Rt Practical

[modelman]

I have just completed the PPL syllabus (got one more hour of of solo to make it 10-have booked an a/c for tomorrow).
Sat my last theory today ( passed):ok:

Looking to take the RT practical next-can anyone suggest any study material for this ( if any exists).I've have ploughed through CAP413 but that's a lot to remember.I feel quite confident on the radio-is it just a question of rubber stamping what you are already doing?

What would constitute a fail?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

MM

[bladewashout]

If you are ok with the RT procedure for general airfield entry/departure, and en-route flight information services, you are most of the way there.

You'll need to penetrate someone's space (MATZ?), declare a pan, but overall they are looking to make sure you can communicate reasonably in-line with recognised procedures.

It's not too hard!

Good luck

BW

[Mad Girl]

And.......

1- don't forget the MAYDAY "relay" they'll throw at you to make sure you know the correct format.
2 - The Pan THEY instigate the timing of, so prepare what you're going to say (except position,alt, heading etc) in the 15 mins preparation time. and don't forget QE2 (Qualifications, Endurance and no. of people on board)
3 If the brief says do ALL position reports on the route - work most of them out in the prep time.

Use the 15 minutes wisely and you can just read the bulk of it back without panicking.

Just done my second practise route and I'm now using the prep time to set up blank formats for all of the above so I just grab the appropriate piece of paper when the time comes - makes things a lot easier!!!

Mind you... I'm still in the circuit, so don't have your experience of the outside world - so you'll probably cruise it.

[tmmorris]

Do they actually fail you for not getting the PAN and the MAYDAY relay in the correct order?

In real life your MAYDAY is more likely to go

'G-CD mayday, mayday, mayday, engine failure, stand by...'

especially if you are on a radar service at the time - they know where you are! My FI drummed into me that otherwise the one thing you MUST tell them is where you are, or they won't know where to direct the SAR to. So if it happened for real (when it happens for real...!) I will probably just about managed 'mayday x3, engine failure, 5 miles north of Blanktown, stand by' before getting on with the important business of landing the plane.

Tim

[Mad Girl]

Do they actually fail you for not getting the PAN and the MAYDAY relay in the correct order?

In real life your MAYDAY is more likely to go

'G-CD mayday, mayday, mayday, engine failure, stand by...'

especially if you are on a radar service at the time - they know where you are! My FI drummed into me that otherwise the one thing you MUST tell them is where you are, or they won't know where to direct the SAR to. Tim

One thing that's been hammered into me is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate". In "real life"... I think we'd all just do what we could when we could.

However a relay Mayday is quite important to get right as some other poor sod needs help and hasn't been heard.

I have to admit that the ground school is quite good for this as it teaches you the correct format to use (i.e. how the guy should be transmitting).
Therefore if you miss something you know what you've missed.
If there is one thing that's come across very strongly to me it's that if you think about what you're writing you miss half the details. They've shown me a sort of short hand which just makes everything so much quicker. It's something they developed themselves to help students out and it's probably the one subject I would recommend taking ground school on.

As for what you're passed and failed on - I don't know. All I do know is that they are looking for fluency and "polish".

[hobbit1983]

Can't add anything to what's already been said re. the test - but I found Book 7 (RT) of the PPL series by Trevor Thom (thin book, get it from Transair, purple cover) quite useful. It has example transmissions etc & I found it easier to read than CAP413.

[Dop]

The RT Practical test was, I recall, a lot easier than I expected it to be. The pre-test briefing told me everything I really needed to know, and the hardest part was really getting my RT head on. I found that sitting in a small room at a desk rather than sitting in an aeroplane, doing RT just felt out of context for me so I didn't quite get into the right frame of mind!

If you're happy with using the radio when you're flying, the test is pretty straightforward, and the only bits you may find unfamiliar are the mayday and pan calls, but again, those are covered in the briefing (at least they were on mine!)

Good luck!

[wombat13]

Do they actually fail you for not getting the PAN and the MAYDAY relay in the correct order?
In real life your MAYDAY is more likely to go
'G-CD mayday, mayday, mayday, engine failure, stand by...'
especially if you are on a radar service at the time - they know where you are! My FI drummed into me that otherwise the one thing you MUST tell them is where you are, or they won't know where to direct the SAR to. So if it happened for real (when it happens for real...!) I will probably just about managed 'mayday x3, engine failure, 5 miles north of Blanktown, stand by' before getting on with the important business of landing the plane.
Tim

I know it all depends on how you are taught it, but in real life my understanding is:

MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY G-CD................ and then the info - not starting with the callsign as suggested above

It was also taught to me that you should put the station you are addressing before the callsign, but I always reckon I will be sh1tting myself when doing it, so don't worry too much about that. A good thing to remember is RIP Huey Lewis.....

Reason
Intention
Position
Huey...... Heading
Lewis..... Level

MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY Manchester Approach G-SOSO PA28 two people on board. Engine failure, intend to land 4 mile south of Warrington in the LLR. Heading 355 decending through 900ft.

Yes, I know, there is something moronic about having RIP as part of your checklist for a Mayday call, but hey, it is on topic.......

[Kaptain Kremen]

As an RT examiner I would obviously look for a full CAP 413 standard Distress Call, however in real emergencies such as engine failure i suspect this would be difficult unless practiced regularly due to the concentration of flying the aircraft/time available. (rightly so).
My last engine failure resulted in a pretty standard distress call, but only because I practice most days with students. Most other real distress calls I have heard are very basic, Mayday x 3 and who what where - perfectly good in the circumstances.
KK

[Flik Roll]

YOU will have to give a PAN call (normally suspect icing, rough running) and RELAY someone elses MAYDAY, not transmit your own.

It's quite simple really. You just foolow a map. You get planning time. And it's actually really easy because you don't have to think about flying the aircraft. Just having a nice chat with the guy in the next room :ok:

Learn MATZ penetration and also SFVR (You get the option at the end to go SVFR or divert)

Good luck!

[Keygrip]

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing"

Flik Roll's statement of what you will have to do are relevant to one of the three test routes used for R/T practical tests.

The format and requirements throughout the three options for test are variable and flexible - but the phraseology are standard throughout.

Read the examples of the practical test in both Safety Sense Leaflet 22 and CAP413 to get a good simulation of the route and problems that you are likely to encounter.

[Flik Roll]

Well, knowing one at least means you will cover everything.

I didn't realise they were still the same - I did mine years ago!

So there you go, one in three chance of getting what I described. I assumed they all covered the same thing? Otherwise if one is just a Mayday, RIS, FIS and MATZ its a lot easier compared to a SVFR, MATZ, RIS, FIS, Divert, Mayday etc.

Or is it just me that thinks that? Obviously it shouldn't be a problem for the more astute RT operator... Just a thought that's all

Flik

<<edit: Flik, sorry mate, didn't mean to sound "sharp" - which it does when I read it again. Your comments are, of course, quite correct.>>

[aerobat 1971]

Just a word of warning - I sat mine last month (passed fine) - the 'Mayday' that you have to relay is played from a tape and the call is made really quick, so you need to be fast in noting down the contents of the call, or it's gone before you realise that there's a mayday being called!

Cheers,

David