Did anyone else have problems learning comms at first?

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Old_Radish_3747@reddit

Happens to everyone bro more repetition is key to getting good and also listening to live atc as well

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AnybodyBorn418@reddit

I would practise when I was driving. Saying the calls out loud and thinking through what to say before you hit the transmit button.

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If you like videogames/flight sims I highly recommend VatSim. It helped me a ton and people are always impressed with my radio communication. Also Plane English is pretty good too. Most of the VFR coms are free on there

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mfsp2025@reddit

Can confirm. I was a VATSIM controller at 13 spitting off CRAFT clearances. Helped a ton when I got to the real world. I never really had issues with comms because of it. Even ORD ground never phased me when I was a new FO.

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No_Assignment_1199@reddit

VATSIM will help you with confidence and some terminology, it’s great to an extent. After building some confidence on VATSIM you should really try out PilotEdge as it is the closest ATC sim I’ve ever gotten to real life VFR operations.

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chupchupandaway@reddit

This is what I’ve been using and it’s helped immensely. I’m over 55 hours into it my training and my radio work is only finally getting decent. It’s a reason I don’t understand how the accelerated programs can possibly get anyone ready to fly proficiently in such short time.

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Double-Reflection838@reddit

PilotEdge is the best. Actual controllers.

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Nine-TailedFox4@reddit

Hardest thing for me was comms!

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Purple_BuCkt@reddit

Get a flight sim on your computer or Xbox and join vatsim. You’ll become a beast in no time

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LateralThinkerer@reddit

Comm1 radio simulator helped me way back when. It's not copy protected if you can find someone that has it.

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dyljcks@reddit

For the ground portions of comms, take a note card and write a fill in the blank for what you're trying to do based on the normal situations.

Mine were

Before taxi:

"Centennial Ground, [call sign], Midfield run up, run up complete, [request], with information [atis]"

After landing:

"Centennial Ground, [call sign], holding short of taxiway [blank] at [blank] intersection. Requesting taxi to [blank]"

Fill in the blanks with who you are, where you are, and what you want.

Other notes- take your time, ask for clarification, and, if needed, ask for progressive taxi on the ground. ATC is there to help and keep you safe, not give you a phone number or yell

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SnazzyStooge@reddit

Practicing comms while going through the maneuvers / checklist / whatever when chair flying is the best way to do it.

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dyljcks@reddit

100% and I'm gonna add another note on top of your comment.

PLEASE PRACTICE YOUR CALLS ON PRACTICE AREA FREQ IF YOU HAVE ONE

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dyljcks@reddit

Sorry little note. If you're untowered, practice making your calls whenever. Pushing a shopping cart? In your head "Kroger traffic, shopper 1, left cross wind for aisle 5, Kroger traffic"

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MechaSteve@reddit

The really important part here is “practice radio calls WHILE doing something else”.

This is not to just make better use of your time. The idea is you need to be able to make radio calls with only part of your attention.

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blizzue@reddit

My CFI told me to practice my traffic pattern radio calls in the shower.

Coeur d’Alene Traffic, skywalk five-niner-five-six-echo, left downwind runway one-niner, full stop, Coeur d’Alene.

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DankVectorz@reddit

Fife*

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chupchupandaway@reddit

Good catch. u/blizzue, possible pilot deviation. I have a number for you. Are you ready for it?

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ATrainDerailReturns@reddit

I can’t copy I’m flying!

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chupchupandaway@reddit

Bye tower!

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blizzue@reddit

It’s funny- because I’m a hardcore tree and fife abuser at work. Just didn’t think to type it.

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Tmdngs@reddit

“Standing by”

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HateJobLoveManU@reddit

Why not just like, anywhere else?

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V12Jaguar@reddit

So THAT'S what I keep hearing my neighbor say.....

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onshore-quake@reddit

To answer your question, no. I didn’t have this problem.

How can your instructor send you to solo when your communication is terrible? Please realise that you’re gonna be the only one in the cockpit in flight. If an emergency happens, you only have your voice to rely on to talk to anybody else.

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ATrainDerailReturns@reddit

Dude just chill

They are just people. Everyone sounds like an idiot of the radios sometimes.

