It frightens me that i can recall making progress reports within eastern europe on the Key
73 All

One tip is: don't write down the dots and dashes. Like any language, morse is a language of sounds. If you'll follow the tapes and translate straight from sound to letters, you're brain will have to perform one less step. This will be really helpful in the air when your busy.

Exactly - if you try to think in dots and dashes you will really struggle. You need to recognise the entire sound. Start by learning the simple letters (ie just dots or just dashes). Then the letters which are just one dot and one dash. Build up like that. There are simple memonics for some letters - eg "C" sounds like "charlie-charlie", "Q" sounds like "God Save the Queen", and "V" sounds like the first chords of Beethoven's Vth symphony.

If you learn the entire sound then you will be able to get up to a really good speed in both listening and transmitting.

Number plates........................

Code them into morse as you drive, there is a time pressure, it keeps you sharp and got hundreds of us through our exams in the 80's :ok:

That's how I practised.

Also why I can never remember Z and Q.....

I used Pilotmorse to learn initially. Took 2 or 3 hours to get 90% there.

I couldn't think of anything more useless to waste my time on. While you're at it, you might as well learn Ancient Greek and Aramaic.

Seriously, though, you won't need it enough in aviation to make the time spent a worthwhile investment, if that's your sole reason for doing it. Learn French if you fancy learning a new language. At least with French you can order good food (I was going to say you could pick up chicks, but then I noticed you're married, so, no factor there) :)

For an extensive list of Morse training programs (software CW trainers) visit http://www.ac6v.com/morseprograms.htm

I learned it in an Air Force class in 1964, that Flight Sergeant really drummed it into us trainee 'telegs'. Flight plans, clearances, NOTAMS, grid winds etc all passed by Morse between airports in the Pacific.