Radio Communications
Clear, short radio work lowers workload and keeps you easier to find in the pattern.
Radio basics
Listen before transmitting. Use standard phraseology. Include who you are calling, who you are, where you are, and what you want. Read back hold-short, runway, and landing clearances.
Format
“[Facility], [N-number], [position], [request], [ATIS].”
Towered airports
Typical flow: ATIS → ground → tower → (departure) → approach/tower inbound → ground. “Line up and wait” means enter the runway and hold; “cleared for takeoff” authorizes departure. Hold short means do not enter the runway.
Nontowered airports
Self-announce on CTAF: 10 miles out, downwind, base, final, clear of runway. Adapt to traffic. Pattern is usually left unless charted otherwise. See-and-avoid still rules; not everyone is on frequency.
Squawks & light guns
- 7700: emergency
- 7600: lost communications
- 7500: unlawful interference
- 1200: VFR
Light gun (in flight examples): steady green, cleared to land; flashing green, return for landing; steady red, give way/continue circling; flashing red, airport unsafe.
Practice questions
1. What should a basic initial call include?
Show Answer
Facility, aircraft ID, position, and request (plus ATIS if appropriate).
2. What does “line up and wait” mean?
Show Answer
Taxi onto the runway and hold; do not take off until cleared.
3. Emergency squawk?
Show Answer
7700.