All these people responding to you probably sounded like a dipshit over the radios sometime in the past two weeks alone

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SaucyPastaSauce@reddit

No you’re the only person every

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ShittyLanding@reddit

Agreed. If by your first solo you can’t read back a full oceanic clearance without stumbling, I’d recommend just hanging it up and going to that truck driving school.

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Dirty_Power@reddit

Hey Mav, do you still have the phone number for that truck driving school??

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FinbarJG@reddit

Truck Masters?

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Gene_Yuss@reddit

... I think it was called.

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JSTootell@reddit

Not only was I perfect on the radio, but I had already done my solo XC by then. Kids these days.

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vivalicious16@reddit

12 hours? My discovery flight was my checkride

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CardiologistOk1614@reddit

Same here. We had to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and then return to my home station. Was brutal.

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Skeknir@reddit

You did a discovery flight?

Pfffft - I had to walk to the airfield uphill in the snow with barbed wire wrapped around my feet for traction. Stole the keys, buzzed the tower (inverted)

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Blendermannn@reddit

Buzzed the tower? I had to land on it for my short field

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57thStilgar@reddit

I took a phone number from a telephone pole.

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paramnesiac@reddit

Brother, I just flipped my wings and flew.

some bird, probably

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Chaxterium@reddit

Truckmaster I think it is?

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dyljcks@reddit

What if I can't read back my truck driving clearance?

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ShittyLanding@reddit

Just throw in a “10-4 good buddy” and hope for the best

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dyljcks@reddit

Yeah, they still asked me to call the tower

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Mehere_64@reddit

This sort of question of has anyone ever done this or that? Like nope you are the only one ever.

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SP_Aman@reddit

Yeah OP, it’s not a good look if you don’t know how to communicate with ATC on your first lesson, let alone 12 hours in 😥

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Roadtothejames@reddit

I wrote down my radio calls with blank spots for runway assignments and stuff ex:

-Tower this is N6408G holding short of taxiway ___

-Req. taxi to RWY ___ for a VGR departure to the ___

-I have information ____

I did that once and my instructor said “That was a really nice radio call” and I was really excited about that lol.

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gromm93@reddit

Remember that you're just talking to a human. That you need to be brief, but clarity is king.

You don't necessarily even need to adhere to a script. The human can interpret what you say. Just identify who you're speaking to, who you are, and then your message.

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Sensitive-Bison-1035@reddit

Go to liveatc.com website and listen to a frequency when you got nothing going on and try to understand what and how is being said

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Stunning_Phone_4663@reddit

TNflygirl did

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Few_Party294@reddit

There wasn’t a single learning curve during any part of my training, all the way through ATP. I was great at everything the very first time I tried it. In fact, 12 hours into my training is around the time I was hired as the Chief Pilot at my school. The FAA even made an exception to allow me to fly for compensation after my first student solo.

My only suggestion would be to give it time. It’ll click after you get some reps in. There are plenty of good suggestions on here too.

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scofnerf@reddit

I’m at 137 hours and my brain still can barely function on the radio.

“It’s easy: who you’re calling, who you are, and what you want.”

I don’t know where the hell I am, I can’t remember what plane I’m in today, and I definitely don’t know how to request the things I need.

Real advice: recite your lines 25 times per day minimum. Build the muscle memory of the lips, tongue, and larynx and how they connect to the brain. Takes reps. Lots of rep.

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latedescent@reddit

Role play with your instructor. People will say listen to live ATC but you’re going to get a lot of irrelevant stuff at your stage. Focus on the basics for now and practice, it will come.

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CatastrophicTypo@reddit

Yep I agree, Live ATC wont help you much as you'll hear mostly IFR phraseology which is quite different from the VFR one. Don't stress too much about the comms though, it will come with time, like any skill, we all had difficulties with comms at first (and if you ever fly IFR you'll have the same feeling all over again !)

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Glum-Bus-4799@reddit

I listen in on my local class D field and watch flightradar24 to follow along, it's mostly students doing patterns and it helped me with comms a lot.

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ABCDEFGHABCDL@reddit

It can help train your ear for radio transmissions though

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rtd131@reddit

I think it can be helpful if you're listening to a feed with a lot of training activity like KFFZ or KBJC.

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Vinura@reddit

You can practice radio calls when you drive or while riding a bicycle, or even while juggling.

Its more realistic than just sitting at your desk talking to yourself because you are engaging your motor skills at the same time.

