| ATC RADIO PROCEDURES |
| Learn to use correct radio procedures offline, so when you come online, you know what you're doing. The procedures below will help you understand how it all comes together. This orginal text comes from Harold W. Qualkinbush, Eagles ATC, re-written for FSTA (Flight Simulator Training Academy) in 2000 and again re-written in 2004 for this publication. When online, you can't always be lucky enough to have a tower to talk to. Sometimes you will only have other pilots flying. In this case, you will have to use standard ATC protocol. When no ATC is available at the airport or field you're using, call in your canges and actions so other pilots on the ground and in the air will know what you are doing. For example: (Airport) Traffic, WA610 entering runway 03 for immediate departure, staright out. You would use this example for landings: (Airport) Traffic WA610 turning on final for rwy 16, visual approach, three green, full stop or just say full stop. Every facility has a unique mission to help each and every aircraft get from point A to point B safely and in a timely manner. Knowing these facilities and their purposes is worth studying. I won't get into all of them, but will differentiate between Clearence Delivery, Ground, Tower, Approach, and Center. Realizing these ate the most commonly used facilities. I will try to walk through the agencies as they are used i a typical flight from one airport to another under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). Now, you just walked out of Rainier Air Charter's domestic facility at Tacoma Narrows Airport, you received your weather brief and filed you flight plan preparing to do WA610 Tacoma to Portland. Now what? What do you coordinate with now? First, we tune into ATIS. ATIS, an airport's informtion service consisting of a looped, recorded playback of messages typically updated every hour containing duty runway, approach in use, weather., NOTAMS, etc, applicable to the airfield, will get you in tune with the fields current conditions and allows ATC the ability to keep everyone informed without having to brief every pilot over and over. ATIS will contain an Information X the X will be Bravo or Delta, etc) comment to identify the information. When you contact Ground to taxi, you must let them know what information you received so the can inform you of any changes there might be and also to ensure you won't taxi to a runway without being briefed of the latest field information. When contacting ground, the call should simply state that you have clearence to your destination airport on request. They will reply with the clearence they have approved as well as any assigned altitudes, restrictions, transponders setting, and the departure frequency being used. This is an example of a call to/from KTIW Delivery. Delivery is the same as Ground. Pilot: Clearence delivery, WA610 requests clearence to Portland. Delivery: Roger, WA610, we have your clearence, advise when ready to copy. Pilot: WA610 ready to copy. Del: WA610, you are cleared to Portland via Helns4 then as filed. Climb and maintain Flight level 200 and maintain heading. Departure on 118.70, squawk 2364. Pilot: (if clearence is different then what you filed, you must read back word for word) WA610 is cleared to Portland via Helns4 then as filed. Climb and maintain flight level 200, maintain heading. Departure on 118.70 squawk 2364. Del: Roger, read back is correct, have a good flight. Pilot: WA610, thank you, g'day. Now that we have your clearence, you can finish up your checklist, get the aircraft started and get ready to taxi. But before we pull out of the parking area or gate, me must let Ground know we are beginning taxi. You call should state that you have current ATIS information as well as your intentions. It is implied that when you call Ground for taxi, you are going to the active runway to take-off, so you won't need to state your intentions unless you are requesting something out of the ordinary. Ground will reply with taxi instructions as well as the current altimeter settings so you can update you altimeter before you take-off. Here is an example of a call to/from ground: Pilot: Ground, WA610, taxi information Delta. Ground: Roger, WA610, information is current, current altimeter is 29.91. taxi to runway 03 using taxiway X (X being taxiway ID) and hold short. (When you are told to hold short, DO NOT ente the runway wihtout being told to do so) Pilot: WA610, taxi to 03 using taxiway X and hold, altimeter 29.91. Off we go for 03 for take-off! One we arrive at the hold short line, we automatically switch our radios over to Tower. Tower is responsible for the airpspace on and around the active runways. Because we are waiting to move onto the active runway, we must contact Tower for take-off. We are simply letting Tower know that we are ready for take-off. they will assign a runway to use and instructions. (DO NOT call for take-off in the middle of your checklist or while you are tuning your nav radios. Call them ONLY when you are fully ready to depart the field. They do not have time to wait for you once you have been cleared for take-off. Making aircraft on finall wait for you to take-off is poor