TowerTalkFor US student pilots
Practice talking to ATC before your first solo
An AI controller that answers like a real Ground, Tower, Approach or CTAF at more than 4,700 US public-use airports, with the current METAR and the real traffic near the field, and grades every transmission against FAA phraseology written from the AIM and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Set your standard to US and the exercises, scenarios, study cards, journeys and the comms exam all follow.
Your airport, not a made-up one
Search any of the 4,700+ public-use airports in the FAA's NASR data and practice there, with its real Ground, Tower, ATIS, CTAF and approach frequencies, updated on the FAA's 28-day cycle.
Towered and non-towered
Work Ground and Tower with hold-short readbacks and 'line up and wait', or self-announce on the CTAF with simulated pattern traffic and a UNICOM that answers when asked.
Flight following, Class B, C and D
Request VFR flight following from Approach, read back a squawk, answer a traffic call with 'traffic in sight' or 'negative contact', and get cleared into the Bravo before you enter it.
Graded against the AIM, not a script
The examiner is framed as a flight instructor or designated pilot examiner listening to your radio work, and each point of feedback carries its AIM or Pilot/Controller Glossary paragraph so you can check it yourself.
Real weather and real traffic
The altimeter you read back is today's, from the airport's current METAR, and the traffic the controller sequences you with is the real ADS-B traffic near the field, with its real call signs.
A checkride-style radio check
There is no separate radio license in the US, so the mock exam is a checkride-style radio check: a full VFR flight from the ramp to the tie-down, every call graded, with a report of what you missed.
How it works
- 1
Set your standard to US
One switch in your profile. Everything on the platform follows it.
- 2
Pick your airport
A featured field or any public-use airport from the search.
- 3
Make the call
Push-to-talk to the AI controller. It answers to what you actually said.
- 4
Read the feedback
What was right, what was wrong, and the AIM paragraph for each.
Frequently asked
Is TowerTalk approved by the FAA?
No. TowerTalk is a training aid. Its US phraseology is written in our own words from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, the Pilot/Controller Glossary and Order JO 7110.65, with paragraph references, and those documents, your instructor and your examiner are the authorities.
Does it use the phraseology I'll hear in the US?
Yes. On the US standard the controller and the grader use FAA conventions: altimeter in inches, 'point' in frequencies, N-number identifications, 'line up and wait', 'cleared for the option', flight following, CTAF self-announcing. UK-only wording such as QNH and 'freecall' does not appear.
Can I practice at my home airport?
Almost certainly. The airport search covers the 4,700 or so public-use airports in the FAA's NASR data, towered and non-towered, with their frequencies. Add yours and it appears in every picker.
Is it free to try?
Yes. The radio check needs no account. A free account gives you all the study material, the free assessment (one graded question from every exercise, with a summary of where you stand) and one free mock exam. Paid plans unlock the full graded exercises, scenarios, journeys and the AI controller with the current weather and real-time traffic.
Where is TowerTalk based, and what currency are the prices in?
TowerTalk is a UK company and prices are shown in pounds sterling. The platform, the airports, the weather and the traffic all work for US flying regardless.
Make your first call somewhere it doesn't matter
Free to start. Hear how a real facility answers, and find out what to fix before a real controller does.
Start training freeRelated: Your first radio call as a student pilot · CTAF radio calls · VFR flight following · FAA radio phraseology basics · AI ATC simulator