If a controller trusts you, he won't have to look after you, which makes his job a whole lot easier. And once you've endeared yourself to him, chances are he'll be more willing to help you--and maybe even grant that "special request" when you need it. How do you start this relationship? Just think of the dating game. First impressions count, big time. Your first contact with air traffic control (ATC) has to be professional, by the book, and convey confidence--all within a few short seconds.
The "book" for us in this case is the Aeronautical Information Manual, or AIM, specifically Section 2, "Radio Communications Phraseology and Techniques," along with the "Pilot/Controller Glossary." (Conversely, ATC's books are FAA Order 7110.10, Flight Services, and FAA Order 7110.65, Air Traffic Control.)
When my students ask me what part of the AIM's Section 2 is most important, I give them my standard one-word answer: Everything! Consider the first sentence: "Radio communications are a critical link in the ATC system" (Italics added). How true! A cursory search of the accident database proves this statement; one example is the collision on the runway of two airliners at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, one of the deadliest aviation disasters of all time.
What does the AIM say? Actually, it says a lot. But let's not get bogged down in minutiae. By learning a few key basics, you'll lay the foundation for clear, concise, and proper radio communications that you can use throughout your aviation experience.
Learn the lingo
Toward that end, you can start by learning how to properly pronounce numbers, letters, altitudes, headings, frequencies, and airspeeds. In aviation, the numbers zero through 10 are spoken the same as in everyday life, except for three, five, and nine. Three and five are pronounced "tree" and "fife," which is supposed to provide better intelligibility (meaning a better chance of being understood correctly on the other end) with the relatively low-fidelity AM radio transmitters used in aviation. (In contrast, virtually all public service radios--police, fire and rescue, and the like--use FM transmitters, which by their nature offer higher fidelity and lower noise.)
The number nine has been changed to "niner" to distinguish it from the German nein, which means "no." But please don't try to be cute by adding an "er" to the tail end of other numbers, creating sick-sounding mutations like "fiver." You'll sound silly. And please, don't commit one of the most egregious errors that even many airline pilots make: calling zero "oh." If there's one thing you remember from this article, remember there are no "oh's" in aviation, only "zeros." Sure, "oh" is easier to say because it has one less syllable, but it's a lazy pilot's way to say zero, and has no place in professional aviation communications. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to hear a controller say "oh," because it's just not in their professional vocabulary.
Two other terms that shouldn't be in your vocabulary are no joy and tally ho. More tactical than practical, these are military terms that, when translated into the Pilot/Controller Glossary, become negative contact and traffic in sight, respectively. Although they are widely understood thanks to popular culture, they're not in the Pilot/Controller Glossary, and their use is not recommended.
The phonetic alphabet is used for letters. "A" becomes alfa, "B" becomes bravo, "C" becomes charlie and so forth. Resist the temptation of throwing in a few "public service" phonetics--like those in the old TV cop shows, where the officers always called in license plates using guys' names, like "Frank-Sam-Tom-Six-Seven-Six"--instead of proper aviation phonetics. Avoid cutsie transmissions such as "Cherokee Six-Seven-Six-Sugar-Charlie." Just memorize the aviation phonetics and stick with them. Keep in mind that some pronunciations may be slightly different than you would expect. For example, papa is two distinct syllables: "pah-pah." And quebec is "keh-beck," spoken without the "q" sound.
Once you've got your numbers and letters down, you are ready to tackle altitudes, headings, frequencies, and airspeeds. There are numerous examples of how to state altitudes in the AIM, such as "fife thousand, fife hundred" for 5,500. At 10,000 and above, you break up the first number into two digits, for example, "one zero thousand, fife hundred" or "one one thousand, fife hundred." Common errors include saying "five point five" instead of "fife thousand fife hundred," or "nine point five" instead of "niner thousand, fife hundred." I make it a habit of including the word climbing, level, or descending in my altitude reports so that ATC knows what I'm doing (and has a chance to stop me if I'm doing something stupid.) For example, "niner hundred, climbing fife thousand, fife hundred," or "level, tree thousand, fife hundred."
Headings should always be given in three digits, such as "one eight zero" or "zero tree zero." As a reminder, I generally include the direction of turn in my readback of headings. For example, "left heading two seven zero," or "right heading zero niner zero."
Frequencies are read back just as the controller gives them, which should be each individual digit. For example, "change to tower frequency, one two zero point niner fife." Some pilots drop the one (since all aviation voice frequencies begin with one) and read back just the latter digits, as in "contact tower, two zero point niner fife." This is nonstandard phraseology and doesn't comply with guidance in the AIM. Other pilots make it a habit of "chunking" the digits, which supposedly makes it easier to remember the frequency assignment. An example of this would be "tower, twenty-ninety five." You'll hear this quite frequently, but again, it's nonstandard.
Airspeed adjustments for general aviation aircraft are rare, so you probably won't get a chance to use them that often. But, if you do, state the separate digits of the speed followed by the word "knots." As in "maintain one zero zero knots until the outer marker."
Format
Now that you've got your verbiage down (and looked through the Pilot/Controller Glossary for the proper phraseology), you'll need to learn how to construct a concise, coherent message. This is easy if you use the "4 W's" memory aid. It stands for: Who you are calling, Who you are, Where you are, and What you want. For example, "Long Beach ground, Katana Six-Six-Zero-Seven-Kilo, Signature Flight Support, taxi runway two fife left with information Hotel." When ready for departure, you could say something like, "Long Beach tower, Katana Six-Six-Zero-Seven-Kilo, holding short runway two fife left, request left closed traffic." And in the air, it's as simple as "Long Beach tower, Katana Six-Six-Zero-Seven-Kilo, 10 miles south with information Juliet, request touch and goes runway two fife left."
