Preparation for a "FRTOL" ("Flight Radio Telephony Operator's Licence")

Irv Lee, Flight and FRTOL Examiner

Higherplane Aviation Training ltd – Mentoring the UK Private Pilot

Already within the title, there is the hint that to obtain a pilot's radio licence, (that's all a 'FRTOL' is),
there are a lot of terms, phrases, keywords, abbreviations and even 'new words' to learn. Sadly, any
transmission from an aircraft has to be made by the holder of a ‘FRTOL’. (Student pilots, when flying
solo are deemed to be flying under the authority of their instructor’s FRTOL until they qualify.)

There is only one way to qualify for the issue of a FRTOL:

• Pass a written exam on the syllabus content. There are 12 questions with multi choice answers,
with a 75% pass mark. Note, if you are on PPL(A), PPL(H), LAPL(A) or LAPL(H), this is the ‘e-
exam’ that you sit and pass as part of your normal flight training course. Also, foreign pilots with
official aviation radio qualifications from certain non-UK countries may be exempt.
• Pass a ‘FRTOL practical’ test in a simulation of a flight travelling across part of the UK, an
examiner acting as all the ‘controllers’ spoken to on the ground, plus an oral test on topics within
the syllabus that have not been covered in the flight simulation.
• Have level of English Language Proficiency assessed against a recognised aviation level of
knowledge and clarity. If not judged to be the normal English level by a radio examiner or a flight
examiner, a test may have to be set by a CAA approved language school.
• Apply to the CAA for the FRTOL, only paying a fee to the CAA if the applicant is not a qualified
pilot, or is not a student actually applying for a pilot licence. It is therefore normal for stundets on
PPL and LAPL course to sit and pass the radio exams during their flying courses, but wait until
they are applying for their flying licence to send in their application for a radio licence, thereby
avoiding an extra fee of around £80 for the radio licence issue that would be due to the CAA.

Before studying any FRTOL subtopics, it is necessary to understand (at a very top level) a little about
‘airspace’, pilot licensing, and ‘flight rules’. That is the goal of this document, which should be read
before attending the Radio and Airspace Course.

(c) I J LEE 2022, 2023

 Airspace
In the 1990s, a new scheme of classification of airspace came into play, allowing countries worldwide
to classify volumes of airspace under their responsibility into 7 different classes, labelled ‘A’ through
to ‘G’ with each class varying in levels of ‘control’, regulation, and required physical separation from
other aircraft in the same block of airspace - enforced by air traffic controllers with radar screens on
the ground. The agreement did not tell countries how to use the airspace, merely the rules that apply
to each class, so different countries use the classifications in different ways.

Class A airspace is the most heavily regulated and controlled, extra qualifications above the normal
pilot licence are required to legally fly within it – these are known as instrument qualifications. For
example, the airways, the air corridors that airlines can use to fly at higher levels across and between
countries, are usually classified a Class A airspace in the UK, making sure that the only aircraft using
them have pilots been trained and qualified to a much higher standard than the basic pilot licence.
This does not mean Class A is reserved for airliners, quite small well equipped aircraft flown by pilots
with the higher qualifications are allowed in, obviously all of them ‘with permission’ known formally as
a ‘Clearance’ issued to that particular flight.

At the other end of the scale from the Class A, Class G airspace is the most liberal, and flight is even
possible in this airspace by aircraft without a radio or with a radio but without contact with anyone.
There are localised extra regulatory ‘entities’ defined within Class G that do require a radio, or that
pilots should/must keep out of, but apart from those special areas, radio contact is not compulsory.

In between the strict class A and the liberal class G, large volumes of controlled airspace at lower
levels around major airports exist to protect and ensure safe operation for traffic arriving from the
higher airways and descend it through lower altitude to eventually land at an airport (or vice versa, to
climb into airways after departure). In the UK, we classify almost all volumes of airspace around large
airports as Class D airspace, which allows, with permission, the mixing of traffic flown by the higher
qualified pilots out of the airways with the less qualified pilots flying across the country at lower levels.
‘Order’ and safety are maintained through all traffic needing permission (known as a ‘clearance’) to
be flying within the Class D airspace, and radar operatives (controllers) being allowed to ‘direct’ traffic
within the airspace.

