NEWS!

The General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo) held a webinar recently on the subject of airspace infringements. There was a lot of useful information much of which related to the use of RTF including Frequency Monitoring Codes (FMC) aka ‘listening squawks, what to do when lost, planning your flight (including frequencies that you may need) DACS, DAAIS, ATSOCAS etc etc.

The recording can be watched here.

Also present was Amanda Rhodes (Air Traffic Controller, Luton and Stansted). Amanda’s talk (starting at 32:00 mins into the online session) was very interesting as it was from the perspective of the air traffic controller. A great deal of RTF training is understanding the view from ‘the other side’, as having this empathy helps when planning your flight and making requests to, for example cross controlled airspace.

There were a couple of reference made to ‘sounding slick’ over the radio in order to maximise your chances of getting a clearance. I am not sure I agree 100% with that. At least in my experience the controllers do all they can to assist those pilots who appear to be less confident.

Back in 2004, my friend and I flew an identical route through London City, Stansted, Luton, Heathrow, Solent and Gatwick airspace initially in his Aztec with me on the radio in my then rather unconfident PPL manner and then again in my C172 with his rather more confident ATPL manner. The result…the same clearance were given and the pretty much the same route flown. Flyer published the article and I have uploaded it here.

The pages related to renewing your expired FRTOL have been updated, read the latest here.

CAA form SRG 1171 and CAP 2325 are designed to provide the candidate with as much information as possible before they attempt the FRTOL Practical Test. CAP 2325 states that…

“Prior to booking the Practical Test, the candidate must complete form SRG1171 and present this to the FRTOL Examiner. Form SRG1171 confirms that the minimum required Radiotelephony training has been completed prior to the Practical Test. It also confirms to the FRTOL Examiner that the candidate is aware of the subject matter and knowledge required in order to pass the test”.

One of the first questions I ask a prospective candidate is “Have you read CAP 2325?” This tends to focus the mind. Recently, a prospective candidate (from a regular ATO) approached to book their FRTOL assessment. I wasn’t getting a warm feeling that the candidate was as aware as perhaps others have been but it is not the job of the examiner to prejudge the candidate, just assess on the assessment evidence. 24 hrs before the assessment another instructor at the ATO telephoned to say that he had been asked to sign off the SRG 1171 and he simply was able to because there was no evidence that all the elements of the training had been completed. “That’s a Good Call!” in my book. The candidate can make sure they have completed the training and I am sure they’ll make a more confident candidate when it comes to the assessment. I am sure that’s what the CAA had in mind when designing the procedure, so well done to the instructor and ATO concerned!

Recently, when booking candidate’s FRTOL Practical Tests, I have been hearing…

“I have read CAP 413”

Unfortunately, that isn’t enough. Detailed knowledge of CAP 413 certainly is required but on top of that the ability to place the RTF calls correctly during the different flight phases of flight (e.g. departure, en route, approach, diversion, emergencies) and in the context of the various categories of service inside and outside controlled airspace (i.e. Air Traffic Control (ATC), Flight Information Service (FIS) and Air/Ground Communication Service (AGCS)) is necessary in order to be able to apply the information contained in CAP413. We have recently updated our training material – take a look!

Rehearse! Rehearse! Rehearse!

Approach the FRTOL Practical Test as a performance like actors do. Rehearse all the various different procedures either with online tools, a fellow pilot or a long-suffering partner! If you cannot find a suitable practice partner, then contact us and arrange 1:1 sessions.

We have updated our FRTOL course material The aim of our FRTOL course is to fully prepare candidates for both the Communications Theoretical Examination (TK) and the NEW UK CAA FRTOL Practical Test.

The traditional technique of learning to correctly use the radio in an aircraft by magical ‘instructor-to-student’ osmosis never did work and the NEW UK CAA FRTOL Practical Test will, no doubt, bring that into sharp focus.

Our course closely follows the UK CAA Communications Theory Learning Objectives (LO) and SRG 1171 Flight Radiotelephony Operators Licence (FRTOL) Practical Test Training Syllabus – Record of Completion to make sure that the candidate is fully prepared to be assessed against SRG 2160, Flight Radiotelephony Operators Licence (FRTOL) Practical Test Report Form. The course takes approximately 2-days to complete.

If this course is what you are looking for then please “Pass your message!”

