What do tower controllers really want you to know? We had a chat with one to find out…
1) Know What You Want to Say Before You Key Up the Mic.
When we’re swamped with work, we simply don’t have the leisure for an excessive amount of those “uhhhs” and “ummms”. Such pauses eat up precious time that could be dedicated to handling more pressing tasks, and they also increase the frequency of congestion, blocking out other pilots trying to reach us.
2) Let Ground and Tower Know You Are a Student Pilot.
Despite our perhaps sometimes less-than-perfect attitudes, we are truly here to assist you. If we learn in advance that you are a student pilot, we’ll be aware not to issue you instructions that might make you feel uncomfortable, like short approaches and the like. (Note: You should only need to inform each controller once that you are a student pilot.)
3) Read Back Instructions with Your Callsign in the Same Transmission.
If we don’t receive the readback along with your callsign in the same transmission, we’ll be compelled to keep going back to you until we do. This wastes both our time and yours.
4) Never Be Afraid to Say “Unable”.
If you can’t comply with a particular requirement, speak up and we’ll work things out.
5) Unless Otherwise Informed, PLEASE Acknowledge All Instructions.
Certain things don’t require a readback, but when instructions are given, at least provide your callsign. Note: You can never go wrong by reading back the entire instruction.
6) When Tower Tells You to “Standby”, Don’t Read the Instruction Back.
We’re asking you to maintain radio silence until we have the chance to get back to you. There could be various reasons why we might ask you to stand by, such as waiting for a readback from another pilot, communicating with another controller, or updating the weather.
7) Departing VFR from a Class C or B Airport?
When departing from a Class C or B airport, provide all your information to Clearance Delivery and let them know whether you want flight following all the way to your destination or just to get out of the airspace.
Be patient when requesting departure from a Class C or B airport. When you make the call, the controller needs to type in all your details into the NAS. This might take some time. Don’t worry if you don’t get an immediate response.
