation to pinpoint exactly who is transmitting, both on guard and normal frequencies. Will be a bad day for your license when that MOR gets filed.
Four legs Europe to East Coast and West Coast, and not a single meow. Maybe it's confined to certain regions. Heard a few meows in Europe though over a few years, it happens here too. Don't feed the ~~trolls~~ cats.
There was an awesome letter going viral through the Europe pilot community about a Ryanair (Lauda, I thought) who got a notification letter from UK military ATC because they triangulated a ‘meow’ to the mentioned aircraft. Since then it’s a lot less frequent on the radio.
"exclusive" is a word I wouldn't use for something that isn't literally exclusive.
Anyhow I fly practically only in Europe and it happens here a lot too. Perhaps not as much as on your side of the pond, but frequently enough to guess that every commercial pilot hears it at least once a month.
Used to be a problem in Europe as well.. then one day ATC got pissed and they were able to triangulate the source. At least one was a Ryanair pilot who got royally shafted with kisses.
Official email from Ryanair to their pilots was made public and guard suddenly went quiet
Could be because radios that can transmit are bit more regulated in Europe/you need a license. Prices are also higher, so not every bored idiot can purchase one on impulse because hurr durr freedom111111!!1
My buddy at AA told me a new hire on IOE was fired for meowing on guard. Sounds like one of those rumors passed around the pilot group, but hilarious if true.
I’m shocked people have done it for as long as they have. There’s about 7 guys in the entire world who find it amusing and they somehow haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
Crash pads are often filled with pilots who act like college age frat boys. They don't clean, they don't care to keep clean the common areas, they act like teenage boys who are away from home for the first time. They expect others to clean up and they live like kids who have no responsibilities. In short, they are slobs.
That’s why I did a coed pilot/FA crash pad. Only me and one other were pilots because no one else wanted to deal with the situation or their significant others didn’t trust them. Cleanest pad that you could find in NYC. Just had to put up with the bullshit drama. But I did it from an impeccable common area.
I’ve run a Crashpad for over 20 years in SFO. Very clean, most guys are great. Only problem I’ve had is with some of the new pilots, only a few, pretty much only renting to older guys now when possible.
> It’s all the fossils dog piling the frequency with “YOU’RE ON GUARD” which I can’t help but chuckle at.
This is the answer to ops question. Most pilots are too old to understand what trolling is, so they react, and encourages them.
They’re trolls. They want to get some 64-year-old widebody captain to lecture them on professionalism. I wish the captains would figure that out and stop feeding them
HAA pilot; was recently landing in a confined area at night. Two of the children up past bedtime were meowing on a busy CTAF shared between several airports. Upon being told to knock it off, they wanted to argue. Thankfully, they shut up when I chided them to be professional. For Pete’s sake, go to fingers or 23.05 for this super cool and funny behavior. /s
The worst one I heard about was a captain who had his FO ask “can you take 1 for a sec?”, captain said sure and then noticed the FO went and meowed on guard, then the FO was like “ok I’ve got 1 again”
It’s like, holy shit dude, you can’t even still listen to radio 1 while you’re doing your meow? That’s pretty pathetic.
This is probably the most accurate description. Pisses me off because I’ve wanted to fly my entire life and due to medical I can’t. and then I hear about that kind of childish shit.
My instructor told me to do it once when I was still a student pilot and the allure was pretty much done after that.
I think you get young still immature dudes flying with hard asses who think any fun is taboo so they never grow out of it
One thing I’ve never understood is if these are regional/airline pilots — aren’t they flying with somebody else who has to listen to this shit in person?
You know, a lot of people have strong opinions on here whenever someone says "With you" when checking in with ATC, but in reality I think this behavior is what we should shift the focus to getting rid of. Why should I monitor the emergency frequency if all I hear is this unprofessional and distracting behavior all the time? I imagine other people think the same way, and this could be the difference between an aircraft in trouble getting the help they need, or crashing with nobody to hear them.
You monitor guard because the second anyone actually needs help on 121.5, every. Single. Pilot. Is offering airports, suggestions, help, and encouragement. And you’re one of them.
