Questions tagged [radio-communications]
Radio is the primary way that pilots communicate with air traffic control and with other aircraft.
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Why is "Affirm / Negative" used instead of "Yes / No"?
Does anyone know why we use Affirm and Negative in RT, rather than Yes and No? I assume it's to prevent confusion with accents and other languages - but Yes and No sound very different to me!
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How do civilian pilots and ATC verify that other people on the radio are who they claim to be?
I am interested in authentication - how identity is verified - in civilian aviation radio transmissions. I know that when someone is speaking on the radio he tells his call sign. But is there any ...
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Why do English-speaking pilots and ATC say "Niner" instead of "Nine"?
Besides the fact that it's now a standard, why do American-English-speaking pilots and ATC say "Niner" instead of "Nine"? None of the other numerals are pronounced in an atypical fashion.
For what ...
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What happens if a language other than English is used over the radio?
In many non-English speaking countries, communication with ATC may be conducted either in English or the native language. Famous examples are China, Russia, France and possibly Germany.
When a pilot ...
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How was I able to just plug in my headphones and listen to ATC and pilot chatter?
I was travelling from Mumbai to Newark Liberty Intl on United Airlines 49, a Boeing 777-200. I was sitting in the economy section, last row, last seat to the plane's left, basically, I was literally ...
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Why do airplanes use MAYDAY when in danger but ships send SOS?
I thought SOS means "save our souls", but apparently it doesn't.
But ships send SOS when in danger and they used Morse code. Why do airplanes use MAYDAY?
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Why do pilots have the ability to turn off the transponder in-flight?
These days, when reading news about missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, I keep coming across a scenario where pilot might have deliberately turned off the transponder which is used for the ...
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How can I politely remind ATC that I'm waiting for instructions or clearance?
(background: low-hour, low-experience, private pilot.)
I've got an issue regarding talking to air traffic controllers, especially when I think they may have messed up, yet still giving them the ...
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Why do military pilots report "gear down" during their traffic calls?
I've noticed that military pilots will often say something along the lines of:
<airport> traffic, Basher 5-2 left base, full stop, gear down.
Why the additional "gear down" call? Shouldn't it ...
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Who has the higher authority, the pilot in command or ATC?
I'm sure many people have heard about the communication between a Delta flight 2244 and Atlanta tower being on news today.
When the Controller informs the Pilot he is on a wrong taxi-way, things get ...
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What are the advantages of squawking 7700?
I was reading this question about how do pilots send distress signals in emergency scenarios, and that got me thinking...
In voretaq7's answer, he states that there are three ways to send distress ...
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Is it OK to greet ATC?
My instructor told me that courtesies are forbidden in radio communication, however, we usually start conversation as "Turany Ground, OK-ABC, good morning, (... request)".
I find it natural. Is that ...
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What does it mean when the controller uses the word "request"?
I recently had the opportunity to fly a PAR approach into Büchel Airbase in Germany. It was a ton of fun and I'll definitely try it again when I get the chance. However, as we were getting set up for ...
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When are winds given with respect to true vs. magnetic north?
Wind information can be reported by various sources (ATIS, METAR, TAF, spoken on the radio, etc). I was taught that officially some of these sources are relative to magnetic north and others to true ...
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How does an Airbus aircraft connect to the Internet? [duplicate]
I would like to understand better where (physically in the aircraft) and how the Internet connection is received on an Airbus aircraft, in particular in an Airbus A380, and then how this system is ...
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