Find your voice

Some of pilots’ trepidation with radio communications stems from the enhanced expectations and more-rapid pace of today’s air traffic control. Twenty years ago, the standard phraseology was simpler, and therefore easily understood, even by beginners. Along the way, the controllers’ lexicon grew and more detailed readbacks brought more pressure to perform. Now, instead of saying “taxi to Runway 18,” “or turn left ahead,” ground control might say “taxi to Runway 18 via Mike, Echo, and Bravo; hold short of Runway 13.”

And a simple “roger” and acknowledgement by aircraft ID will no longer suffice. Repeating a clearance back, word for word, ensures that the details are correctly heard and understood, but it takes time and may be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with the vocabulary and conventions of radio communication.

Students are often thrown into a morass of cryptic terms and speed-talking with only the briefest of training. Even with training, there is an ingrained reluctance to push that transmit button. Hesitant to make contact with ATC, the newly certificated pilot may avoid the perceived risk of a foul-up by going far around ATC-controlled airspace, allowing his or her skills to deteriorate.

The solution to this uncertainty is to confront it. Like any other skill, your communication will improve with practice. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Simply clarifying your pilot status can help set controller expectations and buy you a measure of patience and understanding. The long-established suffix “student pilot” added to an initial contact gives ATC a heads-up that a slower delivery and clarified instructions may be needed. Admitting you’re unfamiliar when thrown a complicated taxi route lets the ground controller know the pilot is not a local resident, and requesting “progressive taxi instructions” may add to the controller’s workload but will prevent the pilot turning at the wrong intersection.

Readbacks of all instructions are important, but even more important is making sure they are understood. When I receive taxi instructions, I jot down the route on my knee pad, and I’m not above making a clarifying call to ground control if I’m not sure where I’m headed. Night operations on the ground are particularly confusing, with a sea of blue lights spread out before you.

Once airborne, follow any departure instructions and pay attention to local noise-abatement procedures. If being handed off to neighboring ATC facilities or a common traffic advisory frequency at a nontowered field, listen briefly for a conversation in progress after coming up on a new frequency, then check in as instructed. Unless you are expected, give the controller all the basic information: your identification, your location, and what it is you want to do (see “On the Airwaves,” p. 44). Be concise. If your request is complicated, check in first with your call sign and say “request” at the end, letting the controller know you have more to say when there’s time.

Stay alert for misunderstandings. I once reported to a control tower when I was southwest of a quiet field and was told to “make left traffic for Runway one-niner, report downwind.” This would require crossing over the airport, not a typical entry path, so I queried the tower: “understand left traffic for one-niner?” The response was an imperious “affirmative,” so I held course as instructed, and soon heard a different voice—no doubt that of the tower supervisor—ask where I was going. The first controller evidently mistook my location as “southeast.” My error was in not repeating my position when I questioned the clearance. Controllers are also human and, like pilots, can make a mistake.

One of the most common places to encounter a rogue aircraft is at an airport with a runway aligned at 130/310 degrees magnetic, designated 13/31. Inverting those numbers is easy to do, and familiarity leads to assuming you’re still operating like yesterday, when in reality, today’s traffic flow has been flipped. Recently, a Beechcraft King Air twin turboprop crossed from right to left a couple of miles ahead of me as I was about to turn onto a left downwind leg for Runway 13. The turboprop pilot had mistakenly understood his instructions as “enter right downwind for three-one,” and he was heading for the wrong end of the runway. Fortunately, the tower controller saw the conflict developing and straightened out the tangle of traffic.

Never surprise a controller by popping up suddenly at the edge of his or her airspace, or by doing something unexpected. The airspace belongs to the facility controlling it. Your airplane belongs to you, and you control it. It takes both entities functioning in a harmonious manner to make the system work.

What’s in a word?

Master the jargon to sound like a pro

Mark Twain once said the difference between the almost-right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. In radio communication, standardized terms and phraseology help minimize confusion and make sure everyone stays safe. Learning these terms can help you communicate effectively and understand what others on the frequency are trying to tell you.

Affirmative. Yes. (That’s an easy one.)

Altitude. Height above the ground or above mean sea level. Aircraft altitudes are generally given in mean sea level (msl), whereas cloud bases are given above ground level (agl). If air traffic control asks your altitude, don’t use shorthand such as “thirty-five hundred” or “three-five.” The more formal “three thousand, five hundred” is expected.

Cleared for the option. At a towered airport, ATC may authorize you to make a touch-and-go, low approach, missed approach, stop and go, or full-stop landing at your discretion. You may request the option on training flights—because, especially during training, it’s good to have options.

Line up and wait. A controller is telling you to taxi onto the departure runway and wait for a clearance to take off.

Mayday. Use this three times if you’re in distress. That gives you immediate priority over all other communications. If you’re experiencing an emergency, don’t wait to call for help. Controllers and even other pilots can offer assistance, but they can’t help if they don’t know you’re in trouble.

Progressive taxi. Request progressive taxi instructions at an unfamiliar or complicated field; the controller will give you bite-size instructions in phases as you progress along your route.

Radar contact. A controller has identified your aircraft on the radar display. Don’t assume that all controllers have radar; tower controllers at many Class D airports rely on good old-fashioned windows to spot your airplane. So if a controller asks your location, be precise.

Say again. Miss a transmission? Did a controller speak too quickly? Just ask them to “say again.”

Squawk. Set your transponder to transmit a certain number.

Traffic in sight. If you’re receiving radar traffic advisories from flight following, controllers will let you know the location of traffic in your area, as their workload permits. “Traffic in sight” lets the controller know you can see the traffic he or she has alerted you to. Say “negative contact” if you do not see the traffic—even if you see its location on a panel display or iPad.

For more terms, check the Pilot/Controller Glossary in the Aeronautical Information Manual.

Aim high

Radio technique tips from the Aeronautical Information Manual

Section 4-2 of the Aeronautical Information Manual provides information on radio communications phraseology and techniques. Try these techniques to communicate effectively:

a. Listen before you transmit. Many times you can get the information you want through ATIS or by monitoring the frequency. Except for a few situations where some frequency overlap occurs, if you hear someone else talking, the keying of your transmitter will be futile and you will probably jam their receivers causing them to repeat their call. If you have just changed frequencies, pause, listen, and make sure the frequency is clear.

b. Think before keying your transmitter. Know what you want to say and if it is lengthy; e.g., a flight plan or IFR position report, jot it down.

c. The microphone should be very close to your lips and after pressing the mic button, a slight pause may be necessary to be sure the first word is transmitted. Speak in a normal, conversational tone.

d. When you release the button, wait a few moments before calling again. The controller or FSS specialist may be jotting down your number, looking for your flight plan, transmitting on a different frequency, or selecting the transmitter for your frequency.

e. Be alert to the sounds or the lack of sounds in your receiver. Check your volume, recheck your frequency, and make sure that your microphone is not stuck in the transmit position. Frequency blockage can, and has, occurred for extended periods of time due to unintentional transmitter operation. This type of interference is commonly referred to as a “stuck mic,” and controllers may refer to it in this manner when attempting to assign an alternate frequency. If the assigned frequency is completely blocked by this type of interference and you’re on an IFR flight plan, use the procedures described for en route IFR radio frequency outage to establish or reestablish communications with ATC.

f. Be sure that you are within the performance range of your radio equipment and the ground station equipment. Remote radio sites do not always transmit and receive on all of a facility’s available frequencies, particularly with regard to VOR sites where you can hear but not reach a ground station’s receiver. Remember that higher altitudes increase the range of VHF “line of sight” communications.