Meowing over the radio started when the US navy was developing ACLS in like the 60s/70s. If a pilot wanted to use the autoland procedure they first had to request approval over radio from the tower. Other pilots or ground crew would meow at them in response to call them pussies for letting a computer land their jet.
Fun fact, when they were developing this thing they actually had to build in a scatter variance of about 6 inches because the system was so accurate that the hooks of the aircraft were slamming into the exact same spot on the deck causing it to become unserviceable. You see in some of those international interception videos that Chinese or Russian fighter pilots meow at whoever they are menacing in much the same context, calling the other pilot a pussy for not retaliating.
Idk who thought it was a good idea to start meowing on guard, if any of my coworkers did that here in Australia someone would knock their lights out on the ground.
Lol wow, i did a long xc last week (750 miles and back) and was listening to guard just to get some relatively quiet freq without people stepping all over each other and heard lots of the cat game going on, not sure if its hilarious but sometimes was good to have the monotony broken . Also heard someone give a wonderful pre arrival speech, and a couple of major airliners who couldn’t remember what frequency to be on.
I'm pretty sure it started because of the [intro to Super Troopers](https://youtu.be/1rlSjdnAKY4?si=YLOa6EvlcLBavYTb). But most of the people who do it today probably haven't even seen that movie.
It started when the US navy was developing autoland procedures to boats in like the 60s/70s. If a pilot wanted to use the autoland procedure they first had to request approval over radio from the tower. Other pilots or ground crew would meow at them in response to call them pussies for letting a computer land their jet.
I don't know a single pilot who would allow this from their co-worker at an actual airline with professional standards. I wouldn't wanna fly next to a fucking imbecile meowing on the radios.
Are you in south florida? Whenever I go to the training area over the everglades there is always the same 2 guys doing it.
Honestly once or twice it’s funny but if it goes on more than that it gets annoying. One time they went for like 2 minutes straight just going back and forth and my instructor finally held the mic
All it’s going to take is for one of these flight ops departments to start reviewing guard transmissions looking for that sht.
Watch how absolutely FAST the sht would cease.
They do it hoping for attention. Any kind of attention. Complaining about it feeds the attention. If you hear it, ignore it.
How do people not get the simple concept; “don’t feed the trolls”?
It doesn't bother me at all. It's kinda nice hearing something different on the radio to break up the silence. I probably hear professional pilots accidentally speak on guard than I do the meowing.
Guarrrd
Wait, is this really a thing? I‘ve just begun my flight training and have yet to come across or hear about this before. Is it typically done during specific interactions? Like…why?
I meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn... meow! \*switches to proper frequency\*
But on a serious note, it's a good habit to have guard on standby but not really necessary to monitor it quite yet. If your bored on a cross country or not in contact with ATC sure, but otherwise I wouldn't bother at least in training. when your still trying to learn your way around the radios I agree its just distracting. that being said, and the reason I said its good to have on standby is because if you have an emergency, those meows turn into help real quick. (quick disclaimer, if you are in contact with ATC please tell them first because they should provide better guidance and get emergency services on the way.)
I was flying with a FO who was involved in that directly when at the regionals. It happened around 9/11. Before then nobody monitored guard. Post 9/11 it became a procedure stateside and, of course, civilians would accidentally transmit on it (military radios don’t have that problem because they’re built to constantly monitor 243.0 but you can’t transmit unless you actually tune it up.) Anyway, someone would make a mistake and then someone would reply “GUARD!” Well, regional pilots are pretty young and they started calling those guys “guard dogs” so they’d meow on 121.5 to “make the guard dogs bark.” They think it’s funny and every goddamn day now, old guys can’t stop themselves from feeding the trolls and will yell at them, on guard, to stop which is exactly what they wanted to hear. This guy admitted he was one of them. He thought, as a 20-something, it was funny, but as he hit his 40s he admits he was a douche.
It's the aviation equivalent of social media trolls. Just there to try to get a rise out of people. Can't wait until the FAA requires all radios to data burst your location and information whenever you pull the trigger on an emergency frequency.
