How do I practice talking to air traffic control?

Use a radio simulator. With this free ATC simulator you pick a scenario, hold the push-to-talk button (or type), and speak a real radio call. A realistic controller responds and grades your phraseology element by element, so you can rehearse ground, tower, CTAF, flight following and emergency calls before you ever key the mic in a real aircraft.

What is the standard structure of an aviation radio call?

Every radio call follows four parts: who you are calling (the facility), who you are (aircraft type and callsign), where you are (position and altitude), and what you want (your request or intentions). Keeping that order makes you clear and concise on the radio.

Why do pilots say 'niner' and 'tree'?

Aviation English changes some numbers so they are not confused over a noisy radio: nine is spoken 'niner' (so it is not mistaken for the German 'nein' or for five), and three is often spoken 'tree'. Numbers are generally said digit by digit, for example runway one six, heading two two zero.

What is CTAF and how do I make calls at an uncontrolled airport?

CTAF is the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency used at airports without a control tower. You self-announce your position and intentions to other traffic. Begin and end the call with the airport name, e.g. 'Reid-Hillview Traffic, Cessna Five Sierra Papa, left downwind runway three one, Reid-Hillview.'

How do I declare an emergency on the radio?

Say 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday' for a distress (life-threatening) situation, or 'Pan-Pan' three times for an urgency. Then give your callsign, the nature of the emergency, your position and altitude, your intentions, souls on board and fuel remaining. Squawk 7700 when instructed.

Is this ATC simulator free?

Yes. The SkyPrep ATC radio simulator is completely free, needs no signup, and runs in your browser. Voice input works best in Chrome or Edge; you can also type your calls in any browser.

Do I need a microphone to use it?

No. You can speak your calls using the push-to-talk button in Chrome or Edge, or switch to type mode and enter your calls with the keyboard in any browser. Either way the controller responds and your phraseology is graded.

Will this make me sound like a real pilot on the radio?

It trains the exact habits that matter: the right call structure, correct readbacks, standard phraseology and brevity. Practicing out loud against a controller that grades you removes the hesitation most student pilots feel on their first real radio calls.

ATC Radio Simulator: Practice Real Aviation Radio Calls Free

The fundamentals

Every radio call has the same four parts

Master this structure and you can build any call, to any facility, anywhere in the world.

1

Who you're calling

The facility: Ground, Tower, Approach, or the airport name plus "Traffic" at a non-towered field.

2

Who you are

Your aircraft type and callsign, e.g. "Skyhawk Six Seven Two Sierra Papa."

3

Where you are

Your position and altitude, e.g. "five miles north, two thousand five hundred."

4

What you want

Your request or intentions, e.g. "inbound for landing" or "ready to taxi, VFR."

"Palo Alto Tower, Skyhawk Six Seven Two Sierra Papa, five miles north, two thousand five hundred, inbound for landing with information Bravo."

Who you're calling: Palo Alto Tower · Who you are: Skyhawk 672SP · Where: 5 miles north at 2,500 ft · What: inbound to land, and you have the current ATIS (Bravo).

Item	Written	Spoken
Runway	`16R`	"runway one six right"
Heading	`220`	"heading two two zero"
Frequency	`119.3`	"one one niner point three"
Squawk code	`0452`	"zero four five two"
Altimeter	`29.92`	"two niner niner two"
Altitude	`4,500`	"four thousand five hundred"
Wind	`320 at 12`	"three two zero at one two"

Standard calls

The calls every student pilot must know

These are the exact scenarios you can rehearse in the simulator above. Practice them until they're automatic.

Ground control: requesting taxi

Before you taxi at a towered airport, you call Ground with your position and request. Then you read back the taxi route and any hold-short instruction word for word. Hold-short readbacks are mandatory.

"Van Nuys Ground, Cessna Seven Two Sierra Papa, at the south ramp, ready to taxi, VFR."

Ground replies with a runway, a taxi route, and a hold-short instruction you must read back.

Tower: pattern work and takeoff

Tower owns the runway. You call with your position, the runway, and your intentions (e.g. "touch and go"), then read back any clearance exactly.

CTAF: non-towered airports

With no controller, you self-announce to other traffic on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency. Begin and end with the airport name so listeners know who you're talking about.

"Reid-Hillview Traffic, Cessna Seven Two Sierra Papa, left downwind runway three one, Reid-Hillview."

No one may answer, and that's normal. You're building a mental picture for everyone in the pattern.

Approach: VFR flight following

To get traffic advisories en route, you request flight following from Approach with a full position report, then read back your assigned squawk code.

Emergency: Mayday and Pan-Pan

Mayday (said three times) is for distress, a life-threatening situation like an engine failure. Pan-Pan (three times) is for urgency that isn't yet life-threatening. Give your callsign, the problem, position, altitude, intentions, souls on board and fuel, and squawk 7700 when told.

Keep going

Talk to ATC like a real pilot

Select a scenario to start transmitting

The mic is the scariest part of early flight training

Realistic controller

Graded word by word

Speak or type