(Side note only for FAA pilots in the UK): This ‘D’ classification reveals a distinct difference that gets
American licensed pilots into trouble. Unlike the USA, European/UK Class D airspace needs a full
and formal clearance (permission) from Air Traffic Control to fly in it, this is not the case in the USA,
so FAA pilots can easily get into trouble if this is not made clear to them. If any US (FAA) pilots read
this, they should treat European/UK Class D as USA/FAA Class B.

Prior to the radio course, the main points about airspace classification is quite simple:
• Out of the seven classifications of volumes of airspace, five, those classified in the range Class A
through to Class E are known as Controlled Airspace (CAS). This term and this abbreviation will
be used throughout the course. With one partial exception when flying in Class E to be covered
in the course, aviation traffic inside CAS will need permission to be there from, and will be
watched and directed (controlled) by, radar controllers on the ground. So any use of controlled
airspace needs permission before flight into, out of, or through the airspace.
• Volumes of airspace classified Class F or Class G are called non-controlled airspace, and pilots
with very basic licence qualifications can operate with very few restrictions and have many
freedoms without needing any permissions, or indeed, without any radio calls, unless there are
other entities in the airspace which will be covered in the course – just for example, there may be
an army live firing area to avoid, or perhaps requiring confirmation by radio that it is not active or
‘live’.

(c) I J LEE 2022, 2023

Here is a diagram of how airspace can be set up, this is typical of the way it is used in the UK and is
clearly designed for commercial traffic, to protect commercial traffic whilst it is descending from the
airway, down through a CTA (Control Area), and finally into the CTR (Control Zone) to land – or of
course vice-versa, to feed up into the airway from the runway. Note: Students can and do learn to fly
in airports or airfields within a Class D CTR, but nowadays, MOST students learn at airfields which
are outside – i.e. learning at airfields in the freedom of the Class G airspace shown here in the
diagram, away from the busy provincial airports inside Class D and only meeting the Class D on
navigation exercises when the route needs to cross it.

Note the designation – Controlled Airspace which touches the ground is called a CTR (a Control
Zone). The equivalent that does not touch the ground is called a CTA (a control area) or for a much
busier environment, a TMA (a terminal manoeuvring area). Because it is Class D not Class A, the
controller can give permission (clearance) for a light aircraft flown visually by a private pilot to also fly
in the CTA and CTR as the ‘instrument traffic’ coming off the airway and descending, but the
clearance would make sure that there was no dangerous conflict with other traffic.

The UK FRTOL, the pilot radio licence, is gained with the knowledge that a private hobby pilot would
need to fly in Class G and Class D. The extra phraseology and terms for flying in stricter airspace
such as the Class A airways, and approach and land using instruments alone is introduced when a
pilot trains for the extra qualifications to do such things. There is only one UK radio licence for all,
from balloon pilots who only fly ten miles each flight in Class G, to Airbus pilots who fly the world, and
to obtain it, you only really need the knowledge associated with a private hobby pilot who normally
flies in the freedom of Class G, but occasionally want to enter, cross, or fly through the Class D
controlled airspace that surrounds our commercial airports.

There are quite a few ‘entities’ that lie within UK airspace which will need to be appreciated. More
than any others, for those studying for the FRTOL, the most important are the zones around many
civilian airfields is a UK entity called ‘Aerodrome Traffic Zones’ (ATZ – pronounced “Ay-Tee-Zed”)
and also a second entity that is effectively a manoeuvring area for take off and landing at military or
‘government owned aerodromes’ called a MATZ (pronounced “Mats”) which is actually short for
‘Military Aerodrome Traffic Zones’. The subject of radio is littered with some obvious confusions
where terminology could be less confusing. No-one ‘expands’ the terms ATZ or MATZ into their
component words when talking about them, they are spoken as ‘Ay-Tee-Zed’ and ‘Mats’

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Intro to ATZ and MATZ

Licensed civilian, and all military, airfields have an ATZ (Air Traffic Zone) as
shown on the left as the pink circle around Benson. Pronounced "Ay-Tee-Zed"
not 'alpha- tango-zulu', nor 'atts', they always extend up to 2000' above the
airfield from the airfield. There are many private UK airfields which are not
‘licensed’ by the CAA, and therefore would not have an ATZ. For example, one
called Chalgrove shown in the same diagram does not have an ATZ, although
it is know for parachuting.