Funny story about meowing - I, like every other professional aviator, I fly around monitoring + guard. To be more specific, we typically monitor 121.5, 16, 243 + guard. So there I was, low viz, relatively high seas, low on gas trying to hoist off a sail boat. Stressed out of my mind. Then some idiots at 30k feet start playing on guard, I start slapping pins down, trying to mute it...must be nice to have nothing else to do but play on guard. If I ever fly with someone who does that, I'll probably reach across and slap them. But I guess when you're so board of having your finger up your ass, the next best thing is guard. I wish there were repercussions like false calls to 911.
This has been going on for quite some time, and while it’ll probably be almost impossible to figure out where/when it exactly started (shortly after the release of Super Troopers, obviously), I would put money on a greater than 50% chance that it was a Laker.
It started when the US navy was developing ACLS in like the 60s/70s. If a pilot wanted to use the autoland procedure they first had to request approval over radio from the tower. Other pilots or ground crew would meow at them in response to call them pussies for letting a computer land their jet.
Yes, there's a NOTAM which requires it in cases where you're able. Assuming you have two radios...you're able other than when you're pickup up the ATIS while enroute, perhaps.
I really wish we could see what call sign is doing the meowing, simply for the fact that I’d go hunt them down, and slap them.
The other day I flew to a larger airport, and on 126.7 (here in Canada) they had some sort of “joke” sound they’d constantly make when one of the three planes would be on the radio. It took every last bone in my body to not call up the school the next morning and complain. (Aviation here in Alberta is a small world, and I don’t want to come across as an upright bitch.) but professionalism is definitely lacking in the younger generation of student pilots.
So my question is - assuming a crew environment, do guys do this with the other guy in the cockpit or when they leave? I'd think if there was another person in the cockpit someone would be getting slapped?
A bit off topic but when I became a theoretical knowledge instructor on a contractor basis I registered a company because it made everything a lot cleaner payments-wise. I really struggled to come up with a name that would be memorable. Most other people just use things like “John Smith avaiation consultancy Ltd” etc. I liked something that would at least stick in your mind and be searchable in Google in case freelancing ever really took off. I went for Meow 1215 Ltd because I figured it would at least get a reaction in the aviation world…
Because of the way radios work, you'll sometimes hear "you're on guard", or the two less civilized versions "GUARRRRD!!" or "meow" which may be made in response to a transmission you didn't hear. This is because the person who inadvertently tried to reach ATC or tower (or make their in-flight welcome announcement) on guard could be hundreds of miles from you, unheard on your radio. But then someone halfway in between, who heard that inadvertent transmission will give a reply, hopefully the helpful "you're on guard", but someones instead one of the immature versions, and you'll only hear that because that aircraft is closer to you.
Think I’m out of the loop here, just a student pilot. Are people actually making cat noises on the emergency frequency (wtf), or is meowing just some term I’m not yet familiar with?
At least it’s just meowing. When I was in the Navy and later, the Coast Guard, we would hear some rando in Mexico call out “Filipino monkeeeeeeee. Monkey. Monkey. Monkey.”
It went on for years and I’m sure the original guy has passed away by now but someone took up his mantle and is continuing the goddamn tradition.
I was on my IOE flight, on short final and the LCA and I forgot to stop monitoring guard. Right as I started to flare someone on guard says “is that you I see in the bathroom making a big stinky poo poo?” The LCA and I both thought it was each other saying that at first and both super confused on why the other would say that then
This is a US exclusive thing as well. I do 1-2 week stints in europe each month. Soon as I coast back into the states it begins.
Heard it deep in the middle of no where Mexico yesterday. Perhaps the cancer is spreading.
¡Meów!
It’s written meáu🧐
In Louisiana it’s Mèaux
It's actually ¡Miau!
This deserves way more upvotes.
It is, because the Neanderthals doing the meowing are now at majors and flying outside of the continental US sadly.
Cartel pilot meows? Although one would think those folks wouldn't want to draw attention...
No one would suspect a cartel pilot to meow, that's the beauty of it.
Government drug agencies hate this one weird trick. You'll be SHOCKED! Like and subscribe.
