Narrative:

After being handed from tower to hcf departure; contacted controller;'hcf departure; (with call sign); and that I had visual separation with a helicopter about 2 miles ahead of me on the same departure; and requested higher altitude in order to climb above the 10;000 ft mountain in front of me.' (I did 'identify'; trying to be helpful to the controller at this time). Response was 'oh; you want to talk to hcf departure? Identify'. I then pushed the identify button again; and waited. There was no other traffic except the two helicopters in front of me; which I had both helicopters in sight. The controller did not talk for a while; so I asked if the controller had me identified. The controller then proceeded to tell me on the radio not to identify until instructed to. Meanwhile; I hit an updraft and ballooned to 2;300 ft; I was assigned 2;000 ft; and reduced power to stop climbing. Then the controller asked what altitude I was at; I was honest and said that I was at 2;300 ft. The controller then proceeded to lecture on the radio; so I asked for the controller's initials; was refused and told to call the supervisor as soon as I got on the ground. I did talk to the supervisor on the hnl watch desk via telephone. He said that he listened to the tapes; and explained why I shouldn't identify till told. I got that; I understand that; won't do it anymore. But I questioned why it took so long for the controller to respond after the controller asked me to identify; shouldn't the controller be looking for the identification because the controller asked for it? (Was the controller being distracted; or not paying attention? Is there some other reason?) in the radio transmissions; the controller actually admitted that the controller saw my identification; so the controller knew which aircraft I was. There was no other traffic around. Yes; I did admit I climbed higher than the assigned 2;000 ft; I was honest and did not hide it; and I explained that to the supervisor. If the controller wants to educate us; they should talk with us on the ground; not in the air. A simple 'I have some information that's pretty important to share with you; can you please call us at [phone number]'; instead of trying to lecture us in the air might facilitate a discussion that is beneficial to both sides. Most of the air traffic controllers that I've worked with over 32 years of flying are wonderful; professional and courteous. However; there are some controllers that retaliate against a pilot; by holding them outside airspace; making them wait before radar identification; etc. What can we do to have them improve; or do we have to put up with this until they retire? If we speak up; we may be singled out and 'targeted'. Is there another process besides this report that we could use to improve the ATC system?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A helicopter pilot objected to a Controller's manner of controlling and lecturing after he selected IDENT before being asked to.

Narrative: After being handed from Tower to HCF Departure; contacted Controller;'HCF Departure; (with call sign); and that I had visual separation with a helicopter about 2 miles ahead of me on the same departure; and requested higher altitude in order to climb above the 10;000 FT mountain in front of me.' (I did 'IDENT'; trying to be helpful to the Controller at this time). Response was 'Oh; you want to talk to HCF Departure? IDENT'. I then pushed the IDENT button again; and waited. There was no other traffic except the two helicopters in front of me; which I had both helicopters in sight. The Controller did not talk for a while; so I asked if the Controller had me identified. The Controller then proceeded to tell me on the radio not to IDENT until instructed to. Meanwhile; I hit an updraft and ballooned to 2;300 FT; I was assigned 2;000 FT; and reduced power to stop climbing. Then the Controller asked what altitude I was at; I was honest and said that I was at 2;300 FT. The Controller then proceeded to lecture on the radio; so I asked for the Controller's initials; was refused and told to call the Supervisor as soon as I got on the ground. I did talk to the Supervisor on the HNL watch desk via telephone. He said that he listened to the tapes; and explained why I shouldn't IDENT till told. I got that; I understand that; won't do it anymore. But I questioned why it took so long for the Controller to respond after the Controller asked me to IDENT; shouldn't the Controller be looking for the ID because the Controller asked for it? (Was the Controller being distracted; or not paying attention? Is there some other reason?) In the radio transmissions; the Controller actually admitted that the Controller saw my identification; so the Controller knew which aircraft I was. There was no other traffic around. Yes; I did admit I climbed higher than the assigned 2;000 FT; I was honest and did not hide it; and I explained that to the Supervisor. If the Controller wants to educate us; they should talk with us on the ground; not in the air. A simple 'I have some information that's pretty important to share with you; can you please call us at [phone number]'; instead of trying to lecture us in the air might facilitate a discussion that is beneficial to both sides. Most of the air traffic controllers that I've worked with over 32 years of flying are wonderful; professional and courteous. However; there are some controllers that retaliate against a pilot; by holding them outside airspace; making them wait before radar identification; etc. What can we do to have them improve; or do we have to put up with this until they retire? If we speak up; we may be singled out and 'targeted'. Is there another process besides this report that we could use to improve the ATC system?

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.