What to do if you dont understand ATC instructions?

What to do if you dont understand ATC instructions?

Just say “Say again, please”. If you keep saying it, the controller will literally spell it out for you eventually really slow. You can also ask them to talk slower. As a student, you should tell the controller that.

How can I hear better ATC?

Listen to LiveATC The most popular way to immerse yourself and engage in ATC communication is by listening to live air traffic feeds, either from your aviation band scanner or from LiveATC. As its name suggests, LiveATC provides real ATC broadcasts from air traffic control towers and radar facilities around the world.

How do pilots understand the radio?

Pilots must understand and acknowledge each radio transmission from ATC by using the appropriate aircraft call sign and reading back the appropriate information. It is your responsibility to acknowledge all requests and frequency change instructions given to you by the air traffic controller.

How do pilots speak so fast?

Pilots talk fast because controllers listen fast. It’s mostly the same thing, same phraseology spit out day after day. If it’s something non-standard the speech rates go down, as do listening rates. 90\% of communications are rote chunks that are scripted (there’s phraseology for it.)

When is it your time to talk in pilot-ATC?

The cadence of pilot-ATC communications requires pilots to determine when there will be a gap in such communications. That’s when it’s your time to talk. As mentioned elsewhere in this article, it does no good for two people to transmit at the same moment.

What is the proper way to ask ATC to slow down?

The pilot not only has the privilege of asking ATC to slow down, it’s but also the obligation to do so if the pilot misses anything. When a pilot needs to ask ATC to repeat something, the proper way is to use the phrase “say again.” That obligates ATC to reply.

Can a recreational pilot fly without ATC communication?

Recreational pilots cannot fly in airspace requiring ATC communication, but it’s a good idea to learn to use the right words. This knowledge can help them in an emergency, and it helps prepare a recreational pilot for a private pilot certificate, if he decides to continue his training.

How does the size of an airfield affect ATC communication?

There is a substantial positive relationship between the size or busyness of an airfield and the typical rate of talk between airplanes and ATC. The larger the field, very often the more experienced the pilot clientele. In this case, ATC tends to be more machine-gun-speed-like in how they communicate with the airplanes.