Preparing for the FRTOL practical

The practical is a simulated flight, on the ground, with an examiner playing every station you call. It is not a memory test. It is a test of whether you can run a normal flight on the radio without the examiner having to help you. Here is what the CAA says happens on the day, and the readbacks the marks turn on.

What you are actually being tested for

Two separate licences get confused constantly, and only one of them is about you.

Flight Radiotelephony Operator's Licence (FRTOL): licenses YOU to operate an aircraft radio. You need it to transmit on aeronautical frequencies as pilot in command.
It is gained by a practical RT test (with the written exam), assessed against CAP 413 — the UK radiotelephony manual.
OFCOM Aircraft Radio Licence: a separate licence for the aircraft's radio EQUIPMENT. The FRTOL covers you, the operator; the OFCOM licence covers the installation.

CAP 2325 puts the purpose of the practical in one sentence: to verify that you have the knowledge and skill to operate the radio safely on board an aircraft and understand standard radiotelephony phraseology (paragraph 3.13). Every candidate is assessed against the standard phraseology in the latest edition of CAP 413 (3.17).

Before you book

Four things have to be true before an examiner will start the test, all from CAP 2325 chapter 3.

Theory first: The PPL Communications theoretical exam must be completed before the practical (3.4, 3.14). A pass is valid for 24 months towards licence issue, and if you sit the exam with your other PPL, LAPL or NPPL theory papers, all of them must be passed within 18 months (3.6–3.7). The CAA has not issued new aeroplane LAPLs since 1 October 2025; existing LAPL holders, and the LAPL for helicopters, sailplanes and balloons, continue.
A signed SRG1171: You complete the form before booking and present it to the examiner before the test starts. It confirms the minimum radiotelephony training has been done and must be signed by the person at your training organisation responsible for it (3.9, 3.11). If you are not on a recognised course you may self-certify, and the examiner then checks your knowledge by questioning before the test begins (3.10). Who can sign it.
Live-radio experience: A candidate with no experience of two-way radiotelephony in a live environment must have practical training before being presented for test, either during flight training or in a simulated environment; without evidence of it the examiner will not start the test (note to 3.22).
You make the booking: Finding and contacting an approved FRTOL examiner is your responsibility, though your training organisation should be able to assist (3.8). How to find one.

On the day

CAP 2325 sets out the running order, the timings and the kit. This is that chapter in plain English, with the paragraph for each point.

What you show: Photo identification such as a passport or driving licence; your completed and signed SRG1171; evidence of your Communications exam pass; and, after a previous fail, the SRG2129 report and an SRG1171 confirming any further training (3.12).
What you bring: A current CAA 1:500,000 VFR chart for the region agreed with the examiner (1:250,000 by prior agreement in some cases, such as helicopter candidates), chart pens and a rule, and note paper and a pen (3.28).
What stays outside: Any electronic device that can communicate or record, smart watches and phones included. Candidates who have been briefed and are waiting are not allowed access to them either (3.29).
What the examiner provides: A completed flight plan for the route with departure, destination, alternate, tracks, headings, altitudes and times, a route brief, simulated weather and NOTAMs; the standard CAA candidate brief; a frequency reference card; and the RTF aide memoire, which you may use during planning and during the test. Nothing else may be used as an aide memoire, and everything is returned at the end (3.26, 3.41).
The brief: The test starts when the candidate brief starts (3.39). The examiner reads the standard CAA brief, discloses the route, gives you about five minutes to plot it on the chart, then briefs the route and the test (3.34–3.38).
Planning: A further 20 minutes. Notes made in that time can be used during the test (3.40).
The flight: A simulated VFR flight between two aerodromes with at least one turning point, on equipment the examiner provides, with you and the examiner in separate rooms (3.22). You play a licensed pilot flying solo in a serviceable aircraft with a VHF radio and a transponder with altitude reporting (3.21), using a callsign agreed beforehand (3.20). The examiner plays an air/ground operator, a FISO or an air traffic controller as the route demands, and stays in role unless they say otherwise (3.30–3.31). Aerodrome information is generic rather than the real procedures for that airfield (3.25). It runs at your pace, with a flight plan time of at least 30 minutes and not more than about an hour (3.42).
The emergency: At least one. The route brief tells you how you will be alerted. You must transmit the call in full and in the correct order, and a delay of more than 30 seconds before starting it is considered too long (3.43–3.44).
Afterwards: Scenario-based questions on the phraseology used on the route, or on anything your aircraft category meant could not be assessed (3.46); then the result and a debrief, whatever the result (3.47–3.48). Candidates who pass get a short CAA safety presentation (3.50). Your notes are destroyed and the route is erased from your chart (3.45).
If it does not go well: The examiner explains the reasons and completes form SRG2129 with any further training required (4.4). Retraining may be recommended after a first fail and is mandatory after a second, when the CAA is informed; a third test is conducted by a CAA-nominated senior examiner, and each attempt uses a different route (4.1, 4.5–4.6, 4.9–4.11). You may ask the CAA within 14 days to determine whether the test was properly conducted (4.13).

Source: CAP 2325, Guidance for Flight Radiotelephony Operator’s Licence (FRTOL) Candidates, second edition, August 2024 (version 2.1), read 9 October 2026. The CAA amends it as required, so check the current version before you book.

The shape of the test

You are given a scenario and you fly it by radio, start to finish. These are the phases it is built from — if you can run every one of them without stopping, the test has nothing left to ask you.

