ATC and radio tips

wrbix said:
......agree with pulling the "Student Pilot" card - say that and ATC will slow down and give you slack
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THIS!

One of the best things my CFI instilled in me..."Tower, Skyhawk 12345...blah blah blah...Student Pilot" and/or "...new pilot" on EVERY call made life learning radios SO much easier. They will slow down a beat and make sure you understand vs just assuming you are a season jet jockey.

They are much more accommodating and clear if you ask for help from the onset vs them getting frustrated with you cuz you may not understand something you have not experienced yet.
 
I wish I had said "student pilot" much more often when I was learning to fly.
 
Shawn said:
THIS!

One of the best things my CFI instilled in me..."Tower, Skyhawk 12345...blah blah blah...Student Pilot" and/or "...new pilot" on EVERY call made life learning radios SO much easier. They will slow down a beat and make sure you understand vs just assuming you are a season jet jockey.

They are much more accommodating and clear if you ask for help from the onset vs them getting frustrated with you cuz you may not understand something you have not experienced yet.
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Ha I have to remember the "new pilot " .... since they took away my student pilot privilege I often find myself saying say again 3 times to center

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Palmpilot said:
I wish I had said "student pilot" much more often when I was learning to fly.
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So do I...
I never did during 11 years of flying,, mostly in uncontrolled airspace's, so that would of helped.
Im starting to fly again after a 28 yr lapse,,, I need to remember to say, either student pilot or Rusty pilot!
I am very radio shy...
 
I write out my 'script' on the notepad on my kneeboard... Amazing how depressing the mic button is like suffering a blow to the head tho. I can have it written out, all ready to go, press the button and.....
 
Button on yoke has another name.. PTF... Push to forget... what sounded good when you rehearsed it 2seconds ago isn’t how it comes out of yo mouth
 
I'm glad to see these threads. They help remind me I'm not the only one doing microphone face plants.

key mic: ummm.. memphis center, 733 charlie x-ray, requesting, I mean altitude thrity six hundred, I mean 3 thousand 6 hundred to 5 thousand, correction, climbing 5 thousand 5 hundred, flight following, umm request flight following to ( here I speak very slowly as I look upward and to the left) Kilo Oscar Whiskey Bravo.
re-key mic: (quickly speaking) VFR

Follwed by a big disgusted breath and roll my eyes at myself.
Then a stupid smile as I picture them in the tower grinning at each other.
 
Clark1961 said:
And some experience in telling ATC what they need to know. There is a simple recipe.

1. Who you are calling: podunk tower
2. Who you are: cezzna 4321tango
3. Where you are: behind the yoke
4. What ya wanna do: taxi for pizza
5. ATIS code if applicable

Substitute some appropriate geographical descriptor for behind the yoke. Ten miles north or at Alpha one might be typical descriptors.
Also taxi for pizza might cause the tower to be abandoned in a rush for food so tell them something like landing or VFR to the north or staying in the pattern so you get all the pizza yerself.

If talking to approach ya prolly wanna get their attention before spewing all the info...even at 5 a.m. because they may be at the coffee pot instead of anxiously waiting for an intrepid aviator to converse with them.
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When I was learning I would do this scenario all the time in my car (usually when no one else was in the car)

1. Who you are calling: Garage Ground
2. Who you are: Nissan Versa, HNM 223
3. Where you are: In the driveway
4. What ya wanna do: Ready to taxi to the store
5. Weather: With information Alpha

While driving I would often read license plates using the phonetic alphabet. A week or two of doing this, aviation speak while driving (to practice talking and doing at the same time) really helped.
 
labbadabba said:
While driving I would often read license plates using the phonetic alphabet. A week or two of doing this, aviation speak while driving (to practice talking and doing at the same time) really helped.
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Ditto. That is how I drilled it into my brain as a newbie...when driving alone would read aloud license plates and street signs.
 
Sooo, who give's a flying F if they are rolling their eyes or smirking? If I screw up then someone smirking at me makes me smirk too. Most if not all of these guys and gals just want to do their job and the controllers I've heard seem to work hard at it, we need to work at our part of the deal and sometimes, since most of us don't do it as often, we screw up. Rather than dwell on it, apologize if warranted, then move on and try to get better. Most of the fear talking to ATC is that you are going to screw up, I know if I dwell on it too much it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Take a breath and speak.
 
Clark1961 said:
Substitute some appropriate geographical descriptor for behind the yoke. Ten miles north or at Alpha one might be typical descriptors.
Also taxi for pizza might cause the tower to be abandoned in a rush for food so tell them something like landing or VFR to the north or staying in the pattern so you get all the pizza yerself.
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I tell them that I already have the pizza. That way I might get priority to land. But those greedy guys apparently need some other motivation to do me any favors. They always ask me to confirm I have whiskey or sometimes Juliet, as if I’m going to bring booze and women to the tower! Then again, they clearly have bad taste. One even claimed that the foxtrot is current. Kids haven’t been doing the foxtrot for a long tome, buddy!

denverpilot said:
@jordane93 ... use the “Student Pilot” thing during IOE. I dare ya. Hahaha.
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I don’t think the FARs prohibit saying “student pilot” no matter how licensed or experienced you are. And after all, aren’t we all still just exercising our licenses to learn? I vote to say it early and say it often. Besides, you will be the hero of the TRACON if you check in with “Delta 123 heavy, ILS 12 left, student pilot.”
 
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