What is Radiotelephony?

Radiotelephony, or RT as it is often called, is the use of the radio in the aircraft to communicate with ground stations.

This may be a for a routine message, a request to pass through their airspace or to land there, or it may be that you are experiencing an emergency and need their help. Whatever the reason, this is RT

Not only do you need a RT license to operate the radio, but it also helps from a safety point of view if you know what is the correct thing to say, and when air traffic control give you an instruction, what exactly does it mean.

Precision is important in RT messages - for example a simply transmission 'climbing to two thousand feet' in fact would be correctly interpreted as 22,000 feet and not the 2,000 that was probably intended, whereas 'climbing to altitude two thousand feet' would be the correct phraseology!

Competence and confidence are also a must for anyone wanting to get the best outcome from a controller. Let's assume Luton is about to be jumped by 6 easyJets. You call up and deliver a garbled, inaccurate and incomplete request to transit the zone. While the controller wants to accommodate you, no matter how go a pilot you are, he cannot take the risk that he will need to spend an increased length of time ensuring that a clearance is properly accepted and followed. On the other hand, if you give a short, complete and accurate request message he will feel more confident that he can fit you into his workflow

In the first example you will probably hear 'G-CD Remain clear of controlled airspace', whereas in the second example it is more likely to start 'G-CD you are cleared...'

At Aviation Training Ltd we want to ensure not only do you get the license, but that you have the confidence and competence to use it