Getting on the radio for the first time
The hardest transmission you will ever make is the first one, and it is the one with the simplest rule: say who you are calling, say who you are, and stop. Everything else comes after they answer.
Listen before you transmit
Select the frequency and listen. You are checking two things: that the frequency is the one you meant, and that nobody is mid-exchange. Transmitting over someone else blocks both of you, and neither message gets through.
Then make the shortest call there is. Station first, then you.
“Norwich Approach, G-ABCD”
That is the whole initial call. You are asking for permission to speak, not delivering the message. The controller decides when they are ready for you.
“Pass your message”
This is the controller telling you they are listening and you should now say the rest. It is not a question and it is not a criticism. It is the normal reply to an initial call.
What they want, in this order — CARPAI:
- C — Callsign
- A — Aircraft type
- R — Route (departure → destination)
- P — Position
- A — Altitude & QNH
- I — Intentions / info (VFR, routing, request)
“G-ABCD, Cessna 152, Leicester to East Midlands, overhead Syston, 1900FT, QNH 1000, VFR routing via Shepshed Lane”
When you are asked for everything at once
Some units take the whole message on the first call, and some students prefer to have it ready either way. This is the same information in the order it is usually taught — ADDPAA.
- A — Aircraft type
- D — Departure (where you came from)
- D — Destination (where you're going)
- P — Position
- A — Altitude
- A — Additional information — a request or the service you want
“Norwich Approach, G-ABCD, Cessna 152, from Beccles to Norwich, overhead Bungay, 2000FT, request Basic Service”
How to structure your initial message (after the station name + your callsign).
Your callsign, and the word STUDENT
Four rules, and the last one is the one students most often miss.
- Use your FULL callsign (every letter, phonetically) on first contact with a station.
- Abbreviation is led by ATC: only once the controller shortens your callsign — first letter plus the last two, e.g. G-ABCD → “G-CD” — may you use the short form. Never abbreviate first, and never drop the callsign entirely.
- Placement: on an initial call the callsign follows the station name (“<station>, <callsign>”); on a read-back it may go at the start or the end.
- Solo student pilots prefix the callsign with “STUDENT” on initial contact with a unit (CAP 413 §2.35); once acknowledged it need not be repeated.
Who you are actually talking to
The suffix on the station name tells you what you are going to get, and it changes what you may ask for. Asking a Radio station to clear you for anything is the classic first-solo mistake — it cannot, and it is not being unhelpful.
- Tower (ATC)
- Controls the airfield — issues clearances and instructions (taxi, line-up, take-off, landing). Use “request taxi”.
- Approach / Radar
- A radar service (Basic, Traffic or Deconfliction). Free-call “inbound” for joining instructions.
- “Radio” (Air/Ground, AGCS)
- Information only — no instructions or clearances; you stay responsible for your decisions. Use “request taxi information”.
- “Information” (FIS, e.g. London Information)
- A Flight Information / Basic Service for en-route VFR traffic.
- “Ground” (Ground Movement Control)
- Controls aircraft and vehicles taxiing on the manoeuvring area — issues taxi instructions and clearances. Found at busier ATC aerodromes; suffix “Ground”.
- “Delivery” (Clearance Delivery)
- Passes your departure / route clearance before you taxi, to keep the Ground and Tower frequencies clear. Busier aerodromes only; suffix “Delivery”.
The words that mean something specific
Plain English is fine when no standard word exists. Where one does exist, it is the one to use, because it has one meaning and everybody on frequency knows it.
- Affirm
- Yes / that is correct.
- Negative
- No / not correct / permission not granted / not able.
- Standby
- Wait and I will call you. It is not an approval or a clearance.
- Roger
- I have received all of your last transmission. It does NOT mean “yes” and does NOT mean you will comply.
- Wilco
- “Will comply” — I understand your message and will comply with it.
- Say again
- Repeat all, or the following part, of your last transmission.
- I say again
- I am repeating my own transmission for clarity or emphasis.
- Correction
- An error has been made; the correct version is…
- Disregard
- Consider that transmission as not sent.
- Acknowledge
- Let me know you have received and understood this message.
- Read back
- Repeat all, or the specified part, of this message back to me exactly as received.
- Unable
- I cannot comply with your request or instruction (usually followed by the reason).
- Approved
- Permission for the proposed action is granted.
- Over
- My transmission is ended and I expect a reply (often omitted on VHF where it's obvious).
- Out
- My transmission is ended and no reply is expected (rarely needed on VHF).
Practise this at your airfield
Reading it is the easy half. Pick your own airfield, with its real frequencies and today’s weather, and say these calls out loud until they stop being something you remember and start being something you do.
Find your airfield →Written from the same vetted study data the app uses, and checked against it on 11 September 2026. TowerTalk is a training aid: your instructor and your examiner are the authority on whether you are ready.