I need some help with radio communications

Collin Kaufman

Collin Kaufman

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Ckflyer13
Hey guys! This is probably a stupid a question and I'm probably just over thinking it, but I'm a brand new private pilot and I haven't taken my first flight yet as PIC since. I did all of my flight training at Eglin AFB (KVPS) and I'm sure some of you know that the military has some weird ways of doing things. On Saturday I plan on taking my girlfriend up and flying along the beach and all the good stuff. However, I might end up flying out of a neighboring Class D airport (KDTS) that I'm not too familiar with.

I guess I'm asking what my radio communications should look like for departing KDTS for a local VFR flight? Again I'm probably just overthinking it but anything helps!
Thanks so much!
P.S. I should also probably add that this is part 93 airspace and makes it that much more intimidating
 
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You're overthinking it. I've been doing my training out of class D (KTKI) for a while now, and the controllers are pretty standard. A few times I have to confirm an instruction or ask "say again?" but they're super cool about it.
 
Something like “looking to head north up the coast at 1000’ for a few miles then turn N/S/E/W and climb to x,500’ on my way back to KXYZ”. Or something like that.
 
Collin Kaufman said:
On Saturday I plan on taking my girlfriend up and flying along the beach and all the good stuff.
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Oooh yeah! I know exactly what what you mean and so does @mscard88! Congratulations!

Seriously though, just simply tell them what you want to do in plain English.
 
Who you’re calling (Ground)
Who you are (tail number)
Where you are (“east ramp” or whatever)
What you want (VFR northbound with Information Bravo)

:)
 
1. Get ADIS
2. Contact Ground...N1234P at Sheltair, for a departure to the south, with Papa.
3. Ground..taxi Charlie, Alfa to runway 5.
4. Contact tower.
5. Depart.
You can ask ground for a squawk code if you want flight following. They will usually accommodate you, in which case
they will give you a code and the departure frequency, then tower will hand you off to departure once you depart.

Go have some fun.
 
And if you get too kerfluffled, you can always declare "Student Human"
 
96gs917 said:
1. Get ADIS
2. Contact Ground...N1234P at Sheltair, for a departure to the south, with Papa.
3. Ground..taxi Charlie, Alfa to runway 5.
4. Contact tower.
5. Depart.
You can ask ground for a squawk code if you want flight following. They will usually accommodate you, in which case
they will give you a code and the departure frequency, then tower will hand you off to departure once you depart.

Go have some fun.
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Thanks man. Just want to be clear... For VFR, you don't need to contact clearance, right?. At Eglin AFB they make you call clearance regardless of the flight.
 
Collin Kaufman said:
Thanks man. Just want to be clear... For VFR, you don't need to contact clearance, right?. At Eglin AFB they make you call clearance regardless of the flight.
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Depends on the airport.... departing big places like KDAL (Dallas Love), clearance delivery is who handles Flight Following requests.

At KDTO, a class D airport near Dallas, ground controller will do FF, but he is also the one to contact for your IFR clearance.

At other Class D's, you can ask them for FF, but you may be told they are not able to do that, but will provide you with the frequency of departure or center where you can give the request to that controller.

At non-towered airports, you ask the center or TRACON controller once you are airborne and can make radio contact.
 
Collin Kaufman said:
Thanks man. Just want to be clear... For VFR, you don't need to contact clearance, right?. At Eglin AFB they make you call clearance regardless of the flight.
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What with the SFAR and all it looks like you need some kind of Clearance. Just ask Ground on your way in who you should call first on your way out. Ask someone there at Eglin about it. I am sure you will not be the first person from there who has flown to Destin. My guess is ground will say "Call Me"
 
My sectional map shows a special air traffic rule in effect in the vicinity of Eglin which includes KDTS and various restricted areas.This rule requires clearance to operate in these areas. Frequencies for clearance delivery at KDTS is in the chart supplement.

Basic procedure works like this. Contact clearance to get a squawk code and initial departure instructions. You can indicate to them your direction of flight and altitude for sightseeing. Then contact ground after getting ATIS and request taxi. Contact tower when ready for takeoff to get takeoff clearance. Takeoff when cleared, then you will get handed off to departure with flight following, and let them know where you are going and how high if they don't remember. If you do this there will be no SFR surprises.

