Conditional Line-Up Clearance at Wilson
At 1045 UTC you are pilot-in-command of Cessna 172 5Y-ABC at Wilson Airport (HKNW), holding at holding point A for runway 14. The tower frequency is busy with three aircraft in the VFR circuit and one departing. You request a southbound VFR departure at 6,500 ft. The controller replies: '5Y-ABC, BEHIND the touch-and-go Cessna on early downwind, LINE UP AND WAIT runway 14, BEHIND.' The downwind Cessna is hidden from your position by a hangar. Your passenger holds a valid FRTOL and offers to read back the clearance because you are busy with the before-take-off checks. You have already selected transponder ALT and strobes on; the engine is running normally. Another aircraft calls 'say again' and the controller repeats a different clearance to it.
1. What is the correct readback, and what must you do before moving onto runway 14?
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Read back the conditional clearance in full, including the condition and both uses of BEHIND: 'BEHIND the touch-and-go Cessna, LINE UP AND WAIT runway 14, BEHIND, 5Y-ABC.' A conditional clearance is not an unconditional clearance to enter the runway. The condition is that you must see the preceding traffic and line up behind it. Because the Cessna is hidden by the hangar, you do not have the traffic in sight, so you must not enter the runway. Tell ATC clearly: '5Y-ABC, traffic not in sight, holding position' or 'BEHIND TRAFFIC NOT IN SIGHT, 5Y-ABC.' The controller can then reissue the clearance when the traffic is visible, issue an alternative, or ask you to hold. Do not assume the traffic will appear, and do not rely on the readback alone as evidence that the runway is safe. Before lining up you must also confirm the runway is clear and that no landing traffic is on short final. If you cannot comply, say so immediately rather than occupying the runway and blocking it.
2. May your passenger read back the clearance? Explain the licensing and radio discipline issues.
Read the worked answer
A passenger who holds a valid FRTOL may legally operate the aircraft radio, but the pilot-in-command remains responsible for every transmission and for the safe conduct of the flight. A conditional line-up clearance is safety-critical: the readback must be accurate and the pilot must act on the condition. If the passenger reads back, they must use the aircraft callsign 5Y-ABC, not their own name, and must be competent to copy any follow-up clearance. The risk is confusion over who is operating the radio, a missed correction from ATC, or a readback that the pilot does not fully hear. Best practice in this situation is for the pilot to transmit personally. If the passenger does transmit, brief them exactly what to say, monitor the frequency, and confirm the readback yourself. Never allow an unlicensed person to transmit on an aeronautical frequency, and remember that the aircraft station is operated under the aircraft/operator radio licence and the holder's FRTOL, not as a personal convenience.