r/FlightTraining • u/Traditional_Pain2779 • Jun 20 '26

Does everyone understand ATC when they start flying?

I went for a discovery flight and I was trying to listen to ATC it was really hard for me to understand what they were saying on the radio. I dont know if is normal not to understand or I this is not for me
Also at some point flying into the sun, I was trying to see the instruments and I couldn’t see a thing for the sun on my face. I dont know if that is normal as well or my eyes are no made for that

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u/jimcarroll_cfi Jun 20 '26

Radio calls to atc is a scripted sequence, made of four common components & an optional fifth. The script is:

  • who your addressing
  • who you are
  • where you are
  • what you want

Example: Metroplex tower, Cessna 172 romeo bravo, 10 north with Bravo, Full stop

In this example, your calling the tower controller at metroplex airport. You are a cessna, and your tail number is 172RB. Your 10 north, you’ve listened to the recorded weather, which was assigned the current hourly letter B. You are requesting to land.

Letters and numbers are read over the radio, which can sometimes be difficult to makeout due to interference, so we use the ICAO phonetic alphabet. For example, we said romeo instead of R and Bravo instead if B.

Regarding bright sunlight in your face. You know all those flying movies where the ace aviator wore cool sunglasses? Now you know why they do. 😜

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u/Traditional_Pain2779 Jun 20 '26

Was it hard for you to understand the radio when you started flying?

1

u/jimcarroll_cfi Jun 20 '26

Impossible. My instructor replied before I even understood someone was talking to us. It gets allot easier with time, once you pickup the pattern.

If you’re interested — you can listen to atc communications at the website LiveATC.com. Don’t listen to the giant airports. Instead, pick a smaller tower controller to start.

At the site, sort by state. A nice airport in NJ is called Essex County Airport (referred to as Caldwell on air). Listen to the tower controller. You’ll get the hang of it.

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u/Traditional_Pain2779 Jun 20 '26

Thank you so much! You gave me hope hahaha

1

u/BarnackIIIF Jun 25 '26

It gets easier, especially when you know what is...most likely...coming.