I don't fly out of the area, but if I were you I would learn more about the SFR and operating procedures in and out of KDTS.
 
chemgeek said:
My sectional map shows a special air traffic rule in effect in the vicinity of Eglin which includes KDTS and various restricted areas.This rule requires clearance to operate in these areas. Frequencies for clearance delivery at KDTS is in the chart supplement.

Basic procedure works like this. Contact clearance to get a squawk code and initial departure instructions. You can indicate to them your direction of flight and altitude for sightseeing. Then contact ground after getting ATIS and request taxi. Contact tower when ready for takeoff to get takeoff clearance. Takeoff when cleared, then you will get handed off to departure with flight following, and let them know where you are going and how high if they don't remember. If you do this there will be no SFR surprises.

I don't fly out of the area, but if I were you I would learn more about the SFR and operating procedures in and out of KDTS.
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Yeah. I've never been to a place that wants you to call CD first, not put that on the ATIS. Get the ATIS first
 
Yep, ATIS normally always indicates who to call first. Usually if the airport has a clearance delivery freq in the chart supplement, you will be expected to call it first if requesting flight following. If it's really slow, ground may do clearance. ATIS will inform.
 
Collin Kaufman said:
Hey guys! This is probably a stupid a question and I'm probably just over thinking it, but I'm a brand new private pilot and I haven't taken my first flight yet as PIC since. I did all of my flight training at Eglin AFB (KVPS) and I'm sure some of you know that the military has some weird ways of doing things. On Saturday I plan on taking my girlfriend up and flying along the beach and all the good stuff. However, I might end up flying out of a neighboring Class D airport (KDTS) that I'm not too familiar with.

I guess I'm asking what my radio communications should look like for departing KDTS for a local VFR flight? Again I'm probably just overthinking it but anything helps!
Thanks so much!
P.S. I should also probably add that this is part 93 airspace and makes it that much more intimidating
Click to expand...

While you should endeavor to sound professional on the radio, don't get too hung up on proper phraseology. If you get into a tight spot, or don't understand what they mean, just ask in plain language. Don't assume anything. I remember many years ago, after my IFR rating, I received a "clearance on request" on initial callup. I didn't know what that meant. It almost sounded like, 'we can give your clearance only if you request it', which made absolutely no sense to me. I had to confess and ask them what it meant, and they were kind enough to explain it to me.
 
chemgeek said:
My sectional map shows a special air traffic rule in effect in the vicinity of Eglin which includes KDTS and various restricted areas.This rule requires clearance to operate in these areas. Frequencies for clearance delivery at KDTS is in the chart supplement.

Basic procedure works like this. Contact clearance to get a squawk code and initial departure instructions. You can indicate to them your direction of flight and altitude for sightseeing. Then contact ground after getting ATIS and request taxi. Contact tower when ready for takeoff to get takeoff clearance. Takeoff when cleared, then you will get handed off to departure with flight following, and let them know where you are going and how high if they don't remember. If you do this there will be no SFR surprises.

I don't fly out of the area, but if I were you I would learn more about the SFR and operating procedures in and out of KDTS.
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I know pretty much everything there is to know about SFAR lol... I've done all 55.3 hours of training out of Eglin. Thanks so much though!
 
The AIM says to use whatever phraseology will get your message across. Controllers have a handbook with phraseology that they MUST use...there is no similar requirement for pilots. Go to www.faa.gov and click on Advisory Circulars...there are a couple with RECOMMENDED phraseology.

Bob
 
Collin Kaufman said:
Hey guys! This is probably a stupid a question and I'm probably just over thinking it, but I'm a brand new private pilot and I haven't taken my first flight yet as PIC since. I did all of my flight training at Eglin AFB (KVPS) and I'm sure some of you know that the military has some weird ways of doing things. On Saturday I plan on taking my girlfriend up and flying along the beach and all the good stuff. However, I might end up flying out of a neighboring Class D airport (KDTS) that I'm not too familiar with.

I guess I'm asking what my radio communications should look like for departing KDTS for a local VFR flight? Again I'm probably just overthinking it but anything helps!
Thanks so much!
P.S. I should also probably add that this is part 93 airspace and makes it that much more intimidating
Click to expand...

Advisory Circular 90-42F is the one that covers non-tower communications....SUGGESTED phraseology. There is no such thing as "proper" or "required" phraseology for pilots.

