Can anyone please shed any light on what to expect in the PPL RT practical examination? I've recently completed my solo QXC and not sure if it's pretty much a formality after that experience, or is there likely to be various test cases thrown in that one experiences in exceptional circumstances?
I assume they're all the same. I did mine at Wolverhampton.
The examiner will give you a ficticious aviation map with a route on it for you to pretend to fly. You sit in one room with headset, PTT and a box with a frequency selector switch. Basically, you do the whole route from engine start and taxi, through MATZ and airspace penetrations, Danger area crossings and landings away etc, with your examiner being in an adjacent room being the controller at each location. If you forget to, or change to the wrong channel, of course, he will not answer you etc.
You get preparation time before the practical test - ie examiner gives you the map and your route instruction sheet and a pencil and paper for you to make notes. Don't try to write ALL your calls down, just prompts is best. Half an hour I think the prep time is.
Anyway, I found it hugely enjoyable. And the examiner is not really out to trip you up or fail you, just to help you get your certificate. If it is available to you, pay for a couple of hours practical instruction before hand. It gets you right in the mood.
If it is available to you, pay for a couple of hours practical instruction before hand. It gets you right in the mood
Wholeheartedly agree with that idea. Also covers the things that one hopes you have NOT encountered on your QXC (eg Maydays, airways, etc). The thread starter's location was Lancs, so Malcolm Dobson might be closer. Operates at Leeds/Bradford and at Barton.
I did my RT training with Malcolm Dobson fairly recently, you will not meet a nicer more helpful chap. However the RT practical is not a formality and Malcolm treats it with the reverence it deserves.
My advice would be to give him a call before you think about taking a test. Malcolm will tell you all you need to know and probably insist on giving you some training. I cannot stress enough this training will be worth its weight in gold. Malcolms' number is on the Multiflight website
I would agree that a practice session is well worthwhile the exam it a little more formal than some of the procedure you hear in "real life" and you may have picked up some bad habits out in the field...
Nice guy - He'll get you through the R/T practical - and probably with a few political discussions on the way .
Formally, he runs the R/T theory on the first Sunday of every month and the R/T practical session on the second Sunday of every month (at Leeds). The actual test can be scheduled for whenever you like. But give him a ring.
Yes, that's right, I think "fan" is the correct word ! When I first posted his name here a little earlier, what I didn't mention was that Malcolm also taught me to fly, as well as my R/T licence ! His name first appears in the first of my logbooks on 17 July 1982 ! ! To this day it's still a great pleasure any time I have the good fortune to meet him.
Having got used to the real UK airspace during my training, I found the fictitous exam scenario rather more demanding than I expected. I'd recommend some mock dry runs beforehand and a bit of tuition.
I did my RT in Barton. I imagine if your Lancs based that may be an easier option for you (?)
Took a 5 week course which basically went through a basic script. On test day, you are given time to prepare. Route where you may need to cross a MATZ, divert and have a Mayday/Pan (think I had engine failure)
Just take your time, scribble down some notes before you make each call and taking a coin in to trace your route helps too!
My examiner allowed me to use any callsign of my choice - this really helps to avoid silly cockups. The fictitious airfields made it all a bit more strange than I was expecting, but there was nothing impossible. I just made sure that I downloaded and digested CAP413 fully before presenting myself for the test.
Another tip. You have some prep time after receiving the briefing papers. Use this time to make a plog, complete with radio frequencies, timings, headings and everything like you would do for a real flight. This means that all the info you need is in a familiar place and format, so that you don't have to search for it in the briefing papers. It also means you've already "flown" the flight in your mind, in a structured way, before starting the exam.
During my exam that 1-page plog and the sketchy map was all I needed. Not the multi-page briefing.
Can anyone please shed any light on what to expect in the PPL RT practical examination? I've recently completed my solo QXC
Yet another example of poor instruction! By the time you complete the QXC you should have completed all your radio work, to make the flying easier. Your instructor should have gone through all of the syllabus items listed here: SRG1171: Flight Radiotelephony (Communications) Training Syllabus - Training Record | Publications | CAA Malcolm Dobson's RT Course lasts about 16 hours, about the time it takes to cover all the items, not the 2 or 3 hours most people do. No wonder RT is so poor!
You'll get a fictional map with a route taking you from taxi to land with tasks to perform on the way. During the 'trip' you will change frequencies along the way - these are labelled A to F in the instructions and match the dial on the equipment you will be using.
You are not allowed to take notes in with you. You are allowed paper and pen. Exam nerves can make your mind go blank so know the format of all the calls - I wrote them all down as soon as I sat down for the exam. Pay particular attention to the PANPAN and MAYDAY calls as it is unacceptable to get either of these wrong.
The order may vary but this is a list of calls I had to make during my exam.
- Tuned and obtained ATIS (you may have to ask for 'radio check and airfield information' if at a RADIO or INFORMATION airfield)
- Changed to ground Requested taxi
- Advised ready for departure, read back hold and departure instructions
- Changed to tower, read back a 'line up after' instruction, clear for take off and turn out instructions
- Changed to radar, called clear of zone, requested FIS
- Requested / changed to enroute LARS, requested FIS and MATZ penetration
- Red light on equipment flashed, called in a PANPAN (rough engine), cancelled PANPAN after decent
- Red light on equipment flashed, relayed a MAYDAY message (forced landing), cancelled MAYDAY
- Requested / changed frequency to enroute airfield, class A Special VFR transit call with 2 reporting points
- Requested / changed to destination airfield - overhead join with all calls made to final and then, after aircraft crashed, go around call and diversion to alternate
- Requested / changed to diversion (class D) airfield - ATIS obtained, call to Approach with diversion mentioned. Held outside airspace, read back specific entry instructions.
- Changed to tower, held on base, called finals
- Changed for ground and taxi
Stay calm! You are expected to 'fly' route so you have plenty of time to write your next call down and even say it to yourself before you press the talk button again.
The MAYDAY message relay - be ready with your pen and always wait a moment to see if there is a response from the ground station before you jump in. If you have already noted down the format of the MAYDAY call then you can write the information next to each bit which makes it easy to note and to relay. Be ready to write down what the ground station and the MAYDAY aircraft says as you might have to relay messages both ways.
Stay calm! Speak clearly and slowly, don't rush your calls.
If you make a mistake don't let it go, say 'correction' and make the right call.
I hope this helps, good luck - remember fear and panic are the enemy of good RT.
It's a few years since I did my radio test, but do they have a third party chipping in these days on the Mayday/Pan sections with helpful advice like "you're on guard!" for that added realism?
Yep, I got some helpful comments like that on my test I could also take in a 'prompting sheet' I've been talking to someone who has just taken his practical and was told he'd been saying too much, there was no need for him to mentioning where going via and ETAs
closer to home . . . . . . . . .
Radio Telephony Courses 
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