Genius really
I heard it in Japan a while ago. Only other US carrier on frequency was Delta. It could have been someone not on approach, but I’m going to pin it on the Delta professionals.
Makes sense. A capital Greek letter delta is a triangle (Δ). Triangles are pointy. You know what else is pointy? A cat's claws. Errorgo, Delta pylotes are cats. Q. E. Fuckin. D. The logic is irrefutable.
I'm a cat? But I'm allergic to cats!
Well, didn't you know that's what the mask with the hose is for? What did you think it was - some hippie oxygen bar thing? I mean, it's that too, but you don't get the cool bubbly water tank in front of you, so it's pretty lame.
I hear it on 123.45 on NAT tracks.
"Soon as I coast back into the states it begins." Found the guy!
lol touché
We still get a lot of GUUUAUAUAAAAARRRRRD though. Normally followed by a very very British accent telling people off
I have a buddy who slept with a handheld by his bed specifically to monitor a nearby untowered, but busy, frequency. If he happened to be awoken by somebody making their last calls, he’d lean over, key the handheld, and say, “Uhhh. You *have* checked your NOTAMS, right?” Then he roll back over and sleep like a baby.
Gotta love the Speedbird Nigels chiming in.
Is 121.5 used in Europe? I’ve never flown over there
Yep
It's used everywhere in the world.
Was happening a lot on the unattended frequency in Canterbury, NZ this weekend just gone too
Also, multiple euro nations use VDF-triangulation to pinpoint exactly who is transmitting, both on guard and normal frequencies. Will be a bad day for your license when that MOR gets filed.
Four legs Europe to East Coast and West Coast, and not a single meow. Maybe it's confined to certain regions. Heard a few meows in Europe though over a few years, it happens here too. Don't feed the ~~trolls~~ cats.
It used to be confined to the eastern seaboard of the US, unfortunately this plague has spread far and wide now.
There was an awesome letter going viral through the Europe pilot community about a Ryanair (Lauda, I thought) who got a notification letter from UK military ATC because they triangulated a ‘meow’ to the mentioned aircraft. Since then it’s a lot less frequent on the radio.
From a friend, *every* time someone flies into CYAC.
Got a lot of meows on approach into Sydney last month
"exclusive" is a word I wouldn't use for something that isn't literally exclusive. Anyhow I fly practically only in Europe and it happens here a lot too. Perhaps not as much as on your side of the pond, but frequently enough to guess that every commercial pilot hears it at least once a month.
Used to be a problem in Europe as well.. then one day ATC got pissed and they were able to triangulate the source. At least one was a Ryanair pilot who got royally shafted with kisses. Official email from Ryanair to their pilots was made public and guard suddenly went quiet
Around Europe I hear ‘Franco’ every now and then, but not too often.
Could be because radios that can transmit are bit more regulated in Europe/you need a license. Prices are also higher, so not every bored idiot can purchase one on impulse because hurr durr freedom111111!!1
Yeah it's not that, it's licensed pilots doing the meowing, not random people with hand helds.
It happens in Canada all the time.
Aren't you glad American kitty cats are welcoming you?
I have never heard anyone meow in Scotland either and I fly weekly
Lol no it’s not. There’s even footage and recording of a Chinese military jet meowing at a US Air Force P8 (if I recall correctly it was a P8)
If anyone at my airline did that the response would be severe. Both on and off the record.
Didn't someone in here post a while ago they sent someone back to training for meowing on the line? Lol go imagine.
My buddy at AA told me a new hire on IOE was fired for meowing on guard. Sounds like one of those rumors passed around the pilot group, but hilarious if true.
Idk but I hope so
If I had to guess, it probably happens when the other pilot is in the lav.
DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED
You're goddamn right I did
I’d think a simple mentoring moment would be sufficient but damn, you sound like a tub of joy to fly with.
I’m shocked people have done it for as long as they have. There’s about 7 guys in the entire world who find it amusing and they somehow haven’t gotten tired of it yet.
The frat boy mindset is long-lasting. Applies to crash pads, too.
can you elaborate on the crash pad thing?
