TALKING RADIO

December 2009

Dear Reader,
Welcome to the first edition of TALKING RADIO which happens to
coincide with the beginning of the festive season. This year has seen
an increase in radio lecture requirements countrywide for all the major
disciplines, namely:
Restricted VHF radio license
General VHF radio license
Base Operator VHF radio license
PARTAC VHF radio license
Offshore Helicopter landing officer VHF radio license
I have found in my lectures that there has been a keen interest by all
to learn and apply the correct procedures in each relevant discipline
which has been a very positive indication to me in the attitude of the
people attending these courses. I have had the opportunity to lecture
these specific radio courses at various stations throughout the country
and after having obtained feedback from some of the operators
regarding the improved radio service being supplied, have been
suitably impressed with the outcome.
This RT edition focuses on some common errors that are still occurring
and I have highlighted them below to emphasise their relevance and
the confusion that can be created when these terms are used
incorrectly. I have divided each RT module into the relevant discipline
for simpler reading and understanding. Additional features include:
1. Radio check procedures
2. My RT website www.talkingradio.co.za
Merry Xmas and a prosperous 2010,
Dylan Kemlo.

RESTRICTED VHF RADIO LICENSE

The radio lectures that were conducted by myself countrywide
identified various procedures that were not being focused on
countrywide, namely:
1. The misinterpretation of the term CONFIRM.
The term confirm is being used incorrectly by students as a
confirmation to information that has been passed to them by another
party / unit (such as ATC) during a VHF conversation. I thus identified
that personnel have been affiliating this term as an abbreviation of the
word CONFIRMATION which is not entirely correct. The terminology
Confirm refers to a question that is been asked and should therefore
only be answered by the receiving party/unit using one of the following
three possible replies:
Affirm / Negative / Standby
2. The apparent lack of understanding and awareness of the AIP.
I have identified that there is a shortfall in this department with
regards to students being able to correctly make use of and identify
key elements within these documents. Remember that the AIP
(Aeronautical Information Publication) is supplied in two different
documents;
A} This document is alphabetically listed from A-Z and highlights all
the relevant information pertaining to the registered airfields /
helistops.
B} This document is sub-divided into ENR & GEN where ENR gives you
more information regarding airspace specifications (en-route) and GEN
supplies the user with information of a general nature (Minimum safe
heights for example.)
3. Flight planning
Students do not appear to be pre-planning their cross country flights
and therefore are not entering adequate or suitable information into
the required flightplan format. You should not enter DIRECT (DCT) in
your routing column as this does not indicate your intended routing at
all. Instead use geographical reference points or LAT/LONG coordinates to assist in the routing identification. Search and rescue
procedures associated with the flightplan itself are not clearly
understood.

A
Manned

SAR

Manned

Unmanned

A B (Manned Manned)
(Flightplan automatically cancels once safely landed at destination)
Search and rescue is normal as ATC is present at both stations
concerned. (Unless the station is not operating on a 24 hour cycle as
per the AIP in which case refer to B C below.)
B C (Manned Unmanned)
(The pilot in command of this flight is responsible for ensuring that this
flightplan is cancelled with ATC.)
i) Search and rescue must be requested with the closest manned
airfield to destination as such:
SAR/FAJS eta + 1 Hour OR SAR/FAJS eta + 2 Hours
(NOTE - The length of time requested is at pilots discretion.)
ii) You may also request this as a fixed time indication:
SAR/FACT 1100
iii) You may also request no search and rescue required:
SAR/NIL
C A (Unmanned Manned)
(Flightplan automatically cancels once safely landed at destination)
Search and rescue will be filed as in A B above i.e. SAR/NML if you
have filed a flight plan for this particular flight.
UNMANNED UNMANNED
(SAR request as per B C example above.)
GENERAL VHF RADIO LICENSE
This year I found that there was more of a demand from helicopter
pilots to do this course as compared to fixed wing. Some of the

