A phrase I think I’ve heard all my life is, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” I’ve heard it many times, but I have personally noticed how it doesn’t much apply to flying aeroplanes, or taxiing them on aerodromes. On the other hand, I heard “attention to detail” many times while in the U.S. Air Force, sometimes spoken quite loudly (“Forte” in musical terms).
Do you ever find yourself thinking, “All those details in radio calls—they couldn’t all matter, could they?” Maybe start throwing in a little slang or sometimes drop your call sign on a radio call, to “be quick”? I’ve thought it and done it, trying to be “cool.” Like the time I answered, to Sacramento Center’s query, “Roger that,” instead of “Affirmative.” They rightly and verbally spanked me like I was a red-headed stepchild, saying very clearly, very slowly, very sarcastically, “Roger. That.”
