Recommend book for radio use in GA.
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Recommend book for radio use in GA.
Hello,
Can anyone recommend a good book covering the use of radio with great examples for scenarios in general aviation.
Have recently passed my PPL but would like to get into a bit more depth on this.
Can anyone recommend a good book covering the use of radio with great examples for scenarios in general aviation.
Have recently passed my PPL but would like to get into a bit more depth on this.
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CAP413
UK Radiotelephony Manual (CAP 413)
You may well have encountered this one while training, but it is the official word on the subject, at least as far as the UK Authorities are concerned. An updated version is being issued in early November and it will be interesting to see if they have adopted ‘Toping & Tailing’ of Safetycom calls. They do try and keep it relevant to the real world, although listening to almost any working frequency will give the current local variations on the theme.
It has one great advantage over other titles, it's free.
You may well have encountered this one while training, but it is the official word on the subject, at least as far as the UK Authorities are concerned. An updated version is being issued in early November and it will be interesting to see if they have adopted ‘Toping & Tailing’ of Safetycom calls. They do try and keep it relevant to the real world, although listening to almost any working frequency will give the current local variations on the theme.
It has one great advantage over other titles, it's free.
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PPRuNe ATC Humour
For a less official approach to aeronautical radio communication you could look in the esteemed PPRuNe ATC Humour section. Be prepared to loose several hours of your life there.
Given that the thread started in 2001 there is a slightly cyclic / repetitive nature to some of the posts. The Oldies but Goldies tend to reappear every three years.
Given that the thread started in 2001 there is a slightly cyclic / repetitive nature to some of the posts. The Oldies but Goldies tend to reappear every three years.
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Safetycom Top & Tail
Apologies to baleares if this turns out to be a bit of a 'thread hijack'.
Magpienja,
I wrote the letter pasted below to the UK Operations and Phraseology Working Group, who apparently rule on ATC phraseology. I think there was a discussion, either here or on another Forum, about Safetycom usage. In reply I had a message saying that the group would consider it for the next revision of CAP413. I await with interest to see if it appears in the November update.
Safe Flying,
WKW
Dear Sir,
I write to you to suggest a minor change to the phraseology used in Safetycom as described in CAP 413.
It has become common practice in some parts of the country to ‘Top & Tail’ Safetycom calls with the location of the airfield or farm strip added at the end of the call. I would like to suggest the following change:
The present phraseology:
Borton Traffic, G-ABCD, FINAL Runway 09
Suggested phraseology:
Borton Traffic, G-ABCD, FINAL Runway 09, Borton
This has the advantage of being able to confirm the location if the first part of the call was missed or ‘stepped-on’. It would also be a considerable improvement for those who inadvertently omit the first part of the call. This latter case tends to be people who are used to radio calls on a dedicated aerodrome frequency. When the stress levels increase in the circuit, earlier training and behaviour patterns emerge. ‘Final to land 27’ broadcast on Safetycom creates confusion across a wide area.
Adding the location at the end of the call has been suggested previously, but rejected on the grounds of taking more airtime. I would suggest that if the call is not understood, the whole call is a waste of airtime. The sensitivity of modern handheld radios (frequently connected to external antennas) is often considerably greater than earlier panel mount radios. This type of radio fit is very common in light aircraft and microlights, some of the main users of Safetycom. I can frequently hear Safetycom traffic in a 50nm radius, which equates to a considerable number of farm strips and small airfields.
As mentioned above, topping and tailing has become the de-facto method of operation in busy areas, like the South East of England. Other users of Safetycom, while appreciating the benefits of the change, feel they can’t do so because ‘It’s not that way in CAP 413’.
I would like to suggest that this minor change be incorporated in the next revision of CAP 413.
Yours sincerely,
Magpienja,
I wrote the letter pasted below to the UK Operations and Phraseology Working Group, who apparently rule on ATC phraseology. I think there was a discussion, either here or on another Forum, about Safetycom usage. In reply I had a message saying that the group would consider it for the next revision of CAP413. I await with interest to see if it appears in the November update.
Safe Flying,
WKW
Dear Sir,
I write to you to suggest a minor change to the phraseology used in Safetycom as described in CAP 413.
