Radio Competence
--Poor radio procedures in a high performance aircraft must embarrass the aircraft.
--Time spend flying should challenge opportunities to use the radio correctly.
--Practice your phrasing for smoothness and to eliminate punctuation and pauses.
--There should be no
--The procedures to use with the FSS are different and just as specific as those with Flight Watch, TRACON, the uncontrolled airport, or a Tower.
--The competent pilot knows when he is unfamiliar and says so to all concerned.
--According to the FARs you don't need to read back a clearance but it is wise to do so.
--Read back all runway assignments on the air or ground. Readback all hold short instructions.
--Get the ATIS before ATC has to ask and be sure to say you have it.
--Expect each facility to have its differences in procedure and individuals who differ even more.
--Think ahead of what you are going to need to say. Give accurate position reports.
--Don't say, this is…with you…twenty-five hundred…over a location…feet…mile...runway

Ground Communications Outlet (GCO)
Procedure before departing IFR from an airfield that requires using a Ground Communications Outlet (GCO) to contact the ARTCC, FSS, or facility to get a weather information, close a flight plan or clearance as explained in the AIM. The GCO system is intended to be used only on the ground. You must use one second long mike switch clicks four times to make automated voice advise you that it is dialing a specific ATC facility. Six such clicks will connect you to an FSS. I believe Truckee, CA has such an outlet.

Instructional Communications
The initial presumption of a problem is that instructors train for single pilot independence as opposed to team work between those in the cockpit. I plead guilty that I teach my students early on to be situationally aware and precise in their radio communications. My only compromise to team effort is that I require all students to rehearse their planned communications over the intercom prior to keying the radio. I critique, as I feel required. Everything is taped.

Ground Operations
For the proportion of time dual training spends on the airport, a very high number of communications incidents happen. 1/3 of all reports occurred during the pre-takeoff operations. An additional 1/3 of the incidents occurred during the post landing operation. This tends to confirm that ground operations are not the best place to teach students how to use the radio. Personally, I never let the aircraft start until we have made a complete review of all air and ground communications going and coming.

Air Operations
44% of communication incidents occurred in Class Delta airspace. This seems to mean that dual
airport operations require better management of instructional communications.

In the Cockpit
Inside the cockpit communications were a major problem which included erroneous, confusing or misleading statements or instructions. I must plea mea culpa in this region simply because I seem to frequently misstate left for right or right for left.  However, I always insist student to contact tower to verify either instructions or clearance as the case may be.  

The areas of communications problems:
--Instructor made misleading or confusing directions with student taking wrong action.
--Instructor misinterpreted ATC and student took no or wrong action.
--Instructor failed to communicate with student and student took no or wrong action.
--21% of problems were related to radio or intercom operational difficulties
--Nearly 25% of ground incidents were the result of instructional process interference with ATC.
--75% of incidents involved failure to follow ATC requirements with resulting violation of FARs.
--The conflict between inter-cockpit and ATC demands require further study.
--Intermittent microphone switch problems.

Where Communication Problems Occur
--Highest level of difficulty lies within 1000 feet of airport surface.
--Students have difficulty following CFI instructions
--20% of problems related to communications equipment.
--Identification of dual flight training aircraft as…"Cessna trainer…

Radio Failure Lessons
(NORDO ATC term for no radio)
Only twenty years ago 90 frequencies were usual with a mix of both tubes and transistors. It was difficult flying across the U.S. to Quebec, Canada, having only half of the required frequencies. Radio failure procedures were more often under actual conditions twenty years ago. By the third lesson I did a radio failure arrival to remove the shock of an actual occurrence. This is an exercise that is not part of many training programs today.

Since the advent of the transistor the frequency of radio failure has greatly declined. However, component failure such as speakers, microphones, switches, or headsets does occur. It is wise to have some spares available. The spare mike in the luggage space is useless to the solo pilot, however. At some point every pilot should practice NORDO procedures with a safety pilot monitoring the radio on a headset. ATC is very cooperative. Just advise them of your request for a NORDO, intentions and procedure you expect to follow. The known existence of a single NORDO aircraft does not create a serious ATC problem.  

I now conduct a simulated radio failure lesson by requesting of the tower approval of a NORDO (no radio) arrival with the proviso that I will maintain a headset listening watch of the procedure. I will remove the student's headset and have them make an airport arrival without any communication. I have the student over-fly the airport at twice pattern altitude and make a determination of the runway in use. We then proceed outbound on a reverse 45 while descending to pattern altitude. Well clear of the pattern we make a course reversal and proceed inbound on a 45 to the downwind. We maintain a continuous watch of the tower for a light signal.

--A steady green light must be observed before a landing can be made.

Even without a light signal we continue in the pattern, downwind, base and final. No landing will be made unless a continuous green light is observed. This is a very worthwhile experience for every student and should relieve some anxiety about, "What if...

--Landings can be legally made without radio at uncontrolled airports.

It would be possible to land at an uncontrolled airport and phone a controlled airport tower and advise them of your intentions to make a no-radio (NORDO) arrival. Such a phone call is required to land at a Class C airport. They will give you an arrival slot and route so that you can be identified on arrival. The average time of inadvertent (low volume, switch off) radio failure is about 8 minutes. Low time in type is likely cause. One reason not to use a cell phone except in a flight emergency is that you can be billed for every relay transmitter you activate. Story is that one pilot received a bill for $350.

A handheld nav/com is the easy but rather expensive solution to nav/com failure. Such failure is not an emergency in VFR conditions. Without radios there are alternative methods to handle all airspaces except certain Class B situations and Class A. Radio failure can be very deceptive. If you have been communicating and nothing happens for a while, make a trial contact to confirm all is well such as, "Podunk Approach radio check. ATC radios do fail on occasion.

Radio Failure Actions
Fly the plane
Check controls and settings
Check mike
Check cables and plugs
Check breakers and fuses
Check on another frequency

NORDO procedures
An older NORDO arrival method consisted of circling the tower at five hundred feet above the tower in ever widening circles until the controllers gave you the steady green. You respond to the steady green by wagging the wings and entering downwind to the appropriate runway. You should still be expecting and getting a green light prior to landing. especially on final.
--Phone ahead and plan NORDO arrival
--Remain clear and determine airport pattern
--Enter on 45 to longest runway, show a light
--Watch for light signals and aircraft
--Acknowledge light signals with wings/lights

 

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