why do pilots say roger?

Answer 1

according to the “Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins” by William and Mary Morris(Harper Collins, New York, 1977, 1988). ROGER -- "in the meaning of 'Yes, O.K., I understand you -- is voice code for the letter R. It is part of the 'Able, Baker, Charlie' code known and used by all radiophone operators in the services in the 40's - 50's.

From the earliest days of wireless communication, the Morse code letter R (dit-dah-dit) has been used to indicate 'O.K. -- understood.' So 'Roger' was the logical voice-phone equivalent." Also from “I Hear America Talking” by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).“Roger! A code word used by pilots to mean ‘your message received and understood’ in response to radio communications; later it came into general use to mean ‘all right, OK.’ Roger was the radio communications morse code word for the letter R, which in this case represented the word ‘received.’ ‘Roger Wilco’ was the reply to ‘Roger’ from the original transmitter of the radio message, meaning ‘I have received your message that you have received my message and am signing off.” Wilco implies "I will comply"

Then of course there is the "Roger Beep" (Di-Dah-Dit) which legend has it was innovated by the Space Missions as a quick way to "Roger it" No source for this "but have it on good authority - by a guy who was there" hi hi. From the DX Reflector Ok, I have heard and seen a half dozen explanations, now here is one from one who has "Been there- Done That". "Roger" in both military and government communications definitely came out of the old cw days (and yes I did send/receive cw messages at the beginning of my career). The "R" was sent as a confirmation of receipt of a message,or a portion of a message. "R" was used, not "QSL". In voice communications , it thus became "Roger".

Even in front-line operations such as by forward observers (I did that too). We used Roger and Negative You had to be completely confident in what you were sending or receiving after all, it could , and often was, life or death as to what got thru the communications lines. I cringe almost every time I hear any military movie communications. WILCO means: I will comply with your orders. OVER means I have finished my transmissions and turn the channel over to you to transmit. CLEAR means I am finished with this communication and am standing by on the channel. OUT means I have completed transmission and am completely finished and closing this station or switching to another channel. So you can see why I cringe with "Roger Wilco Over, Clear and Out" WHAT DID HE SAY????

Navy Pilots say the use of Roger Wilco is frowned on, use one or the other as applicable.

In addition to "R" Roger, early CW use for "correct" was Morse "C", this carried over to the phone circuits as "Charlie". This is still used by Morse ops and can still be heard on some military voice circuits as in "That's Charlie" or "That's a Charlie readback". Usually following a readback of a message and meaning 'that is correct'. One will also see the occasional reference to FOXTROT messages as in the "DO NOT ANSWER" also encountered on military circuits. This is also from the CW "F" meaning 'do not answer'.

According to the pilot/controller glossary:
ROGER- I have received all of your last transmission. It should not be used to answer a question requiring a yes or a no answer.:

Answer 2

HAHA...in response to the first attempt of an answer to this question, i was talking to an air traffic controller once and i asked her what was her greatest pet peeve about something that pilots do or say? Her answer was that she HATED it when a pilot respond to a distinct yes or no question with the term "roger" which of course means "i have received all of your last transmission".

Answer 3

I detest answers pasted from dictionaries, just give the reference.

R in the international phonetic alphabet has been Romeo since 1957 but was Roger before that. It's funny that the US still uses the old system for some letters and cute new ones in other circumstances, Ocean has never stood for O, that's Oscar.

FWIW not using the correct words on a US licensed ham radio could land you with a vast fine, the FCC has no sense of humor, I've never heard of them actually using that power for this though. I have heard of them taking $10k off someone for being a PITA though, rebroadcasting music on an HF band.

Answer 4

alot of times the communication between 2 points is distorted by factors including weather and other variables. when a pilot says roger it is a term that is indentified thru aviation as the standard word confirming and understanding details about a particualar transmission. "Roger Wilco" is the term that it is derived from and was used during war as Recieved transmission and Will communicate back. 10-4 is also another way to convey positive understanding =)

Answer 5

"Roger's" origins are actually pretty simple. According to the mammoth ham radio resource AC6V's Amateur Radio Reference Guide, the letter "R" has been used since the early days of Morse Code to indicate that a message has been "received." The voice code equivalent for "R" is "Roger."

You may have also heard the phrase "Roger Wilco" in various military-themed movies. "Wilco" is radio slang for "Will Comply." (It's also a great rock band). For added clarification, here are a few definitions of commonly heard radio terms:

over - I have finished my transmission and am turning the channel over to you.
clear - I have finished my transmission and am standing by on this channel.
out - I have finished my transmission and am closing this channel.

Answer 6

Roger also means "copy", "heard you" on the radio in the military and civilian aviation. This usage comes from the letter "R" of "received" which in the old phonetic alphabet was called "roger" (now called Romeo) in radio alphabets (such as the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet). It is commonly proceeded with the word "that" to form the common aviation phrase "Roger That". It is also often shortened in writing to "rgr".

It in fact does not mean "I will comply" as many think, that distinction goes to the phrase "wilco" which is formed from the phrase "will comply".

Answer 7

Roger was a code word used by pilots during the world war. It meant I have recieved you message.
This was replied with Roger Wilco, meaning I have recieved you receipt of my meassge and will comply with your response.

Answer 8

Roger means 'message received and understood'.

It does NOT mean 'yes'!

Answer 9

Why does someone ask this question 5 or 6 times every day? The answer doesn't change!

Answer 10

That's a form of saying yes in the aviation field..So roger means yes..