Why do Pilots say 'Roger'

Since the earliest days of aviation, effective communication between ground staff and pilots has been a key component of safe flying of aircraft. Every information the pilot might get or share with the ground staff can be crucial, and it might save the lives of both the aviation personnel and the passengers. Although aviation communication seems to be a very simple thing to do now, it was one of the most complicated things during the early stages of aviation. Since December 17th, 1903, when the Wright brothers made the first successful flight in history, communication with pilots in the air has been a real challenge. fig:1 Visual aids like colored paddles, signal flares, and hand signs were used at the beginning as means of communication. However, the first air-to-ground radio communication used Morse code and operators used short signals in order to save time. In the times when messages were sent via telegraph (in Morse code), one of those short signals that wer...