The radius of an ATZ depends on the runway length, the split being a runway
1800 metres long. Runways up to 1800 metres long have the protection of an
ATZ of radius 2nm, longer runways have an ATZ with radius of 2.5nm.
In this case in the graphic, the picture shows the (pink) Benson ATZ going up
to an ALTITUDE (meaning height above sea level) of 2203', which of course
consists of the runway itself being 203' above sea level, and the ATZ on it
going up to HEIGHT 2000' (height meaning above the airfield), making 2203'
altitude in total.

As we have introduced formal terms, HEIGHT (above the airfield, or above a

named ground based object like a mast or hill), and ALTITUDE (height above
sea level), it is worth noting that the pilot can obtain (by radio) the local value of
atmospheric pressure on the airfield, known as QFE (said as individual letters
Q F E) and the (admittedly mathematically calculated) value of sea level
pressure locally if there were a sea at that point! This calculated sea level
pressure is known as QNH (pronounced as letters). This is a hang over from
WW1 terminology when morse code was used for radio communication, ‘Q’
codes cut down the morse needed. We still use some of these Q codes today
even in voice transmissions. If an airfield told you its QFE and QNH over the
radio (maybe you requested it), then setting these values into the altimeter on
board gives height above the airfield if you set the QFE value, or altitude above
sea level if you set the QNH value. So an aircraft flying across the very top of
the ATZ shown on the diagram of Benson would have an altimeter showing
2000’ if the pilot had set the QFE pressure into it, but it would show 2203’ if the
QNH had been set. In the UK, pressures are given in ‘HECTOPASCALS’, the
reasonably recent term for ‘Millibars’, and generally range from 970 to 1040
depending on whether low or high pressure system are present.

Military airfields and Government owned airfields in the UK also have a MATZ,
a UK only entity, shown in the graphic as faded blue, in this case with two
'stubs'. More often they have one 'stub', and then resemble a circular frying pan
with a very wide handle. The stub does not go down to the ground, whereas
the large circle does. The stubs are used as descending approach lanes for
military aircraft landing at the airfield, and therefore the stub being further
away, does not need to come down to ground level.

In dimensions, a MATZ is always 5 nautical miles RADIUS for the big circle up
to HEIGHT 3000' (height means above the airfield level) and has at least one
stub (the wide pan handle) aligned with a runway, starting 1000' above the
ground up to 3000' (height above airfield, not altitude). Hence, on the chart
shown, pilots at Oakley airfield on the north end of the diagram are not initially
in the Matz when they take off towards the south, as they are initially under the
stub, and would not enter the stub until they climb. Aircraft at Chiltern Park in

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 the graphic just south of Benson are however in the MATZ, as the large
circular part goes down to ground level.

The MATZ circle is shown on the diagram going up to 3203' (above sea level)
as it consists of the altitude of the airfield (203') and its own 3000' height.
Obviously at other airfields, the ALTITUDE of the top of the MATZ will be
different to 3203' as the airfield itself will be higher or lower in altitude, but the
MATZ will always stop 3000' height above the airfield. Notice the stubs start
1000' above airfield level and continue up to 3000' above airfield level.

Many civilian airfields are 'licensed' and have an ATZ during published
operational hours. On the left is Northampton-Sywell, a civilian ATZ, hence no
MATZ. Note the top of the ATZ is 2000' above the airfield, and on this
particular chart, the top is shown as an altitude above sea level. This is NOT
the way CAA charts show it – they EXPECT you to know that the height of an
ATZ is always 2000' above the runway, so CAA charts show you the altitude of
the airfield runway and expect you to add 2000' to that if you want the altitude
of the top of the ATZ.

The unusual thing here are the shaded 'fleches' stretching out from each
runway threshold. Only a few ATZs have these, and they indicate that the
airfield has an approved instrument approaches for IFR traffic (ie: descending
to land through clouds guided by instruments rather than being visual all the
time, finally going visual just before landing). The fleches are indications that
there may be an aircraft following the IFR approach pattern which often goes
out to 7 or 8 miles from the airfield. Whilst there is no obligation to call the
airfield as you pass by remaining clear of the ATZ, however the fleches are an
indication that they would appreciate a call if within ten miles of them, so they
can warn any IFR traffic, manoeuvring to land, perhaps still in cloud, of your
presence. They cannot order you to alter your route, but they can request a
slightly different routing if they believe there may be a conflict.

