AVIATOR CALL SIGN

An 'aviator call sign' or ''callsign'' is a nickname given to a American military pilot or other flight officer. This call sign is a substitute for the officer's given name, and is used on name tags, planes, and radio conversations.
The etymology for an aviator's call sign is varied. Most call signs play on or reference on the aviator's surname. Examples (taken from ''Top Gun'' credits) include:

★ Lt. Rick 'Curly' Moe (a Three Stooges reference)

★ Maj. Ray 'Secks' Seckinger

★ LCdr. Thomas 'Sobs' Sobieck

★ LCdr. Robert 'Rat' Willard (a reference to the 1971 film ''Willard'')

★ LCdr. C.J. 'Heater' Heatley (A reference to the slang term for an AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missile)

★ Lt. Ricky 'Organ' Hammonds (a reference to a brand of organ)
Other inspirations for call signs may include personality traits, references to historical figures, or past exploits during the pilot's career:

★ Tom Cruise's ''Top Gun'' character Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (or an ironic inversion of a trait, as in Mark Hamill's by-the-book Wing Commander character, Col. Christopher 'Maverick' Blair).

★ Cdr. Theodore 'Spuds' Ellyson, the first United States naval aviator, whose nickname was later used for aviators who had or came close to a ramp strike near a ship's spud locker.

★ Cdr. Wright "Wilbur" McLeod, a historical play on the aviator's given name.

★ Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, a private aviator who illustrates how call signs can commemorate past exploits. In 1938 he filed a flight plan non-stop from New York to San Diego, and he ended up (purposely, of course) across the Atlantic in Dublin, Ireland. When the government came down on him, he said "I must have flown the wrong way". Interestingly, he was one of the mechanics who built the Spirit of St. Louis.
Aviator call signs nearly always must come from a member of the aviator's squadron, training class, or other ''coworker''. It is considered bad form to try to give oneself a callsign. It is common for newer aviators to be initially assigned a fairly derogatory callsign, with the expectation that the new member will work hard enough to earn the respect of their community, and with it a better (and usually permanent) callsign. Some stick with the aviator forever, while in other cases an aviator might have a series of call signs throughout his or her career.

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References

References

★ What's your sign? from Air Force Link