Bob
 
Collin Kaufman said:
Thanks man. Just want to be clear... For VFR, you don't need to contact clearance, right?. At Eglin AFB they make you call clearance regardless of the flight.
Click to expand...

Unless instructed otherwise in ATIS or familiar with local procedures that dictate otherwise, I always default starting with CD if there is one even when VFR, especially if you want to set up FF right from the ground.

CD may happily pass right on to Ground but conversely Ground may frustratingly pass you down to CD if you jumped ahead and you were supposed to start there.

Every airport has their own procedures...while starting with CD is never wrong, staring with ground sometimes is.

"New Pilot..." added in you calls once with each controller will go a LONG way.
 
Collin Kaufman said:
I know pretty much everything there is to know about SFAR lol... I've done all 55.3 hours of training out of Eglin
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Shawn said:
Unless instructed otherwise in ATIS or familiar with local procedures that dictate otherwise, I always default starting with CD if there is one even when VFR, especially if you want to set up FF right from the ground.

CD may happily pass right on to Ground but conversely Ground may frustratingly pass you down to CD if you jumped ahead and you were supposed to start there.

Every airport has their own procedures...while starting with CD is never wrong, staring with ground sometimes is.

"New Pilot..." added in you calls once with each controller will go a LONG way.
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This makes sense. Thank you. I feel like this might be really helpful, even far down the road.
 
"Oakland Center, Lear 123PP over Skaggs Island, student pilot."

Bob
 
Collin Kaufman said:
...I did all of my flight training at Eglin AFB (KVPS) and I'm sure some of you know that the military has some weird ways of doing things. ...
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Like what for example? I can't speak for the other branches but the Air Force controllers use the same books and the same phraseology that the FAA uses. In fact we take a lot of the same certification tests.

By the way, I liked you in Home Alone.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Like what for example? I can't speak for the other branches but the Air Force controllers use the same books and the same phraseology that the FAA uses. In fact we take a lot of the same certification tests.

By the way, I liked you in Home Alone.
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All pilots are required to call clearance delivery regardless, and yes I know some other airports do that as well. We have to file a local flight plan with base ops. Also there's so many more restrictions on things you can and cannot do than normal from the pilots perspective and a lot more paper work. I guess I'm just getting at that it feels as if it's a very different experience than if I had learned to fly at any other airport.
Also, I don't remember which part I had in Home Alone haha. Who was I again?
 
It isn't the military doing weird things, its your Aero Club at Eglin. If you rent an aircraft anywhere else in the civilian world, you are required to jump through more hoops as well.

Kevin
 
Collin Kaufman said:
Thanks man. Just want to be clear... For VFR, you don't need to contact clearance, right?. At Eglin AFB they make you call clearance regardless of the flight.
Click to expand...

Fer cryin out loud. Ask your instructor. Ask someone at the Elgin flying club. Ask someone who knows first hand. Or are you really the first person there who is going to go to Destin. Call someone at Lynx Aviation and ask. Get the Towers phone number, call and ask them. Drive down and do it person. Find some pilot wandering around and say ‘dude, wadda you do when you depart here
 
luvflyin said:
Fer cryin out loud. Ask your instructor. Ask someone at the Elgin flying club. Ask someone who knows first hand. Or are you really the first person there who is going to go to Destin. Call someone at Lynx Aviation and ask. Get the Towers phone number, call and ask them. Drive down and do it person. Find some pilot wandering around and say ‘dude, wadda you do when you depart here
Click to expand...

Or just ask here...:dunno:
 
Lots of good advices already but as a new pilot myself I just want to share with you that when in doubt just ask in plain, conversational English. Controllers are amazingly helpful in general and would rather understand you clearly. I learned out of a class D under a class B and have always used flight following so I’m used to this from day 1 and love the brevity of standard phraseology. But really just talk to ATC like to another human being if needed. Great if you use the right phraseology but don’t get too worried about it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Anything you say that’s not compounded with Λ thick heavy accent is already 2x better.

*Mike Click*
Duh, Novembah a -one tu 8 rema hording shot ready to fry.

ATC: N128L your last transmission was unintelligible. Say again please.
 
Don't take everything you hear from other pilots as proper. Folks seem to have to talk way more than they need to.
 
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