MATZ Entry/Transits:

Just to emphasise, on tests, you would be expected to treat a MATZ as controlled airspace and NOT
enter until you had permission (assuming it is active) or risk failing the test. However, away from tests,
although not actually illegal for civilian traffic to enter a MATZ without permission, it is considered really
bad airmanship and unsafe not to ask. (Hence the requirement on the test to obtain transit permission.)
The interesting things is that they cannot refuse entry, it is sitting in what we call Open FIR (class G
airspace) - we learn more about airspace in the course. On calling on a MATZ frequency, you may get
a call back saying the MATZ is closed, that is good news not bad, they mean the MATZ can be
considered not to exist – this might happen at weekends or military summer block leave, or simply
evening not midday.

The standard time/distance for calling up for any zone crossing is 15 miles or 5 minutes flying time
before the boundary. The MATZ controller can request a route change and tell you to stay out of the
smaller ATZ, but cannot refuse the MATZ transit itself, it is 'open FIR'. To emphasise, do not enter a
MATZ on a flight test without asking permission to transit as you will fail the test, probably labelled as
endangering the aircraft.

(c) I J LEE 2022, 2023

ATZ Entry/Crossing
A Government ATZ (eg a military ATZ), the smaller circle around a military airfield, must be considered
active 24 hours a day (known as H24 if you see it written) even if no reply when you call, and you must
stay out, unless specifically told you can enter or cross it. Remember it only goes up to height 2000'
above the airfield, so you are outside it by being higher than that. You cannot enter any active ATZ
without speaking to its ground station first to establish activity within, and you do that before getting too
close to the ATZ boundary. Technically, in addition to the earlier call to first establish contact from a bit
further away, you are also meant to report position and height when entering and also leaving an ATZ.
This does not happen all the time in real life as you might notice, but is a legal requirement so could
come up in exams. So, legally, there are 3 mentions of mandatory calls for ATZ entry or transit. Call at
a distance well before entry, call with height and position on entering, call with height and position on
leaving.

Speechless Code
Should your transmissions be very weak or the voice part of the transmission be unreadable, you may
be asked to use the "Speechless Code", which is pressing the transmit button in short blips or longer
bursts of static (like morse) to answer questions. The main mistake made is that one blip on transmit
means YES, two blips means NO. Most pilots guess the opposite! Three blips means 'say again',
always worth knowing, and four blips means "homing" (ie: suggest which direction to go to land) or
"request assistance", obviously only really useful if the controller listening has a way of locating the
aircraft (radar or VDF which is covered in the course). Controllers use a script requiring yes (blip) or no
(blip blip) answers to communicate with you. If you had a failure where you knew you were transmitting
without voice (eg: headset plug broken), you can initiate the communication with the 'four blips'. A
sequence of blips long, short, short, long ("X" in morse) indicates you have an emergency (other than
the radio problem).

Squelch
For you own comfort whilst flying, and also it is in the syllabus, get someone to show you how to control
'squelch' level settings on your aircraft radio. This is an adjustment you make to cut out the hiss of
background noise when no-one is actually speaking. If you get it right, you will have a quiet flight in
between proper messages. If you don't, you will either have constant hiss in your ears, or, you may
have to shout your messages for it to realise 'you mean it'. (Some aircraft have two squelch controls,
one for the radio 'hiss' and one for the intercom. You can read more on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squelch or even find Youtube clips on it. The only time turning the squelch
to allow hiss is when you are at a very distant range and transmissions to you are feint. You would only
hear them if you allowed the squelch to give you the background noise.

CAP 413 - Chapter 2 Radiotelephony Extract

Radiotelephony provides the means by which pilots and ground personnel communicate with each
other. Used properly, the information and instructions transmitted are of vital importance in assisting in
the safe and expeditious operation of aircraft. However, the use of non-standard procedures and
phraseology can cause misunderstanding. Incidents and accidents have occurred in which a
contributing factor has been the misunderstanding caused by the use of non-standard phraseology.
The importance of using correct and precise standard phraseology cannot be over-emphasised.