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aswadi@reddit

Im at 42 hours and my comms still suck lol. It takes a lot of practice

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SquareGrade448@reddit

When it comes to radio comms you'll encounter with a control tower, I watched airport traffic at home on Foreflight while listening to LiveATC. Of course sometimes the Foreflight traffic can be a little laggy, but in general I found that was really helpful to not only hear the comms, but also see where the planes were in the pattern and what tower was saying to them at what points. It really helped me know what to anticipate when I'm flying and therefore how to respond.

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Vituperate250@reddit

I had tremendous trouble. Aviation radio uses English words, but it is its own language, filtered through radio static, noise and movement of the aircraft, and an unfamiliar machine.

Other suggestions are good. Practice lots. Listen to LiveATC radio while trying to anticipate, or speaking aloud, readbacks. Read documents about standard phraseology. Just keep plugging away at it, you'll get there.

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Everyone

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Individual-Life-9050@reddit

I have a long ride to my flight school so I car fly. While I’m in the car I simply just pretend I’m flying the pattern. I’ll check winds before I leave my house, visualize that I’m at varying distances and points on the map and start with my 10 mile out call. I’ll make different approaches like overflying the field for tear drop. My airport is non towered and very busy. I only just got into towered airports and I’m doing the same process now between requesting flight following and assuming what they will ask me to do. It’s been really helpful. I feel way more comfortable at non towered but I’ve also seen a lot of other people do some funky stuff, nordo landings, cutting me off in opposite pattern when I’m already midfield on downwind. It can be annoying but it makes you very situationally aware.

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jeevacation_gmail@reddit

LiveATC is a game changer. Listen to it for hours, days, and try to anticipate the responses. Hearing how repetitive it can be - and hearing how everyone messes it up sometimes - really helped change how I view it. Can’t recommend enough.

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CaliforniaLifeSky@reddit

Its literally every single person who have tried to fly

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Mountain-Cut-7708@reddit

Pilot Controller Glossary 7110.65

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57thStilgar@reddit

Less is more.
Just the basics - who you are, where you are and your intentions.

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d4rkha1f@reddit

- Hook PilotEdge up to MSFS or XPlane and go through their VFR ratings.

- Read the AIM section 4-3

- Get the VFR Workbooks from Pilot Workshops

- Listening to LiveATC is helpful, especially if you can listen to your own recordings and figure out what you could have done better.

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cmkw5@reddit

PilotEdge is so good for this! The first time on an IFR flight plan, I called clearance delivery at the neighboring B Tower, read back my clearance like a pro and then handled all other communication as well, my instructor was just watching and because he took me over he wasn't as impressed as he should've been, lol. I was more excited than nervous that I had never done this in real but it also felt so familiar, it was a very weird feeling.

I hear people have never been on a small airplane and handled the radios on a Los Angeles VFR transition on a discovery flight which is pretty crazy but totally plausible if you've flown it with PilotEdge a few times.

(Not paid by them in any way and as of right now not even a current customer of them)

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SuperSmash01@reddit

Using the VFR comms book from Pilot Workshops and Pilot Edge on MSFS is how I got comfortable with comms. Did the same thing in IFR training. Only thing they don't do is FSS, so I just ran through all of those common ones during long cross-country in the real plane. Highly recommend!

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retiredaaer@reddit

Disregard the posted sarcasm. The only way to get comfortable using an aviation radio is to use one. It may help to write down a brief note listing what you are going to say, then say it without “ah”, “er” etc. know what you are going to say. Be brief. Be concise. It can be helpful to visit the tower when they are not busy. Meet the people. They are just people. Bottom line. Be professional.

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aFineMoose@reddit

If you’re having trouble communicating your idea with tower just switch over to a less formal version. You will learn the proper phrases, order, and get faster at it. However, at this stage many people stumble because they’re searching for the ‘proper’ communication.

I’m a pilot, not ATC, but I hear new people on the radio all the time, and I think to myself, “It would be so much better to use improper phraseology quickly, than proper phraseology, take forever, get confused by the response, and eat up even more time on the radio.”

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Wild-Language-5165@reddit

I've never heard anyone having issues with learning comms before, that's a new one for me.

If you don't know comms by the end of your discovery flight or first flight, maybe this isn't the profession for you. Gotta know when to quit.

