Improving RT skills
 

Does anyone know of any 'good' interactive RT training software/apps suitable for use on a Mac computer, iPad or iPhone? I need to improve my RT skills in preparation for my practical test and could do with some help, over and above the written material available. So far I've been unsuccessful in finding anything myself.

Don't worry about it.

In some ways the test itself is very false.

The only way to really improve is practise. You can get people that are word perfect when they are on the ground not flying. Put them in an aircraft and as soon as the tit is pressed garbage comes out of there mouth.

Get a scanner and listen into ATC at a nearby airport/airfield. Become immersed. Listen to others. Quickly you will be able to qualify who sounds bad, who sounds good and critique effectively. Which should improve your own RT.

Hope that helps. Merely a suggestion of course. :ok:

Make sure you can hear the radio properly. One of the best investments you can make is a quality headset. ANR for preference, get a good one and it will last out your flying career.

Localiser
 

That was my thought. Invest in a handheld and park by an airport with a thermos of coffee and a sandwich. The handheld is an education tax writeoff and a good piece of kit for the future. Killing two or three birds there...

Don't waste your money on a scanner:

If you are going to be flying post PPL then invest a few more squids and get a proper 2-way handheld transceiver.

It might come in handy sometime during your flying career.

(I use mine regularly to get the departure ATIS to avoid the need to fire up the a/c radios till after engine start)

There's one going cheap over on the Flyer Forum 'Aviation Stuff for Sale' right now

Get on Vatsim: VATSIM United Kingdom Division

Cant find that on flyer forum? Do you have a link?

FLYER Forums ? View topic - Icom A22e hand held transceiver

The A22e is an old model with a large NiCad battery but it does the job.

Agree with Cusco, a transceiver is much more use. I bought an Icom A6E and had it switched on whilst driving to work etc, listening to the chatter and trying to understand what they were saying and why, anticipating the response and how I would reply. It did help, nowadays I use it for ATIS and request start up clearances and the like so it's not a wasted expense.

Probably the best tip from my RT instructor was to adopt a form of shorthand and jot things on a blank piece of paper in the plane: might seem common sense to most of us here but I've flown with so many other pilots who, although they possess pen and paper, do not write things down but try to do it from memory - not good if you're at the Apron and the controller advises you to "taxi to Holding Point runway 24 via Taxiway Golf, Bravo, Alpha, A1 Hold Short Runway 33." Try writing that down. Before you've got "Holding Point" written completely, you're lost and nothing is guaranteed to annoy a controller quicker than hearing "say again" 3 times.

However if you were to just write

// R24 G B A A1 // R33

you could write that in time with the controller. Using my particular shorthand, those scribbles tells me to read back:

Taxi to Holding Point Runway 24 via Golf, Bravo Alpha Alpha 1, hold short Runway 33.

The same is true with clearances - for example, if I'm cleared for transit through the CTR not above 3000 feet, I'll write "T CTR 3000" and draw a line above the 3000, (or below, if the instruction is not below 3000) so that I know I'm clear to transit the CTR up to that height (or below, if I've drawn the line below).

Or joining a circuit,

R24 RH, F998 rRD

would tell me to read back

Runway 24 in use, right hand circuit, QFE 998 (or N1008 if the strip uses QNH), report Right Downwind.

There are so many little tips and tricks you can adopt for your shorthand, for example, when contacting a radar service, you know you'll be given the QNH and a Squawk which you need to read back - so just be prepared with the letters S and Q jotted on your notepad and write the requisite numbers afterwards.

At the end of the day, most of R/T is about repeating what the ATC has told you to do and if you can jot everything down shorthand style, anticipating what he'll say, you'll not have a problem repeating his instructions.

And don't worry, practice does make perfect.....

Listening to live RT is probably the worst thing you can do prior to a RT Test. Firstly, you should have practiced the necessary RT as part of your training either in the air or in the class room. The purpose of the test is to see if you know how to do it correctly, not to see if you can copy all the bad habits you heard on the air. A typical RT course will last about 16 hours, then you should be proficient and find the test quite straightforward.

Some great advice here - thanks guys!

Steve6443, I think your shorthand ideas will be particularly helpful to me, since I am struggling to remember just a squawk code and QNH at the moment!

Listen to Whopity he is 100% right in my opinion.

Real life RT just gets in the way of the test.

The main issue is people read back way to much.

