Lesson 25: How pilots talk continued

Welcome Back! Today, we’ll continue where we last left off about how pilots talk on the radio. 

Well, it looks like we’re all done with the chapter on weather! So now, I’m going to hand it over to an airplane pilot to help explain radio communication. 

Howdy! Today, we’ll talk about how real airplane pilots talk. They have their own ways of speaking, and can sometimes say funny words, like:

Affirm, Approach, Mayday, MEL, Pan-pan, Roger, Squawk, and Standby! 

Awesome! We’re excited to get to talk like real pilots do. 

Just a heads up! A lot of this stuff is designed for manned aircraft pilots, but there are reasons why we need to understand radio communications as drone pilots.

Welcome back, everyone! Now, let’s learn about Radio Phraseology.

How Pilots Say Numbers:
Radio Frequencies with decimals 

Air Traffic Controllers are always in communication with pilots. They tell them which radio frequencies to switch to for the information they need. 

Have you ever used a radio before, like in a car? Our favorite radio station is 93.9. What’s yours?
  

You’ll notice that most radio frequencies have decimals. 

So of course, just like numbers and letters, there’s a specific way that pilots and air traffic controllers have to pronounce radio frequencies. 

They have to pronounce every digit, and say ‘point’ out loud – just like we do! 

ATC: "Delta 123, contact ground on 121.8"

How do you think ATC will pronounce 121.8? 

"Delta 123, contact ground on 121.8" :

Spoken as "one two one point eight". 

So for radio frequencies, they have to use single digits and say ‘point’ for the decimal (the period). 

Now, let’s move on to the juicy stuff – how pilots say their altitude and flight levels!  

How Pilots Say Numbers:
Altitude and Flight Levels 

What are Flight Levels?  

It’s time to peel the onion! 

Flight Levels are:  a way of describing a plane’s altitude in MSL. When we see it in writing, we’ll see it as “FL”.

Exactly! To decode a flight level, add two zeros at the end of the number.

So, “FL 350” means the plane is flying at 35,000 ft above sea level.

So, “FL 350” means the plane is flying at 35,000 ft above sea level.

350 + 00 = 35,000

What number would FL50 be?

FL 5,000

So the plane would be flying at 5,000 feet MSL! 

Can you think of anywhere else we add two zeros? 

Nice! We use this on MEFs (Maximum Elevation Figures) and to clouds on METAR and TAF reports. 

Great work! If pilots are flying above or below a really big height, the rules of pronouncing altitude numbers change a little bit.   

If pilots are flying at or under 18,000 feet MSL, they have to announce their altitude number just like other single-digit numbers – plus “thousand,” of course. 

Flying below 18,000 ft.

So instead of saying 12,000, pilots would say:

One Two Thousand 

How would pilots say 13,000?  

One Three Thousand 

How would pilots say 15,200?

One Five Thousand Two Hundred 

Nice! This begs the question, how do pilots announce their altitudes above 18,000 ft.? 

Great question! When pilots are flying at or above 18,000 feet, they pronounce their altitude numbers a little differently.   

When pilots fly at or above 18,000 feet, they have to say the words  “Flight Level” and then say the separate digits of the flight level. 

Let’s look at some examples! 

Let’s say a pilot is flying at 19,000 feet MSL.

To announce how high they are, they: 

Remove two zeros from 19,000 – so it’s 190 

Say ‘Flight Level’ 

Say the 3 numbers as single digits 

Flying at or above 18,000 ft.

So ‘I’m flying at 19,000 feet MSL.’ becomes: 

Flight Level One Niner Zero 

When flying at, let’s say, 27,500 ft. MSL, a pilot would say: 

Flight Level Two Seven Five

So if a pilot says FL, you should just add two zeros to whatever number they say. 

If a pilot does not say FL, everyone assumes that they’re flying under 18,000 feet MSL.

Nice! I remember seeing directions on METAR and TAF reports, and the runways. How do pilots announce directions?  

How Pilots Say Numbers:
Directions 

Pilots need to talk about directions when discussing the way they’re heading, or the direction the wind is blowing. 

Remember how we did this in METAR and TAF reports? It was just a number. What did that number represent? _______

Remember how we did this in METAR and TAF reports? It was just a number. What did that number represent? Degrees!

Remember true north vs magnetic north? All airplane pilots use GPS, and GPS uses magnetic north. So, of course pilots use magnetic north when we talk over the radio.

Here are some examples:

Magnetic course 005 

What is a magnetic course?  

It’s time to peel the onion! 

A Magnetic Course is the direction on a compass. So when you see this word, it tells you which direction something’s heading in. 