It has become common practice in some parts of the country to ‘Top & Tail’ Safetycom calls with the location of the airfield or farm strip added at the end of the call. I would like to suggest the following change:
The present phraseology:
Borton Traffic, G-ABCD, FINAL Runway 09
Suggested phraseology:
Borton Traffic, G-ABCD, FINAL Runway 09, Borton
This has the advantage of being able to confirm the location if the first part of the call was missed or ‘stepped-on’. It would also be a considerable improvement for those who inadvertently omit the first part of the call. This latter case tends to be people who are used to radio calls on a dedicated aerodrome frequency. When the stress levels increase in the circuit, earlier training and behaviour patterns emerge. ‘Final to land 27’ broadcast on Safetycom creates confusion across a wide area.
Adding the location at the end of the call has been suggested previously, but rejected on the grounds of taking more airtime. I would suggest that if the call is not understood, the whole call is a waste of airtime. The sensitivity of modern handheld radios (frequently connected to external antennas) is often considerably greater than earlier panel mount radios. This type of radio fit is very common in light aircraft and microlights, some of the main users of Safetycom. I can frequently hear Safetycom traffic in a 50nm radius, which equates to a considerable number of farm strips and small airfields.
As mentioned above, topping and tailing has become the de-facto method of operation in busy areas, like the South East of England. Other users of Safetycom, while appreciating the benefits of the change, feel they can’t do so because ‘It’s not that way in CAP 413’.
I would like to suggest that this minor change be incorporated in the next revision of CAP 413.
Yours sincerely,
Last edited by Whiskey Kilo Wanderer; 26th Oct 2014 at 11:35.
WKW - what you describe has been standard practice for many years in FAAland on Unicom frequencies. I assume that's where it's come from in the UK, given the number of people here who occasionally fly in the USA also.
G
G
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I've been topping and tailing my safetycom calls since the day safetycom was introduced.
Too often in East Anglia where there are dozens of strips within range the only way to try to identify/exclude the strip mentioned in a safetycom transmission whose initial identifier has been stepped on, omitted or otherwise mangled, is to hope the transmitter mentions a runway orientation.
I can see no reason for the CAA turning down WKW's suggestion which I fully endorse.
Longer transmission - my ar se....
Cusco
Too often in East Anglia where there are dozens of strips within range the only way to try to identify/exclude the strip mentioned in a safetycom transmission whose initial identifier has been stepped on, omitted or otherwise mangled, is to hope the transmitter mentions a runway orientation.
I can see no reason for the CAA turning down WKW's suggestion which I fully endorse.
Longer transmission - my ar se....
Cusco
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Like Cusco, I have been topping and tailing from day one.
In the consultation following the introduction of Safetycom, I suggested adding the location at the end of the call. At that stage it was rejected with the too much airtime argument. Hopefully pragmatism will eventually triumph.
Safetycom has proved to be a good idea. Not sure if I’m alone in feeling that the utilisation is increasing. I know of at least one farm strip that adopted it and handed back their Air/Ground frequency when the Communications Agency instituted a large price hike for the licence. Hopefully radio discipline will be maintained and it will not become a victim of its own success.
Sorry for the thread drift.
In the consultation following the introduction of Safetycom, I suggested adding the location at the end of the call. At that stage it was rejected with the too much airtime argument. Hopefully pragmatism will eventually triumph.
Safetycom has proved to be a good idea. Not sure if I’m alone in feeling that the utilisation is increasing. I know of at least one farm strip that adopted it and handed back their Air/Ground frequency when the Communications Agency instituted a large price hike for the licence. Hopefully radio discipline will be maintained and it will not become a victim of its own success.
Sorry for the thread drift.
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The November 2014 CAP413 is already available. https://www.caa.co.uk/cap413 No need to wait until the effective date before reading it.
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It looks as if the Safetycom Top & Tail hasn’t made it in to the latest version of CAP413.
This may be because they have included Safetycom in the section on Unattended Aerodromes. Obviously adding the name at the end of the transmission isn’t required on a dedicated aerodrome frequency, however I still feel it’s worth doing on the Safetycom (135.475Mhz) frequency.
This may be because they have included Safetycom in the section on Unattended Aerodromes. Obviously adding the name at the end of the transmission isn’t required on a dedicated aerodrome frequency, however I still feel it’s worth doing on the Safetycom (135.475Mhz) frequency.
