RT question

[MANOMAN]

Can any one please tell me how do pilots know when to speak to ATC without interrupting any other message?

Do they just wait until no one is speaking?

I have an Airband receiver and when listening to the controllers at Heathrow I wondered when a pilot has time to talk, when relaying information that was not needed to inform the ATC that he/she understood the message.

For example when they have to 'report established on the LOC'.

MANOMAN.

[timmcat]

Your assumption is indeed correct, they have to wait for a gap in radio traffic. The ground controller will ask for a repeated transmission if the garbelled noise of two (or more) aircraft messages is received. Etiquette of a kind exists which helps avoid these conflicts.

[MANOMAN]

Thanks for the answer ;)

MANOMAN.

[foghorn]

The r/t phreaseology is pretty standardised for normal cases so this means that commuication can sound slick to the layperson. This slickness has its downside, though, as it can lead to 'mindsets' - hearing what you wan tto hear rather than what was said. That's why all the vital bits are read back to confirm.

You also get very used to switching your attention over from the task in hand to the radio when you hear your callsign - a bit like hearing your name mentioned in a busy party.