It’s very important to be clear and concise with our communications when participating in aviation operations. Airtime is valuable, and depending on the airport, very congested. Pilots and controllers rely upon each other to share important information in order to maintain safe operations. This includes flight clearances, operations on the ground at the airport and in our National and International airspace’s.
The Radio Call
Clearance delivery this is Flight Fife Two Niner, flying IFR to San Francisco, ready to copy flight clearances when able
initial radio Call
Flight Fife Two Niner, you are cleared to San Francisco airport, climb via the SID, then as filed. You can expect Flight Level 4-3-0 10 minutes after departure. Departure frequency is 132.2 squawk 4217
Clearance Delivered
Flight 529 copies, cleared to San Francisco Airport climb via the SID, then as filed. Expecting 4-3-0 10 minutes after departure, 132.2 on the frequency and squawk 4217
Clearance Readback
Flight 529 read back correct, contact ground on point niner for taxi
Clearance Confirmation
What the heck was that?!? Was that a NINER I heard? What’s an IFR and SID?
Breaking it Down
So let’s break this down. All radio calls should start with the recipients name, followed by the senders name. In this case, the recipient is the ATC controller know as CLEARANCE DELIVERY and the sender is Flight 529. Aviators develop a keen sense of identification when flying. We’re trained to listen for our call sign. It’s very similar to a persons ability to hear their name being called in a crowded room. Or being able to quickly find your name in written text.
In the radio call, Flight 529 calls Clearance Delivery to obtain its San Francisco Instrument Flight Rules flight clearances. Use of the phonetic alphabet for numbers ensures the proper call sign is being referenced on the first radio contact. The word FIFE is used for FIVE and NINER is used for NINE. There are times when radio reception can inhibit or diminish the quality of calls being transmitted. A 5 can very easily be confused for a 9 on a static radio, hence the use of phonetics.
A flight plan clearance is basically, who you are, where you’re flying to, the initial climb instruction followed by an expected final cruise altitude and the proper frequency that will be used to contact the FAA Air traffic Controller responsible for the terminal area airspace. The last piece of the clearance given is the unique flight transponder code the aircraft will transmit, or squawk, when interrogated by an ATC radar.
Final Readback
In the final read back, or confirmation of clearance, Flight 529 confirmed they are cleared to fly to San Francisco by following Standard Instrument Departure procedures for the specific runway they’re departing from. The initial altitude will be listed in the SID description since one was not given in the clearance, but they were given FL430 as their expected altitude within 10 minutes after departure. The ATC Departure controller will be contacted on the VHF frequency 132.2 when directed and the aircraft transponder will be programmed with the four digit code of 4127. The last bit of info passed is to “contact ground for taxi on point Niner”. This is the controllers way of using shorthand to inform the aircrew to contact the Ground Controller on VHF frequency 121.9. Most airports use the 121 frequency range for Ground Controller frequencies.
“Ground, Flight 529 is at Signature with information Uniform, Ready to Taxi”
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