common problem areas that I noticed on these lecture presentations

were as follows:
1. Students are not always familiar with the RT and procedures
associated within a procedural (non-radar) environment; i.e.
VOR/NDB Letdowns, non standard departure clearances, etc.
2. Radio communication failure procedures are not always clearly
understood. Students are reminded to note the difference between
radio failure procedures while training in the circuit or after having
obtained a clearance to join controlled airspace, wishing to join
controlled airspace from an uncontrolled environment without
having obtained a clearance yet (nil flightplan), wishing to join
controlled airspace with a flightplan (IFR) & (VFR), departing on a
SID or arriving on a STAR.
3. The difference between IMC and LVO and the requirements for a
pilot
to operate in either of these weather type conditions. Students
also
need to focus on aerodrome familiarization with respect to runway
&
taxiway markings as well as relevant aerodrome lighting.
IMC = Instrument Meteorological Conditions where the cloud base
is
below 1500 feet AGL and the horizontal visibility is less than 3nm.
LVO = Low Visibility Operations where the cloud base is below
200 feet
AGL and horizontal visibility is less than 600 metres.

BASE OPERATOR VHF RADIO LICENSE

I have had the opportunity to work with airlines who through their own
vision are promoting these lectures to personnel from their dispatch
and departure control operations in order that they become
multiskilled and are thus able to provide additional Base Operator
duties as and when required in the future. This is a very good initiative
in line with preparations for SWC2010.
I have had a lot of interest shown with this particular course and it has
been fulfilling for me to see the keen interest and participation that has
been shown by all those personnel that have attended. A common
problem that I have identified while presenting these lectures
countrywide are:
1. Personnel not knowing the difference between port & starboard and
also not being able to identify the color coding associated with
these terms, i.e. Port (left hand side) = RED
Starboard (right hand side) = GREEN.
NOTE How much Port is left in that bottle.
I would like to congratulate the SAX Richards Bay branch on their
commitment to the base operator requirements and it was pleasing
for me to see and listen to their RT applications and procedures on a
recent unannounced trip past their office. (This follows my
instructional lectures that had been held there on a previous
occasion.)
PARTAC VHF RADIO LICENSE
(Practical Airport Radio Telephony and Airside Competency Licence)

This course has focused on the specific understanding requirement of

RT and aerodrome design as (following the feedback from ATC), there
still appears to be a great deal of uncertainty by operators as to how to
communicate with ATC and which procedures to follow. For those of
you unfamiliar with this course, communication with ATC is required by
anyone while operating on the maneuvering area either by aircraft,
vehicle or tug. This includes all taxiways and runways but excludes the
apron. Some of the common problem areas identified here are:

1. On the job training - Personnel are not continuing with on the job
training following the attendance of the theoretical course in
order to prepare themselves prior to attempting the practical
skills evaluation test by a designated ATC. (Discipline in the
correct use of RT and the understanding of instructions as issued
by ATC is vital.)
2. Situational awareness Personnel are encouraged to become
familiar
with the environment in which they are working and thereby
assist
ATC where possible while operating on the maneuvering area.
3. Proficiency in English. Remember that all relevant communication
between ATC and pilot/tug driver, etc. is to be conducted in the
English language universally and personnel therefore need to
familiarise
themselves with English prior to attempting this course and the
relevant
practical testing required.
HLO HELICOPTER LANDING OFFICER VHF RADIO LICENSE
I worked with Russian and Angolan personnel this year that, despite
them all having struggled with the English language, had a very
positive attitude towards the course and persevered to meet the
requirements. Some common problem areas that I identified with this
course were:
1. Lack of understanding of the English language. (This also
leads to personnel in the class feeling intimidated when asked
to participate in radio telephony communications.)
2. Misunderstanding of terminologies
3. Situational awareness onboard the vessel/rig.
1. RADIO CHECK PROCEDURES
I have been encouraging all those personnel that I have trained to date
to consider doing a radio check prior to taking over the watch to
ensure that their radio is serviceable and that it is functioning correctly.
One of the major problems being encountered is that people are
accepting watch responsibilities by assuming that their radio is fully
operational and transmitting and receiving at an audible level. Radio
checks are for example normally conducted by all pilots and ATCs prior
to handover and during their watch and this procedure should be
adopted by all support staff as they are all part of the aviation
community.

2. www.talkingradio.co.za
My new website aimed at assisting all relevant personnel with radio
telephony procedures was launched on the 01 st October 2009 and has
received a very impressive number of hits to date. I have also received
a number of compliments to date on my product and below is an
example of one:
I think your CD is an excellent aid and a very good investment, even for
someone who already has a
radio license like myself.

(Thanks Bennie)

Please keep checking my site for further free downloads, study

material and courses on offer and feel free to email me with any VHF
RT or ATC related queries that you may have.