Crash pads are often filled with pilots who act like college age frat boys. They don't clean, they don't care to keep clean the common areas, they act like teenage boys who are away from home for the first time. They expect others to clean up and they live like kids who have no responsibilities. In short, they are slobs.
That’s why I did a coed pilot/FA crash pad. Only me and one other were pilots because no one else wanted to deal with the situation or their significant others didn’t trust them. Cleanest pad that you could find in NYC. Just had to put up with the bullshit drama. But I did it from an impeccable common area.
Coed pilot crashpads ftw
I’ve run a Crashpad for over 20 years in SFO. Very clean, most guys are great. Only problem I’ve had is with some of the new pilots, only a few, pretty much only renting to older guys now when possible.
Their poor wives are there to parent them
that’s disgusting. I thought it was going to be more of a whoring thing with flight attendants
Pilots are the true whores here. We do for money the thing that most people enjoy enough to do for free
Free flying? Where?
What do fraternities have to do with meowing on freq?
The obviously didn’t get a bid
GDIs bro trying to stick it to everyone
Childish attitude is long lived.
It’s like being locked in a room with imbeciles that only have one joke…for 40 years.
Welcome to life as a mainline first officer. Well to be fair those types usually have at least 3 or 4 locked and loaded
I think it’s more than 7 guys but I may be wrong
Ngl guys, I may not partake, but it’s my guilty pleasure hearing it.
Honestly the meowing isn’t the funny part. It’s all the fossils dog piling the frequency with “YOU’RE ON GUARD” which I can’t help but chuckle at.
> It’s all the fossils dog piling the frequency with “YOU’RE ON GUARD” which I can’t help but chuckle at. This is the answer to ops question. Most pilots are too old to understand what trolling is, so they react, and encourages them.
This would be a correct assessment 😂😂
Meow!
They’re trolls. They want to get some 64-year-old widebody captain to lecture them on professionalism. I wish the captains would figure that out and stop feeding them
Don’t give it away! Seriously though, this is the reason. Delta really gotta stop with the passenger announcements on guard though….
To show everyone how you're the coolest regional pilot around
HAA pilot; was recently landing in a confined area at night. Two of the children up past bedtime were meowing on a busy CTAF shared between several airports. Upon being told to knock it off, they wanted to argue. Thankfully, they shut up when I chided them to be professional. For Pete’s sake, go to fingers or 23.05 for this super cool and funny behavior. /s
Why is 122.75 *so hard* for people to remember?
I guess because 123.45 is *so easy*. The FAA should just give up and make it official.
I fly on the west coast (just as a hobby) and never hear it in the pacific northwest
Monitor guard 121.5 for a few hours. You’ll get a meow.
It's definitely more often the further East you go
The worst one I heard about was a captain who had his FO ask “can you take 1 for a sec?”, captain said sure and then noticed the FO went and meowed on guard, then the FO was like “ok I’ve got 1 again” It’s like, holy shit dude, you can’t even still listen to radio 1 while you’re doing your meow? That’s pretty pathetic.
It’s a mating call for other immature pilots
This is probably the most accurate description. Pisses me off because I’ve wanted to fly my entire life and due to medical I can’t. and then I hear about that kind of childish shit.
Don’t worry! You can meow in spirit, just not actually like flying for spirit.
I started flying in 2013, 11 years ago. And this is one of the most stupid things I hear on the radio. Even at busy controlled airports. Come on man.
My instructor told me to do it once when I was still a student pilot and the allure was pretty much done after that. I think you get young still immature dudes flying with hard asses who think any fun is taboo so they never grow out of it
One thing I’ve never understood is if these are regional/airline pilots — aren’t they flying with somebody else who has to listen to this shit in person?
It’s usually not the airlines.
Not until I’m a captain LMAO
You know, a lot of people have strong opinions on here whenever someone says "With you" when checking in with ATC, but in reality I think this behavior is what we should shift the focus to getting rid of. Why should I monitor the emergency frequency if all I hear is this unprofessional and distracting behavior all the time? I imagine other people think the same way, and this could be the difference between an aircraft in trouble getting the help they need, or crashing with nobody to hear them.