Having done a few of the new FRTOL practical tests now, some themes are beginning to emerge, here are a few that I made a note of…

1. Where a CAP413 procedure exists and this procedure is demanded by the FRTOL route, then the procedure the candidate uses must be as per CAP413. A number of candidates are using procedures that do not accurately reflect those in CAP413.
2. Using words and phrases that are not included in CAP413 Section 2.18 Standard Words and Phrases should not be used i.e. “copy” e.g. in the context of receiving the weather, “looking” or “keeping a good lookout” e.g. when receiving traffic information.
3. Incorrect pronunciation of numbers e.g. “Fifteen” instead of “Wun Fife”, ”Two zero zero zero” instead of ”Too tousand”
4. Understanding the difference between the different Categories of Service i.e. Air Traffic Control (ATC), Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) and Air Ground Communication Service (AGCS). Specifically, knowing the difference between “Report lined up” in the AFIS context and “Runway ##, line up and wait” in the ATC context.
5. Incorrect initial call made when inbound to an airfield that provides AGCS, AFIS and AGCS.
6. Understanding that the concept of ATSOCAS does not exist inside CAS.
7. Including the ’request’ element of the procedure to the initial call and excluding it from the response to ”Pass your message”.
8. The correct response when passed traffic information: ”Traffic in sight” or ”Traffic not sighted” phrases like ”Keeping a good look out” or simply ”Looking” are non-standard and not really that helpful to the serving ATSU.

For the ATOs/DTOs…

1. Candidates who are not attending a recognised course of pilot training may self-certify, those that are attending a recognised course of training may not self-certify. CAP 2118 Section 6.2 refers, as does page 2 of CAP 2325.
2. A candidate who completed the old paper-based Communications exam (there may still be a few around!) need to bring their CAA5016 Course Completion Certificate with Section 3 completed as evidence of having completed their Communication theory exam. The only people who the CAA permit to sign Section 2 of the CAA 5003 are UK FRTOL Examiners. Logically then, this can only be completed prior to a FRTOL Practical Test when the Communication exam was invigilated by a FRTOL Examiner who is also a Ground Examiner and the candidate completed their Communication theory exam with one FRTOL Examiner before going to another FRTOL Examiner to attempt their FRTOL Practical Test – I cannot see that happening a lot!
3. Please make sure that the candidate has read CAP 2325!

I’ll continue to add to this list as I conduct more FRTOL practical tests…

Having successfully passed the FRTOL Examiner Assessment of Competence (ECoA) yesterday, as of today, Sunday 24th July 2022, Andrews’ Aviation is offering the new FRTOL practical test.

UK CAA have published their new CAP2325 Guidance for FRTOL Practical Test Candidates. Under the new FRTOL assessment regime, prior to booking the Practical Test, the candidate must complete form SRG1171 and present this to the FRTOL Examiner. Form SRG1171 confirms that the minimum required Radiotelephony training has been completed prior to the Practical Test. It also confirms to the FRTOL Examiner that the candidate is aware of the subject matter and knowledge required in order to pass the test.

Form SRG1171 must be signed by the person at the ATO, DTO or Training Organisation responsible for the training. Candidates who are not attending a recognised course of pilot training may self-certify. However, it is the responsibility of the FRTOL Examiner to first verify by questioning that the candidate has reached a satisfactory level of knowledge, prior to the Practical Test attempt.

Use of SRG1171 is mandatory from 1st June 2022 for all FRTOL Practical Test applicants. This mandatory requirement also includes applicants who will be attempting the outgoing RTF Practical Test with Examiners who have yet to transfer to the new system.

The old SRG1106 paper-based application has been superseded by an online process for FRTOL applications. Please note that the SRG1106 form is titled “Application for Flight Radio Telephony Operator’s Licence – Issue or Renewal” but since the advent of the online process UK CAA seems to have split the initial application and renewal into separate processes – see below!

The online initial application process is much easier than the SRG1106 paper-based system. It requires uploading of a completed form CAA5003: Evidence of UK Examination and Test for Grant of Flight RadioTelephony Operator’s Licence, along with a certified copy of your valid passport or full photographic driving licence.

Note that the online process is for the “Application for Initial Issue of a PPL (A) or (H) or LAPL (A) or (H) and/or a Flight Radiotelephony Operators Licence”. When applying only for an FRTOL the flow of the process is simplified to encompass ONLY the fields required for the FRTOL application.

Lastly, the fee (as per the CAA Scheme of Charges) for the issue of the FRTOL is stated in Table 4 under paragraph 3.5 as £77.00 but according to Note 2 to Table 4

“Except where the applicant is the holder of a licence issued by the UK CAA to act as pilot, flight navigator or flight engineer. This fee is also applicable for a renewal when the applicant is not the holder of a licence issued by the UK CAA to act as pilot, flight navigator or flight engineer.“

This has been embedded into the online application so that if the question regarding the applicant holding an existing licence is answered ‘Yes’ the pre-populated fee box automatically reduces to £0.00, this is great news!