Transmitting Technique
The following transmitting techniques will assist in ensuring that transmitted speech is clearly and
satisfactorily received.
• Before transmitting check that the receiver volume is set at the optimum level and listen out on
the frequency to be used to ensure that there will be no interference with a transmission from
another station.
• Be familiar with microphone operating techniques and do not turn your head away from it
whilst talking or vary the distance between it and your mouth. Severe distortion of speech

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 may arise from:
• i) talking too close to the microphone
• ii) touching the microphone with the lips
• iii) holding the microphone or boom (of a combined headset/microphone system).
• Use a normal conversation tone, speak clearly and distinctly.
• Maintain an even rate of speech not exceeding 100 words per minute. When it is known that
elements of the message will be written down by the recipients, speak at a slightly slower rate.
• Maintain the speaking volume at a constant level.
• A slight pause before and after numbers will assist in making them easier to understand.
• Avoid using hesitation sounds such as ‘er’.
• Depress the transmit switch fully before speaking and do not release it until the message is
complete. This will ensure that the entire message is transmitted. However, do not depress
transmit switch until ready to speak.
• Be aware that the mother tongue of the person receiving the message may not be English.
Therefore, speak clearly and use standard radiotelephony (RTF) words and phrases wherever
possible.

One of the most irritating and potentially dangerous situations in radiotelephony is a ‘stuck’ microphone
button. Operators should always ensure that the button is released after a transmission and the
microphone placed in an appropriate place that will ensure that it will not inadvertently be switched on.
After a call has been made, a period of at least 10 seconds should elapse before a second call is
made. This should eliminate unnecessary transmissions while the receiving station is getting ready to
reply to the initial call.

Transmission of Letters
The words in the table below shall be used when individual letters are required to be transmitted.
Letter pronunciation:
A Alpha AL FAH
B Bravo BRAH VOH
C Charlie CHAR LEE
D Delta DELL TAH
E Echo ECK OH
F Foxtrot FOKS TROT
G Golf GOLF
H Hotel HOH TELL
I India IN DEE AH
J Juliet JEWLEE-ETT
K Kilo KEY LOH
L Lima LEE MAH
M Mike MIKE
N November NO VEM BER
O Oscar OSS CAH
P Papa PAH PAH
Q Quebec KEH BECK
R Romeo ROW ME OH
S Sierra SEE AIR RAH
T Tango TANG GO
U Uniform YOU NEE FORM V
Victor VIK TAH
W Whiskey WISS KEY X
X-ray ECKS RAY
Y Yankee YANG KEE

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Z Zulu ZOO LOO

Transmission of Numbers
Numbers, with one or two exceptions number are transmitted by pronouncing each digit separately as
follows. When transmitting messages containing aircraft callsigns, altimeter settings, flight levels (with
the exception of FL 100, 200, 300 etc. which are expressed as ‘Flight Level (number) HUNDRED’),
headings, wind speeds/directions, pressure settings, transponder codes and frequencies, each digit shall
be transmitted separately; examples of this convention are as follows:
0 ZERO
1 WUN
2 TOO
3 TREE
4 FOWER
5 FIFE
6 SIX
7 SEVEN
8 AIT
9 NINER
Examples:
Decimal DAYSEEMAL
Hundred HUN DRED
Thousand TOUSAND
BAW246 Speedbird Two Four Six SPEEDBIRD TOO FOWER SIX
FL 100 Flight Level One Hundred FLIGHT LEVEL WUN HUN DRED
FL 180 Flight Level One Eight Zero FLIGHT LEVEL WUN AIT ZERO
150 Degrees One Five Zero Degrees WUN FIFE ZERO DEGREES
18 Knots One Eight Knots WUN AIT KNOTS
122.1 One Two Two Decimal One WUN TOO TOO DAYSEEMAL WUN
6500 Six Five Zero Zero SIX FIFE ZERO ZERO (SQUAWK)

All numbers used in the transmission of altitude, height, cloud height, visibility and runway visual range
information which contain whole hundreds and whole thousands shall be transmitted by pronouncing
each digit in the number of hundreds or thousands followed by the word HUNDRED or TOUSAND as
appropriate. Combinations of thousands and whole hundreds shall be transmitted by pronouncing each
digit in the number of thousands followed by the word THOUSAND and the number of hundreds followed
by the word HUNDRED; examples of this convention are as follows:

• Numbers containing a decimal point shall be transmitted with the decimal point in
appropriate sequence being indicated by the word decimal (pronounced DAY SEE MAL).
• All six figures shall be used when identifying frequencies irrespective of whether they are 25
kHz or 8.33 kHz spaced. Exceptionally, when the final two digits of the frequency are both
zero, only the first four digits need be given.
• When it is necessary to verify the accurate reception of numbers the person transmitting the
message shall request the person receiving the message to read back the numbers.