With you
You monitor guard because the second anyone actually needs help on 121.5, every. Single. Pilot. Is offering airports, suggestions, help, and encouragement. And you’re one of them.
At my company a new hire meowed during his IOE. He was fired.
ITT: people who definitely meow on the radio saying "I don't meow but people who do are cool"
Wait until you find out some CFIs also like meowing.
Meowing over the radio started when the US navy was developing ACLS in like the 60s/70s. If a pilot wanted to use the autoland procedure they first had to request approval over radio from the tower. Other pilots or ground crew would meow at them in response to call them pussies for letting a computer land their jet. Fun fact, when they were developing this thing they actually had to build in a scatter variance of about 6 inches because the system was so accurate that the hooks of the aircraft were slamming into the exact same spot on the deck causing it to become unserviceable. You see in some of those international interception videos that Chinese or Russian fighter pilots meow at whoever they are menacing in much the same context, calling the other pilot a pussy for not retaliating. Idk who thought it was a good idea to start meowing on guard, if any of my coworkers did that here in Australia someone would knock their lights out on the ground.
Lol wow, i did a long xc last week (750 miles and back) and was listening to guard just to get some relatively quiet freq without people stepping all over each other and heard lots of the cat game going on, not sure if its hilarious but sometimes was good to have the monotony broken . Also heard someone give a wonderful pre arrival speech, and a couple of major airliners who couldn’t remember what frequency to be on.
Wait until you hear them call out tail numbers on guard for the meowing. Priceless
Used to not care, till I heard a captain getting meowed and “guarrrrrded” at for using 121.5 to help a student solo with a stuck throttle.
I'm pretty sure it started because of the [intro to Super Troopers](https://youtu.be/1rlSjdnAKY4?si=YLOa6EvlcLBavYTb). But most of the people who do it today probably haven't even seen that movie.
That movie came out in 2001. This brand of regardedness has been going on a lot longer than that.
It started when the US navy was developing autoland procedures to boats in like the 60s/70s. If a pilot wanted to use the autoland procedure they first had to request approval over radio from the tower. Other pilots or ground crew would meow at them in response to call them pussies for letting a computer land their jet.
You know how it is u/rckid13 once they get that syrup in them they get all antsy in their pantsy
I thought this was an American thing until yesterday. It was a cat festival over Serbia. Goddamn you muricans, you’ve spread it to Europe
I hear Franco a good bit over Italy and the Adriatic as well
I don't know a single pilot who would allow this from their co-worker at an actual airline with professional standards. I wouldn't wanna fly next to a fucking imbecile meowing on the radios.
It’s usually not the airlines meowing.
Are you in south florida? Whenever I go to the training area over the everglades there is always the same 2 guys doing it. Honestly once or twice it’s funny but if it goes on more than that it gets annoying. One time they went for like 2 minutes straight just going back and forth and my instructor finally held the mic
No, I'm in the New England area.
If I ever fly with someone that does it, I'm going to physically strike them
May the All-Father guide thy hand
Wait, they don't just do this on Vatsim?!
Vatsim had to learn it from somewhere.
Wow.
What I have learned on the internet is these are all Delta pilots.
Yes. It’s part of the checkride there.
All it’s going to take is for one of these flight ops departments to start reviewing guard transmissions looking for that sht. Watch how absolutely FAST the sht would cease.
They do it hoping for attention. Any kind of attention. Complaining about it feeds the attention. If you hear it, ignore it. How do people not get the simple concept; “don’t feed the trolls”?
Yeah it’s like fishing for boomers
It doesn't bother me at all. It's kinda nice hearing something different on the radio to break up the silence. I probably hear professional pilots accidentally speak on guard than I do the meowing. Guarrrd
it was really bad yesterday.
Rolling coal. Same mindset.
Where were you flying? What two airports or general area?
KBED - KSFM - KEEN
To get you to post this. Don't feed trolls. Ever
Meow.
Only wookie growls are allowed
"Meow" is aviation English for "I'm a f\*\*\*ing idiot and want everyone to know it."
