What's in the pocket?
Do you see the antenna of a hand-held, two-way radio in the pocket?
Heather
Ray of Operation Migration explains: "The
ground team carries hand-held radios. Each aircraft has a similar
radio hard-wired
into it
so that the pilot needs only to push a button. The pilot can talk through
the microphone portion of his headset. The headset also has ear pieces
so a pilot can hear
over the noise of the aircraft and the rushing wind.
"The ground crew attaches a small earpiece (imagine those that come with your ipod, but a single one) so we can hear what the pilot is saying. IF the pilots absolutely must ask a question, the handler will move to an area out of earshot of the birds and respond in a very quiet voice.
"Radio use is kept to an absolute minimum when the birds are near," added Heather. Why do you think this is an important rule?
