Flight Information File 2020‐07

Subject: National Call Sign “SKYBRONCO”

DATE: December 22, 2020

Effective: January 4, 2021

All Flight Crewmembers:

In November of 2020, the WMU College of Aviation (COA) received authorization from the FAA and ICAO to use the national call sign “SKYBRONCO” for all flight operations utilizing COA aircraft. Much like an airline which uses a single call sign for all flights, the COA will operate using the call sign “SKYBRONCO”. Effective January 4, 2021, the COA will discontinue the use of “Western” and N number call signs. This applies to all VFR and IFR flights and is recognized by ICAO member states worldwide. To put it another way, no matter where a COA aircraft is flown, including non‐towered airports, the call sign “SKYBRONCO” will be utilized and recognized. Accordingly, the following applies:

 Western Numbers will be replaced by SKYBRONCO (SB) numbers on all tins and placarded in all aircraft. Each Aircraft will have an individual SB number. For example, SB99 is assigned to the Super D.

 When using the SKYBRONCO call sign and associated SB number, the radiotelephony (R/T) phraseology shall include the call sign “SKYBRONCO” followed by the numerical portion of the call sign stated as a group. For example: “SKYBRONCO NINETY‐NINE” or “SKYBRONCO FIFTY‐ ONE” would apply to SB99 and SB51. Do not state “SKYBRONCO NINER NINER” or “SKYBRONCO FIVE ONE”.

 Flight plans will no longer be filed with N numbers. Instead of the N number, the prefix WMU will be filed ahead of the specified SB number for the assigned aircraft. Additionally, in the remarks section of the flight plan, state “call sign SKYBRONCO”. The remarks are particularly important during the first 60 days of the implementation process or when going outside the local area as Air Traffic Control (ATC) may not be familiar with the new call sign. Additionally, if the ATC facility is not familiar with the call sign and cannot locate a flight plan in the system, pilots may ask the facility to look it up as WMU and the appropriate SB number (e.g., WMU51 would be how SB51 is filed). Additionally, when calling for a weather brief, use the WMU prefix along with the applicable aircraft SB number if known.

 The 1 and 2 series prefixes which were previously used for solo operations will no longer apply and will not be recognized by ATC. Solo student pilots (i.e., pre‐private pilot certification) shall identify themselves as a student pilot as part of their initial call to an ATC facility (e.g., “Student Pilot SKYBRONCO FIFTY‐ONE”). This will apply to all ATC facilities and only needs to be made on the initial call to the facility; there is no need to include “student pilot” with every call to ATC after the initial call has been completed.

 For maintenance flights, the “9” prefix will no longer be utilized. Maintenance flights shall advise ATC if special handling is required.

 Cross‐country flights returning to BTL and who desire to come directly to the airport upon their return to BTL instead of using a gate may advise BTL tower they are a cross country both on the initial outbound call to ground for taxi and upon the initial inbound call when returning to BTL. For example, the initial call to ground may be as follows: “SKYBRONCO FIFTY‐ONE is at A2 requesting taxi for a cross‐country to Muskegon; we have November”. Upon the return to BTL, the same crew, when inbound, could state “SKYBRONCO FIFTY‐ONE is a cross‐country ten northwest inbound for landing with Papa”. By virtue of being identified as a cross‐country, BTL tower controllers will work to facilitate the arrival of that flight into the pattern without the need to go to the gate.

 By January, ADS‐B Transponders will be reprogrammed to reflect the applicable SKYBRONCO number assigned to the individual airplane. This information will indicate the WMU prefix ahead of the SB number as observed by an ATC facility.

 For flight tracking purposes, the website Flight Aware recognizes the WMU prefix and the specific assigned SB number.

 The ramp out and ramp in calls to WMU dispatch will not change; they will still utilize the N number for the specific aircraft.

 Logging of flight time in pilot logbooks will still reference the aircraft N number.

 This FIF supersedes WMU Flight Operations Manual section 11.5 in its entirety.