Wait, is this really a thing? I‘ve just begun my flight training and have yet to come across or hear about this before. Is it typically done during specific interactions? Like…why?
If you monitor 121.5, you'll eventually hear it. I've been told that it's more prevalent in the East Coast, though I've no clue why.
Student pilot here. Meowing???
I moo
This post will really put an end to all of it!
You ever really want to be the funny guy without actually being a funny guy? There's your answer.
I meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn... meow! \*switches to proper frequency\* But on a serious note, it's a good habit to have guard on standby but not really necessary to monitor it quite yet. If your bored on a cross country or not in contact with ATC sure, but otherwise I wouldn't bother at least in training. when your still trying to learn your way around the radios I agree its just distracting. that being said, and the reason I said its good to have on standby is because if you have an emergency, those meows turn into help real quick. (quick disclaimer, if you are in contact with ATC please tell them first because they should provide better guidance and get emergency services on the way.)
As soon as I get around Oklahoma that’s when it starts up, definitely hear it a lot more in the south east US
like most 2 year olds though....the more attention you give them (neg or pos) the more they will do it
I was flying with a FO who was involved in that directly when at the regionals. It happened around 9/11. Before then nobody monitored guard. Post 9/11 it became a procedure stateside and, of course, civilians would accidentally transmit on it (military radios don’t have that problem because they’re built to constantly monitor 243.0 but you can’t transmit unless you actually tune it up.) Anyway, someone would make a mistake and then someone would reply “GUARD!” Well, regional pilots are pretty young and they started calling those guys “guard dogs” so they’d meow on 121.5 to “make the guard dogs bark.” They think it’s funny and every goddamn day now, old guys can’t stop themselves from feeding the trolls and will yell at them, on guard, to stop which is exactly what they wanted to hear. This guy admitted he was one of them. He thought, as a 20-something, it was funny, but as he hit his 40s he admits he was a douche.
Immature punks showing that they are immature punks. If they do this on probation with the wrong dude in the left seat they are burnt toast.
It's the aviation equivalent of social media trolls. Just there to try to get a rise out of people. Can't wait until the FAA requires all radios to data burst your location and information whenever you pull the trigger on an emergency frequency.
Keeps you awake and attentive on those long cross country flights. Safety first
Funny story about meowing - I, like every other professional aviator, I fly around monitoring + guard. To be more specific, we typically monitor 121.5, 16, 243 + guard. So there I was, low viz, relatively high seas, low on gas trying to hoist off a sail boat. Stressed out of my mind. Then some idiots at 30k feet start playing on guard, I start slapping pins down, trying to mute it...must be nice to have nothing else to do but play on guard. If I ever fly with someone who does that, I'll probably reach across and slap them. But I guess when you're so board of having your finger up your ass, the next best thing is guard. I wish there were repercussions like false calls to 911.
Meow bitch
Catastrophic purrformance
This has been going on for quite some time, and while it’ll probably be almost impossible to figure out where/when it exactly started (shortly after the release of Super Troopers, obviously), I would put money on a greater than 50% chance that it was a Laker.
It started when the US navy was developing ACLS in like the 60s/70s. If a pilot wanted to use the autoland procedure they first had to request approval over radio from the tower. Other pilots or ground crew would meow at them in response to call them pussies for letting a computer land their jet.
Folks listen to ATC and guard simultaneously?
I think most (all?) airlines have you monitor guard with the #2 radio during cruise
Most places you're supposed to monitor it, yea
If you have two radios you are required to monitor guard if able.
Yes, there's a NOTAM which requires it in cases where you're able. Assuming you have two radios...you're able other than when you're pickup up the ATIS while enroute, perhaps.
Also airline SOP, and useful when you messed up your radios and ATC wants to reach out.
Yes, my plane has two COMMs. We usually set the first one to talk to ATC. The second one for ATIS and guard.
At many if not most airlines it’s SOP.
It’s usually a requirement and can save your bacon if you miss a frequency.
In the Midwest, yes. I turn off Guard as soon as the idiots start spamming it though.
Those with two comms and who don’t get overly task saturated easily.
https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/green-blackboards-and-other-anomalies
Some people treat the world like an IG comment section man...