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weaselkeeper@reddit

If you have a handheld radio monitor your local tower/UNICOM or listen to LiveATC.com or app, your airport might be available, if not find a GA airport.

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phxcobraz@reddit

Watch youtube videos of vfr flights and what they say and what atc says.

Listen to Live ATC for YOUR airport(if it's on there), or others in your area. Get a feel for reporting points, phraseology, etc.

Practice normal calls at home for flights you would do such as pattern work, flying to the practice area, coming back from the practice area, etc.

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scigs6@reddit

Hey! I would recommend listening to ATC, ground and approach:departure frequencies at the airport you fly out of. Or if you’re in class D without a tower then find a Class C airport to listen in. That’s how I learned in the beginning. Also write down what you’re going to say, for instance when radioing for clearance (if you have to) or approach. Practice what you will say, repeat it and eventually you’ll get better.

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FlyJunior172@reddit

When it’s time to solo, the big thing is being able to get your message across.

Now I don’t know if you’re at a tower or not, but if you’re not at a tower, the biggest thing that you really need to be able to do for solo getting your point across is be able to say things like “bug smasher 123AB is taxiing to [runway number]“. Yes a lot of pilots will call the individual legs of their pattern if they’re not at a tower, but the big thing you need to be able to do is judge your distances (for when you’re returning to the field from a practice area) and be able to call midfield and your type of landing. If you periodically append “student pilot” to your calls, you will get some level of grace from other pilots and from controllers because they know you’re learning.

One of the most common suggestions for learning comms is to go to liveatc.net and just listen. There are enough major airports, and airborne control facilities on there to be able to hear lots of chatter of every type that you would need to hear.

If that doesn’t help, there are communities out there that use flight simulators for this kind of practice and training. I don’t know who all of them are, but I am sure somebody else in these comments either has already said it, or is gonna reply to me with exactly where to go to look for that sort of thing.

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joshua9050@reddit (OP)

I am at a tower

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FlyJunior172@reddit

In that case, really what you need to practice, then is writing fast and repeating what you’re told. There are a lot of people that have trouble with towers for various different reasons so by no means should you think that this is abnormal or a major problem. The big things in my experience that will help you clean up your calms and communicate more efficiently with the controllers is simply just being ready. So when you make your first call on the ground, tell them not just that you’re ready, but where you are and what information you have. At the airport I did my advanced training at it was really common for that initial call to be “bug smasher 1234A is EC with F VFR closed traffic” I know that seems complicated but it’s simply the shortest way of communicating your call sign your location and what you’re doing. More frequently than not controllers will tell you they want to have all of that immediately, not an initial call and then all the information. And when you’re up for closed traffic for your solo, they will give you a report point all you need to do if it’s midfield is a “bug smasher 34A midfield.” nobody’s gonna fault you for saying more but that’s the simplest thing that you need to remember how to do.

The hardest part about working with a tower is copying the taxi clearances fast enough. Yes it can sometimes be a challenge, but don’t worry about it. If you don’t get it all just tell them what you got and ask them to say again. And especially if you tell them on your initial call, you’re a student pilot. They’ll be happy to work with you.

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Bubogadubo@reddit

I flew around in GTA 5 and practiced around the airport

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cokeefe4652@reddit

No I was really good

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Live_Free_Or_Die_91@reddit

I'm a controller who talks to hundreds of pilots and students a day.

No, you are not. Hearing someone on frequency who is quick, clear, and concise is actually the rare highlight of my day. And those people are basically never solos.

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Best_Biscuits@reddit

Literally EVERYONE has trouble with comms at first. With everything going on in the cockpit - flying the airplane and trying to decipher comms can get overwhelming. Over time, as the cockpit functions become more muscle memory, you'll learn to listen for relevant information.

For the talking side of things, practice on your own. The pattern is always who you are talking with, where you are, what you need/doing/going, and who you are talking to.

"Palmer Radio, Arctic 62AT 10 miles west of field at 5 thousand, in-bound for landing, Palmer Radio."

Say your radio chatter out loud while driving your car.

And, as others have suggested, listen to traffic and try to understand what's going on. There are several online services that stream tower/approach/common traffic. I'd start with a not-too-busy airport. I'm in the Boise area and listen to that (here).

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earleakin@reddit

My first flight instructor cursed at the tower with every transmission and when I was around 12 hours I realized that he was releasing the ptt button just before every curse.

