RT Memory

[Okavango]

Been flying for a few years now and if had a lay off for a while have to admit that RT can become rusty when a few instructions are passed at once. For examle a MATZ crossing having to memorise squawk, level and QFE. Sounds easy but guess it's like repeating a 12 digit phone number which isn't always easy when trying to also concentrate on flying through choppy conditions. What do others do - do you usually note down or am I getting early alzeimers?!

[peterh337]

All clearances are written down. Air and ground.

[AnglianAV8R]

Just write them down and if unsure of any part, ask to repeat. Never been afraid to ask for clarification.

[SEP Flyer]

I have to write the info down, otherwise I forget too. Probably age related for me...!

And being left handed, I just wish the PTT button was on the right hand side of the yoke - a right pain having to swap hands to write down the info, then back to the PTT then back to change the squark/radio frequency. I'm guessing not such a problem if I flew a stick controlled plane! (or flew from the RHS!)

[dublinpilot]

It's not a memory game. Even if you did remember everything long enough to repeat it, some of it will be gone from your head as soon as you've read it back to the controller!

As others have said, you write it down.

What they didn't say, is that once you have it written down, you should then read back not what is in your head, but what you have written down. This prevents difference between what's in your head and what you have written down.

Don't be in a rush to read it back to the controller before you've written it down. Write it down first, then talk.

[AndoniP]

use a kneeboard and write everything down.

before making the calls i write down my hdg, qnh and altitude, when the controller gives me information i write it down as they speak, so that i can read it back immediately. i also have the squawks and qnh/qfe written amongst any other instructions written down should i need to refer to them later.

i am a low hours ppl pilot and i guess i will learn to memory manage a lot more easily once i gain experience, but the above method works perfectly.

hope this helps

[AnglianAV8R]

Returning to the opening post, I've found that this flying caper has done wonders for my alzheimers :ok:

[Genghis the Engineer]

I've always written down the important stuff - but since I became an instructor it has rather shocked me how many PPLs routinely leave their kneeboard in their flight bag and just don't record a whole lot of information. Some become quite dangerous as a result, when they don't have critical information to hand when things start getting hard work.

G

[funfly]

It helps if you have some sort of shorthand for words and always use them. Arrows for directions etc. If you visit an ATC you will see how they write things down.
If you go through a complex airfield (Manchester) some of the ground movement directions are very difficult to remember, in this case it helps to write down what you think it will be beforehand then modify that. In somewhere like Manchester they used to route GA aircraft almost along the same route every time so a pre written note was fairly easy to do.

[Whopity]

Whilst I can't fault the comments regarding writing it down, before making a call you should give it some thought, you normally get what you ask for, so it should not come as a great surprise. When reading back a clearance one of the common failings is to read it back in reverse order, this causes you to forget the first part. You should always try to read it back exactly as given.

[jxk]

After a while you get used to what to expect from ATC and that helps with reading back the pertinent information. Initially when I did some flying in the US my brain couldn't understand the messages because I didn't recognise 29.89 instead of 1020 and the use of point instead of decimal etc..
Not related but I've also noticed that when I drive in US I tend to look to the left for the rear-view mirror for a while until brain adjusts.

[Nibbler]

When I hear a read back from an aircraft in reverse order I suspect they have not written the information down and are doing it from memory. Nothing wrong with that but any part of it can then be easily be forgotten.

For removing the rust I've found this supplement to CAP413 from the CAA really very helpful as it has audio for each phase of a flight, for each type of ATS you may encounter. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/AviationGuideFinal20090917_LOCKED.pdf

Hope you find it as useful.