airmanship). Here is an example of a to/from call to Tower: Pilot: Tacoma Tower, WA610, ready for departure 03. Now you have to wait until THEY are ready for you to depart. Tower: WA610, winds 190 at 8, cleared for taek-off runway 03. Pilot: WA610, cleared for take-off 03. We now move onto the runway and begin our roll as we take-off. Once we get airborne, gear up ( if your gear go up) and start climbing out of the terminal area. Tower will want to get rid of us, so they can work with new arrivals and etc, so they will tell you to switch to Departure. We already know the frequency from our clearence brief we received earlier, but it will be repeated again by Tower. Example: Tower: WA610, contact Departure on 118.70, g'day. (When they say frequencies, it will sound like: one one eight decimal seven zero, or they might just say decimal seven). Pilot: WA610, swtiching to 118.70 Then, simply change your radio and check in with Departure. Checking in with each controlling agency requires you to update them of your altitude situation and any requests you may have. If you are simply passing through a controllers area with no special requests, you need only inform them of your altitude situation. Pilot: Tacoma Departure, WA610 with you passing 1,500 for Flight level 200. Departure: WA610, radar contact, altimeter 29.91, climb and maintain flight level 200 (20,000 feet) Pilot: WA610, up to flight level 200 29.91. Departure can assign you new altitudes, squawk codes, vectors, etc, to make getting your aircraft out of the area faster, easier, and safer. It is entirely up to them. If you are flying a SID, they may clear you to deviate from it to save time and fuel if conditions allow. Departure's focus is to get you higher and further away from the field toward your destination. Approach and Departure are typically within 100 miles of the field. Once you clear this area, they will pass you onto Center. Center simply gets your aircraft from one agency to the next while en-route. They will handle all the empty space between your departuere field and your destination. Example: Departure: WA610, continue with Helns4 transition then as filed. Pilot: WA610, Helns4 transition then as filed. Departure: WA610, contact Seattle center on 128.50. (all frequencies are made up) Pilot: WA610, switching to 128.50 Now tune your radio to the Center frequency and check in with any requests you have. Pilot: Seattle Center, WA610 with you at FL200 to Porland. Center: WA610, squawk 2341. Pilot: Seattle Center, WA610, squawking 2341. Center: WA610, radar contact. Now that Center has radar contact, they will control you until you move into another agency's area of operation. For this example, you have finally arrived within range of your destination, so it is time to switch agencies once again. Center: WA610, contact Portland Approach on 132.00 Pilot: Center, WA 610, switching to 132.00, g'day. Switch radio frequencies and make your call and your check in. So to shorthen your call, combine the calls into one. Of course, you should have expected to contact Approach earlier in the flight, you would have contacted Portland ATIS to get the latest field information. Pilot: Portland Approach, WA610 passing FL180 for FL140, information Hotel, request vectors to final approach, full stop. Approach: WA610, radar contact, altimeter 29.91, vectors for runway 16, full stop. Turn right 130, descend and maintain FL070 squawk 1565. Pilot: Portland Approach, WA610, altimeter 29.91, leaving 18,000 for FL070, turn right 130 dquawking 1565 for runway 16. Then as the Approach phase gets close, ATC will vector you around to get you onto final course using whatever approach requested. They may direct you to fly to fixes, DME/RADIALS, or vector you. If not requesting vectors, they will clear you to the Initial Approach fix and clear you for the approach at wihch time, you navigate yourself all the way to the runwya using your approach plates. This phase of the flight has numerous options depending on the crews choice in approaches and etc. Approach: WA610, descend and maintain 1,500. Pilot: Potrland Approach, WA610, descending to 1,500. At this time, you navigate your aircraft down final approach course until you reach the FAF where we contact Portland Tower. Tower will already see you on radar and is expecting you. They know our intentions because Approach has notified them prior to you switching frequencies. Pilot: Portland Tower, WA610, we are 6 DME with 3 green for full stop. Tower: Roger WA610, you are cleared to land runway 16 winds calm. Pilot: WA610, cleared to land runway 16. Once on the ground, taxi off and hold at the nearest taxiway when down to about 10 knots. Contact Portland Ground who will give you further taxi instructions as required. Pilot: Portland Ground, WA610, clear of the active, ready for taxi. Ground: WA610, roger, turn right at next intersection, clear to taxi to gate X using taxiway X. Finally! You are done calling agencies on the radio and you can now park your plane, unload your passengers, and grab a bite to eat at the snack bar in the terminal cafe while you get another weather brief and file another flight plan to get you back home when you leave in a few hours. |