Phraseology — Page 82, Lesson 62

I want to walk you through the standard phraseology used in aviation communications. This is the exact language you will use and hear on the radio, and it's designed to be unambiguous and efficient. Let's start with how we handle a change of call sign. If air traffic control needs an aircraft to change its call sign temporarily, the instruction is: "CHANGE YOUR CALL SIGN TO (new call sign) [UNTIL FURTHER ADVISED]." The phrase in square brackets is optional — you might be told to keep the new call sign until further advised, or you might revert later. When it's time to go back, the controller will say: "REVERT TO FLIGHT PLAN CALL SIGN (call sign) [AT (significant point)]." So you change back to the call sign that was on your flight plan, possibly at a specific fix or waypoint. Now, traffic information. When a controller passes traffic to you, they start with the word "TRAFFIC" followed by the relevant information. If there is no reported traffic, the controller will say "NO REPORTED TRAFFIC" to acknowledge that they've passed the information but there's nothing to report. As a pilot, if you are looking for the traffic, you say "LOOKING OUT." If you actually see the traffic, you say "TRAFFIC IN SIGHT." If you do not see it, you say "NEGATIVE CONTACT" and you can give a reason, like "NEGATIVE CONTACT, CLOUD." For more detailed traffic information, the format is: "[ADDITIONAL] TRAFFIC (direction) BOUND (type of aircraft) (level) ESTIMATED (or OVER (place) AT (time)) REPORTED (level(s)) [or LEVEL UNKNOWN] MOVING (direction) (other pertinent information, if any)." So you might hear: "ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC SOUTHBOUND BOEING 737 FLIGHT LEVEL 350 ESTIMATED OVER LAM AT 1230 REPORTED FLIGHT LEVEL 350 MOVING NORTH." Let's move to meteorological conditions. Wind is always reported as: "WIND (number) DEGREES (number) (units)." For example, "WIND 270 DEGREES 15 KNOTS." If the wind is at a specific altitude, you say: "WIND AT (height/altitude/flight level) (number) DEGREES (number) (units)." A key note here: wind is always expressed by giving the mean direction and speed, and any significant variations. So it's the average, not a gust reading unless specified. Visibility is reported as: "VISIBILITY (distance) [direction]." For runway visual range, or RVR, the phrase is: "RUNWAY VISUAL RANGE (or RVR) [RUNWAY (number)] (distance)." If there are multiple RVR observations, the format is: "RVR [RUNWAY (number)] (first position) (distance), (second position) (distance), (third position) (distance)." And here's an important note: multiple RVR observations are always representative of the touchdown zone, midpoint zone, and the roll-out/stop end zone, respectively. So the first number is the touchdown zone, the second is the midpoint, and the third is the roll-out end. If RVR information is missing for any one position, you say "MISSING" in that position. For example: "RVR RUNWAY 27 550 METRES, 600 METRES, MISSING." Next, present weather is simply: "PRESENT WEATHER (details)." Cloud information is: "CLOUD (amount, [type] and height of base)" or "SKY CLEAR" if there are no clouds. Then we have "CAVOK" — which stands for Ceiling And Visibility OK. It's pronounced "CAV-O-KAY." Temperature and dew point are given as: "TEMPERATURE [MINUS] (number) (and/or dew point) [MINUS] (number)." For example, "TEMPERATURE MINUS 5 DEW POINT MINUS 7." QNH or QFE is given as: "QNH (or QFE) (number) [units]." For icing or turbulence, the format is: "MODERATE (or SEVERE) ICING (or TURBULENCE) [IN CLOUD] (area)." And finally, "REPORT FLIGHT CONDITIONS" is a request for you to describe the conditions you're experiencing. Now, position reporting. If you are told "NEXT REPORT AT (significant point)," that means you should omit position reports until you reach that specified point. The instruction "OMIT POSITION REPORTS [UNTIL (specify)]" does the same thing. When you need to start reporting again, the controller says "RESUME POSITION REPORTING." For additional reports, "REPORT PASSING (significant point)" requests a report at a specific place. "REPORT (distance) FROM (name of DME station) DME" asks for a report at a certain distance from a DME station. "REPORT PASSING (three digits) radial (name of VOR) VOR" asks for a report when you cross a specific radial from a VOR. "REPORT DISTANCE FROM" is a general request for your distance from a station, and "REPORT DISTANCE FROM (name of DME station) DME" specifies which DME station. Finally, aerodrome information. "RUNWAY (number) (condition)" and "LANDING SURFACE (condition)" describe the state of the runway. "CAUTION CONSTRUCTION WORK (location)" warns of construction. "CAUTION (specify reasons) RIGHT (or LEFT), (or BOTH SIDES) OF RUNWAY [number]" warns of hazards beside the runway. And "CAUTION WORK IN PROGRESS (or OBSTRUCTION) (position and necessary advice)" alerts you to ongoing work or an obstruction. That covers the standard phraseology for these situations. Let's look at the diagrams that illustrate some of these concepts.