Aviator call sign

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An aviator call sign or callsign is a nickname given to a military pilot or other flight officer. This call sign is a substitute for the officer's given name, and is used on name tags, planes, and radio conversations.

The etymology for an aviator's call sign is varied. Most call signs play on or reference on the aviator's surname. Examples (taken from Top Gun credits) include

  • Lt. Rick 'Curly' Moe (a Three Stooges reference)
  • Maj. Ray 'Secks' Seckinger
  • Lcdr. Thomas 'Sobs' Sobieck
  • Lcdr. Robert 'Rat' Willard (a reference to the 1971 film Willard)
  • Lcdr. C.J. 'Heater' Heatley
  • Lt. Ricky 'Organ' Hammonds (a reference to a brand of organ)

Other inspirations for call signs, using examples from characters in Top Gun or from a book (ISBN 0-87938-442-5) with a chapter on the subject:

  • A personality trait, such as Tom Cruise's Top Gun character Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (or an ironic inversion of a trait, as in Mark Hamill's by-the-book Wing Commander character, Col. Christopher 'Maverick' Blair).
  • Cdr. Theodore 'Spuds' Ellyson, the first United States naval aviator, whose nickname was later used for aviators who had or came close to a ramp strike near a ship's spud locker.
  • Cdr. Wright "Wilbur" McLeod, a historical play on the aviator's given name.
  • Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, a private aviator who illustrates how call signs can commemorate past exploits. In 1938 he filed a flight plan non-stop from New York to San Diego, and he ended up (purposely, of course) across the Atlantic in Dublin, Ireland. When the government came down on him, he said "I must have flown the wrong way". Interestingly, he was one of the mechanics who built the Spirit of St. Louis.
  • Cdr. Tim "Gary" McGarvey was given his callsign when his nametag with the callsign "Garv" was misread as "Gary". He complained and the Squadron began to use the misread callsign as his own. LT Aaron Shuler was given the callsign "Garv", to prevent Cdr. McGarvey from using it.
  • Call signs might include pop cultural references (a pilot with the surname Winfrey might get the call sign Oprah).

Aviator call signs nearly always must come from a member of the aviator's squadron, training class, or other coworker. It is considered bad form to try to give oneself a callsign. Some stick with the aviator forever, while in other cases an aviator might have a series of call signs throughout his or her career.

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