Transmission of Time
When transmitting time, only the minutes of the hour are normally required. However, the hour should be
included if there is any possibility of confusion. Time checks shall be given to the nearest minute. Co-
ordinated Universal Time (UTC) is to be used at all times, unless specified. This is also known as GMT
or Zulu time.

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2400 hours designates midnight, the end of the day, and 0000 hours the beginning of the day.

Pronunciation of Numbers:
10 One Zero WUN ZERO
100 One Hundred WUN HUN DRED
2 500 Two Thousand FiveHundred TOO TOUSAND FIFE HUNDRED
11 000 One One Thousand WUN WUN TOUSAND
25 000 Two Five Thousand TOO FIFE TOUSAND

Frequency Transmitted
118.125 One One Eight Decimal One Two Five WUN WUN AIT DAY SEE MAL WUN TOO FIFE
119.050 One One Nine Decimal Zero Five Zero WUN WUN NINER DAY SEE MAL ZERO FIFE ZERO
122.500 One Two Two Decimal Five WUN TOO TOO DAY SEE MAL FIFE
118.000 One One Eight Decimal Zero WUN WUN AIT DAY SEE MAL ZERO

Standard Words and Phrases

The following words and phrases shall be used in radiotelephony communications as appropriate and
shall have the meaning given below:

Times Transmitted, providing they are in the next 59 minutes, can be said as two digits, the minutes, so
saying you will be arriving at ‘fower seven’ means you will be arriving at the very next ‘13 minutes to the
hour’. However, if hours and minutes are needed to express a time, they are said like this:
0823 Zero Eight TOO TREE
1305 WUN TREE ZERO FIFE
2057 TOO ZERO FIFE SEVEN

Word/Phrase Meaning
ACKNOWLEDGE Let me know that you have received and understood this message.
AFFIRM Yes.
APPROVED Permission for proposed action granted.
BREAK Indicates the separation between messages.
BREAK BREAK Indicates the separation between messages transmitted to different aircraft in a busy
environment.
CANCEL Annul the previously transmitted clearance. CHANGING
TO I intend to call . . . (unit) on . . . (frequency).
CHECK Examine a system or procedure. (Not used in any other context. No answer is expected.)
CLEARED Authorised to proceed under the conditions specified.CLIMB Climb and maintain.
CONFIRM I request verification of: (clearance, instruction, action, information).
CONTACT Establish communications with ... (your details have been passed).
CORRECT True or accurate.
CORRECTION An error happened in this transmission or message. The correct version is ...
DESCEND Descend and maintain.
DISREGARD Ignore.
FANSTOP I am initiating a practice engine failure after take off. (Used only by pilots of single engine
aircraft.) The response should be, “REPORT CLIMBING AWAY”.
FREECALL Call (unit) (your details have not been passed – mainly used by military ATC).
HOLD SHORT Stop before reaching the specified location .Only used in limited circumstances where
no defined point exists (e.g. where no suitably located holding point), or to reinforce a clearance limit.
HOW DO YOU READ What is the readability of my transmission? I
SAY AGAIN I repeat for clarity or emphasis.
MAINTAIN Continue in accordance with condition(s) specified or in literal sense eg. “Maintain VFR”.
MONITOR Listen out on (frequency).

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NEGATIVE No; or Permission not granted; or That is not correct; or Not capable.
OUT This exchange of transmissions is ended and no response is expected.
OVER My transmission is ended and I expect a response from you.
PASS YOUR MESSAGE Proceed with your message.
READ BACK Repeat all, or the specified part, of this message back to me exactly as received.
REPORT Pass requested information or make a standard position report on reaching a named place.
REQUEST I should like to know ... or I wish to obtain ...
ROGER I have received all your last transmission. Note: Under no circumstances to be used in reply
to a question requiring a direct answer in the affirmative (AFFIRM) or negative (NEGATIVE).
SAY AGAIN Repeat all, or the following part of your last transmission.
SPEAK SLOWER Reduce your rate of speech.
STANDBY Wait and I will call you. Note: No onward clearance to be assumed. The caller would normally
re-establish contact if the delay is lengthy. STANDBY is not an approval or denial.
UNABLE I cannot comply with your request, instruction or clearance -normally followed by a reason.
WILCO I understand your message and will comply with it (abbreviation for will comply)
WORDS TWICE As a request: Communication is difficult. Please send every word twice.