Get the weather first: Listen to the ATIS if the field broadcasts one, or ask the station for airfield information. Note the information letter, the runway in use and the QNH.
Set up: Set your altimeter to that QNH and note the active runway.
Initial call & taxi: Tune the aerodrome frequency. Make your first call with your FULL callsign and request a radio check + taxi (ATC: “request taxi”; AGCS: “request taxi information”).
Read back: Read back the taxi instructions, runway and QNH.
Departure: At the holding point, when cleared, read back the line-up / take-off clearance (and any conditional clearance, ending with “behind”).
Leaving the zone: Request a frequency change to your next service.
New frequency: Make your initial call; when told “pass your message”, give your details using CARPAI.
En route: Give position reports using CPTANE when asked or at reporting points.
Arrival: Nearing your destination, free-call the approach/radar unit “inbound”, pass your details, and get joining instructions.
Join & land: Change to Tower, report as instructed, join the circuit and land — reading back the landing clearance.
If it goes wrong: Use PAN-PAN (urgency) or MAYDAY (distress), each spoken three times, then the message content.

You can run the whole sequence before you book: the mock FRTOL exam takes you through these phases with every call graded, and FRTOL practice lets you re-fly any one of them on its own.

Where marks are lost: readbacks

CAP 413 lists the messages that must come back in full, and an examiner is listening for every one of them. An item that had to come back in full and came back as “Roger” is the classic lost mark. This is the list.

Taxi and towing instructions
Level instructions
Heading instructions
Speed instructions
Airways or route clearances
Approach clearances
Runway-in-use
Clearance to enter, land on, take off on, backtrack, cross or hold short of any active runway
SSR (squawk) operating instructions
Altimeter settings — including the units when the value is below 1000 hectopascals
VDF information
Frequency changes
Type of ATS service
Transition levels

CAP 413 Edition 24, §2.69. End every readback with your callsign. A conditional clearance is read back with the condition FIRST and in the same sequence it was given — “behind the landing Cessna, line up runway two four, behind”. Read back complete and in order: an incomplete read-back is harder to spot than a wrong one.

Roger, Wilco, or the whole thing back

These three are not interchangeable, and an examiner is listening for which one you reach for.

Roger: “I have received your last transmission.” Acknowledges information only. It does NOT mean you will comply, it is never used where a readback is required, and it is never the answer to a question — use “Affirm” or “Negative” for that.
Wilco: “Will comply” — I understand your message and will comply with it. Use to acknowledge an instruction you will act on, e.g. after “report final” → “Wilco, G-ABCD.”
Report …: An instruction to tell the controller when you reach a point or condition, e.g. “report final”, “report field in sight”, “report downwind”. Acknowledge it now — “Wilco, G-ABCD” (or read back the report point) — then actually make the report when you get there.

The radio check you will be asked for

It opens most tests, and the scale has five points with specific meanings.

Readability 1: Unreadable
Readability 2: Readable now and then
Readability 3: Readable but with difficulty
Readability 4: Readable
Readability 5: Perfectly readable

Given in reply to a radio check, e.g. “G-ABCD, readability 5”. Readability is information only — acknowledge it, don't read it back.

FRTOL practical test FAQs

Short answers, each from CAP 2325 unless it says otherwise.

How long does the FRTOL practical test take?

CAP 2325 gives the shape rather than a total: the standard candidate brief, about five minutes to plot the route, 20 minutes of planning, a simulated flight planned to last between 30 minutes and about an hour, then scenario-based questions, the result and a debrief. Ask your examiner how long to allow on the day.

What do I need to bring to the FRTOL practical?

Photo identification such as a passport or driving licence, your completed and signed SRG1171, evidence of your Communications exam pass and, if you have failed before, the examiner's SRG2129 report and an SRG1171 confirming any additional training. You also bring a current CAA 1:500,000 VFR chart for the region agreed with your examiner, chart pens and a rule, and note paper and a pen. No phones, smart watches or anything else that can communicate or record are allowed in the room.

Do I have to pass the Communications theory exam before the practical?

Yes. CAP 2325 says the Communications theoretical examination must be completed before the practical test, and that if a different examiner conducted it you show the practical examiner evidence of the pass. Each pass is valid for 24 months towards licence issue.

Will I know the test route in advance?

No. The route is selected at random on the day and kept away from areas and airfields you know, and examiners must not disclose routes in advance. You choose the chart region; the examiner chooses the route within it.

What happens if I fail the FRTOL practical?

The examiner debriefs you, explains the reasons and completes form SRG2129 with any further training required. Retraining may be recommended after a first fail and is mandatory after a second, when the examiner also informs the CAA, and a third attempt is conducted by a senior examiner the CAA nominates. CAP 2325 says a candidate is entitled to three attempts, each on a different route. After any fail you may ask the CAA, within 14 days, to determine whether the test was properly conducted.

How can I practise aviation radio calls before the test?

CAP 2325 requires a candidate with no experience of two-way radio in a live environment to have practical training first, in flight or in a simulated environment, so start with your instructor. Between lessons, TowerTalk's mock FRTOL exam runs the same phases with every call graded against CAP 413, and FRTOL practice lets you repeat any one phase on its own. Neither is the test, and neither counts towards it.

The form afterwards

The practical is recorded on the SRG1171, the CAA’s training and application form. Who may sign it, and what TowerTalk can and cannot do about it, is covered separately.

Worth reading before you book, because it decides who you book with: what the SRG1171 is and who can sign it, and how to find an FRTOL examiner. TowerTalk does not conduct, book or sign off any part of the test: passing the mock exam here is practice, not a pass.

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 9 October 2026. TowerTalk is a training aid: your instructor and your examiner are the authority on whether you are ready.