How to practice talking to the tower?

midcap said:
So do you decide which runway you want to take off? Or is that given to you like on arrival?

Talking to the tower on arrival is a lot easier.

I think last time I only had to say this.

Houma tower, Cessna xxxx hotel, 8 miles out for arrival with info Zulu.

Then I'm pretty sure they told me what runway to use and then cleared me to land when I got in the pattern.

everytime we landed its been a right hand pattern.
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Hm. At my airport we have 29R and 29L. And the ATIS says the landing/departing/ILS side. So I guess if you say inbound with information then they know that you know where you're going. You can specifically request either the right or left runway for landing or departing. Left runway is a bit skinny, but some folks like the challenge. (Yes, I know I'm only referring to one direction, but like 80% of the time it's 29R/29L that we're using)

When I went to Salinas last week I still said "Inbound with Lima (or whatever) for full stop runway 31." I dunno. I guess I feel better to knock that all out of the way since, if I don't, the tower controllers usually ask.
 
midcap said:
So do you decide which runway you want to take off? Or is that given to you like on arrival?

Talking to the tower on arrival is a lot easier.

I think last time I only had to say this.

Houma tower, Cessna xxxx hotel, 8 miles out for arrival with info Zulu.

Then I'm pretty sure they told me what runway to use and then cleared me to land when I got in the pattern.

everytime we landed its been a right hand pattern.
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The ATIS (if there is one), will include the runway in use. At a non-towered airport you are on your own. There are no rules except the direction of turns in the pattern.

Bob
 
bobmrg said:
The ATIS (if there is one), will include the runway in use. At a non-towered airport you are on your own. There are no rules except the direction of turns in the pattern.

Bob
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that makes sense then.

I see on the airnav website it says that the traffic pattern is left. I assume, the tower tells you which way the pattern is? We never did a left hand pattern.
 
mscard88 said:
Yup, and y'all are definitely down there.
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tower pic
images


I think the only other Airport that is further south in Louisiana is KGAO in Galliano.
 
midcap said:
that makes sense then.

I see on the airnav website it says that the traffic pattern is left. I assume, the tower tells you which way the pattern is? We never did a left hand pattern.
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Traffic pattern direction is really only there for a non towered situation. Tower can tell you to enter left or right traffic. Left pattern is the standard.
 
midcap said:
So do you decide which runway you want to take off? Or is that given to you like on arrival?

Talking to the tower on arrival is a lot easier.

I think last time I only had to say this.

Houma tower, Cessna xxxx hotel, 8 miles out for arrival with info Zulu.

Then I'm pretty sure they told me what runway to use and then cleared me to land when I got in the pattern.

everytime we landed its been a right hand pattern.
Click to expand...
Usually ATIS will say which runway is in use. You can ask for a different one.

For instance, Oakland usually uses 30 for airliners and 28 L/R for everyone else. If you happen to have a hangar at the north end of the field, you might ask for 33 for a much shorter taxi.
 
I do mostly non towered flying with an occasional class D flight. When I call up I am ready for take off. At a non towered field, I am, taxiing for departure runway x, then taking runway x for takeoff, departing to the south or south departure, however it comes out.
 
josephades said:
Very simple, the 5 W's

Who are you calling? (Orlando Tower)
Who are you? (Cherokee N66BB)
Where are you? (Quebec Ramp)
What do you have? (Information Tango)
What do you want? (Ready to taxi, departure to the southeast)

Put it all together:

Orlando tower, Cherokee N66BB at the Quebec ramp with Tango, ready to taxi, SE departure
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This!! And listen to ATClive and practice. I used to listen to the towers that I was going to fly into. Most airports have their own little procedures and things that they do. So I listened alot before I made the trip. I used to be hesitant and get confused sometimes in which case I would put myself at a point in space to where I knew which way they would bring me in....
 
midcap said:
So do you decide which runway you want to take off? Or is that given to you like on arrival?