Learn you mandatory readbacks

Everything else can be dealt with, with Roger and wilco.

Mad Jock: as far as I know, everything except wind is mandatory - at least I can't seem to recall anything which ATC might tell you which is non mandatory????

For example:

"D-KC, Runway 24, cleared to Land, wind 240 20knots, caution wake turbulence."

I would read back as

"D-KC, Runway 24, cleared to land, caution wake turbulence."

I chose that particular example because some would say wake turbulence is an advisory and doesn't need to be repeated, that only instructions need to be confirmed yet whenever I land in Germany at larger airfields, if I don't read back "caution wake turbulence", you can guarantee that tower will then say "D-KC, confirm caution wake turbulence".

This could also be "caution, gilders / parachuters / radio controlled models in the vicinity" at smaller airfields.

Having said that, I did my PPL in Germany and have a BZF, not the UK FRTOL so maybe there are variations? It could also be that my memory is failing me in my old age ;)

Visit ATC Days.
 

Vegancruiser,

As with many exams, RT only bears a limited resemblance to the real world. But you probably know that already. I’d agree with comments from the posters above about getting a hand held radio and listening to comms. I’m not convinced that you will pick up bad habits, but I’m sure you will soon be able to identify them.

You might like to take advantage of a ‘Visit ATC Day’ as mentioned elsewhere on the forum. Although this doesn’t have an immediate effect on your RT Exam, it does show why your RT should be of a good standard.

On a visit to Farnborough the ATCO who was showing us round gave us a quick ‘test’ at the end. Everyone was given two flight progress strips. We filled in the first one with him pretending to be a ‘normal’ private pilot. The second one we filled in with him doing the call in the approved format. Guess which one was filled in better…

I would say.

for your example

"D-KC, Runway 24, cleared to Land, wind 240 20knots, caution wake turbulence."

"roger, 24, cleared to land, D-KC"

roger to say I have received and understood the wake turb info.

24 because the runway in use is a mandatory readback.

the clearance which is again mandatory,

then the callsign so everyone knows I have stopped speaking.

But to be honest the best way of doing RT is get a big room and pretend to be an aircraft. Stick some bits of paper on the floor to pretend to be airports and then pretend to fly around and do the RT a bonus is someone at the side who can pretend to be ATS.


n Taxi instructions
n Level instructions
n Heading instructions
n Speed instructions
n Airways/route clearances
n Approach clearances
n Runway in use
n Any runway clearance
n SSR operating instructions
n Altimeter settings
n VDF information
n Frequency changes
n Type of radar service
n Transition level.

That's the only mandatory read back items.

Its up for debate if asked to "report passing 4000ft" comes under level instruction or can be replied with "wilco" Personally I just give it "wilco" and haven't had ATC say anything. But some pilots and examiners think you should. I have flown in Germany and didn't have any issues with not reading wind shear or wake turb warnings back.

You are not alone: I fly about 250 hours a year and don't even try to remember them. Frequencies are even worse (did he say 122.425 or 124.25?)

My advice is don't try to remember them: write them down. That's one of the main reasons you need a knee pad.

Fluency is also an important part of being professional on the radio. When I was starting out, I used to practice radio calls out loud at home trying to sound as confident and fluent as the pros I heard when flying with my instructor. I felt a bit silly practising, but it did help a lot.

Best of luck with this! :ok:

"Quote:
I am struggling to remember just a squawk code and QNH at the moment!
You are not alone: I fly about 250 hours a year and don't even try to remember them. Frequencies are even worse (did he say 122.425 or 124.25?)

My advice is don't try to remember them: write them down. That's one of the main reasons you need a knee pad.

Fluency is also an important part of being professional on the radio. When I was starting out, I used to practice radio calls out loud at home trying to sound as confident and fluent as the pros I heard when flying with my instructor. I felt a bit silly practising, but it did help a lot.

Best of luck with this!"

...Roger!

Sorry, don't know how to quote from posts (instructions in FAQ's are not valid)

There is another trick which is dial it in before you read it back then read back what you have set.

And if the sod gives you more than 3 bits of info do the first three things and read back then ask them to "say again"

.....unless it's weather like yesterday, was trying to enter a squawk whilst the plane was bucking and jumping around..... the transponder in the PA28 I was flying is over on the far right so by the time I'd got the squawk in correctly and was able to read it back, no doubt the ATC would be asking to confirm I'd copied the squawk....:p