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UnfortunateSnort12@reddit

Totally! I practiced in my shower till I got it right. It gets easier.

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Tall_Year_8219@reddit

LiveATC is a must. Comms are my strength bc of this.

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JBalloonist@reddit

Start listening to Opposing Bases podcast and find the closest Class D or C tower near you that has a LiveATC feed. Listen everyday if possible.

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darkness_calming@reddit

Ignore the sarcastic comments. It’s a Reddit thing where the useless quippy one liners get more upvotes than helpful comments.

Yeah. It’s pretty common. Hell, even airline pilots mess up once in a while.

——

Memorize the outline and learn to insert variables into it.

Good morning, (Airport) ground. (Iden) at (location ) with (weather). Request (intentions)

Who are you talking to

Who are you

Where are you

Let them know you have ATIS.

What do you need

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JournalistSweet6597@reddit

Never once has a tower operator had to walk me through all the things he needed to know because I messed up my radio call so bad I unkeyed the mic on an “uhhhhhhh”

And tower operators definitely do not recognise school aircraft registrations and understand that the people flying them might be beginners!

Jokes aside you’ll be fine, pro beginner tip, make a sheet on google docs that has standard radio calls on it with fill in the blanks for your information, this helps tremendously in the beginning.

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NationalLaw478@reddit

ATC.com is pretty amazing for learning

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holl0918@reddit

LiveATC

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Skeknir@reddit

I was a radio operator in the army reserves, and while the lingo is different the basic structure is similar enough, so I was lucky - still felt very, very self conscious on there with "real pilots" and busy controllers. Instructor gave me two good tips, remember the other person is a human that ultimately wants to help you, and if all else fails just use plain English - better that than losing focus on aviate (communicate is third place after all, aviate is the winner).

And if it helps I still make mistakes, especially if I try to do too many things at once. And still get thrown by non-standard phrases with new controllers I don't know. Which are annoying and shouldn't happen, but ya know, it comes up.

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chupchupandaway@reddit

Dude, I said “Tower, 123AB, clear of Runway 12 at B, request Taxi Restaurant Ramp” and got back “Taxi via D, B to park” and that shit threw my mind in a blender.

It wasn’t even that crazy of a difference but I was expecting him to say Restaurant Ramp, which is what they call that area locally, I guess. But when they said park, I had the hardest time repeating it. I was too occupied thinking about the read back and barely got it out in whatever jumbled way I could.

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MechaSteve@reddit

Do you have a good headset, and can clearly hear the comms?

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External_Insect_548@reddit

Watch lots of youtube GA creators!! using this method to learn my instrument comms

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MrPlake@reddit

I used to be scared of radio calls until maybe Aline 30 hours now it just rattles off my tongue

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Bythion@reddit

Yes, I think everyone probably does. I'm at 60 hours and have them down decently, but I'm sure a curveball will come on some future flight that I'll flounder on. I have Microsoft flight sim with an ai atc mod that has helped for basic practice. As well as listening to real atc audio and practicing scenarios while driving. My first instructor said they weren't fully comfortable on comments until after 100+ hours.

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Squawk_0877@reddit

At 12 hours I had no clue what anyone was saying on the radio, felt like I would never get it. You will though, the same calls come up over and over, and eventually youll catch yourself varying the phrasing just to not sound like a robot, theres usually a few ways to say each thing, when I was training I tried looking for actual comms courses and never found anything that really worked, im still not amazing at it so if anyone here has tips for practicing please drop them, I want them too

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Frost_907@reddit

12 hours in, that’s pretty common. Just keep practicing and think of what you want to say before you key up on freq. For what it’s worth I have trained people with over 200 hours and they still sucked at comms.

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Double-Reflection838@reddit

I still booger up a transmission or two.

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Perfect_Big_5907@reddit

Don't worry. It will come. Just think. 1. who you calling? Tower etc., 2. who you are ( call sign) 3. What you are going to do ( at fbo ready to taxi, taxiing to RW1 etc.

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rbuckfly@reddit

I rehearsed coms while chair flying.

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BazingaBeeKay@reddit

I’m at 13.6 hours and I’m at a point where I’m taking 95% of calls with instructor.

I always listened to my instructor or others take calls and see how it is. A lot of it was in my head.

I just repeat instructions they give me with my call sign. Not too bad anymore.

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