Like so many things we need to learn in aviation, there is a mixture of hugely practical and some relatively useless stuff.
Understanding comes from recognition of the structure of control within the UK and some history.
- Early radios were very unreliable and sometimes difficult to hear. Standard phraseology came about to reduce the length of transmissions and make messages easier to understand.
- There is a very real risk that radio might be used as a part of a terrorist attack for instance. Anyone with an aviation transceiver could send bogus messages, and disrupt air traffic into busy airports. Licensing is part of a safety control mechanism.
- The civil aviation authority (CAA) controls all UK aviation radio operations. The aims are, 1) to ensure the sets themselves (referred to as stations), operate correctly without interfering with other transmitters and 2) the users are trained to follow strict procedures. Glider pilots are exempted from holding formal licences provided they stick to the limited range of frequencies allocated to them. At Talgarth you have been using 130.1 MHz routinely. All sets must have a radio communications licence (issued by the CAA.)
- Some of the Bronze C syllabus covers subjects that cannot be practised without an operators licence, but is still required knowledge.
- British Glider Pilots are amongst the worst in the world for radio skills. At the end of this introduction you will begin to recognise some of the failings that routinely happen. Good operating skills are obvious to those "in the know", many pilots operate in ignorance without realising they are making fools of themselves.
Radio transmission techniques
- Think before you transmit.---being prepared reduces the umms and errs.
- Listen to ensure you are not interrupting anyone else.---Their message may be critically important.
- Remember, when you press the push to talk button no one else can get through. (stuck mike is not unusual, so if it seems to have gone quiet on the radio, make sure you are not sitting on the microphone switch).
- When talking maintain a constant distance from your mouth to the microphone.
- Enunciate each word clearly and distinctly using a normal conversational tone.
- Keep your speech rate constant, a maximum of 100 words per minute.
- Avoid using hesitation sounds such as er.
- Keep the operation of the transmit button to a minimum. Depress the button fully before speaking and do not release it until the message is complete.
- make sure the button is released after transmission and that it cannot be inadvertently switched on after stowage
- VHF radio transmissions are line of sight---the higher you are the further it is possible to transmit and receive. (at altitude it is important to make your location clear----"Tango four nine , five thousand feet descending over the airfield" will be heard at the other end of the country!!!
- Keep transmissions brief and to the point.
Radio around the airfield
- Ground stations can never give instructions to an aircraft unless they are air traffic controllers operating in a controlled environment.----"Talgarth base, Tango Four nine, request circuit instructions"-------"Tango Four nine , gliders seem to be flying right hand circuits landing South-west"-----(in other wordsits up to you to decide, but this is what everyone else seems to be doing)
- Transmissions are often blind, a reply is not necessarily expected"Talgarth, Tango one zero, downwind, landing east."
- Transmissions always start with the station being called, followed by your call sign---"you, this is me"
- If you expect a reply don't pass your question in on garbled outburst.-------"Tango one zero, Tango four nine"----(wait)---"Tango four nine pass your message"-----"Tango one zero, what are your intentions?"----"Tango one zero, intend commence right hand circuit"
- A general safety announcement might sound like this------------"Talgarth Gliders be advised a heavy rain shower is approaching the airfield"
It is good practice to check your radio is working properly;
"Golf-Papa-Alpha, tango one zero, request radio check"
.."tango one zero readability five"
The scale goes from 5 (perfectly readable to 1 (unreadable), 3 is readable with difficulty.
||Training (lead and follow)
Other cross-country location messages
|Local and other flying
Competition start and finish lines
||Competition start and finish lines
||Training (lead and follow)
||Cloud flying and relaying cross country messages only
||As a control frequency within 10 nautical miles and up to height of 3000ft above certain approved airfields
||Ground to ground only
(Source Laws and Rules for Glider pilots)
(Source laws and Rules for Glider pilots)
- Gliders registration letters or competition number--------("Tango one zero"---"nine eight nine")
include designation "mobile"---------------("nine eight nine mobile")
include the designation "base"---------------("Talgarth base")
Airfields and other services have other designations
("Shobdon Radio") ------ a non air traffic controlled radio station.
("Cardiff information") ----- an information service available to all aviators in the vicinity
Distress and diversion
In the event of difficulty (uncertain of position, or some other pressing situation) you should remain on your base frequency, however if you get no response 121.5 MHz is the UK distress frequency. This frequency is manned 24/7.