VFR radar traffic advisories is another common request. "SoCal Approach, Katana Six-Six-Zero-Seven-Kilo, over Long Beach airport, three thousand fife hundred, request traffic advisories to Palm Springs." (Pilots and controllers alike often say flight following, but traffic advisories is the technically correct term.)
A quibble I have with many pilots is when they throw in the phrase "with you" when talking to ATC, as in "SoCal Approach, Cirrus Tree-Tree-Tree-Mike-Golf with you at six thousand fife hundred." A "check in" can be as terse as "SoCal approach, Katana Six-Six-Zero-Seven-Kilo, level tree thousand, fife hundred." If you want to be polite, and the frequency is relatively quiet, you can preface your call with "Good morning" or "good afternoon."
Crystal clarity
Another important but often-overlooked aspect of proper radio communications is getting the most out of your equipment. Let's face it, with today's high-tech noise-canceling headsets and noise-canceling microphones, there's no reason you shouldn't have crystal-clear communications.
But there are a few things you can do to help. After keying the transmitter, pause a moment before speaking. This gives the transmitter time to key up and helps prevent the first syllable of your transmission from being clipped off. And if you're having trouble establishing communications with a facility, use the other aircraft radio if there is one. Their respective antennas normally are mounted in different locations on the aircraft, and that can make a big difference in signal transmission and reception.
Readbacks
No discussion of radio procedures would be complete without a word or two about readbacks. The question is, what information should you repeat back or read back to ATC? Your options range from reading back nothing (not recommended) to reading back every word the controller says (which ties up the frequency). It's probably one of the more perplexing questions facing new students. The short answer is that it depends. But you can start by learning which readbacks are actually required, as opposed to which are merely courtesies.
For example, "hold short of the runway" instructions must be read back. In fact, any runway assignment should be read back. In addition, anytime you're "cleared" for anything, you should read that back, whether you are "cleared to land" or cleared for takeoff" or even "cleared into the Class Bravo airspace." (Note that you're never "cleared" to taxi, as too many pilots have misunderstood that for a takeoff clearance.) Do you need to read back altitudes? Yes. Headings? Yes. Airspeeds? Yes. In fact, anything that is assigned is an amendment to your original clearance and needs to be read back.
Should you read back frequency changes? Yes. Altimeter settings? Yes. Note that all of these pieces of information could have an impact on safety. With other instructions, a simple, but greatly underutilized phrase will suffice: wilco, which means, "I will comply with your instructions." For example, "Twin Cessna Tree-Four-Zero-Lima-Bravo, hold for the helicopter landing at the antenna site, then continue taxiing via alpha to runway two niner right." You'd respond with "Wilco, Twin Cessna Tree-Four-Zero-Lima-Bravo." You've got to admit, there's nothing as simple and effective as wilco.
On the other hand, one of the most grossly misused aviation terms is roger. According to the Pilot/Controller Glossary, "roger" only means that "I have received all of your last transmission" and should not be used to respond to a question requiring a yes or a no answer. For instance, if ATC says, "Cessna One-Alpha-Charlie, cross runway one niner left, taxi into position and hold runway one niner right," no controller would accept a mere "roger" as a satisfactory readback for those instructions. There's way too much at stake, and "roger" is just too ambiguous for the controller to trust you on that one. And trust is the name of the game.
Adapt
With experience, you'll quickly learn how to adapt your communications style to current conditions. You'll learn to alter what you say and how you say it, based on the nature of the controller, the amount of traffic on frequency, and the situation. What kinds of changes are we talking about? Things like your rate of speech, and whether you use a conversational tone or an all-business tone. When the frequency's really busy, you may choose to limit the number of elements included in your readbacks.
For example, when the frequency is busy and everyone's talking, some students feel an urge to jump in on the frequency to "check in" with the new controller. Again, go back to what's required versus what's a courtesy call. Behind the scenes, your last controller has already communicated with your next controller and arranged the handoff. So the new controller knows you're probably on frequency. Be patient. When there's a lull, then make your call.
Whenever you select a new frequency, always listen for a few seconds to gauge the action before transmitting. If you jump in and transmit at the same time as someone else, it causes a loud squeal in everyone's receivers. The resulting transmissions are said to be "blocked" or "stepped on," which means they have be transmitted again, tying up the frequency further. Remember, most radio communications are routine; few are really critical. So use common sense. (Traffic alerts and low altitude alerts are examples of critical communications.)
If you think you're the only one who has to change the way you make your radio calls, think again. For years pilots have broadcast in the blind the phrase "any traffic in the area please report" when approaching a nontowered airport. Not anymore. A recent change to the AIM has now made that "nonstandard phraseology." AIM Section 4-1-9 (g) now says: Pilots stating, "Traffic in the area, please advise" is not a recognized self-announce position and/or intention phrase and should not be used under any condition. That's the one constant thing about aviation--it's always changing.
Christopher L. Parker is a CFI and an aviation author, speaker, and FAA remedial training specialist. He flies internationally as a contract captain on a Bombardier Challenger business jet and lives in Los Angeles.
Want to know more?
Links to additional resources about the topics discussed in this article are available at AOPA Flight Training Online. See AOPA's aviation subject report on ATC communications.
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