Instrument Flight
General Communication Procedures
GENERAL COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES
You may have heard the old adage covering flight priorities—“Aviate, navigate, communicate.” The
message is, of course, that first you take care of flying the aircraft, then you attend to keeping the airplane
at the correct point in three-dimensional space, and finally, you worry about talking to others. There
certainly is good sense in that set of priorities, but simply because communication is last on the list does
not relegate it to insignificance.
When flying on an IFR flight plan, you will be in constant contact with various air traffic control (ATC)
facilities from before takeoff until after landing, and to operate successfully within the traffic control
system, you must be thoroughly familiar with the responsibilities and capabilities of these control facilities.
Although you must comply with controller instructions, it is your responsibility to follow them intelligently,
not blindly. Always be sure that you understand the controller’s intentions and that he or she understands
your needs.
General ATC procedures will be discussed later in this FTI, each addressed as it normally occurs in each
phase of flight.
NAVIGATION & COMMUNICATION COCKPIT MANAGEMENT
MULTIPLE NAVAID MANAGEMENT
Use TACAN, VOR/ILS, and waypoints to navigate airways and maintain orientation at airfields. En route,
navigate primarily off the applicable TACAN or waypoint and set the other navigation resource(s) to the
next station or waypoint ahead. During ILS vectors at the field, select TACAN and ILS steering. TACAN
course deviation is displayed on the HSI display and ILS steering is displayed on the ADI display. If
required, change from TACAN to ILS DME frequency on the base leg. During the approach phase,
consider selecting NAVAIDs so one backs up another in case of failure. For example, if on HI TACAN,
penetration approach and TACAN bearing fails, have ILS in VOR to fly ILS or localizer as backup.
TWO-RADIO MANAGEMENT
Managed effectively, two radios can add convenience. However, avoid the confusion of listening to two
radios at once. In addition, inform the other crew member of any changes in audio selection.
Start by briefing the communication plan before the hop. When audio selection is changed, inform the
other crew member “selecting COMM 2” who should normally follow along. Also, selecting COMM 2
implies deselecting COMM 1 unless otherwise briefed. Here is one sample scenario for calling METRO in
flight:
“Center KATO Two Two One, request switch, monitor guard two mikes.”
“KATO Two Two One, approved as requested, report backup Center frequency.”
“KATO Two Two One, WILCO.”
Select METRO frequency in radio 2, T/R&G and deselect radio 1 or turn volume low after informing crew
on ICS. After completing transmission to METRO, inform crew, deselect radio 2, and reselect radio 1 (or
turn up volume). “Center, KATO Two Two One backup (frequency #).”
During approaches, consider putting tower frequency in #2 (deselect) until approach directs switch and
crew is informed “selecting #2.” After reporting missed approach to tower, deselect #2, inform crew and
select #1.
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