Airspace and Radio
All airspace is designated a letter (from A to G). A is the highest. The rules are tougher the higher the designation.
Class D airspace (D reminds me of dialogue), you must have 2 way communication with the air traffic controller before entering. (Bristol and Cardiff are examples). Without an operators licence, you cannot talk to air traffic control, so you cannot go in. However if you do have an operators licence, you can talk to him and he might let you in.
Class E downwards you do not need to maintain radio contact.
There are two recognised states of emergency, classified as follows:-
- Distress---A condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and requiring immediate assistance.
- Urgency---A condition concerning the safety of an aircraft or other vehicle, or of some person on board or within sight, but not requiring immediate assistance.
In the case of distress, the call is prefixed MAYDAY<MAYDAY<MAYDAY, in the case of urgency the call is prefixed PAN>PAN>PAN
Whenever possible the emergency message should be relayed in the following order.
- MAYDAY/MAYDAY/MAYDAY or PAN/PAN/PAN.
- Name of station addressed
- Your call sign
- Type of aircraft
- Nature of emergency
- Intention of person in command
- Present or last known position, height and heading.
- Pilot qualifications.
- Any other useful information.
Standard Words and Phrases
I have included all standard phrases and meanings, for the bronze paper and general radio use you should know the phrases shown in bold
||Let me know you have received and understood this message.
||Permission for proposed action granted
||Indicates the separation between messages
||Annul the previously transmitted message
||I intend to call
||Examine the system or procedure (no answer normally expected)
||Authorised to proceed under the conditions specified.
||Climb and maintain
||Have I correctly received the following
? Or Did you correctly receive this message?
||Establish radio contact with
(your details have been passed)
||This is correct.
||An error has been made in this transmission (or message indicated) The correct version is
||Descend and maintain.
||Consider that transmission as not sent
(unit) (your details have not been passedmainly used by military ATC)
|HOW DO YOU READ
||What is the readability of my transmission
|I SAY AGAIN
||I repeat for clarity or emphasis
||Listen out on (frequency)
||No; or permission not granted; or that is not correct
||My transmission is ended and I expect a response from you
||This exchange of transmissions is ended and no response is expected.
|PASS YOUR MESSAGE
||Proceed with your message
||Repeat all, or the specified part, of this message back to me exactly as received.
||Pass requested information
||I should like to know
or I wish to obtain
||I have received all your last transmission.under no circumstances should this be used in reply to a question requiring a direct answer---(AFFIRM or NEGATIVE)
||Repeat all or the following part of your last transmission
||Reduce your rate of speech
||Wait and I will call you
||Check and confirm
||I understand your last message and will comply with it
||Please send every word twice or I am sending every word twice.(because communication is difficult)
Meteorological information is transmitted continuously (for the bronze you only need to know it exists). Volmet contain current aerodrome reports and (sometimes) trends.
The content of a volmet broadcast is as follows;-
- Aerodrome identification
- Surface wind
- RVR (Runway visual range)
- Dew Point
- Trend (if applicable)
Transmission of numbers
|Numeral or numeral element
||Latin alphabet representation
(A) Messages Containing
Call signsaltimeter settingsflight levelsheadingswind speeds/directionstransponder codes and frequencies.
Each digit is transmitted separately. Examples below
||Kilo one three
||Kilo wun tree
||Flight level eight zero
||Flight level ait zero
||One nine zero degrees
||Wun niner zero degrees
||One five knots
||Wun fife knots
||One three zero decimal one
||Wun tree zero dayseemal wun
(B) messages containing
Altitudeheightcloud heightvisibility---(which contain whole hundreds and whole thousands).
Should be transmitted by pronouncing each digit in the number of hundreds or thousands followed by HUNDRED or TOUSAND
||Two thousand five hundred
||Too thousand fife hundred
||One one thousand
||Wun wun tousand
||Two five thousand
||Too fife tousand
Q codesThe only Q codes you need to know at Bronze level are:-
The pressure level at airfield level.
.QFE reduced to sea level pressure using the standard atmosphere lapse rate.
You may hear the term QNE
..with 1013mb set in the altimeter subscale, this is the height shown on the altimeter when at airfield level, you do not need to remember this