Magnetic course 005 

The plane is flying in the direction of 5 degrees! 

They’d be heading in that direction on a compass!

A pilot would say:
“Magnetic Course Zero Zero Five”  

Let’s talk about wind direction! 

Wind direction 220”

This means that the wind is coming from 220 degrees. 

A pilot would say:
Wind Two Two Zero

Directions have 3 digits. Even if it’s 5 degrees, pilots still have to say: 

Zero Zero Five out loud. 

Awesome! Now, what about speed? 

In a METAR and TAF report, how was wind written? It had a special letter. 

When pilots talk about speed, they describe them in “knots.” 

If they skip the word “knots,” it’s implied! Pilots will always refer to speed in knots, not miles per hour. It’s easier for the planet! 

That’s a global standard! Not all countries use the same time or measurement system.
At least we can all agree on something! 

Exactly! Let’s look at some examples.

How would pilot would pronounce:

Speed of Plane Two Five Zero Knots

How would pilot would pronounce:
Speed 190

Speed One Niner Zero Knots

Awesome! And finally, what about time? 

In our lessons on METAR and TAF reports, we talked about how the FAA uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 

“Zulu” is another term for UTC. But when local time is given during radio communications, pilots will say the word “local” or mention the time zone – even if they still use UTC time. 

Just to clarify, this is not for passengers! Just to ATC. If you’ve been on a plane, you’d definitely hear a pilot say the local time. 

Thanks for that! Let’s look at some examples of how pilots announce the time over the radio. 

0920 UTC would be announced: 

Zero Niner Two Zero Zulu 

0920 UTC would be announced: 

Zero Niner Two Zero Zulu 

(That’s 9:20 on Zulu Time!) 

0120 UTC would be announced: 

Zero One Two Zero Pacific (or Local)  

Pilots will almost always use military time (the 24 hour clock). In order to avoid confusion, civilian time (the 12 hour clock) is not really used in aviation!

Here is a Zulu Time converter you can use.

What time is it in Zulu where you are now? 

More Phrases In Pilot Speak 

Finally, here are a few more key phrases you might hear.

Fun Phrases

Wilco, which means “I will comply.”

Roger, which means “I have received and understood your last transmission.”

Affirmative, which means “Yes.”

Negative, which means “No.”

Is Spongebob the greatest cartoon ever?

Affirmative: yes
Negative: no 

How Pilots Talk:
How pilots introduce themselves to ATC 

Okay, now let’s talk about how pilots introduce themselves when they’re talking to ATC.

But, before we get into it, let’s make one thing clear.

As a drone pilot, it is very unlikely that you’ll personally be talking to ATC.

As drone pilots, we’re not in the VIP Zone! So we don’t get to talk to ATC. 

The ATC folks are super busy helping pilots land planes that are full of passengers!

You don’t want to distract them and waste their time!

So, the purpose of this part of the lesson is to help you recognize what airplane pilots are saying when you’re listening to their radio stations.

This will help with your situational awareness–if you hear a pilot announce that they’re about to maneuver into the area where you’re flying, you’ll know to yield!

All right, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get into it. 

Remember Right of Way? Drone vs. Plane - who wins the right-of-way game?  

And smaller or bigger? 

If two similarly-sized fixed-winged drones approach each other, what should they do? 

Who remembers why airports have control towers?

That’s right, they help air traffic flow safely, efficiently, and quickly. Imagine how chaotic airports would be without them!

When a pilot is approaching an airport with a control tower, they’ll announce themselves in a specific format. How a pilot should introduce themself to ATC: 

How pilots introduce themselves to ATC  

1. Who you’re calling

2. What you’re flying 

3. Where you are 

4. If you’ve gotten the latest weather report 

5. What you want 

How pilots introduce themselves to ATC  

1. State the name and type of facility you’re calling and approaching 

2. Identify your aircraft (your call sign) 

3. Provide your position relative to the airport 

4. State ATIS Information 

5. State your request  

6. Talking to Air Traffic Control 

What is a Call Sign?  

It’s time to peel the onion! 

A call sign is like an aircraft’s nickname. It’s a combination of numbers and letters used to tell aircraft apart in the area during radio communications.

Today’s 🔑 Word!

Call Sign

A call sign is a unique identifier used to identify an aircraft or pilot when they are communicating over the radio. It helps air traffic controllers and other pilots know exactly who is talking and what aircraft they are referring to.

Let's take a look at an example of a pilot introducing themselves and break it down.

“Heathrow ground, Bonanza 8677 Quebec, on west apron, with information Tango, request taxi to the active runway.”

Whoa! Bonanza? What does that even mean? Let’s decode it piece by piece. 

