Radio Calls: Sound Like a Pilot

I’ve seen it a hundred times. My student pilots making radio calls sound different than I would, and it’s a distinction the controllers recognize. It leads them to treat novices differently than they treat experienced pilots. In theory, they aughta provide an undifferentiated service to all of their customers, but they’ve got a job to do, and they have a sense of which of their customers are going to seamlessly do what’s expected and which are going to require more hand-holding lest their carefully-crafted spacing & sequencing gets messed up. You’ve probably seen it, too: you’ve finished your runup and call “ready to depart” just as another plane turns base; do they clear you for “immediate departure” or do they have you “hold short for landing traffic?” The answer often depends on the image of you they’ve developed from your radio calls.

This distinction can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances. For example, when I fly into an unfamiliar airport, I still sound like an experienced pilot, so controllers may give me rapid-fire taxi instructions before I’ve got my taxi diagram up, while I’m still trying to slow down, reconfigure, and get my bearings. In that moment, I might have appreciated a little more hand-holding. Thus, the real trick is not only to sound like an experienced pilot, but to actually be one. Being an experienced pilot is beyond the scope of this article, but let’s discuss some of the ways to improve your radio communication so you can at least sound like one.

First, know what you’re going to say before you key the microphone, know what they’re likely to say back, and be ready to read it back to them. I teach this to all of my students on day-1: before you ask for taxi clearance, listen to the prerecorded ATIS, have a taxi diagram, know where you are, know which runway is being advertised, anticipate your likely taxi route, anticipate the likely hold-short or crossing instructions you’ll get, and know which elements will be required in your readback. Once you’re ready with all of that, monitor the frequency and wait for a break so as not to step on other transmissions. Recognize that if the controller just issued instructions to another customer, that customer still needs to acknowledge the instructions, so that’s not a valid break – wait for the readback. Similarly, if another pilot just called in, you need to wait for the controller to answer them … and keep waiting while that pilot acknowledges whatever the controller tells them. When you finally get your break, make your call clearly and concisely, including all the required elements.

So, what are those required elements? In every conversation, there are four required elements:

1. Who you are calling (“Podunk Ground”)
2. Who you are (“Bugsmasher 1-2-3-4-Golf”)
3. Where you are (“at Alpha Tiedown”)
4. What you want (“Taxi with Information Kilo” which implies that you want to taxi to the active runway)

Note that I wrote “In every conversation ...” That’s an important consideration. Once you’ve begun a conversation, it’s not necessary to include all four elements in every transmission within that conversation. In fact, in subsequent transmissions within the conversation, you can even abbreviate some of the still-required elements. Consequently, when you hear, “Bugsmasher 1-2-3-4-Golf, Podunk Ground, Taxi to 2-4 via Charlie,” the only required readback elements are the implied hold-short at Runway-24 and an abbreviated version of your callsign, so you’ll respond “Taxi to 2-4 via Charlie, 3-4-Golf.” (Technically, even the “via Charlie” is optional, but it’s a good practice in case you misheard the controller, as it provides a chance to correct you before you take an unexpected excursion.) If you’re asked for something without required readback elements, such as “What’s your direction of flight?” a simple one-word “Northwest” reply will suffice.

Obviously, stepping on another transmission or interrupting someone else’s acknowledgement will clog up the frequency for the incurred extra transmissions, but even if you avoid those pitfalls, here are some of the common errors that can happen in that seemingly simple exchange:

• Misidentifying your recipient (“Podunk Tower”) – in this case, the controller will probably just answer with an emphasis on “Podunk GROUND.” Everything else should proceed normally.

• Omitting details about yourself (“November 1-2-3-4-G”) – yes, it’s legitimate to use your full callsign instead of substituting your type of aircraft for the “N,” but if they’re not familiar with your callsign (especially if you’re not based there), it may prompt them to ask for your type of aircraft so they can develop a mental picture of your size and speed, which ties up the frequency for their ask and your answer.

• Including extraneous details about yourself (“Bugsmasher November 1-2-3-4-G”) – the AIM tells us to use just one or the other (type or “N”), but not both. It’s waste of the frequency, but everything should proceed normally.

• Omitting your position – they’ll likely ask and you’ll answer, which unnecessarily ties up the frequency.

• Omitting that you’ve heard the ATIS information – they’ll likely respond, “ATIS Kilo is current,” which will necessitate an extra transmission that you “have Kilo.”

• Omitting what you want – the simple inclusion of the word “Taxi” implies that you want to go to the active runway. Many controllers will assume it, but some will ask, and that will tie up the frequency during the additional transmissions. Of course, if you want to taxi somewhere other than the active runway, say so: “Taxi to self-serve fuel” or “Taxi to restaurant.”

