Made a List of what to say to ATC on Vatsim, for beginners.

[Victor Jacobsen 1376119]

Hi! I made this chart of what to say to ATC on vatsim. Not very complex, but hope somebody will find this handy.

 

https://docs.google.com/docomeent/d/1nt67fh-Q2DAUjc2KPSCE3Hcw1jLYrj1smvwHxh1xknQ/edit?usp=sharing

[Josh Glottmann]

*Note: phraseology is more European/ICAO. Not entirely applicable to FAA.

[Bradley Grafelman]

If you're a beginner reading this as your only source of guidance, please understand the problems [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ociated with a "Monkey see, monkey do" approach.

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

some of the phraseology is questionable even by ICAO standards, but something better then nothing. check CAP413 for full phraseology examples

https://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413%20MAY16.2.pdf

[Thimo Koolen]

Besides all airports are different. As far as I'm aware, multiple EU airports have auto handoff procedures to departure or ground. At some airports, delivery can't give a startup clearance etc.

[Krisztian Kormos 1391069]

This is cool, I'd love to see one for VFR flight as well.

[Ernesto Alvarez 818262]

many flight schools offer a free download with common communications. the one i went to for example offered students a few http://flymiami.com/downloads.html

 

for the US there are plenty of communications aids. AOPA offers various free and paid tutorials, there are also apps on Itunes to help students master radio communications

 

and if you've got the funds, or access through a flight school, there is software called Comm1, which will definitely help you with all types of radio communications for VFR and IFR

[Robert Shearman Jr]

VATSTAR offers VFR and IFR phrase guides (optimized for FAA but fairly applicable most places). Come to www.vatstar.com, register as a student, then look under "Resources" and "More...". You don't necessarily have to plan to take advantage of our Pilot Rating programs in order to register and enjoy the free resources.

[Jonathan Fong]

Interesting docomeent. Most of the terminology looks good, but there are some issues -

 

1. It's not good practice to say things such as 'good day'. On a busy frequency it'll just clog up the voice channel. On a less busy frequency it'd be okay, but best to start good habits right from the outset.

 

2. Not all terminal control frequencies are '(airport name) approach (or departure)' - depending on the region you're flying to, the latter part of the callsign could be, say, 'Director' or 'Arrival' (or even 'Control' in a few cases). Neither is the airport name always the first part of the callsign - sometimes the callsign for the station will differ from the airport name for some reason. It's always best to check the relevant charts and get the actual callsign for each station rather than blindly following a generic rule.

 

3. On the topic of ATC stations, the 'frequency' column is a bit too restricting in my opinion - it makes no allowance for the top-down priority system on VATSIM, which might confuse a newbie who wouldn't know what to do if, say, only CTR was online.

 

4. Not all possible terms are given. This is an inherent issue of using such a table format - controllers could easily mix and match commands and give ones like flying VOR radials or other, less common instructions. A more flexible format might be better.

 

Overall, good concept but needs better implementation.

[Robert Shearman Jr]

You know, I looked this over in more detail, and it's really not that dissimilar to the guide we have posted at VATSTAR.

 

No, the terminology's not universally applicable nor is it perfect, nor does it allow for every possible case and contingency. But when you're compiling a docomeent like this, you're on a very broad continuum, ranging from "easy to follow" to "covers all possibilities" -- and as a resource for beginners, you definitely want to stick to the left side of that spectrum and keep it simple. For someone just starting who has no idea what to say nor how to say it, it's a great start. All of the nuance & finer points mentioned in the replies above will become evident with experience.

 

So instead of joining on the nitpick bandwagon, my hat is off to the original poster for putting it together and sharing it with the community.

[Emma Jackson 1348796]

So instead of joining on the nitpick bandwagon, my hat is off to the original poster for putting it together and sharing it with the community.

 

Exactly. Wow.

 

I know it's alright to add a disclaimer that what you that YMMV, but let's not be pedantic here. This is a good guide for beginners who are trying to wrap their head around phraseology.

[Chris Kirkman 1396980]

I agree with the last 2 posts. This is one of the most annoying things for me as a flight simmer new to using ATC. It seems like one of the more fun and challenging aspects of flying in a simulator...but the act of "just sitting on the tarmac listening" isn't always the best way to get up in the air, even for a short flight.

 

I've wanted to do short 30 minute flights where I take off from my local airport and do a little sight-seeing followed by a return to the same airport. I never hear any chatter like that on VATSIM, but I still want to do it. From what I've read this is doable (is it piloting?), but can't just contact the ATC asking "how do I do this?" without feeling like I'll be ridiculed.

 

So, instead I do really short, quick flights between Melbourne, FL and Orlando, FL where I can ask for a "direct to" VFR flight. But, there are still times when I don't understand the commands, or know how to respond. I know what I want to do, just don't always know how to speak the lingo.

[Robert Shearman Jr]

Chris, check out the VFR and IFR phrase guides at VATSTAR. Once you register and get validated, look under "Resources" and "More...". I think you'll find them helpful.

[Brian Wilks]

Chris

 

A lot of people find sample transcripts of Pilot-ATC communications useful in getting used to common phrases and the overall flow of communications.

 

Los Angeles ARTCC have some example transcripts for simple VFR flights here https://laartcc.org/article/vfr-part-2-patterns-short-hop-long-hop

 

and Pilot Edge have some more extensive transcripts (including more advanced VFR stuff) here https://www.pilotedge.net/pages/cat-ratings

 

They might be the sort of thing that will make you feel a bit more comfortable about saying the right thing - and about what you can expect ATC to be saying to you at various stages of the flight.

 

Hope they help.

 

Brian.

 

P.S. And, of course, as Robert has just mentioned above, one of the best ways of all to learn about all aspects of VatSim is to join one of the dedicated training organisations such as the one he's a member of.

[Chris Kirkman 1396980]

Thanks Brian and Rob. It is incredible how many of the VATSIM members are here to help each other. This seems like a tight group of individuals who really are intent on getting people up in the air, and to safely navigate the virtual skies...while having a great time as well. I've got a medical condition that will never let me fly a real aircraft, so for me this is as good as it's ever going to be. I'm really glad I stumbled upon all this after starting flying with X Plane back in December. I think 7 months of flying offline should be a tremendous help as I move forward. And I should be re-iterate, that's 7 months of flying almost every night after work and most weekends.

[Robert Higgins]

Niice work, I appreciate it !

 

Will watch your recommended videos next.

 

Used your sheets to make up my own version

 

Thanks again !

[Manuel Teichmann]

On 5/16/2017 at 8:23 PM, Victor Jacobsen 1376119 said:

Hi! I made this chart of what to say to ATC on vatsim. Not very complex, but hope somebody will find this handy.

 

https://docs.google.com/docomeent/d/1nt67fh-Q2DAUjc2KPSCE3Hcw1jLYrj1smvwHxh1xknQ/edit?usp=sharing

Hi Victor, I'm as newby as someone could be :) and your list is a great help for me to get my first flight somehow in one piece from A to B, will try out EDDM to EDDB. Exactly what I was looking for and I can still get more into detail and read 400 pages of instructions at a later point in time. Thanks a lot!!