PilotEdge Forums

I had an interesting series of conversations on PE last evening. I've been using a tail/registration number beginning CG(XXX) without challenge for the 6 months I've been flying online .
On my last night's flight my call sign was challenged, on the basis that CG is the preserve of the US Coast Guard. I was asked to cancel my IFR plan and re file with a different call sign, so I did, changing to GG(XXX).

I'm based out of the UK (they use a G(XXXX) call sign) but rarely start/finish flights there, though I do fly VATSIM in Europe.
I've done some research now on the topic, and it raises some interesting questions, and appears somewhat confusing:
I can't find any mention that CG in the US is the unique preserve of the coast guard. Can anyone else? Can I fly with my (new) UK call sign on PE in the US (so retaining the same call sign across PE and VATSIM)? I read that some pre 1946 craft have been allowed to retain call signs that pre date current naming conventions - and that some call signs can even be transferred across different aircraft: BUDDY HOLLY'S call sign is now on a different plane (obviously!) that is in private ownership.

Long story short: I'm not precious about my call sign, and don't care too much what it is, I will change it, and I'm not complaining. I'm just raising questions about an interesting topic and what appears to be a confusing state of affairs, even on Wiki. With an end question - can I use my (new) G(XXXX) UK call sign on PE?
best to all
Qickrush

Whoever said that was in the wrong

There's plenty of real world CG Canadian call signs

CGEPR CGEPL are two real world planes I work as an ATC here in MN.

Go ahead and use your CGxxx call sign

I won't give up your callsign as it sounds like you want to keep it private for some reason.

There is a difference between C-GXYZ and CG89Z. From my understanding, Canadian registrations will not contain numbers, and are dashed after the "C".

There is a difference is XXX includes number vs letters. CGABC (the hyphens are no longer filed from what I have noticed in recent changes, btw) is a valid Canadian registration. CG123 is not.

Based on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_ ... ific_usage, Canada's registration options include:

C-FAAA to C-FZZZ (Vintage aircraft may be registered CF- instead of C-F)[5]
C-GAAA to C-GZZZ
C-IAAA to C-IZZZ (ultralight aeroplanes only)

I would suggest determining which country's registration you'd like to fly under, examine the valid format(s) for that country, then pick something which meets the requirements for that country and you should be good to go.

I neglected to realize you were asking about the UK...

G-AAAA to G-ZZZZ
G-1-1 to G-99-99 (Test and delivery)

That's the format (again, it appears as though the hyphens are no longer filed in flightplans). So GG(XXX) where XXX is a character between A-Z is absolutely fine.

I apologize if the OP was using CG followed by letters - I presumed he meant letters since he is from the UK (reference his post about starting with G)

Also don't forget you can speak the letters as they are (and not phonetically like "Charlie golf etc etc) should you prefer

You might call up "John Wayne clearance Cee Gee Eee Eff Gee with the numbers , clearance to Las Vegas..." for a tail number CGEFG. But most Canadians say "Canadian Golf Echo Foxrot Golf" or "Charlie Golf Echo Foxtrot Golf"

Hello Qickrush,

I was the controller who asked about your callsign.

I apparently didn't make myself very clear on exactly what I was trying to tell you.

The callsign you were using was CG16F. This specific callsign is one that would be used by the Coastguard. The reason for that is that it starts with C AND has numbers (I didn't make that second point very clear). Specifically callsigns that start with a C, and have numbers are Coast Guard Callsigns (extra letters like G {to make CG} are ok in some cases), my reference is FAA Order 7110.65 section 2-3-5.

Canadian callsigns start with a C and have 5 letters (as Keith mentioned)

So to summarize:
CG (with 3 letters) is a valid Canadian callsign.
CG (with any numbers) is a US coast guard callsign.

The PilotEdge policy on callsigns is that any valid real world callsign is acceptable and we make some accommodations for "fake" virtual airline callsigns.

Hopefully this clears up the confusion, sorry for causing it.

No dashes for foreign call signs. Dashes are used for Medevac (LG-) and that's about it. "LG" is left over from the old days where we used to call them "Lifeguard."

HRutila wrote:No dashes for foreign call signs. Dashes are used for Medevac (LG-) and that's about it. "LG" is left over from the old days where we used to call them "Lifeguard."

This may be true for IFR flight plan callsigns. However, checking with the Canadian registration website, "tail numbers" (as the OP has mentioned) are still being provided with the dash. Just throwing that out there.

Regarding the dash, a dash is present in the registration and therefore is painted on the aircraft.

However, on a US radar scope no dash is generated (someone correct me if I'm wrong on this but I'm pretty sure on it).

As a result we accept both callsign versions on PE for foreign callsigns (with or without dash).

Note that US aircraft do not use a dash between the N and the numbers so no dash is accepted for US callsigns.