• Omitting required elements of the readback – hold-short instructions must be read back, including the implied hold-short at the active runway. If you simply respond, “Taxi via Charlie,” you’ve omitted the required hold-short. Instead, say “Taxi to 2-4 via Charlie.”

• Omitting your identification in the readback – it can be abbreviated to “3-4-Golf,” but when you’re reading back an instruction with a hold-short, they want to hear your

callsign to remove any doubt that the intended aircraft is the one that responded. These communications are all recorded, and may be played back later to determine fault after a runway incursion.

As you can see, many of these faux-pas may be swept under the rug, at best, or may require some additional exchange of communication to resolve, at worst, but all of them influence controllers in their development of a mental picture of your experience.

As you get more experience at particular airports, pay attention to local conventions. For example, some ground controllers will ask for your direction of flight if you don’t provide it in your initial callup. When you recognize that pattern, save the extra transmissions by providing it.

The same rules hold true on your callup to land. Include who you’re calling (“Podunk Tower”), who you are (“Bugsmasher 1-2-3-4-Golf”), where you are (“10 miles northeast”), and what you want (“with Kilo,” which implies you want to land). If you’re looking for a low-approach or patternwork, include that in your callup, too, else you’ll tie up the frequency with the subsequent clarification.

When you’re on a flight plan or when using flight following, at each handoff, the same first three elements are required: “Approach, Bugsmasher 1-2-3-4-Golf, Level 3,000,” and the fourth element is implied: you want to continue to your destination.

For the sake of completeness, let’s also look at radio calls at uncontrolled fields. In these cases, you’re talking to other aircraft directly rather than controllers, but you’ll still use the same four elements, with one extra quasi element:

1. Who you’re calling (“Sky Park Traffic”) – many airports share the same CTAF, so this primes the pilots operating at the appropriate airport to include you in their mental picture of the airspace.
2. Who you are – in this case, official callsigns are optional, but use something that will help the other pilots identify you or make spacing/sequencing adjustments for your size and speed. (“Blue & White Skyhawk” or “Twin Bonanza”)
3. Where you are (“4 miles south”)
4. What you want (“On a 45 to enter downwind Runway-2-3,” which implies that potentially-conflicting traffic should coordinate with you)
5. Finally, at an uncontrolled field, end your transmission by repeating the name of the field (“Sky Park”), but without the word “Traffic.”

OK, so those are the basics, but let’s also look at a few slightly less common situations.

If you want to do something atypical, such as practicing an emergency descent into a controlled field, it’s best to give controllers a heads-up that you’ll need some unusual attention before you even ask. Personally, I’d begin a few miles out by asking, “Podunk Tower, Bugsmasher 1-2-3-4- Golf, 8 miles north with Kilo, REQUEST.” This lets them know that you want something special from them, but gives them a chance to deal with more-pressing issues before they get back to you to ask, “Say your request.” There’s no rulebook for the specific verbiage after that, but try to explain what you want as simply as you can muster. (“I’d like to practice a simulated emergency descent, circling down onto Runway-2-4 from 3,500’ overhead.”) If they’re not too busy, they’ll generally try to accommodate you.

Similarly, when practicing power-off 180s, let them know that you want to make a “short approach,” and they’ll generally try to work that into their spacing and sequencing.

What if you want extra hand-holding? Easy! Just insert the words “Student Pilot” or “Student Solo” after your identification (“Bugsmasher 1-2-3-4-Golf Student Solo”). It primes controllers or anyone operating at an uncontrolled field to be more patient with you. Unless your instructor requires it of you, you don’t necessarily need to do this every time, but consider it a tool in your toolbox. To prepare them for the rigors of flying, I generally counsel my students to try to get by without using that particular tool unless they’re feeling pressured by a situation, but it’s available if they need it. In fact, you don’t even have to be a student pilot to use it – that “student” keyword will prove just as effective for an experienced pilot who is feeling pressured. However, if all you need is a bit more help with taxi directions at an unfamiliar field, you might just ask for “progressive taxi directions,” which will have controllers feed them to you one step at a time instead of all at once.

At the most basic level, communication is simply the process of using symbols to convey a meaning which is hopefully mutually understood between the sender and the recipient. In aviation communication, we need that meaning to be clear and unambiguous, and in radio communication, we need that communication to use the limited bandwidth efficiently and sparingly. If you can keep these overarching principles in mind when crafting your messages, you’ll be well on your way to sounding like an experienced pilot.