Talking to the tower on arrival is a lot easier.

I think last time I only had to say this.

Houma tower, Cessna xxxx hotel, 8 miles out for arrival with info Zulu.

Then I'm pretty sure they told me what runway to use and then cleared me to land when I got in the pattern.

everytime we landed its been a right hand pattern.
Click to expand...

Tower will normally tell you the runway, they'll also advertise which runway is in use on the ATIS, you can always ask for a diffrent runway if you want, worse thing is they'll say no
 
I remember as a student it was one of the most stressful parts of training...knowing what to say and how to say it. The more you just get out and do it the easier it becomes. After awhile you will almost know what they will say before they say it and be able to react to anything out of the ordinary.

It brings up a good memory on a cross country where I was told "radar contact 10 miles east of so and so airport" after contacting the tower and I nervously keyed back "looking for traffic" haha
 
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midcap said:
So do you decide which runway you want to take off? Or is that given to you like on arrival?
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That depends on the particular setup at the airport

No Control Tower: The pilot takes note of the winds and selects the correct runway

Control Tower: Ground control clears the departing aircraft to a particular runway. If equipped with an ATIS, the "Runway in use" is often part of the announcement". When landing, the controllers (Approach and Tower) already know which runway is in use, especially if coming into a Class C. But no matter what, it is up to the pilot to exercise his PIC knowledge/authority to ensure the correct runway direction is being used. So if there is disagreement, that is sorted out well before you get anywhere near the field.

Talking to the tower on arrival is a lot easier.

I think last time I only had to say this.

Houma tower, Cessna xxxx hotel, 8 miles out for arrival with info Zulu.

Then I'm pretty sure they told me what runway to use and then cleared me to land when I got in the pattern.

everytime we landed its been a right hand pattern.
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Which is why many of us advocate using Flight Following as much as possible. Communicating with the controllers is a task worth exercising. They can provide you with lots of "between the lines" info to aid you in a successful flight.

Direction of pattern is often set for reasons like obstacle clearance or noise abatement. Here at KDTO, it's nearly always west of the single runway, as the town is to the east. So the lesson here is to not get hung up on always left or always right. If you don't know what it should be, check the Sectional Chart, A/FD, or look for the segmented circle

Segmented_Cir.jpg
 
AggieMike88 said:
Which is why many of us advocate using Flight Following as much as possible. Communicating with the controllers is a task worth exercising. They can provide you with lots of "between the lines" info to aid you in a successful flight.
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I'm a relative rookie to Flight Following, but it's great. On a recent trip to Arizona, they provided ATIS info so I didn't have to scramble to get that, and then switch to the tower frequency.

Somebody earlier mentioned the magic words, "Student pilot." Another gem is "Say again"....if controller speaks too fast, or a call gets partially cut off, don't hesitate to use it!
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
if controller speaks too fast
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Talking 60 words a second with occasional gusts to 90 does happen....

Fortunately, students, like your landings, with practice, it gets easier to understand.

What helps is learning what instruction you are likely to get for that phase of flight.
 
AggieMike88 said:
Talking 60 words a second with occasional gusts to 90 does happen....

Fortunately, students, like your landings, with practice, it gets easier to understand.

What helps is learning what instruction you are likely to get for that phase of flight.
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Yes, expecting what to hear back is huge. That comes with time and practice.
 
ircphoenix said:
But once you get used to the controller reading your tail number back incorrectly while telling you your radio sucks, you get used to it.
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Or another aircraft with that controller's sector with a similar tail#, and he forgets that he's supposed to not abbreviate. When that's happen, you bet I've got my ears perked up more than usual to make sure the transmission is meant for me and not my evil imposter.
 
