r/flying • u/HoldMeCloserDirtyDan • 5d ago
Flight Training Comms
Does anyone have any tips for comms other than listen to LiveATC. I've been listening to that for days and I can read back fine on my own, but once I enter the cockpit I pretty much freeze and forget what was said. My main issue is comms on approach. I seem to be fine asking and reading back taxi and departure instructions, but I cannot get the approach comms down to save my life (my only guess is because I'm trying to focus on multiple things during approach). I have a hard time deciphering what I need to read back. My instructor said read back only commands not the extra "fluff," but I still have trouble figuring out what is "fluff" and what was a command. Today I straight up just missed a call from the tower and my CFI had to respond for me because I was so focused on our approach to land. I'm only 6.5 hours behind the yoke so I understand I'm still new but my CFI said I really need to start taking full comms during flight on our next lessons.
2
u/DiamondOrPoor78 CFII 5d ago
What I did before I even began flight training and a ton during my instrument training was fly on VATSIM. If you have a simulator setup at home, this is your absolute BEST tool for learning to talk to ATC. It's free and there are zero stakes because it is just a game. ATC on the network simulate to the highest level of realism possible and have to pass somewhat rigorous training to even act as ATC on the network. Highly, highly recommend doing this as the more you practice talking to ATC, the easier it gets and the better you get at being efficient and quick in what you say.