“Heathrow ground, Bonanza 8677 Quebec, on west apron, with information Tango, request taxi to the active runway.”

How pilots introduce themselves to ATC  

1. Who you’re calling

2. What you’re flying 

3. Where you are 

4. If you’ve gotten the latest weather report 

5. What you want 

“Heathrow ground, Bonanza 8677 Quebec, on west apron, with information Tango, request taxi to the active runway.”

→ This refers to the ground control frequency at Heathrow Airport, a major international airport in London, UK.

“Heathrow ground, Bonanza 8677 Quebec, on west apron, with information Tango, request taxi to the active runway.”

→ We’ll probably never use this ourselves, but it’s still good to know what they mean just in case a plane is headed your way! 

“Heathrow ground, Bonanza 8677 Quebec, on west apron, with information Tango, request taxi to the active runway.”

→ Here, you have to identify yourself. You’ll state the aircraft type, model, or manufacturer’s name, followed by the digits or letters of the registration number.

→ This is the call sign of the aircraft (what it is). It’s like a Boeing but Bonanza.

→ This is the position of the plane relative to the airport. The pilot just says where they are. 

→ The plane is currently located on the west apron of the airport (which is an area designated for parking, loading, and unloading aircraft).

→ Here, the pilot says they got the latest weather and airport information from a radio station. 

→ This is also called ATIS information – it gives pilots weather reports. Pilots have to confirm which ATIS report they have by mentioning the code letter.

→ Don’t worry about ATIS! We’ll talk more about what this means in the next lesson! 

→ Here, the pilot is asking permission from ground control to taxi (to move on the ground) from their current location on the west apron to the active runway, where they will take off. 

→ The term "active runway" refers to the runway currently in use for departures and arrivals that’s based on wind direction and other factors. 

Okay, that’s a lot! Even decoded, we might not understand all of it just yet.

But, you see how the pilot in this example is able to convey paragraphs’ worth of information in a brief sentence? That was the purpose of this example, rather than knowing exactly what they’re saying.

When pilots call an Air Traffic Control tower or another kind of facility, they always begin with the name of the facility and follow with the type of facility. BUT the name and type are shortened from their full titles.

In our example, Heathrow Airport is shortened to just “Heathrow”, and Ground Control Position in Tower is shortened to just “Ground”. This is why the pilot starts off by saying “Heathrow ground”.

Here’s a list of facility types and their call signs. 

Let’s do a recap and look at a few more examples. 

If you’re calling the Airport Traffic Control Tower at Augusta Airport, how would you address them?

Remember, you have to state the airport name and facility. 

That’s right! The airport name is shortened to Augusta, and Airport Traffic Control Tower is shortened to Tower.

So you’d say “Augusta Tower!” 

Now, what about the FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center in Atlanta. How would you address them?

You got it! Atlanta Center! 

All right! Now, you know how to address who you’re calling.

To recap, you’d state the name and type of facility you’re calling, and then you’ll identify yourself with something like “Small Unmanned Aircraft System 388”. 

Remember, “Small Unmanned Aircraft System” (sUAS) is your whole drone setup. “388”, in this example, would be the last three digits of your registration number.

Don’t worry if you don’t remember what a registration number is.
Every drone should have one! 

Then, you can go on to describe where you’ll be operating relative to the airport and what exactly you’ll be doing.

For example, if you were to do inspect a construction site at an airport, you could say something like:

“sUAS operations up to 400 ft AGL within half a mile of your location”.

We’ll stop here, and mention some other important information.  

All things considered, broadcasting over the radio is not recommended for remote pilots.
It actually requires separate training and a separate (FCC) license.

But The FAA wants you to know everything possible about being a drone pilot, just in case you’d get a license, or inspect an airport. 

And in the unlikely event that you do end up getting that FCC license and you have to talk to ATC, don’t overload the air traffic controller with way too much information! 

Air Traffic Controllers are busy people with stressful jobs.

Helping manned aircraft take off and land is their priority. 

And one final note before we wrap up our lesson today – let’s talk about emergency scenarios and call signs! 

If civilian air ambulances are rushing to medical emergencies, they get total priority treatment from air traffic control (ATC) over anyone else, even regular planes, if needed. They’re VIP! 

During these urgent situations, they use the call sign “Lifeguard”, followed by their aircraft type and registration.

If you hear “Lifeguard” on the radio, be aware of their location and steer clear of their path.

It’s just like pulling over if you hear an ambulance siren coming down the same block!

Okay, that was a ton of information, and you’re doing great.

Great work! I see you’re all a few steps closer to becoming a certified drone pilot.