General Operating Procedures — Page 57, Lesson 43

I want to walk you through the General Operating Procedures chapter, starting with why this matters so much. The use of correct and precise standard phraseology in communications between pilots and ground personnel is vitally important. Incidents and accidents have occurred where a contributing factor has been the misunderstanding caused by the use of non-standard phraseology. So we need to ensure we use the correct technique, phonetic sounds for letters and numbers, format for time, phraseology, and call signs. This chapter also covers procedures relating to radio test, transfer of communications, readback, the radar environment, and conditional clearances. Let's start with technique. First, listen. Before you transmit, check that your receiver volume is set, and listen to make sure you do not interrupt another transmission. That's the golden rule — never step on someone else's call. Next, the microphone. Be familiar with your microphone. Do not turn your head or vary the distance from the microphone. Distortion will result from three specific things: talking too close to the microphone, touching the mike with your lips, or holding the boom of the microphone. So keep a consistent distance, don't touch the mic with your lips, and don't hold the boom — just use the handset or headset normally. Your voice. Use a normal conversational tone, speak clearly, and enunciate each word. Maintain the speaking volume at a constant level. Here's a key note: you should depress the transmit switch before speaking, and do not release it until after you finish. A common fault is to release the button too soon, which cuts off the end of your transmission. Rate of speech. The correct rate of speech is about 100 words per minute. But if you know the information needs to be written down — for example, when copying a clearance or a number — speak slower. ATC controllers can be very bad at this, so as a pilot you need to be disciplined about slowing down when it matters. Hesitation. Avoid hesitation sounds such as "er" and "um." Just pause silently if you need a moment, but don't fill the air with those sounds. Abbreviations. Some abbreviations, which by common and frequent use are understood, need not be spelled out. Examples include ILS, VOR, NDB, TACAN, GPS, SELCAL, and Q codes like QFE, QNH, and QDR. These are so standard in aviation that you just say them as words or pronounce the letters as they are — you don't need to say "India Lima Sierra" for ILS, for instance. Long messages. If you have a long message, pause occasionally. This allows time to check that the frequency is still clear, and gives time for the receiver to request repetition or clarification of parts not received. So don't just rattle off a long transmission in one breath — break it up with brief pauses.