Mandatory Readback Items

Taken from CAP413, note reference to 'SSR' means secondary surveillance radar - ie: 'transponders',
electronic devices which transmit information and codes from the aircraft to a radar ground receiver
when prompted by a radio signal from the ground. The following are to be read back, not just
acknowledge with a callsign or WILCO. Note whenever the word 'instructions' is used, it is only certain
ground units in certain circumstances (which are well covered in the course) that can issue 'must be
obeyed' instructions.
The ATS messages listed below are to be read back in full by the pilot. If a readback is not received the
pilot will be instructed to do so. Similarly, the pilot is expected to request that instructions are repeated or
clarified if any are not fully understood. All of the following must be read back by the pilot:
Taxi/Towing Instructions
Level Instructions – Note level is a generic term for 'how high', in the sense of an instruction to limit a
climb or descent to a certain level.
Heading Instructions
Speed Instructions
Airways or Route Clearances – which are covered in the course Approach Clearances
Runway-in-Use
Clearance to Enter, Land On, Take-Off On, Backtrack, Cross, or Hold Short of any Active Runway -
SSR Operating Instructions (SSR = Secondary Surveillance Radar = Transponders, covered in course)
Altimeter Settings, including units when value is below 1000 hectopascals. All pressures issued below
1000 have the word 'hectopascals' added at the end. So whilst a sea level pressure (QNH) of 1001 is
said as such as single digits, 'QNH wun zero zero wun', for all pressures below 1000, for example,
QNH 995, it would be spoken as 'QNH niner niner fife hectopascals'
VDF Information – this is covered in the course.
Frequency Changes – always respond, always let a ground unit know you are changing
Type of ATS Service – well covered on the course

Flight Rules
There are two sets of flight rules, VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). There
is also a special case called Special VFR which will be covered in the course, its use is limited to
CAS and specifically Control Zones.

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VFR is visual flying, and the FRTOL syllabus is based on this. VFR can be legal down to only 1500
metres visibility in Class G airspace, a very low amount. Should the pilot fly in CAS, e.g. Class D
(with a clearance from ATC), visibility minimum goes up to 5000 metres (5 km). There are rules about
self-separation from clouds if flying using VFR, 1500m horizontally and 1000’ vertically.

IFR are instrument flight rules, and are used by instrument qualified pilots, not basic hobby pilots.
They indicate that if a definite course is set, the (magnetic) track of the aircraft across the ground
dictates as what levels the aircraft should choose to fly at, once above a certain altitude. Once above
that altitude known as the transition altitude, a standard pressure of 1013.25 hectopascals is
assumed and set on the altimeter subscale instead of the sea level pressure. When reading the
altimeter, the final two least significant digits are dropped, and the phrase FLIGHT LEVEL is used to
indicate that the standard pressure has been set. So an altimeter reading 5500 feet when 1013.25
set would be reported as FLIGHT LEVEL zero fife fife or for short, FLIGHT LEVEL fife fife.
Transition ALTITUDE is a named altitude in the region or country, it is the altitude above which a pilot
should (or must) set the standard pressure setting (1013.25) and start quoting flight levels. Note in the
UK, VFR flights (visual flight rules) can opt not to use flight levels, but remain on sea level pressure and
quote altitudes. The flight level chosen to fly at in the cruise is based on the magnetic track flown by
the aircraft, and which 'flight rules' are in use – visual (VFR) or instrument (IFR).
However, many other countries (for example France) insist on all flights use of flight levels above the
transition altitude in their countries, and of course going back to using altitude on descending later
through the transition level. Great care must be taken when flight on 1013 and using flight levels if
airspace bases ahead are quoted as altitudes, as the pilot is effectively flying on a false pressure and
the real altitude would be different to that on the altimeter unless the actual QNH happened to be 1013
that day.
Descending from Flight Levels. A Transition Level will exist for the area or country, and passing that
level, the sea level pressure must be set and the altimeter reads ALTITUDE. If not, there is a serious
risk of hitting terrain or items such as masts, as they are marked on charts as altitudes.
And finally, prior to the course:

Use the link SafetySense 22 Radiotelephony (caa.co.uk) or if reading a printed copy, search for and
read “CAA Safety Sense Leaflet No 22 Radiotelephony” – it is a very readable introduction to radio use
for pilots.

(c) I J LEE 2022, 2023