Just received my rag today Cajun. Like your version on here mucho better, but congrats, well done.
 
mscard88 said:
Just received my rag today Cajun. Like your version on here mucho better, but congrats, well done.
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Yeah, there was no way to shave it down to 800 words without sucking the soul out of the story. And they wouldn't use any of the pictures either. I don't even know if I want to read the printed version :/
 
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Cajun_Flyer said:
Yeah, there was no way to shave it down to 800 characters without sucking the soul out of the story. And they wouldn't use any of the pictures either. I don't even know if I want to read the printed version :/
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Linky to online version? Please?
 
A_Valkyrie said:
I remember as a student it was one of the most stressful parts of training...knowing what to say and how to say it. The more you just get out and do it the easier it becomes. After awhile you will almost know what they will say before they say it and be able to react to anything out of the ordinary.

It brings up a good memory on a cross country where I was told "radar contact 10 miles east of so and so airport" after contacting the tower and I nervously keyed back "looking for traffic" haha
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As a student pilot right now, my fifth flight i did the radio for our NON towered airport up until talking with CONTROL for requesting a practice area. For myself I see the value in using the correct terminology. I did receive a "script" from my first flight as to reporting, and have gone through it to try and understand the purpose of each communication and the "proper" wording. It's not easy.

That said, I am having the most trouble so far hearing and understanding the responses. At this point, it's a little like using a phrasbook for a foreign country (I've done this) and practicing how to say and ask things, but when you say your phrase (even if by some chance you said it perfectly...something that mostly doesn't happen) and it is understood...and you are feeling good because you didn't mess up, comes the answer. And you realize you didn't understand a bit of it. Or else someone talks to you out of the blue and again you don't understand what they said.

There just is no way around it, one has to start to get used to the different replies that might come.
 
For quite a while during primary training, I thought the Push To Talk button needed to be re-labeled "Push to Forget". So many time I sorta knew what to say, had practiced it a few times in my head, then when I pushed the button to say it, I was more like, "uhhhh, ummmmm....." when I totally blanked.
 
AggieMike88 said:
For quite a while during primary training, I thought the Push To Talk button needed to be re-labeled "Push to Forget". So many time I sorta knew what to say, had practiced it a few times in my head, then when I pushed the button to say it, I was more like, "uhhhh, ummmmm....." when I totally blanked.
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I know that feeling.
 
I'm that way literally every time I start up the plane and before I hit the button to talk to ground. Don't know what it is. It can't be nerves at this point... It is just once I'm about to hit the magic button I'm like "bwuuuuuh?"
 
ircphoenix said:
I'm that way literally every time I start up the plane and before I hit the button to talk to ground. Don't know what it is. It can't be nerves at this point... It is just once I'm about to hit the magic button I'm like "bwuuuuuh?"
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You'll get past it eventually. With practice, pretty quickly.

I've never had a huge problem with mic fright, though I did get tongue tied occasionally through the first 150 hours or so. CAP training, particularly in the right seat, put an end to that. It helps to be on the other side of the radio for a bit. Instrument training REALLY put it to bed. Copying clearances and all that.

It's virtually all scripted on the ATC side, and can be for pilots as well (usually). Once you've said "Palo Alto Ground Cessna 123XY at row H taxi to 31 with A IFR to Sac Executive" 100 times, you have it down.
 
I don't get mic fright, but definitely get a little tongue tied every once and a while. Coming back from a xc the other day and my FF call went something like this - "Approach, Warrior123AlphaBravo, level 3,500, 10 miles north of uh... umm... well, am requesting flight following from... ummm... I... uh..." Decided not to let my brain-death eat up the airwaves, so I quickly unclicked the mic and abandoned the call. No idea why I blanked. Maybe it was because I had just left the lamest airport ever and already chose to forget it. Anyway, before ATC could respond, I jumped right back in for a second attempt... "Approach, Hello again!! Warrior 123AlphaBravo..." Nailed it that time and even got a little chuckle out of the guy :)

It happens.
 
Another war story....