Meow m.fker!!!
I really wish we could see what call sign is doing the meowing, simply for the fact that I’d go hunt them down, and slap them. The other day I flew to a larger airport, and on 126.7 (here in Canada) they had some sort of “joke” sound they’d constantly make when one of the three planes would be on the radio. It took every last bone in my body to not call up the school the next morning and complain. (Aviation here in Alberta is a small world, and I don’t want to come across as an upright bitch.) but professionalism is definitely lacking in the younger generation of student pilots.
No point. Some people have zero maturity or professionalism and would be better off making lattes.
I wouldn't want a latte made by them. Making actual good coffee requires skills.
I bet you say that on guard too… LOL
It's just autists being autists
Don't insult autists, most are way better behaved than this.
How else can someone let everyone know they're a fucking idiot?
So my question is - assuming a crew environment, do guys do this with the other guy in the cockpit or when they leave? I'd think if there was another person in the cockpit someone would be getting slapped?
A bit off topic but when I became a theoretical knowledge instructor on a contractor basis I registered a company because it made everything a lot cleaner payments-wise. I really struggled to come up with a name that would be memorable. Most other people just use things like “John Smith avaiation consultancy Ltd” etc. I liked something that would at least stick in your mind and be searchable in Google in case freelancing ever really took off. I went for Meow 1215 Ltd because I figured it would at least get a reaction in the aviation world…
It's bored Podunk ATCT controllers and FAA guys with hand-helds. I don't know why people blame pilots when we all know who it is based on personality.
I guess I'm lucky... I'm 36 states into a 48 state XC, \~1 month so far, almost 80 hrs flight time, haven't heard it once.
I thought it was to let someone know they were transmitting on 121.5, but unprovoked is unprofessional, unhelpful and unfunny
Because of the way radios work, you'll sometimes hear "you're on guard", or the two less civilized versions "GUARRRRD!!" or "meow" which may be made in response to a transmission you didn't hear. This is because the person who inadvertently tried to reach ATC or tower (or make their in-flight welcome announcement) on guard could be hundreds of miles from you, unheard on your radio. But then someone halfway in between, who heard that inadvertent transmission will give a reply, hopefully the helpful "you're on guard", but someones instead one of the immature versions, and you'll only hear that because that aircraft is closer to you.
You meow to get the guard dogs out. Interesting how you don’t hear it on the tracks so it’s either 91/135, regionals, or controllers
Try listening to 121.4
Must be happening when the captain gets up to pee.
Beautiful Sunday afternoon you say… sounds to me like a meowfternoon! I know a company you’re literally perfect for in about 6 years!
It’s children.
The point is a bunch of immature morons with access to a radio.
I heard a bunch of meows on Coral Springs practice frequency today in South Florida.
We hear it here in the Philippines too haha
I've thankfully not heard it yet. Meow
Its an airline thing. When airlines weren’t flying in 2020 there was no meowing, there is no meowing on UHF guard. Airline pilots need to grow up.
🤫🧏♂️🧏♂️
Newby lurker/future student (I hope ... after uni). Do they mean meow like ... a cat? Sry if it's not supposed to be funny, I giggled.
Think I’m out of the loop here, just a student pilot. Are people actually making cat noises on the emergency frequency (wtf), or is meowing just some term I’m not yet familiar with?
People find it funny because it annoys other people
We will have you Meowing in no time
Triangulating antennas logging the location of each transmission on guard to a web page and the problem is solved.
Strengthens your jawline apparently
At least it’s just meowing. When I was in the Navy and later, the Coast Guard, we would hear some rando in Mexico call out “Filipino monkeeeeeeee. Monkey. Monkey. Monkey.” It went on for years and I’m sure the original guy has passed away by now but someone took up his mantle and is continuing the goddamn tradition.
I was on my IOE flight, on short final and the LCA and I forgot to stop monitoring guard. Right as I started to flare someone on guard says “is that you I see in the bathroom making a big stinky poo poo?” The LCA and I both thought it was each other saying that at first and both super confused on why the other would say that then
To decrease the likelihood of a bird strike?