ECK OH — Page 1, Lesson 9

I want to walk you through the standard phonetic alphabet and number pronunciation used in aviation communications. This is absolutely critical — when you're on the radio, every letter and every number must be said exactly the same way by every pilot and controller worldwide, so there is zero chance of misunderstanding. Let's start with the letters. Each letter of the alphabet has a designated word, and that word has a specific pronunciation that you must use. I'll go through them in order. F is Foxtrot, pronounced FOKS TROT. Its Morse code is dot-dash-dot. G is Golf, pronounced GOLF, Morse dash-dash-dot. H is Hotel, pronounced HOH TELL, Morse dot-dot-dot-dot. I is India, pronounced IN DEE AH, Morse dot-dot. J is Juliet, pronounced JEW LEE ETT, Morse dot-dash-dash-dash. K is Kilo, pronounced KEY LOH, Morse dash-dot-dash. L is Lima, pronounced LEE MAH, Morse dot-dash-dot-dot. M is Mike, pronounced MIKE, Morse dash-dash. N is November, pronounced NO VEM BER, Morse dash-dot. O is Oscar, pronounced OSS CAR, Morse dash-dash-dash. P is Papa, pronounced PAH PAH, Morse dot-dash-dash-dot. Q is Quebec, pronounced KEE BECK, Morse dash-dash-dot-dash. R is Romeo, pronounced ROW ME OH, Morse dot-dash-dot. S is Sierra, pronounced SEE AIR RAH, Morse dot-dot-dot. T is Tango, pronounced TANG GO, Morse dash. U is Uniform, pronounced YOU NEE FORM, Morse dot-dot-dash. V is Victor, pronounced VIK TAH, Morse dot-dot-dot-dash. W is Whiskey, pronounced WISS KEY, Morse dot-dash-dash. X is X-ray, pronounced ECKS RAY, Morse dash-dot-dot-dash. Y is Yankee, pronounced YANG KEY, Morse dash-dot-dash-dash. Z is Zulu, pronounced ZOO LOO, Morse dash-dash-dot-dot. Now, numbers are just as important. The book makes a very strong point: numbers must be said precisely, especially when discussing height, altitudes, or flight levels. Any confusion could easily be deadly. Here is the pronunciation for each digit: 0 is ZERO 1 is WUN 2 is TOO 3 is TREE 4 is FOW-ER 5 is FIFE 6 is SIX 7 is SEVEN 8 is AIT 9 is NIN-ER For decimal, you say DAY-SEE-MAL. For hundred, you say HUN-DRED. For thousand, you say TOU-SAND. Now, when you transmit messages that contain call signs, altimeter settings, flight levels, altitudes, wind velocity, frequencies, and so on, every single letter and every single digit is pronounced individually using these exact words. Let me give you the example from the book so you can hear how it all fits together in a real message. London Control clears Golf Bravo Echo Juliet Victor to join controlled airspace at Bravo India Golf route Golf Wun flight level Ait Zero squawk 3217 contact London now frequency Wun Too Tree Day-see-mal Fower. Let me break that down. The aircraft call sign is Golf Bravo Echo Juliet Victor — that's G-B-E-J-V. The route is Bravo India Golf — B-I-G. Then Golf Wun is G-1. Flight level Ait Zero is flight level 80. Squawk 3217 — that's the transponder code, each digit said individually: TREE TOO WUN SEVEN. And the frequency is Wun Too Tree Day-see-mal Fower — 123.4. Notice how every letter and every number is spoken using the exact phonetic word and pronunciation I just taught you. There is no room for shortcuts or casual speech on the radio. This is the standard you will use from your very first radio call as a student pilot all the way through your professional career.