Some key points for this section, pretty simple in my opinion:

  • Radio transmissions travel ‘in line of sight’. The earth is curved, so if an aircraft is sufficiently distant and/or low, transmissions may not be received
  • Learn the phonetic alphabet (but I already know this; most likely from Army cadets)
  • Numbers are transmitted, generally, as per normal. Decimals are read out as the word ‘decimal’. Numbers 4, 7 and 9 have an ‘-er’ suffix.
  • Time is transmitted in Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC). For all intents and purposes, it is the same as GMT which we are 10 hours ahead of (or 11 in DST).
  • Emergencies (MAYDAY) are situations where there is grave danger to the aircraft and/or its occupants. Urgency (PAN PAN) is not a grave danger to the aircraft, but applies to when immediate assistance is required by either the pilot, the passengers or anyone outside the aircraft (e.g., a burning boat).
  • In both calls, ATC will need to know who you are (call sign), what you are (aircraft type), where you are (location), what has happened (situation) and what you intend to do (intentions). The MAYDAY or PAN PAN call is repeated 3 times. In the case of a MAYDAY, the call sign is also repeated 3 times to maximise the chance of it getting through during times of low reception.

An example of a MAYDAY call

MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
BNM BNM BNM
CESSNA 150
3 MILES SOUTH OF CARRUM AT 2000 FEET
COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE
ATTEMPTING GLIDE APPROACH TO MOORABBIN RUNWAY 35L

Parts of a radio

  • Transmit selector switch – in aircraft fitted with both VHF and HF antennas – leave this at VHF.
  • Speaker/phones selector switch – this allows incoming radio transmissions to be directed to the headset or the cabin speaker. Leave this in the ‘phones’ setting.
  • Frequency display window – displays the set frequency in MHz.
  • On/off volume control - adjusts the volume and switches off the radio at the lowest setting.
  • Squelch control - adjusts the sensititivy of the radio. To remove spruious background noise, set to maximum sensitivity then pull back until noise is gone.
  • Navigation section - another radio for navigation aids that obviously run over VHF. Don’t need to worry about this for now.

Troubleshooting a Radio

  1. Is it turned on?
  2. Have you reset the squelch control?
  3. Is the frequency correct?
  4. Is the avionics master on?
  5. Is the radio band selector on ‘VHF’?
  6. Is the speaker/phone setting correct?
  7. Is the headset volume correct?
  8. Are both plugs for the headset correctly inserted?
  9. Have you checked the circuit breakers and fuses?