Communications - VHF Radiotelephony
This domain tests standard VHF RT: phraseology, readback, distress and urgency calls, position reports and lost-communication actions.
Core rules
Use the phonetic alphabet and standard words: ‘roger’, ‘wilco’, ‘affirm’, ‘negative’, ‘standby’, ‘say again’. Read back clearances, runway instructions, altimeter settings and hold-short instructions. Distress is ‘MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY’; urgency is ‘PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN’. 121.5 MHz is the emergency frequency. Include callsign, position, level, heading and intentions as required.
Worked example
Tower: ‘G-ABCD, line up and wait runway 18.’ Correct readback: ‘Line up and wait runway 18, G-ABCD.’ Do not reply ‘roger’ because a runway instruction requires readback. If the instruction is ‘hold short runway 18’, the readback must include ‘holding short runway 18’.
Traps
Omitting the callsign; using ‘roger’ instead of a readback; confusing MAYDAY with PAN-PAN; and failing to read back a hold-short instruction.