N55WB has the PTT on the left side of the yoke in the "trigger" position where I use my forefinger to activate it. On the top, where I use my thumb, is the Control Wheel Steering button that temporarily overrides the auto pilot.

Coming back from a longer flight, I correctly establish communication with KDTO tower and am instructed to enter an left base, I'm #3, and I'm cleared to land. Acknowledge the instruction, slow down, leveled at pattern altitude, and continue inbound.

After a bit, #1 guy is crossing the threshold, and tower calls up to provide an additional instruction. I press a button and acknowledge, but hear no side tone..."that's odd".

Tower, repeats the instruction, I press the same button, acknowledge, still no side tone, I get concerned. Then I get, "55WB, we may have lost comms. If you can hear me, landing clearance canceled, climb to 2000, and turn to a left upwind over Peterbuilt (the big truck factory about 1nm east of the runway)" awwwwww.....crud!

But as soon as I initiated the climb, I realized what I was doing. I had reverted to the muscle memory of the Piper Warrior I had access to before 55WB and was mashing with my thumb... but the button was the CWS, not PTT.

As I was making my turn to upwind, I got a chance to re-establish communication. "Denton Tower, 55WB back with you, sorry about that."

Tower: "Good to hear from you! What happened?"

Me: "Well, there are two buttons right next to each other on the yoke, and instead of the push-to-talk, I was pressing the 'Pilot is a forgetful doo-doo-head' button".

Tower laughed, gave me instructions to re-enter the downwind.

And every once and a while, when I see that controller at the FBO, he gives me a sly look and asks, "So, which button are you supposed to press to talk to me?"
 
When I first started G1000 training, there are a bunch of buttons on the yoke. PTT, CWS, electric trim, AP disconnect, guns, missiles (well, maybe not the last two...). And the bleeping $#%^*(^& @#%$#$%^$%& #$%^#^& Garmin engineers decided a rather loud audible alarm was appropriate for an autopilot disconnect in a light aircraft. You would think we were flying a 777 into San Francisco.

So of course I hit that thing several times instead of the PTT. It's obvious immediately what had happened, but I had to wait several seconds for the $@#^^%$&$ #$^$%& $%&$%^ alarm to STFU before actually responding to the instruction given. By which time ATC had decided I wasn't paying attention and had repeated it.
 
AggieMike88 said:
For quite a while during primary training, I thought the Push To Talk button needed to be re-labeled "Push to Forget". So many time I sorta knew what to say, had practiced it a few times in my head, then when I pushed the button to say it, I was more like, "uhhhh, ummmmm....." when I totally blanked.
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I was going to type a witty reply to your post...



but when I grabbed the keyboard I forgot what I was going to type. :confused:
 
I had a moment today... Been on the mini route through LAX maybe two dozen times. Get on with tower... "Proceed to Loyola Marymount University at 2,500, remain clear of the bravo until cleared by Los Angeles tower."

My reply? "Cleared to... LMU... At... Uhhh... say all again for Cherokee 4PF." No idea what happened other than my brain stopped working. I had already talked to 2 ground controllers, 5 tower controllers, and 5 approach controllers and Oakland Center... just totally brain farted. I think I said "LMU" when he said "Loyola Marymount" and my brain seized. Like a "wait... He did say LMU, right? He just didn't abbreviate it? Or did he say proceed to Santa Monica? Wait. Why would he say that? It should be LMU."

His reply? "Just keep flying towards us. We'll deal with all of that when you're a little closer." I think he just wanted to use binos to see me turn beet red in the cockpit.

A couple minutes later he went slow and steady to explain it to the idiot flying my plane. I replied with the instructions and added "despite my transmission earlier, I am familiar with the mini route."

I was hoping he monitored LA tower after I switched because I was determined to sound competent after that.

Lesson? No matter how many times you talk, at some point you're going to sound like an idiot and a controller is going to judge you. We've all done it and we'll all do it. OP, you'll be fine. :)
 
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Just practice talking like these guys.

 
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