Why Falcon124?

A few folks ask me “Why do you use the handle Falcon124?” – I think most just assume I wanted to use the handle “Falcon” but it was taken so I added some numbers until it was unique. No, not quite :)

Back in the Vietnam era there were a series of 3 digit numbers that were used as a way of quickly making a comment to fellow “aviators in the know.” The majority of them were rather obscene, but a few could be repeated i,n mixed company.

My father was flying P3 Orions with the RNZAF during Vietnam and did some flying out of Utapao in Thailand. I think it was during this time that he was first made aware of the codes, but he remembered them when I started my flying lessons some years ago. We were discussing my spectacularly bad landings that generally involved a number of bounces and/or balloons down the tarmac as I fought to get the damned aircraft back on the ground again. He mentioned code 124 which translates to “Take that runway … and that … and that!” – yup – that pretty much summed up my landings.

So, when I was joining the various online aviation communities and needed a handle, I figured Falcon124 would be a fun reminder of the fact that my landings still mostly suck :)

There are a couple of collections of Falcon Codes that can be found on web via the Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham Forum and The Viper’s Nest.