Sunday, July 4, 2010

Parrots and Use of the Word "Squawk" Where Transponders are Concerned.


"Squawk Ident" causes text to highlight in white on controller screen

While doing some surfing this morning (Sunday) I discovered this explanation in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder_(aviation)

"The use of the word "squawk" comes from the system's origin in the World War II Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, which was code-named "Parrot".[9][10] Parrot today generally refers to IFF only. The parrot check is generally done as part of the last-chance inspection at the runway, or after becoming airborne. Parrot sweet, and parrot sour are given, and the aircraft will have to abort in a real-world mission when sour, or face being attacked by friendly forces. Modern use of the word Parrot refers to a test transponder located at a fixed location off the radar facility. The parrot verifies range and direction accuracy of the radar facility.[citation needed]"


Just thought you might be interested....
Thanks!