Radio Telephony Procedures and Phraseology
This domain tests whether you can transmit like a professional: standard ICAO phraseology, correct call-sign use, readback discipline, and the distress and urgency vocabulary that must be instant. RTR(A) Part 1 questions often present a short exchange and ask what should be said next, or which readback item is missing.
Core rules
- Listen before transmitting, press the PTT fully, and pause a beat before speaking. Speak at a steady rate, slightly slower than conversation.
- Identify the station called, then your own call sign: “Mumbai Tower, VT-ABC.”
- Use standard words: Roger (received), Wilco (will comply), Affirm, Negative, Say again, Standby, Correction, I say again, Break, Out. “Over” and “Out” are not used together.
- Pronounce digits separately; say “decimal” for the point; give altitudes in hundreds or thousands; say flight levels as “FL three five zero”; give time in UTC.
- Read back all safety-related items: ATC clearances, runway in use, hold-short instructions, altitudes or heights, headings, speeds, frequencies and SSR codes.
Worked example
Tower: “VT-ABC, descend to 5,000 feet, QNH 1012.” Correct readback: “Descend to 5,000 feet, QNH 1012, VT-ABC.” Reasoning: the level and QNH are both safety-related, so both must be repeated, and the call sign closes the readback. “Roger” alone is not a readback.
Traps
Saying “repeat” instead of “say again”; using “take-off” without a clearance; answering “Roger” to a clearance that needs a readback; dropping the QNH or transponder code; using “over and out”; and non-standard calls such as “Tower, this is ABC here.”